Project Project Capri. Back on the road! Running like a scouse watch!

[danthecapriman]

Here's a nice mk2 in Miami blue, https://www.flickr.com/photos/55777341@N00/2588103134/

 

Does that not look the absolute dogs dangly bits!? It'd look even nicer without the vinyl top.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Aah, so it's already been colour changed. Fair enough then. Miami blue is nice, but Monza blue is nicer still. Leather would be shit in an old Capri - vinyl is the way to go.

[fatharris]

I look forward to seeing how this progresses, good luck!

[egg]

Despite being a cheerleader for the bronze, I have to say 'miami blue' both looks good and sounds suitably aspirational for the car you always promised yourself.... 

[eddyramrod]

Leather?  Velour, Shirley?

[Tamworthbay]

Miami blue is the best blue they ever did, never bettered and suits a Capri so well.

[fordperv]

My auntie had a mk2 3.0 auto ghia in blue she inherited it from her dad when he passed away, he had it for as long as I can remember, he worshipped that car and she ran it into the ground and let it rot away, sold it for peanuts around 2001 this made me sad, I wish I could remember the registration I can remember the first part SOO, my aunties name is sue as well, but the rest of the reg I can't remember

 

It looked like this

[danthecapriman]

Leather?  Velour, Shirley?

I don't know if you could get velour on mk2 seats tbh? I wonder if american Capris had options like velour given their love of the stuff back then.

Which leads me on to another retarded dream of mine! I've always wanted to bring over a septic spec mk1 with those huge hideous bumpers... I bet you can get them pretty cheap in the US, bring them to the UK by the container load, wack on some euro bumpers and sell for £megaoldskoolFord monies!

 

I'll try to find a trimmer and see what the options are about re trimming into black, vinyl probably is better.

The original seats had black vinyl outer bolster bits with the seat centre strip in black cloth. They were hopelessly worn and ripped to shreds but probably could be re trimmed and new foam added.

The brown seats are full vinyl, they're in good condition and would probably be a shame to strip down and re cover so depending what a trimmer can do with the old seats I might end up selling the brown ones on after. Just have to see. They don't half make your back sweaty in summer though!

[eddyramrod]

For velour you'd want a Ghia, pretty sure it was standard in them.  My Granada GXL I brought back from Cyprus had vinyl.  Yes, in a GXL!

[danthecapriman]

My auntie had a mk2 3.0 auto ghia in blue she inherited it from her dad when he passed away, he had it for as long as I can remember, he worshipped that car and she ran it into the ground and let it rot away, sold it for peanuts around 2001 this made me sad, I wish I could remember the registration I can remember the first part SOO, my aunties name is sue as well, but the rest of the reg I can't remember

It looked like this

ford-capri-mk2-3-0-ghia-wed-66-s.jpg

Stunning! That's pretty much made my mind up as far as colour is concerned!

Just like that but with no vinyl roof and no side trims, as mines a peasant spec.

 

Anyone know if these early mk2's should have wing mirrors or door mirrors? I've seen some mk2's with wing mirrors but they could just be non standard add ons.

The chrome door mirrors it's wearing now are nice enough and came off a scrapped mk1 Fiesta and will most likely be going back on again, just wondering if it 'should' have wing mirrors or not?

[fordperv]

They should be door mirrors iirc, if it was real poverty spec only a drivers side

[eddyramrod]

Yes, I'd go with door mirrors too.

[danthecapriman]

Ta muchly gents. Door mirrors it shall keep then.

And yes, as it's an L it did only have the one drivers door mirror when I bought the car. I'll be keeping the passenger side one though just for added visibility.

[Jon]

Look forward to seeing how this is going to progress and I'm an advocate for sticking with a known firm when you've been happy with the results before. I reckon it's also admirable that you've got an established fleet and are willing to spend the cash on them - I reckon a lot of us would aspire to that dogged mentality! Didn't know you'd owned it so long, either. (I'm sure someone on here bought a brown MkII Capri a while back?)

