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Project Capri. Back on the road! New earths.


danthecapriman

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10 hours ago, Wibble said:

This is so good, thank you! Being stuck in a premier inn this really helps with entertainment 😁

Ahh..... No A/C here @OldBrickworks.... Baking each night in our room 29.5 🥵

*sharing a shower helps pass the time 🌡️😋

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  • 2 weeks later...

More done today.

Mostly cleaning the interior this time. The seats are fine, being new material, but the dash and most other bits of trim were filthy and looking dull from years of storage so I’ve cleaned it all down with some trim cleaner and a cloth. Incredible how much crap came off on the cloth! It looked grubby but it was far dustier than I thought. Then did a few coats of black cockpit shine and buffed up with a microfibre cloth. Looks absolutely fantastic now!

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It’ll most probably need a few more goes over with the shine as some of the plastic had gone very dull. But it’s not been cleaned or polished in years.

Spent ages over the last few days sorting the door and tailgate seals too. They’re all new and are making shutting the doors/tailgate extremely difficult. The rubber is so stiff and thick it’s stopping things closing properly. Managed with the doors, although I think it’ll improve with time once the new seals soften and take the shape of the closed doors. But the tailgate is not having it! I think I need to loosen the hinge bolts and slide the tailgate up a touch as I think the seal is hitting in the wrong place on the underside of the tailgate.

Also finished cleaning and shining up the replacement footwell kick panels. They’re looking great now and just need fitting. I’ve also wax injected the A pillars and inside of the door hinge areas so now just need to fit the kick panels over them.

And, I had a great find recently! 
I’ve been thinking about the steering wheel recently. Been keeping an eye out for a better one - couldn’t find anything much of an improvement over mine so thought about getting the leather wrap on mine retrimmed. 
Then a really nice one turned up on eBay so I bagged it!

Heres my original. These are different to normal mk2 steering wheels. Mine being an early car they carried on using up stocks of mk1 wheels. Which look way nicer too imho.

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And here’s the one I got off eBay.

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It’s in absolutely lovely condition. The soft trim is all perfect and the plastic is all really good. I think it’s actually off a higher trim car than mine as it’s got a soft padded centre section whereas on my old one it’s hard plastic. All it needed was a quick wash and some cockpit shine buffing on and it looks a million times better than my old one.

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Its got a really pleasant smell too! That old musty car smell with a slight hint of old tobacco! Or rather it did, until I cleaned it.

Anyway, almost there now. Just a few bits to finish then time to hit the queens highway. (It’ll probably be kings highway by the time I get it done!!) Main thing stopping me driving it now is the tailgate not latching down.

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9 hours ago, adw1977 said:

Looks like you have the "safety padded" wheel from a GT.

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February 1975 brochure

Nice! A touch of luxury for my L then!

The bit in the middle is like a rubbery soft padded bit, similar to dashboard padding. I’ll have to pop out the centre badge and see who the manufacturer was and the date of manufacture is usually stamped in there too. I think there were a few different manufacturers making them for Ford at the time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Boring work has been continuing on this, mostly adding yet more cavity wax and clear wax where it’s visible. Didn’t take pics, cos, it’s boring! Also got the two footwell kick panels fitted back in… then had to remove them because I forgot to connect the earth wires for the interior lights first!🤬 refitted them again now though. 
Took the grill off and stole @captain_70s idea of using a silver permanent marker to restore the faded ‘FORD’ logo in the middle. Looks much better now so thanks for that one! 
Then while that was off spent a ridiculously long time trying to get the stupid bonnet release catch spring thing back into place under/through the slam panel. One of those jobs that was incredibly frustrating trying to get it to fit right. Then refitted the release hook and cable. Everything works perfectly which is good. 
I then decided the original bonnet spring and latch mechanism were not in keeping with the current state of the car! So I bought a new old stock replacement which is like new in that anodised gold-ish colour. Hermes decided to take 13 days to get it to me so it needs fitting and adjusting yet. Then that’s the front end finished and also means the car can be driven without the bonnet flying up. 
Pics to follow as I forgot to take any.

I also decided to spend a few days cleaning out the garage and laying a new floor since winters on the way. 
I’ve put down some rubber/foam type tiles on the floor just to tidy it up and keep it cleaner in there. They’ve got grip mouldings on too so shouldn’t be slippery. 
Loads of old rubbish and empty boxes of parts binned too, and there’s very very little left to actually fit on the car now which is a relief.

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Its not the best garage ever but it’s all I’ve got for now. It’s dry and safe for the car though which is all I need.

 

And…

On 8/24/2022 at 10:53 PM, danthecapriman said:

Anyway, almost there now. Just a few bits to finish then time to hit the queens highway. (It’ll probably be kings highway by the time I get it done!!) Main thing stopping me driving it now is the tailgate not latching down.

How was that for a spooky prediction!

