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Project Capri. Back on the road! New earths.


danthecapriman

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2 minutes ago, JeeExEll said:

It would be so easy to put a spacer in the wrong place and then have the whole mechanism running slightly out of alignment. Very annoying and a real PITA to fix once the dash and interior is in place.

Very true! That’s why I wanted to make damn sure mine was ok before going any further with the dash. As it was, I could have left it in place as it was and just put the new seals on and bolted it in but I wanted to be sure. Better safe than sorry, even if it was a bit of a pain to mess about with it again.

i don’t know why I’m worrying really, this cars never going out in the rain again!

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  • 2 weeks later...

A little more progress done over the last few days. Typically, I booked a weeks holiday from work this week so naturally it’s barely stopped pissing down so far! A bit of dodging of the showers though has allowed me to replace the spare set of front wiper spacers and nuts etc with the freshly cleaned and painted ‘good’ set that came off the car originally. All the nuts are tight and the new black covers are also now on, as are the original wiper arms and blades. I put a dab of grease on the splines too just to stop them seizing on. It looks good now and still doesn’t leak either so all good there. I’ll take the wiper arms off again later as they will need a bit of tlc. They’re the old Trico style wipers so I’ll need to find some new pins ideally too.

 

Next task was to continue trying to sort the dash wiring out. So far it’s all roughly in the right parish, but some of the plugs and connectors I’ve forgotten what they were for! So I’ve spent a few hours just going through the wiring diagrams and making sure everything is now correctly labelled and identified, then routed exactly where it needs to go.

Then I dug out the dash clocks/instruments and secured that back into the dash, wiring connectors back into the back. This will need removing again soon as I need to put the speedo drive back through yet. Also plugged the wiper motor back on, loosely pushed the 2 speed wiper switches back in - plug back on these too. Then the 2 headlight/sidelight switches - plug back on these too. Brake light switch, dash dimmer switch and a few other little bits all also identified and plugged back in. I’ve offered up the dash facia with its switches (heated rear window + front washers) to see how this fitted - all good here except for one slight problem I’ll come to in a min.

The radio is also still attached to the facia so this was offered up too. It turns out the two wires I thought were for the radio are in fact for the glovebox light! These need repairs first though as chocolate block connectors have no place in cars! The radio’s wiring is actually in a separate box  elsewhere so this too came out and was trial fitted. It’s got a long wire with in-line fuse holder that plugs into the spare yellow wire connector on the ignition switch, so that’s where the switched live comes from. The earth connector is also with the radio. That just leaves the wires to the single speaker and aerial. I'll need a new speaker as the old one is fucked! But... it all seems to fit as it should so I can start putting it all back in permanently now.

The problem I ran into mentioned above was some unexpected damage sadly. One of the dash facia switches came out of the box and it’s taken an impact at some point which has smashed the back of the switch open and broken a terminal off. Bollocks! There’s a choice of two switches it could have been, one is the heated rear window switch - these are easy enough to find replacements as they were use throughout mk2 and 3 production so of course it’s not that one that’s broken! The broken one however is the front screen washer switch, which is unique to mk2’s only between 74 and mid way through 76ish, making it way harder to find! eBay turned up nothing, neither did my usual U.K. sources so I had to get one from the German supplier. The downside is the additional post time and the fact it’s a new old stock switch and cost £30 just for the tiny switch!

While I was buying things I’ve also bought two new reproduction interior courtesy lights, a new plastic trim for the rear view mirror and new screen wash piping and washer pump seal, plus a few other odd bits.

Ive got a new old stock washer bottle now off eBay, which looks so much better than my minging original, I just need a new screen wash pump now... which is another problem! My car being an early mk2 means the bottle is different to mid 76 onwards cars, which means my screen wash pump has a small 13mm diameter pump inlet and not the much larger type from later cars. It turns out the 13mm early ones are not very common new anymore! I think I’ve got one but until it arrives I won’t know for sure.

 

fingers crossed the weather improves a bit over the next few days so I can get more done. And hopefully some pics too! 

