Project Project Capri. Back on the road! Video evidence on pg.48.

[Wibble]

I’ve been looking forward to seeing this finished, absolutely glorious! Can’t help with the exposed bolt question but those covers from eBay look a neat solution.

[mk2_craig]

Don’t recall other Fords of the era having bolt covers on the lower mount, but then again, the bolts themselves were always a dark grey colour. 

[danthecapriman]

2 hours ago, Timewaster said:

How about these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265027300376?hash=item3db4dbac18:g:mhgAAOSw76djRfC8&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4HBK6fP%2BJsgXEDBYv3hei76kPyEAs6NNcldN50vJFdUx4hvwNIiks3DE%2FmbWU2m4yxfm1LBdoCnB7cXntLJJjkCJl%2FemODsMgQIO7aHQwct9fTauPRJLKHnAEvJRzIHEvzmR6EKvPCpWUrlrxQD3zV2V9KygMFhcDEXNHLTEVIvpUHmY8LMvv3oBqDS%2FRbn%2F23O%2FphPYh8YZA6hu662FxsgAVdZu3CEqcpD%2BGQQcbPgP9tAdHjHVv5w6tJzH07qpyJfdZ%2FRAzm%2FCqLhcm28A%2BT3d6PmAztglEnPetDiN3kfi|tkp%3ABFBMsMH-w4pi

They might be ideal! I’ll measure the bolt head’s tomorrow and see if they’ll fit.

 

[danthecapriman]

Add to the ‘to do’ list, fit the badges! Not exactly essential though.

I think I should have a good chance of finishing it tomorrow! Well, finished enough to make it drivable and useable anyway. How nice it is to say this. Finally.  
I can’t wait to drive it again. The last time I drove it was February 2016. I’ve missed having it on the road tbh, although I’ve still had the car it’s been more of a project/pain in the arse! Now it’s back to being something I love using and can enjoy!

[High Jetter]

I clearly recall seeing exposed bolt heads on belt mountings, not sure which marques though.

[danthecapriman]

6 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

I clearly recall seeing exposed bolt heads on belt mountings, not sure which marques though.

I’m pretty sure that is how Ford left them. I don’t remember there being anything over them in this car or any other similar aged Fords. But then again it’s not something I’d take much notice of!😆     
It just jars a bit now to see the shiny silver bolt head against the black carpets!

MK1 & 2 Capris were like this, with a bolt into a spreader plate on the inner sill, the mk3 had the lower belt mount on a rail/bar on the seat base. I think?

[Steviemillar]

11 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

I’m pretty sure that is how Ford left them. I don’t remember there being anything over them in this car or any other similar aged Fords. But then again it’s not something I’d take much notice of!😆     
It just jars a bit now to see the shiny silver bolt head against the black carpets!

MK1 & 2 Capris were like this, with a bolt into a spreader plate on the inner sill, the mk3 had the lower belt mount on a rail/bar on the seat base. I think?

Theses bolt heads are exposed in all Capris but as has been said, they are black  so not readily noticeable. my own Mk2 Capri has the black-headed bolts fitted. 

On the later Mk3's, there is a spreader bar with the bigger bolt mounted further forward in the sill instead of the single mount at the B post

 

[danthecapriman]

2 hours ago, Steviemillar said:

Theses bolt heads are exposed in all Capris but as has been said, they are black  so not readily noticeable. my own Mk2 Capri has the black-headed bolts fitted. 

On the later Mk3's, there is a spreader bar with the bigger bolt mounted further forward in the sill instead of the single mount at the B post

 

Brilliant, cheers!

I might just paint my bolt heads black then, should just make them less obvious.

[danthecapriman]

Had another few hours on this today. Forgot to take pics though so I’ll get some this weekend when I work on it again.

Started off by fitting the chrome exterior door top trims and widow seals. The passenger door is a genuine Ford replacement but the drivers door is a non genuine one… which means the holes for the clips need drilling on the non gen door top. I used the passenger door as a reference to take measurements from and transfer over to the drivers door. Stuck a length of masking tape on and carefully marked the position of the 5 holes, then drilled them, even more carefully!

The chrome trim and window seals share a common clip to hold them to the door. Weird looking things but very simple to see how they hold everything together. These clips are just pop riveted onto the door top. While doing this I did the usual and dipped the rivet in a tin of waxoyl underseal, then pushed it into the hole and fired them off with the pop rivet tool. This is so as the rivet crushes it squishes the Waxoyl into the join and stop’s moisture getting in.   
With the clips fitted the chrome trim simply pushes onto the main part of the clip. The window seal fits into a narrow groove on the side of the clip which has little barbs to stop it pulling out again. 
The ones I’ve got now aren’t the same as the old ones, they seem wider and sit flatter. The old ones had much more of a curve to them up the window. No idea why this is but they fit, after trimming to length and cut the ends to fit around the door frame. 
All looks good and fits good so that’s that done!