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Here’s a few pics of the stuff I was on about in the last post.

Bonnet latch/spring which was an absolute arse to fit.

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New and old bonnet latch. Old one worked ok but looked awful!

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Been waiting for a couple of bits and doing a few odd jobs around the car in the meantime. One of which was to use some clear Dynax UB wax on the inside of the stainless centre caps for the wheels.

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3 of these are new old stock items and I selected the best one from my original four to make up numbers. The wax is to try and stop the sprung clips on the inside from rusting and breaking. Might be a bit over the top but do it right!

 

Here’s a crappy pic of the sill carpet, stainless sill step trim and replacement footwell kick panel all fitted.

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Im still having trouble with the new door seals. Passenger side one has relaxed significantly since last time, and moulded to shape really well with the door being closed on it. It’s still pushing against the door but you don’t have to slam it nearly so hard to fully close it now so hopefully it’ll sort itself out in time. 
Drivers door seal is still a bitch! It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try, it’s that tight. 
I’ve re-aligned the door and striker a touch so it closes better and lines up better now but I’m hoping it just needs the door leaving closed on the seal for a few weeks to flatten it and shape it. I don’t know if there’s anything apart from that you can do with the seals? Maybe a light coating of vasaline or something might help make it a bit softer and more supple?? 
 

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The fuel door is open as I was filling the void in the hinge with cavity wax. They have a tendency to rust from inside out if you don’t. Also did the bonnet leading edge while I was at it.

 

While messing around with the bonnet, I wasn’t happy with the release handles operation. It worked, but felt very slack and loose. Turned out I was missing a tiny clamp which holds the cable outer sheath still while the cable is pulled. Without it the whole cable moves around and you loose that firm ‘pull’. I can’t remember this car having this clip while I’ve had it tbh, but it’s got one now! It’s been cleaned up, painted silver and fits under the slam panel where nobody will ever see it to appreciate my fantastic paint job!

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Im almost done now, it’s just the door seals causing problems that’s slowing things down. I’m pretty certain you won’t be able to close the drivers door fully properly from inside the car the way it is now. Obviously that doesn’t help if you want to drive it! 
I need to bleed the brakes again too, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of air still in the system somewhere.

Im also installing lights and sockets to the garage next week. Shouldn’t be hard but takes time away from working on the car itself.

 

Edit: 

Heres the grill badge after the touch up with silver permanent marker! Brilliant idea that was captain 70’s!

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14 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

It’s incredibly hard to shut the door fully and you can hear the air being forced out of the gap in the rubber when you try,

What type of seal is it? This sounds stupid, but if it's capable of trapping air inside the seal itself (i.e. bubble seal or d-shape etc) then it'd be worth making sure it's got somewhere to vent to.

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18 minutes ago, Crackers said:

What type of seal is it? This sounds stupid, but if it's capable of trapping air inside the seal itself (i.e. bubble seal or d-shape etc) then it'd be worth making sure it's got somewhere to vent to.

This type: 

Door seal on left, boot on right.

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Some rubbers I’ve seen do have small holes in one side, presumably for that reason or maybe drainage if water gets inside but these have nothing at all. 
As you shut the door there’s a whoosh as all the air is forced out!

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24 minutes ago, Crackers said:

What type of seal is it? This sounds stupid, but if it's capable of trapping air inside the seal itself (i.e. bubble seal or d-shape etc) then it'd be worth making sure it's got somewhere to vent to.

Aye, mebe poke some holes, some seals have that from new. Vaseline softens up proper rubber, you can tell because the cloth you rub it in with turns black. Doesn't happen with some synthetics. 

If the tailgate doesn't close it may be because there is too much friction in the new rubber, try a bit of water on it to make it slippery.

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I’ll give it a try in the week. They are starting to squash to shape on their own but it just seems exceptionally difficult to close everything to me! It’s kind of annoying as it’s preventing the car going out on the road at the moment!!

Got to fit both the door top exterior chrome trims, and badges too.

Question for y’all…

On the badges they have pins which push through holes I’ll need to drill in the panels, then secure with little clips on the backs. I’ve been considering not doing this and instead cutting the pins off the badges and sticking them on with proper trim adhesive tape. Reason being that drilling holes usually promotes rust in the long term, whereas adhesive won’t do that. Obviously it would mean effectively damaging the old badges doing it that way.
What do you reckon?

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I’m leaning towards sticking the badges. As said, later cars had stuck badges anyway, and, yes, drilling all the holes perfectly in line in the exact right places without a template would be an awful job. Even worse if I screw it up!

Theres the FORD letters for the boot lid, ‘Capri’ badge which goes on top of the Roman numeral ‘II’ sticker and the old style ‘L’ badge. 
Then a pair of 1600 wing shields for the front wings. 
That’s a lot of holes to drill.

2 hours ago, SiC said:

gummi pflege is what you need to soften rubbers.