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Fucking weathers shit at the moment! I got the morning dry though so I’ve fitted the new speedo cable. The old ones a Ford part and they look almost exactly the same. The biggest difference though is at the gearbox end. The new part is much thicker metal at the point where the cable and gearbox faces touch, annoyingly this means getting the retaining circlip to seat properly wasn’t easy! It’s in there now after receiving a bit of brute force. Routing it up through the engine bay was easy then just a case of guiding it through the dash and wiring inside the car to the instrument cluster. I’m missing a clip though to hold it still in the engine bay so I’ll try to find a new one.

you can see the cable here, the clip should be somewhere near the end of the steering linkage on the chassis leg.

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Next task was refit the cleaned up fuse box with a new foam gasket and stainless screws. I’ve bought and fitted new fuses too, non of that cheap plastic crap here though, I got proper ceramic ones!

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last job of the day was to find something to replace the padding around some bits of the wiring loom in the dash. Originally where the loom passes through the dash frame there were little foam/sponge pads underneath the wires to stop them chafing through against the sharp metal edges. Of course after this long they’ve just completely rotted and disintegrated. Luckily though I’ve still got some of the leftover foam seat/bed material from my Transit camper so I’ve sliced offa few lumps of that, shaped it and packed it tightly in under the appropriate places on the loom. One side benefit of using this stuff is that it’s modern fire retardant foam so there shouldn’t be any trouble in that respect. I’ve used cable ties to secure it all in place aswell as the factory fit metal tabs. No pics of that though as you can’t really see it much now.

Heres a few pics of the dash with the instrument cluster and a few switches back in place.

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once the rain stops I’ll refit the earths. I might need to clean off a bit of paint again for these then screw them on. The big plugs for the cabin - engine bay looms can now be reconnected, as can the two for the underside of the fuse box. For now though I’ll have to clean up the heater controls and indicator stalk on the bench until the weather stops being shit.

Its really dragging doing the dash wiring but I’d rather take it slow here and get things right. Ideally without damaging anything!

I could do with giving the whole dash top, facia panels and switches a good buff up with some cockpit shine too as they’re really dusty and dull. 

Also, in the pic above there’s a silver round canister type relay hanging down (left side of the pic). Anyone any idea wtf it’s for!? It’s not the heated rear screen relay as I’ve already found and fitted that, but I cant figure out what that one is or where it’s meant to fit. It’s not removable from the loom so it’s wire length does limit where it can be fitted but I still can’t see where! Knowing what it’s for might help?

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2 hours ago, nigel bickle said:

Flasher unit, Dan. Indicators won’t work without it..

 

Nice one Nige! Actually makes sense now you say it as I haven’t found one until now! 

Presumably it doesn’t matter much where it’s mounted? Does it need the metal casing earthed to the body? I don’t think it’d matter if I just do that regardless tbh. 

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1 hour ago, nigel bickle said:

It could hang loose, but the tab on the end is to secure it to any adjacent hole. Doesn’t have to be earthed though, so you don’t have to tighten too much, or scrape paint away.

 

im back in a week or so, might pop by to have a gander? By arrangement& subject to agreement natch!

Course you can! Your always welcome!

 

12 minutes ago, mitsisigma01 said:

Have you got a picture of the broken switch please Dan, I have a few friends that have boxes of assorted Ford and other bits, you might get lucky...... I doubt it but I'll try 

 

Heres a few. It’s one of those push to operate type switches, it only operates as long as the button is pushed. There’s similar looking ones from later cars but they aren’t the same, the logo on the front must be identical to this one.

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The broken hole on the back is where that loose pin came from. 

Cheers for looking and offering, fingers crossed!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, progress on this has been rather limited because of the glorious (fucking shit!) weather we’ve been having the last few weeks. I’ve done a few bits and bobs on the bench while it was pissing down, like cleaning up the indicator/horn switch unit. Not much to say about that really, it’s in decent enough condition just a bit dusty. I’ve given all the contacts a clean up too. Also got the heater control cleaned up and I’ve re-lubricated the switch mech too so it operates smoothly.

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Today has been nice so I’ve gotten a few smaller bits done. 

First job was to clip the new speedo cable down under the bonnet. It’s fitted properly but was hanging loose where it loops around near the steering column end. The original clip was missing in action so a new one off eBay fixed that.