 

Anyway, here's my opinion on a car I don't own: since it's been colour changed and is no longer as sold, I fully condone a change from the silver, as in all honesty it's a bit boring nowadays. Anyway, here's the colour chart for Fords from June '74:

 

 

 

 

 

I'd say your interior was Tan, so combining paint choice with the chart below, you can have pretty much anything, bar silver or your personal favourite, Miami Blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOWEVER, tan was available with every colour, just limited to Ghia only models with some, so I'm sure it'd look fine with anything. Miami Blue is very nice but a bit 'Trigger' nowadays (he's claimed that shade on here) but what about Onyx Green? Here's an NZ Capri (not my photo) registered June '74, so obviously built months earlier:

 

 

 

Oh yeah, please re-instate the steels and get a set of raised digit number plates if you don't already have some!

 

 

[danthecapriman]

That colour chart and trim availability is interesting. I think my current seats are actually called saddle or dark saddle. Maybe it won't look too bad with a blue paint job?

 

Just have to see I suppose, I think I'm 99% decided on going for Miami blue. If I'm going to do this I want to make it exactly the way I want.

Agreed about the silver, it's not a bad colour but, as you say it's just a bit boring and I don't think it's really what I want, more a case of chasing the original shade.

 

Its already wearing a set of raised digit number plates, they look much better than the modern acrylic type.

Wheels, I did have a set of original steels with chrome centre caps but they were pretty rusty so in the end I binned them! Kept the chrome caps though. Maybe I'll try to find another set of steals and get them reconditioned? I do like the mk3 Laser 4 spokes though!

[trigger]

If it helps in anyway here's the brochure page for the L, sadly no brochure photos of Miami blue ones so far.

 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

My auntie had a mk2 3.0 auto ghia in blue she inherited it from her dad when he passed away, he had it for as long as I can remember, he worshipped that car and she ran it into the ground and let it rot away, sold it for peanuts around 2001 this made me sad, I wish I could remember the registration I can remember the first part SOO, my aunties name is sue as well, but the rest of the reg I can't remember

 

It looked like this

ford-capri-mk2-3-0-ghia-wed-66-s.jpg

 

That's Hawaiian blue, an altogether nicer, richer shade. 

[HMC]

Love the idea of browsing the colour and trim charts and picking out the spec almost like its 1974 all over again. I like Miami blue and roman bronze but equally like the green used on the rs3100, Modena green? Which is a bit marmite but I like it.

[junkyarddog]

I'm a fan of MK2 Capri's too,

have a '78 2 liter Ghia auto sitting in the shed awaiting much needed tlc.

 

Looking forward to seeing yours progressing.

 

A few pics of mine.

 

[fordperv]

That's Hawaiian blue, an altogether nicer, richer shade.

It was gorgeous, it was so vibrant and stood out driving down the road, to say I loved the look of it would be an understatement

[stuboy]

keep up with the good work

[danthecapriman]

Here we go again! The first bill landed on the door mat yesterday.

 

Current state of play is the car has pretty much been stripped right out, seats, trims, carpets etc all removed and various bits of the bodywork have been taken off and it's having a thorough inspection of it's bodyshell.

Once that's complete it'll be time for some decisions to be made about how far I want the work to go. The engine sounds like it's ok but as you'd expect it does need a few things sorting.

There's obvious things like shocks (all fucked), brake lines and hoses (all in less then ideal condition), and since the engines coming out I'll go for a new clutch kit at the same time. I think getting all these things done at the same time as the body work and paint is going to be a good idea and save hassle at a later date.

They did ask if I had or knew of anywhere to find a new front valance panel, as mines battered and rather rusty. Unfortunately these are unavailable for mk2's so they said they'll get their body shop guys to roll and fabricate a new one from steel sheet. This, in my mind is exactly why I think paying for this is the best decision, there's no way I could do this sort of thing properly at home on the drive with basic hand tools!

 

In other news, the new carpet set arrived on Friday and looks gorgeous in black. Lovely job they made of it.

And I've found my spare bumpers, hidden away in the loft. They are much straighter than the ones on the car but the chrome isn't as good in a couple of spots so I think maybe a strip down of the straighter spares and a rechrome will be in order. Both mounting brackets are good on the spare front bumper too, one has rusted and snapped in half on the ones currently on the car.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some pics of the new parts pile in the next few days once I've spoken to the retsto guys about dropping it all in to them.

