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Project Capri. Back on the road! New earths.


danthecapriman

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Thanks!

Last summer was when I moved the car to the new bodyshop. It went on a flatbed trailer behind my dark blue Volvo estate. The new places I've been using are in Lavant and the painter in Bosham so it most likely was mine.

 

Good to see another local shiter!

 

 

I can't remember what car was towing it, but I think I know the place in Lavant, it's near a place that makes/restores airplane seats of all things! The choice of colour for this car was a hard decision by the looks of the discussion. Even though the basic shape of the capri didn't change over 18 years of production, the Mk2 shape only looks good in a handful of colours (IMO) and you've picked a good'un. Arizona Gold also looks good on this shape, bit like the Mk2 Bodie drove in series 1 of The Professionals.

 

Only been local to Chi/Bog for the last few years. Moved here from Kent in 2015 after I got engaged to the now Mrs Dustman. My avatar is an official works photo from my old firm when I featured on their website for "A day on the bins" (I should get a new one with a Chichester lorry, but that would imply I enjoy driving Mercs - if their cars are like their trucks, I NEVER want to own one!)

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PHOAR, now thats how a Capri should look.  Looking forward to seeing the trim go back on!!

 

Oh, if you haven't already.....

 

attachicon.gifDinitrol.JPG

Cheers Rich.

 

I'll certainly be doing that as one of the first jobs when it comes home. I use Bilt Hamber Dynax S50 cavity wax on mine and will be flooding every cavity, box section, inside panels etc with copious amounts of it. Certain areas I'll use the clear wax to protect things but still show the colour through.

Hopefully the weather will warm up a bit by then though!

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I can't remember what car was towing it, but I think I know the place in Lavant, it's near a place that makes/restores airplane seats of all things! The choice of colour for this car was a hard decision by the looks of the discussion. Even though the basic shape of the capri didn't change over 18 years of production, the Mk2 shape only looks good in a handful of colours (IMO) and you've picked a good'un. Arizona Gold also looks good on this shape, bit like the Mk2 Bodie drove in series 1 of The Professionals.

 

Only been local to Chi/Bog for the last few years. Moved here from Kent in 2015 after I got engaged to the now Mrs Dustman. My avatar is an official works photo from my old firm when I featured on their website for "A day on the bins" (I should get a new one with a Chichester lorry, but that would imply I enjoy driving Mercs - if their cars are like their trucks, I NEVER want to own one!)

That's the place! It's a small unit around the back of that place that does the plane seats. There's half a passenger jet fuselage outside the plane place! I always have a look at it when I go past!

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... but that would imply I enjoy driving Mercs - if their cars are like their trucks, I NEVER want to own one!)

They are.

 

Well... all the Mercedes cars I've driven have been, at best, disappointing.  All the Mercedes trucks I've driven have been horrible.  If you were paranoid, you might think that M-B had spent the last 40 years hypnotising British fleet buyers with that chrome-plated star, with the sole intention of crippling British drivers and the businesses that employ them.  At best, they've been slow, noisy, uncomfortable, unreliable, inadequate, and hostile.  And I'm being kind with that assessment.  The cars just are nowhere near as nice as they should be; bear in mind the sample ranges from w123 200 to 500SEL.  I haven't driven any model built before about 1977 though, so I might have missed the best years.

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The cars just are nowhere near as nice as they should be; bear in mind the sample ranges from w123 200 to 500SEL.  I haven't driven any model built before about 1977 though, so I might have missed the best years.

 

 

I've been a front and rear passenger in a handful of Mercs. Seats uninspiringly dull and unsupportive, lack of head and legroom for a 6ft 5 gentleman. It wasn't a good start even before I became an HGV driver!

 

Commercials - lack of power, uncomfortable seat, crap brakes, no option to switch exhaust brake/retarder off when installed, poor turning circle, poor ride.........

 

I must stop else I'll bugger up Dan's capri thread!

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Dan's work van is a Sprinter, so yeah, better stop before he assassinates us!

I'm on Sprinter number 2 now. They're leased company vans so I don't get a great deal of choice other than the layout of rear racking and some odd extras.

 

The last one was a 60 reg which was the replacement for a 52 reg Transit.

The one I've got now is a 66 reg as the lease was up on the other one, it's exactly the same more or less as the 60 reg but with the new style front end and the Euro 6 Adblue shit.

I don't mind the Sprinters tbh, they look nice (especially compared to the new Transits and Ivecos!) and they're still rear drive which a big van should be. They drive alright but they don't half rock around in wind or going off road, up and down bumps etc which I do a fair bit.

The drivers seat is good, much better than the Transit before which used to mess my back up. They're fairly quick too.

On the other hand, the quality control is pretty poor. On my new one the factory bulkhead squeaks like mad which gets right on your tits sometimes. The trim panel around the B post/seatbelt top mount rattles badly too. Interior trim and materials are cheap and don't last long or wear very well at all.

Although they go fairly well for a big van, when towing they're gutless. The old Transits could tow the same trailers and you'd barely know they were there! The Sprinters get stuck in mud and loose surfaces much easier than the Transits too.

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  • 1 month later...

Another little update.

Other jobs have slowed this down a bit this month, I’m not bothered though, it’s not being missed here at home at the moment and the later it comes home the better the weathers likely to be on moving day!