Next job was to fit the new old stock washer bottle. The old one was water tight but looked absolutely rank and the lid was split. The new one looks perfect. Sadly though this type of washer bottle has a different fitting for the pump to later and earlier cars and the pump I need seems to be impossible to find new now. I’ve cleaned up the old pump and tested it off a battery, it seems to work perfectly and after a scrub up looks alright so I’ve had to reuse it. The worst thing about it is the plastic insulation around the two electrical terminals has cracked. It seems fine still so I’ll just go with it. Besides, it’s not really visible unless you look for it!

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After that I dug out the old washer jets and cleaned them up. Being a good old fashioned car these are made of metal so last forever. All they needed was a scrub with a scotch pad and some WD40 and they’ve come up like new. Once clean I thought they looked so nice in bright brass & copper I sprayed them with a coat of clear lacquer to stop them oxidising! Once that was dry I screwed them in place and fitted new screen wash piping and a new ‘T’ connector, then used some new clips I had spare (meant for securing wiring) to clip the screen washer pipe up under the lip of the front wing. Before this was just loosely thrown on top of the inner wing but this way is how it should be, and it’s much tidier!

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Not a massive amount of progress but it’s something!

Ive also had a delivery from Germany which included my new old stock dash washer switch. I got a new plastic cover for my rear view mirror (old one has disintegrated!) and a pair of new interior lights. And a new speedo cable circlip as the old one I reused was a little bit bent so I’ll swap them over at some point.

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  • 2 weeks later...

More work on this today. I was going to do some yesterday too but decided it was too hot & sticky for any of that so did other things instead.

First though, last weekends limited work was to refit the cleaned and relubricated heater control panel. It’s simply held in with two big screws at the front and two more at the back. Then you connect the power and switch lighting plugs and then connect the two cables that actually operate the heater box’s flaps. Sounds easy but these two cables proved to be a monumental twat to get back on! It took me a good couple of hours to do just this bit in the end as they were so unbelievably tight to get routed correctly and their ends pushed onto the control switches. Got there in the end though and everything is working well so that’s that done. I’d had enough after that though so put the car away and did something else before I ended up making a mess as I wasn’t in the mood!

Today then. More work on the dashboard! It seems to be sucking up time and only progressing slowly but it is finally getting there. I’ve got some more of the self adhesive sound deadening pads so I’ve chopped a couple of them into strips to finish the bigger gaps up under the dash. These bits are tucked right up under the dash & front scuttle panel so are a bit of a pig to get at now but it’s worth spending time doing imho just to minimise any road noise or vibration. With that done I turned attention to the far corners of the scuttle where it joins the A pillar/screen pillar. These rot on Capri’s and mine have both seen some serious reconstructive work so adding a bit more protection than the blue paint seemed a good idea while it was still accessible with the bottom of the dash out. I’ve sprayed a load of Dynax S50 all over the area and blasted a load straight up the inside of the screen pillar too just to stop any moisture getting to the new metal. I’ll get an injection lance in here too later on just to be sure!

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The next job was to slot the cars speaker back in for its radio...

This car being an early one means it shouldn’t have the usual speakers in the doors, and I’ll be fucked if I’m cutting my reconditioned door cards now either! So from new cars like mine were fitted with a single speaker mounted directly under the dash top in the centre. There’s a perforated section on the top of the dash so the sound can escape. Problem is, if the windscreen seal leaks (like mine used to!) the speaker ends up getting wet and rotting away - like mine did! New speakers are unavailable as far as I know. They’re an odd size with two tabs, one at each end which screw the speaker onto the underside of the dash. I’ve got an odd much more modern speaker already so I’ve used this. But, it’s meant for newer cars and mounting inside a door so of course it won’t fit where I want it too. The only way I could see it was going to work was to make up a pair of small metal plates to hold it and then at their other ends attach to the dashboards original fixing points. It took a little trial and error to get them fitting properly but they’ve worked a treat. Access was far from ideal in there too.

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With that done, I thought I’d try the dash facia. While digging that out of the boxes I found a big piece of rubbery sound deadening material. It’s a moulded shape and has that old shredded material type stuff glued to it on one side... hmmm, where does that go then!? This is where I realised I’d fucked up!

After a bit of searching and head scratching I found these were the same shape as the underside of the bulkhead & scuttle up under the dash. Which, of course means now I’ve put so much stuff back in they’re going to be a right bastard to get them in! In the end, since they’re not visible or particularly important I decided to cut them into smaller sections so they’d go in easier and carefully slot them into place and secure them that way. This wasn’t exactly easy to do either but after lots of harsh language they’re now back in place and it actually looks ok given the mistake I made. Note for next time - take more photos and notes before doing things!