[danthecapriman]

Another update!

 

The guys rang me this morning to see if I could come in for a meeting about the Capri now it's been stripped and they know what work is required. I've just got back home from the meeting and they said it's a very good car and worth putting the work into!

 

So, body wise,

It's pretty good generally. Front wings are dead, which I knew about. Lower A posts and front inner sills/footwells do need attention. The front wings will be getting cut off and while they are off the floors and A post/inner sill area will be repaired before the new wings go back on.

Front valance will as a minimum have new repair panels rolled and welded on where it meets the wings.

Front screen surround needs stripping and welding, again I knew about this.

Rear mk3 spoiler has been removed already, there is rust under it so this needs cleaning back to see how deep into the metal it goes before repair or replacement of the tailgate.

Bumpers, one good pair built from the two pairs I have, including a re chrome if needed.

 

Then it needs a complete repaint, and I've made my decision on that. Yep you guessed it, it's going blue!

They said, since I've made that decision that they though silver wasn't the best colour choice and they agree that if were doing all this then I need to make sure it's made into the car I want it to be.

So they are going to spray me a test piece in Miami blue and one in Hawaiian blue before the final decision is made. Good idea I think.

When it's painted, that will be an engine out job and cover all door shuts, engine bay etc etc.

 

Mechanically,

The engine is good on compression and runs ok, but it does smoke a bit on cold startup so probably needs valve seals changing.

I've also got them to give the engine an internal inspection, and maybe a bore hone, set of rings and new crank bearings if needed.

New brakes at the front, new brake lines and hoses, replace the missing rear brake adjusters.

New rear shocks as they are completely fucked!

Diff will get a drain down, clean up and new oil.

Gearbox needs a new rear oil seal and oil change.

Prop UJ will be changed to get rid of an annoying vibration.

Steering column bushes will be replaced.

Exhaust system is good but has a couple of loose leaking joints which they will fix when it's reinstalled.

 

I've also got some interior work to be done at the same time,

Seats and door cards will be going back to black. Either recovering the original seats or using the brown ones currently fitted but re trimmed, same for the door cards.

New dash top, assuming we can find a good one!

New seals and rubbers all round.

New carpets and headlining.

 

I've also asked about wheels, the current plan is to keep an eye out for some good original wheels with the chrome centre caps and recon them, or if not then I'm happy to keep the 'Laser' 4 spokes but get them re conditioned. This sort of thing is a long way off yet though. The wheels will then be given a new set of tyres as the current ones are old and starting to crack on the sidewalls.

 

 

I'm pleased they are so thorough with it and said it's up they will take photos of the work and keep me updated as it goes ahead. They also seem very excited to be able to do this work too, and do an early basic car all the way from start to finish! Its nice to have people work on your car that feel that way about what they're doing, and I've been reassured it will be done to the highest standards. Tbh I expect nothing less after the work they did on the Mercury. I'm 100% sure it's in the right place and in the right hands.

 

So that's it, so far. I've given them the go ahead to start work. It won't be a quick job and it's not going to be cheap either but this will make the car as good as it should be.

It's going to be an expensive year.

[xtriple]

Fair play to you. It takes BIG balls to go in 'full on' on a resto, but it is in my view, the best (only?) way to go.

 

It will be a cracker when it's finished. Please keep the updates coming.

[eddyramrod]

Excellent update!  You're going much deeper than I am with Hyacinth, and I thought I was being lavish, lol.  I'm looking forward to seeing progress, and especially the finished article.

 

Hawaiian FTW.

[Felly Magic]

They later introduced a darker green on mk2's, possibly Brooklands green, v nice shade, but metallic blue is a v good choice, and keep the vinyl interior if it's tidy enough.

[tooSavvy]

... nevvah 2bloo 4me M8

 

TS

[fordperv]

You're going much deeper than I am with Hyacinth

Richard will be upset fnarr fnarr

[Tamworthbay]

I have a few sets of the better late top hat type valve stem seals. You are welcome to a set if you need them, PM me when you are doing the engine and I can send them over.

[Essex V6]

There is only one option - Hawaiian Blue!