I didn’t intend to do this next job and it took much longer than I thought! 
The fit of the tailgate hasn’t ever been the best so I decided since I had an extra set of hands available today to take the opportunity to improve this.  
Looking at the tailgate it was sitting too low, which left a rather wide gap between it and the back edge of the roof. There actually is a measurement for this gap in the manual believe it or not, 7mm + max 2mm. Mine was nearly 15mm!   
So disconnect the two gas struts to stop them pushing the tailgate, then slacken the four bolts on the hinge and simply slide the tailgate around as needed… sounds easy but it was a real pain to do it and get it right! Took ages! 
It’s currently sat with a gap of 9mm one side and 8mm the other which is within tolerance so it can stay like that. For now.

Closing the tailgate showed the latch and striker plate were out of alignment too so they’ve been readjusted to suit. 
The fit isn’t 100% perfect on the NS lower edge of the tailgate but it appears to be the new tailgate seal causing this. It’s pushing against the tailgate and forcing it upwards in that corner. 
I’ve beaten the seal on to its lip with a rubber mallet to try to get it to fit better but I think it’s just going to be a case of leaving it with the tailgate closed properly for a while to get the rubber seal to flatten out and soften up. Same as the doors really. 
So once it’s had a bit of time to do this I’ll try realigning and adjusting the doors and tailgate again, see if it makes much difference. It’s good enough for now though.

 

Tomorrow I’m busy so probably won’t get chance to work on the car itself but might be able to do a few bits & bobs ‘on the bench’ so I’m going to get all the cars badges out and cut off the pins on the backs so they can all be stuck on with double sided trim tape instead. 
And I’ve found a steel bracket with a length of seal attached to it that fits onto the front end of the bonnet (inside) just above the radiator (ish). I think it’s just to try and reduce wind getting in under the bonnet. I’m not actually sure all mk2’s had this though? 
So I’ll give that a clean up ready to be riveted back on again.

[danthecapriman]

Also noticed today the centre exhaust joint is blowing slightly. It’s an old non OE system so fit was never brilliant! 

So add to the ‘to do’ list fixing that.

I’ll mix up some chemical metal putty and force that in the gap I think. Seems stronger than exhaust paste!

[Noel Tidybeard]

that twist in the seatbelt would really set my ocd off

[Christine]

Its fitted wrong

[danthecapriman]

10 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

that twist in the seatbelt would really set my ocd off

That’s what it looks like in the manual. It does look a bit odd but…

2 hours ago, Christine said:

Its fitted wrong

What is?

[Christine]

The belt . 

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Christine said:

The belt . 

I thought it should be straight tbh, but in the manual it’s definitely fitted with the twist! Also, there’s a Ford label attached to it, if you fit it without the twist the label & text is all visible. They weren’t twisted when they were in the car before it was taken apart though, but they had been out before and refitted.

[danthecapriman]

Having said this, it is a Haynes book of lies and a basic diagram…

All the photos I just looked at show no twist so I’ll undo them and put them back the right way round! I can’t think of any other cars with belts twisted like that either…

[Christine]

I had this trouble with my fiesta !  Either its the other sides belt ( handed) or the reel is arse  about face . they should be flat with the tang of the clip visible , to grab .   

 

Might help  http://www.fordcapriforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50426

[danthecapriman]

14 minutes ago, Christine said:

I had this trouble with my fiesta !  Either its the other sides belt ( handed) or the reel is arse  about face . they should be flat with the tang of the clip visible , to grab .   

 

Might help  http://www.fordcapriforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50426

Yeah good point! The clip should face out shouldn’t it! 
I wonder if the clip has been twisted on the belt before and someone has left it the wrong way round? From memory the reels only fit one way and they were labelled NS and OS too. Plus, there’s a faded patch on the belts where it sits over the corner of the D window, this lines up perfectly where you’d expect the sun to have gotten to it over the years to fade it.

I’ll definitely check this though tomorrow when I get the car out again. Either way the twist shouldn’t be there by the looks of it.

 

[Christine]

I  unbolted the lot and started from scratch , it was doing my head in . I sat in the seat and clipped the buckle up  first,  and flattened the lap belt  over my midriff and  bolted it to the sill ,so that bit was right . , then ran it flat over my chest and shoulder  ,up to the b pillar attatchment ... and worked it out from there ...either it was right or wrong  handed  ,or the reel was 180 deg out , or upside down ! I cant remember .  The clip is really hard to turn inside out , it wont be that .  You gotta get it right too  or it wont lock up under braking ! 

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Christine said:

I  unbolted the lot and started from scratch , it was doing my head in . I sat in the seat and clipped the buckle up  first,  and flattened the lap belt  over my midriff and  bolted it to the sill ,so that bit was right . , then ran it flat over my chest and shoulder  ,up to the b pillar attatchment ... and worked it out from there ...either it was right or wrong  handed  ,or the reel was 180 deg out , or upside down ! I cant remember .  The clip is really hard to turn inside out , it wont be that .  You gotta get it right too  or it wont lock up under braking ! 