Next then was the dash facia. I got it out and checked it over. All good, and the radio is still attached to it to.

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Note, this is not the cars original part. Being an L it should have one the same shape and with only two gauges but instead of that delightful 1970’s faux wood effect it should have a plastic crackle finish in black. I do still have this but it’s not in great shape and tbh, I really like the XL upwards wood effect one so I’m sticking with it!

The wiring for the Radiomobile head unit isn’t ideal, but instead of pissing about fixing it now I’ve left it alone and just fitted it how it was before the strip down. I do have a cunning plan in mind for the radio though so it’ll probably end up coming back out again yet.

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And here’s the facia back in the car. Finally!

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Looks rather nice I think. I’ve installed my new old stock washer switch too and connected all the wiring and lighting etc back into it so it’s ready to go. Just the lower dash panels left to refit now. I’m not 100% sure I’ve got the ordering of the switches and blank switches right but they’re easy to alter later if needed. Before I fit those though I need to fit the last cables - clutch, choke, throttle and bonnet release, which I now have new ones of. Hopefully that’s next weekends job.

For now though I’m happy with the dash front back on as it should be!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not had a huge amount of time for this over the last few weeks, but I’ve had a few hours this morning so decided to at least do something on the car. Any progress is good progress!

One thing that was annoying me was the way I had to fit the servo vacuum hose. These cars should have a shaped metal pipe that clips to the bulkhead with a short rubber hose at each end to connect it to the servo union and inlet manifold.

Mine has never had this for as long as I’ve owned the car. My guess is that the metal pipe either split or rusted through and whoever was working on the car couldn’t find a replacement so just ripped it off and used a length of reinforced rubber vacuum hose for the whole length. It’s been like this a long time though as I found a date printed on this non original rubber hose - 1989! Anyway, earlier on the rebuild I bought some new vacuum hose and just did the same thing. It bothers me though as it doesn’t look particularly good!

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So I’ve been keeping an eye out for a proper metal pipe. Recently a decent used one came on eBay so I bagged it. Once it arrived I sanded it down to get rid of the surface rust, then gave it a coat of rust remover followed by etch primer. I was just going to paint the pipe satin black but originally it was a silver/gold-ish anodised colour. I don’t have any paint like that so instead I went for something a little different...

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...Some left over Roman Bronze! A nice little nod to this cars previous life! Naturally, I sprayed it and then clear lacquered it just to make it shiny! It looks so much better how it’s supposed to be.

In one of the last updates I mentioned the radio, and how I had a cunning plan for it. Well, I’d seen something that I think will work really well with this car and decided to go fo it.

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Another Radiomobile! This one is a better version and in better condition so should go in the car and look the mutts nuts! But, notice how there’s an extra lead and headphone style plug with this radio? That’s because, although this is a genuine old radio it’s been taken apart, fully rebuilt and refurbished and then it’s had an aux lead added so it can now accept IPod, mp3 and CD players and play music from them through the cars speaker! Very cool! It also means I won’t have to listen to the utter shit most radio stations play now and instead I can play my favourite rock & metal music!!

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Currently on ebay, Capri II owners manual.  Dated Sept 1975 so slightly later, for the 76 year models.

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Could be a nice thing to have if you don't already have one.

£8.50, free postage.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-CAPRI-MK2-MKII-OPERATION-CARE-MANUAL-OWNERS-HANDBOOK-FREE-POSTAGE-/352636629132

 

Edit - even better, there's a July 74 one on ebay too, which would refer to 'L, XL', etc, rather than 'L, GL'. Asking £16.00 for that one.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Capri-Mk-2-1974-75-Original-Operation-care-Owners-Handbook-July-1974/291307992351?_trkparms=aid=1110001&algo=SPLICE.SIM&ao=1&asc=20131231084308&meid=142f9e348d7b4ed2a94340371ed58e33&pid=100010&rk=2&rkt=12&sd=352636629132&itm=291307992351&pg=2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109

Various 1974 Capri II sales brochures on ebay, cheap as chips.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not had much time for this again lately. Either the weather hasn’t been great or I’ve been working, I’m not a big fan of losing my weekends to work but the overtime will come in handy for the Capri fund!