 

The glass is going back in.

 

post-3771-0-35370000-1520622870_thumb.jpeg

 

post-3771-0-30199000-1520622897_thumb.jpeg

 

The cold weather recently has been making this more difficult. The cold new rubbers need to be warm really to fit.

They look superb I think with new rubber and the chrome trim strips! Really looks good against the blue paintwork.

 

The headlining is almost finished. Again, this has been a pain because of the cold.

 

post-3771-0-98424600-1520623103_thumb.jpeg

 

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This looks great too, much better than the ragged dirty original one and makes the inside look nice and bright and tidy.

 

All that needs doing to finish this little bit off is offering up the external and interior trims for around the ‘D’ windows. This should help with the trimming and final fixing of the headlining and also aid in positioning and fit of the rear quarter ‘D’ windows.

Then these windows can be bonded into place (no decadent opening rear quarter glass here!).

 

It’s looking great though. Finally starting to come together and look like a car again.

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Yep you can detach them with a few bolts, I love the look of them without the frame imagine if ford had made the doors pillarless like the manta it would have handled even worse

FTFY ;-)

 

Ignore me though, I’m just jealous. When this is finished Dan I’m coming round to your house to lick that paintwork.

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Looking better all the time Dan. When are you expecting it back and on the road?

Hopefully this year! Once it’s back home I’ll be concentrating solely on rebuilding it. Most parts I need are already here so it should be just a case of building everything back into the shell.

Of course once the MOT exemption comes in in May...

 

Excellent progress.

 

One thing I've just noticed, are the frames to the door windows separate pieces to the rest of the door?

What Fordperv said.

They slide down into the door shell then two bolts front and back, job jobbed.

 

FTFY ;-)

Ignore me though, I’m just jealous. When this is finished Dan I’m coming round to your house to lick that paintwork.

Lick away mate!

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I’ll be going back to see the car on Monday, I’ll take the ‘D’ window trims and fittings with me and also the gearbox, crossmember and mounts and prop shaft at the same time.

Engine will be going a bit later on. It’s a swine to lift so I’ve got a cunning plan in mind for shifting that. But the key ingredient to this cunning plan is out of action at the moment so I’ll have to wait a little while...

 

I’ll also take the camera with me and get some more pics.

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Get a mate give you a lift in and out of the car with the pinto, chucked many about that way over the years the funniest had to be delivering one that i sold with sutty to a guy with a kitcar in the back of his 3.0 24v senator racing a jdm scened up integra type R the driver didn't know what he was up against as it easily showed him the tail lights disappearing into the distance, even got mrs fp in on the pinto lifting action a few times

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Just let me know if you want a hand lumping it into the van, I can drop by one evening after work. I owe you from moving the Geep in!

Cheers Huw.

 

It’s a heavy little bastard though, and awkward!

 

I should be able to arrange swapping my van with a colleague for a day. His van has an electric crane built into the rear of it just inside the doors. It can lift a full 205L oil drum so a Pinto should be doable!

Saves ruining your back.

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Cheers Huw.

 

It’s a heavy little bastard though, and awkward!

 

 

 

 

 

You should try an M52 straight six.

 

I'd use a crane with a tilting bar. It'll just slot in easy peasy.

 

Last time I did a Pinto was 1989. 

 

The cars were:

 

A Cortina 1600 Mark 4 but with a mint 2000 motor.

 

A Granada 2000 L on an X with a buggered cam. Swapped the engines over in a day with a tractor, farmyard style. You forget how easy cars were to work on then. Me and my Dad doing an Escort clutch in around 30-40 minutes with air tools. We pushed a car off the ramp, reversed the Escort on and did the clutch whilst the other lad went into town to fetch some parts. I was adjusting the cable as he came back in the van.

 

With this modern FWD junk, you could fly to Bangkok and back in the time a clutch takes now. Fucking Peugeot 207 - front bumper and headlights off - to do a clutch!! I shit you not.

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Looking very nice.  They've made a nice job of the headliner.  The non sunroof reproduction headliners are a swine to fit regardless of temperature.  I usually have the most trouble around the back windows as they always crease there.  

 

Look forward to seeing more!

Must admit doing headlining is a horrible job. It’s a fiddly irritating pain in the arse, plus, if you’ve got a light coloured fabric they attract dirt so you need to keep your hands spotless or else you get shitty fingerprints everywhere.

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This is turning out to be a car you can be very proud of Dan, the colour choice is perfect. When things like the engine & box are in, and you hear it fire for the first time post resto, you will be grinning like mad

Absolutely!

I’ve been thinking over the last few days about what order to build back up. I want to try and do things in the most methodical way possible so I’m not having to fanny around undoing things I’ve already put in because it’s now in the way of something else. Keeping everything clean and tidy at the same time.

 

I think job number 1 will most likely be waxing. Since it’s still a very bare shell nows probably about the best time, access-wise to get into all the insides of the panels and box sections with wax injection lances etc. I’m going to really go to town with this part too. It’ll cost, but long term it’ll be worth every penny.

 

I’d imagine after that things like the wiring loom, brake pipes, fuel pipes and tank will be next...

 

 

I’m actually really looking forward to doing it!

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