I’ll do that then I think! I haven’t even tried them yet, other than clipping them to the stalks and releasing them so I’ve no idea how they’d fit over a person in the seat. Looking at them, they’d most probably twist again when they go over a person in the seat.

 

[danthecapriman]

In other news.

Looks like I need to get my finger out and get this done sharpish as the house has just sold! 
I’ll soon be going west, where they say ooh arr…

Yes, everything will be coming with me too! Three cars, shit loads of tools and all the usual other crap to shift! Might take a bit of planning! But the Capri must be mobile, either I try to drive it, or it gets trailered.

[danthecapriman]

A day of Capri tinkering and sun stroke today!

Ive undone to bottom bolts on the seat belts and turned the belt around so the twist isn’t there now. They look better and they do work fine when sitting in the seats and the belts on, but the clip is still facing the pillar not the seats. I’m 99% sure the belts aren’t fitted the wrong sides but??? The important thing is they look ok and they definitely work correctly.

I’ve refitted the metal bracket and rubber strip to the underside of the bonnet. 
I can’t say I’ve seen a mk2 with one of these before other than mine but it’s back on regardless!

Here’s the chrome strips & window seals back on the doors.

I’ve used some long plastic tube lances on the Dynax wax cans and injected wax into the bonnet frame, leading edge cavity of the bonnet and up underneath the scuttle panel and vents… it all started pissing out of the drain holes so it must have enough in there!   
Glass was all filthy so that’s been cleaned. 
Inner wing tops and slam panel have been wiped down and the stickers added.

No idea where these ones are meant to go?   
The 1600HC one is a spare as I’ve already got one on my cam belt cover if anyone wants it? 
The Ford badges are fairly big, so aren’t the ones for the door sill pressings. I’ve got those on already and they’re tiny compared to these. Maybe I’ll put them on my tool box or something!

I’ve given various bits underneath on the suspension and steering a check for being tight/having split pins through etc and it seems ok. I’ve also wound the NS track rod in a touch to at least reduce the massive toe out on that side! It’s only rough by eye but it looks straight now with the OS one and should* stop the steering pulling and tyres scrubbing out until the tracking can be done. 
 

Later this evening I’m going to attempt to drive it down the road and turn it around so I can get the drivers door fully open and fix down the carpets on the inner sill that side. As it is the garden fence is threatening to scratch the door if I try doing it now. Fingers crossed it drive ok!

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

the clip will change sides if you are patient and fold the belt in half and run clip over fold

[danthecapriman]

2 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

the clip will change sides if you are patient and fold the belt in half and run clip over fold

I think it’s one of those problems that’s best solved by ignoring it!😆

 

Ive got a video to put up later… once I can work out how to get it from one iPad to another and how best to upload it.

[Noel Tidybeard]

8 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I think it’s one of those problems that’s best solved by ignoring it!😆

 

Ive got a video to put up later… once I can work out how to get it from one iPad to another and how best to upload it.

don't you get aggrovating my ocd mr crapiman!

[junkyarddog]

5 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

I’ve refitted the metal bracket and rubber strip to the underside of the bonnet. 
I can’t say I’ve seen a mk2 with one of these before other than mine but it’s back on regardless!

I'm fairly sure my MK2 has this too,

I'd take a look but the bonnet is covered in Golf parts!

[danthecapriman]

I can’t upload the videos straight onto here as they are too big! 
So, I’ll try creating a YouTube channel to upload them onto then post the link here.

Hopefully. 
I think you’ll enjoy them though, I enjoyed making them!😄

[danthecapriman]

Let’s give this shit a whirl…

 

[danthecapriman]

And on my return…

 

[danthecapriman]

I thoroughly enjoyed that, even though it was only a few minutes of driving it! 
But, the important thing is, it can be driven. It has been driven. It’s finally complete enough to do that!

It has however already shown a few issues that need addressing.

Something is thumping around in the back! If you hit a bump in the road something is making a bid for freedom. I think it might be the spare wheel as it’s not secured yet.

Tracking! It’s comical. As soon as I turned onto the road everything must have settled and the steering is out!

Fuel gauge - still not playing ball. More investigation needed.

Clutch - works fine but it definitely needs adjusting as the pedal is higher than the brake pedal by a fair bit.

Brakes - I’m not sure if it’s just the fact they haven’t seen much use for a long time and they’re cleaning themselves up of all the surface rust etc from being stored or there’s still a bit of air in the system somewhere. They just feel a bit spongy and weak. I’ll bleed them through again I think.

Other than that it went well I think! 
Some bits to attend to first but I’m confident once it gets more use it’ll improve no end.

Oh, and it’s desperately in need of a wash! 
I’ve cleaned the glass off but the paint is incredibly dusty, loads of cobwebs and now yellow pollen dust all over it.