Anyway, today was a nice day so I got on with a few things. First task was to find the bracket that holds the accelerator pedal. The pedal is attached to the pedal box at one end, with the clutch and brake, but at the outboard end it has a separate bracket to hold it solid. This bracket just bolts to the bulkhead but because of where it sits the bolts go through into the front wheel arch. To make it easier to secure at the factory they used pressed in studs which were also spot welded to the bracket instead of bolts (as you can’t reach both ends to do them up!) unfortunately though after nearly 50 years of being in the wheel arch sprayed with mud and water they snap off if you try removing them. So, job number 1 is to try to beat out the snapped studs. After a bit of persuasion with a hammer and drift they popped out. I don’t have any replacement studs of this type so I’ve opted to used a normal bolt with extra washers and a nut. It will do the same job but obviously I needed a second person to help me bolt it back in! 

With that done and the accelerator pedal now secured properly I dug out the original throttle cable and it’s bracket and the new replacement throttle cable. Which turned out to be the wrong part!

heres the new throttle cable with the old one and it’s bracket. Also the old and new clutch cables.

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The new throttle cable is both too long and the end is completely different to my old one. I think this new one must be a mk3 type. My one is of course most likely a mk1 type!

Luckily however after a clean up the old one is actually in very good condition and it still works freely and smoothly so I’ve decided to just reuse it. It should be fine and it’s fitted and now working perfectly but I’ve since found a new old stock one on eBay which I’ll keep as a spare, just in case.

Heres the bracket and cable fitted and the throttle spindle connected up. In the cabin it’s a simple case of just slipping the cable end onto the slot in the accelerator pedal top. Easy! I’ll give the bracket a bit of a paint later as it’s scratched in a few places.

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Next job was the clutch cable. The new one is very slightly different to the genuine Ford original but it’s the right length and the ends are right so I guess it must just be how they are now. It feeds through a hole in the bulkhead and a pin goes through the loop on the cable end and clips into the end of the clutch pedal. With that end sorted the cable runs down around the engine mount and back to the clutch arm on the bell housing, passing through a nylon bush to hold it still. This end just slots into a hole on the clutch arm. Adjusting it is done by winding a nut up and down a threaded section near the clutch arm. This done, I fitted the original rubber dust cover over the clutch arm.

You can just see the silver adjuster in this pic with its nut and lock nut. I actually had to adjust it twice. First time it worked but must have seated itself better after being operated a few times leaving the pedal a touch loose for my liking. With a bit more adjustment it’s now spot on! And the two nuts are actually in almost exactly the same place as they are on the original cable so it must be pretty close!

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For the first time in years I’ve now got all three pedals connected and working properly! You can just see the accelerator pedal bracket in this pic, the black bit just to the right of the spring.

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Now these are sorted I can carry on fitting the lower dash panel, which has the choke lever attached to it then the choke cable. And the bonnet release lever and it’s cable can also go in. I can also get the underfelt and carpet back in once these last few bits are done.

 

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Did some work at the back of the car today, the dash related stuff is just about done now, just a few little issues to sort there but it’s doing my head in so I’ve decided to have a break from that and push on with something at the back since I’ve barely touched that.

I thought I’d get the tailgate sorted. Should be easy to do and once done it’d make working on the back end much easier too.

I’d bought a pair of new gas struts for the tailgate already, the ones I got are actually reconditioned parts from the Capri club on exchange. First task was to bolt on the metal brackets that secure the gas struts to the cars shell. These are just a shaped metal brackets that fits the shape of the inside frame of the rear quarter panel. They secure with one nut (onto a stud) and one bolt (into a captive nut inside the frame of the rear quarter). First side bolted on no problem. Other side however was a complete disaster! The nut onto the stud was fine but the bolt just wouldn’t go in and tighten. Peeling back part of the headlining from around the bolt hole revealed the captive nut to be missing. This was a big problem as you can not get access to the back of this panel, it’s completely enclosed. I tried loads of things but none worked. In the end I got an M8 tap and just ran that through the steel panel where the bolt was supposed to go through. It was only thin steel but I was hoping the nut and stud would take the majority of the force from the tailgate and gas strut and my bodge fix was just to back it up and stop the bracket trying to twist as the tailgate was closed. Fortunately it did work, no idea what I would have done if it hadn’t! It’s a bit ugly to look at but it’ll be covered over soon by the interior trim panels.