New door seals being too big is a common problem I've seen mentioned on many classic restoration. They get squished more and fit better with time. 

Interesting. Glad it’s not just me having the problem at least. 
I’ve just ordered some of that gummi pfledge stuff. Never heard of it before but sounds well worth a go.

Cheers chaps!

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I would be sticking badges on too!

I fitted all new seals after the Stellar respray, carefully matching up all the dimensions. Exactly the same problem, having to properly slam all the doors to get them to fully shut. For the driver's and front passenger doors I actually replaced the seals with one a tad smaller, to get easily closable doors. The other doors I've left (as they see little use) and the have got easier to close, although still more of a slam than I'd like. My main worry with the front passenger door was when giving anyone a lift - they would shut the door normally and get it partly latching. "You have to close it a bit more firmly" I would say, at which point they would slam it so hard I feared the glass would shatter!

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I’m afraid I’m going to rip the arm rest/door handle off the inside of the door when trying to close them from inside!😆 

Its ridiculous how much you have to slam them or force them to close. Breaking the window is the other worry.

Ill definitely stick the badges on I think. I’m glad you lot have said the same, confirms it for me! I think drilling holes is asking for trouble long term. Fingers crossed I don’t screw up the decal for the ‘II’ logo. Although I think I do have two, just in case.

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I think it’s just silver originally. I don’t know how they applied it at the factory but it’s not very hard wearing and just rubs off in time/weather. 
The trim on the windscreen rubbers and door cards is chrome effect, and that’s got that silvery coating under the plastic, but, again that falls apart and peels with age. 
Some of the dashboard trim and facia edges should have a silver lining though too, I think.

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  • 8 months later...

Had this out today to make a push for finishing it off.

It’s not run since late last year so I’ve charged the battery overnight, connected it up and went for a fire up. Took a couple of goes to pump fuel up but once the carb filled up it fired straight into life! Settled down to a nice idle and revved clean so no issues there. The starter has stopped hanging on too which is a bonus.

There really isn’t much to do now tbh. 
I’ve cleaned up and lubed the ignition barrel as that was stiff on the key, then refitted the plastic under dash tray trim making sure it’s clear of the pedals. Then fitted the indicator self cancelling ring, then bolted the steering wheel back on.

I spent ages last year trying to find the bolt holes for the sun visors and drinkers side roof grab handle, gently poking around with a piece of wire (the holes are under the headlining!) and couldn’t find them so I gave up! Found all of them straight away today. Go figure! 
So these are all now fitted too.

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Next job was to tighten up the steering column UJ in the power barn! 
Pinch bolts tightened, but the UJ itself was a bit stiff so I gave it a good dousing in penetrating oil and worked it free, then gave it a bit of thin spray grease. Seems ok now.

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Seatbelts were next. Centre stalks just bolt through the floor pan near the transmission tunnel. Poked a strong pick up from underneath through the carpet to find the hole then made a X slit with a Stanley knife, cleared the carpet fibres away from the holes and they bolted straight in. 
Then finished fitting the belts themselves, one big bolt into the B post and then another into the bottom of the inners sill. Bolts were a bastard to tighten up! Probably carpet fluff and the new paint clogging the threads. I should have run a tap down them first really…

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I’ve also re-glued the edges back to the back board on the tailgates tiny interior trim panel. It’s just a basic hardboard panel with black vinyl glued on but the edges were all lifting off. 
Loads of cleaning up and dusting off the interior bits too. Just little jobs.

I’ve sprayed clear cavity wax into the bonnet hinge areas too, up under the scuttle panel to prevent future corrosion issues.

So what’s left?

Fit clips/seals/chrome trims to door tops.     
Glue carpet down properly on captains side inner sill and fit sill top trim. (Need to turn car around to do this).   
fit small rubber draft seals to each door (2x each side).  
Fit tailgate lock seal and adjust striker.   
Check brakes are bled properly.  
Finish last few areas of cavity wax (front chassis leg box sections).
Get tracking sorted as it’s visually miles out!    
Wash the paint and hoover cabin out!

I think that’s about it tbh! I reckon I’ll be done tomorrow other than the tracking.

I think I’m going to get my local trusted garage to do the tracking but I’m going to get him to put it on the rollers and double check the brakes are good and also just get him to cast his eye over it underneath to make absolutely sure nothing has been missed. It’s been a major rebuild and over a fair bit of time too so things do get missed or forgotten about.

Its incredibly close!

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Quick question, 

Anyone know or remember if there’s supposed to be a trim/cover/cap or whatever on the seatbelt lower bolt?

The one into the inner sill. At the moment it’s a big silver head bolt which is fine, but being bright silver and into a black carpet it just strikes me as being a bit… unfinished! 
But I can’t for the life of me remember if there ever was anything over them the same colour as the carpet.

If not I might just paint the bolt heads black. It’s glaringly obvious to see them now but I can’t remember before!

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