With that done the struts went on easy and I’ve also run the rear section of the wiring loom through the rear quarter and into the boot floor area. The wire for the heated rear window was run up to the gas strut on one side, these are conductive struts forming part of the circuit for the heated window and, if you have one (I don’t because it’s a low spec!) the rear wiper motor. Then there’s a short length of wire from the terminal on the other end of the strut that connects to the heated window terminal. This wire was in a bad way on my car and wasn’t original anyway as the wire was the wrong colour (should be black not brown!) so I’ve made a new wire up and threaded it through the two holes in the tailgate window frame with two rubber grommets for good measure. The other side of the heated window has another terminal that simply screws to the window frame for the earth/return. I’ve also put some rubber bungs into the unused holes in the tailgate just to tidy it up and finish it off. Looks better than just leaving a hole!

Then I dug out the new tailgate seal and fitted that, which was a bastard! It was unbelievably tight to press it onto the lip around the tailgate but with the help of a rubber mallet it’s now on and snug! For the time being I’ve left the two ends long instead of cutting it to size properly, just in case it shrinks now it’s fitted. You never know...

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The result was an opening and closing tailgate, and it actually stays up when opened too! As long as I’ve had this car it’s never done that! The gas struts have always been duff until now.

Now this is sorted I can put the new rear lights etc etc back in! 

 

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10 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Peeling back part of the headlining from around the bolt hole revealed the captive nut to be missing. This was a big problem as you can not get access to the back of this panel, it’s completely enclosed.

A nut insert/rivnut would do the trick! It's a threaded insert which is expanded after you push it through a hole, effectively making a captive nut. I've recently posted up a few pictures how you can install one without shelling out for the special tool, will dig it out.

EDIT - Here you go! Although the pictures have shrunk since the forum upgrade.

https://autoshite.com/topic/15643-korean-cortina-its-amazing-what-difference-10mm-can-make/?do=findComment&comment=1736189

 

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8 hours ago, mat_the_cat said:

A nut insert/rivnut would do the trick! It's a threaded insert which is expanded after you push it through a hole, effectively making a captive nut. I've recently posted up a few pictures how you can install one without shelling out for the special tool, will dig it out.

EDIT - Here you go! Although the pictures have shrunk since the forum upgrade.

https://autoshite.com/topic/15643-korean-cortina-its-amazing-what-difference-10mm-can-make/?do=findComment&comment=1736189

 

You, Sir, are a star! That’s brilliant and I’d not thought of that. I’ll go get myself some of those rivnuts and have a go I think. The way I’ve done it works but it’s not ideal. And I’ve got an idea it might start to work loose or even strip/crack the metal eventually with the tailgate opening and closing repeatedly. The tailgate on this, entirely btw, weighs an absolute fuck load! Looking at it you wouldn’t have thought so as it’s not that big but my god is it heavy.

5 hours ago, JoeyEunos said:

That colour looks fantastic in the sun!

This really looks to be coming together now, you can't be that far off the ready reckoning stages and getting it out in the road?

Cheers mate! I’m well pleased with the colour choice. So glad I didn’t sway for the purple velvet, nice as that colour is.

Its not that far off being usable tbh, but I want it ‘right’ before I go that far. There’s a multitude of little things I want sorted first. I’ve got to refit the starter and battery cables yet too, which is literally the only thing now preventing that throbbing* powerhouse* of a 1600 Pinto being fired up!

4 hours ago, JeeExEll said:

Have you seen this Dan? It's a grand tour visiting European race circuits in an absolutely gorgeous 1972 RS2600. Vid' s about 10 minutes.

 

Mein Got! That car is lovely! I wouldn’t want to give it back but I’d love a go in one of those German RS models. My all time favourite is still the Brit RS3100 though! I think I’d be too scared to damage it by driving it hard and running out of talent though!

3 hours ago, Dannyk said:

 This is going to brilliant when finished, lovely colour too. I really must start doing the lottery.

Ta very much! It’s a shame in many ways prices have gone mental for these cars. This one cost me £100! I’ve spent vastly more of course over the years but... fuck it! There’s a very similar age and spec Capri mk2 on eBay at the moment but I think even by today’s standards it’s rather salty price wise!

 

edit; this one.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ford-capri-mk2/293169623196?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dd455f5604c6345e684f1dca6e388e438%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D11%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D163591716474%26itm%3D293169623196%26pg%3D2481888&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A55063162-b60d-11e9-a25e-74dbd180d4ef|parentrq%3A585a266f16c0a4b77cf9d02dffe5f570|iid%3A1

It needs work too!

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Didn’t get any pics as you can’t really see much of what I did today very well, but I’ve fixed the rear loom in place properly. It sits secured by the usual little metal tangs on the body and I’ve slipped some of those little black plastic sleeves over them too.

Ive offered up the new rear lights which should go on no problem but I need to cobble together some kind of home made gasket for the light - body joint. I have an idea for this though as you can’t get new ones.

The old number plate lamps are ready to go on now I’ve cleaned them up. I didn’t fit them today A; because their bolts need a coat of paint first (being done now) and B; because I wanted to spray cavity wax inside the rear panel where they fit and don’t want wax all over the light backs or wiring. Tomorrow should see them back in place though.

Ive also lined out both rear quarters with sheets of the reflective sound deadening stuff. I’ve not bothered covering them completely like I did the floors. Just 8 sheets in each side dotted around the inside of the panels to stop the worst of any vibration and noise. I think doing them fully would have been overkill tbh! Also, put some into the boot floor, but again, I’ve not done too much as I don’t want to cover the lovely blue floor in the boot as it will be visible if you lift the spare wheel cover up. Then to finish that off I did the inside of the tailgate, which didn’t take much.

Last job of the day, it’s been hot here today so a good time to do it. Cavity waxing! I’ve gone around both rear quarters with Dynax S50 working it well into the wheel arch lips and down into the rear corners (which are rot prone) then popped the two plastic covers off the two rear chassis leg inspection holes under the rear seat base and used a lance to pump shit loads of wax into them, and also the very rear ends of the legs out the back of the car. After that I used some Dynax clear UB wax to coat the entire underside of the boot floor, chassis legs and arches. This being clear still shows the blue through it but adds much needed protection and water repellent.

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Lovely car that is.

My mate I used to work with bought an RS3100 with his brother probably around the same sort of time (late 80’s). I think his was in green, he can’t remember the full number plate but it was YTM ***M if he remembers right. It wasn’t in great condition by then but even at that point it was still well known what it was and why it was not your average Capri. I think it eventually died of terminal rust and ended up being cubed sadly. I constantly remind him what these are worth now and that he should have made every possible effort to squirrel it away somewhere but I suppose you don’t think like that at the time!

I don’t think there’s much chance I’ll ever get one now sadly but I’d gladly accept a mk1 3.0 GXL as my next project. I’d love to get a US market mk1 though too for some reason! I was actually half seriously looking for them on eBay.com not long back and found a complete but long dead mk1 in a bronzeish colour. The shell was absolutely mint given its dry state home but the interior was destroyed. The sun had just rotted everything! Still, I was thinking of using that mint shell to import and then turn it into a U.K. spec 3.0 GXL. 

I should probably finish this one first though I suppose!

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Couple of questions for those in the know...

 

Firstly, coolant. 

Im obviously going to use good old blue glycol antifreeze in this but I was wondering about water? I live in a very hard water area and since this engine and whole system is currently completely empty and clean I was thinking of buying some de-ionised water and using that instead to minimise the amount of lime and sediment etc in the system. Good idea or not?

Failing that, I did also consider getting a load of mountain spring water or similar based on the fact that is almost certainly much softer and cleaner water than tap water?

Or stop worrying about nothing and just use tap water as I normally do on all my cars anyway!?

Secondly, brake fluid.

Again, the entire brake hydraulic system on this car is empty and clean. Should I just continue with new DOT4 brake fluid or should I go for that new fangled silicone fluid?

The silicone fluid is apparently ok in old cars but the system is supposed to be purged of old fluid first, easy in my case, but it’s also meant to be more or less maintenance free as it doesn’t absorb moisture. But, I don’t know if it’ll do anything bad to the master cylinder and front callipers as these, despite being empty and clean, have had old DOT4 in them before. 

Theres nothing really wrong with normal DOT4 fluid but now would be the time to change if I’m going to?

 

Any suggestions?

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