You shouldn't meet your heroes...

[fordperv]

As a kid I wanted a Capri. Badly! I absolutely loved them.

 

Almost the minute I left school I spotted a fucked mk2 for sale. I rang the number, emptied my savings account and bought it.

 

Anyone who says don’t meet your heroes is a cunt and doesn’t know wtf they either want or are talking about!

I’ve still got that car now. I still love that car now. Other cars came and went and that car is still here. I’ve just spent a fucking fortune restoring it to as new condition.

It’s tried my patience. A lot. But I still love Capris more than ever and nothing else comes close.

 

 

Que, someone will likely be along shortly slagging them off...

I remember the first time a capri was on my radar, I was around 7 or 8 years old helping my dad work on motors and we were working on a black mk3 2.0s, a mate of his offered it him cheap because the cam was doing the usual pinto thing but my dad had a then nearly new injection head he aquired to put on, the car itself though looked the part, I remember standing looking at it from all angles admiring its silhouette, looking through the windscreen down the bonnet at the bonnet bulge, I was in love, after that he built a lovely red x pack with an overbored 3.0 essex that he built that thing was a smoke machine when it came to the back tyres, I was going to have one when i was 17 but the insurance wouldn't play ball even though they insured me on much faster machines, I got a decent laser in 2008 but I crashed it.

 

For me this is what capris are about

 

[Stanky]

Most of my vehicles have been uninspiring dross, but about 10 years ago I got given an award at work which came with a Jonathan Palmer racing day. I got to drive an impressive selection of fast cars that day.

 

The worst one was a 997 Porsche 911, done up to track spec. It felt lardy, and with 98% of the weight behind the rear wheels. I spun it twice. Massive let down. The engine note wasn't special, the handling numb, and didn't feel fast even on a track with an instructor egging me on. 1/13.7 would not drive again.

 

The car I looked forward to most was a 1400cc 'Clubman' spec Caterham which exceeded all my hightened expectations. If I win even a moderate amount of money I am having one of these, or a Dax, or Robin Hood or something similar. They are so much fun.

 

The biggest suprise was how much fun I had in a 2nd Gen Jaguar XKR which, despite being huge and heavy was an absolute joy to drive fast. Not as good as the Caterham, but close.

 

The 911 was utter shit though, I really don't get why people rave about them.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Now, the Lotus 7 is a car I absolutely hated on track. Just felt unsafe.

[Hertz]

I can remember when I was a kid yearning for an XR3i, some years ago a mate asked for a bit of help on his Mk4 XR3i. We went for a celebratory drive in it, all I can remember was how bloody slow it was, at the time I had a 2.0 Mondeo, it wouldn't have seen the arse end of the Mondeo for miles. It was awful. I just thought imagine spending proper money and ending up with this. We were just doing up a banger, stuffing the arches with filler... my handiwork...

 

What is your experience with meeting something you thought was the bomb?

 

Ditto. I bought a Mk4 XR3i in about 1995, it was shite and rotten already after 8 years (god knows how any have survived now). It was really slow too, not a patch on my n/a 1.6 Peugeot 309. Never owned a Ford again after that until I had a company Mondeo brand new in 2011. That was a lovely car.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

911.

Ive only ever driven two, the first a 1985 3.0 left hooker that felt like a fast Skoda to me, the same weird light steering and sort of bobbing sensation from the front end, some rubbery gear change too.

Fast forward 20 years and I drove a customers 2005 4S cabriolet, one of the last 996s, it was also an auto, so probably the worse spec 911 ever. Again it was quick, but this time just like a fast BMW or Audi, nothing special at all.

I'd love to try a properly sporty 911 from any generation , something like a 2.7 RS or GT2/3, but worry even they might dissapoint, in contrast I've driven a few 924s and 944s even a 928 and loved them, maybe because my expectations weren't as high.

 

 

 

The best Porsches really were front engined and water cooled. A good 944 Turbo is immense and equally, a good 928S is lovely. I had one 20-30 years ago.

[carlo]

One thing I've learnt is that a car can be a good specimen or a bad one.  I've had six different 405 automatics, three have driven beautifully, two not so good and one felt like an old carthorse; I imagine it had been abused or damaged at one point.  Anyone driving that for the first time would have thought 405s were utter shit.

 

Biggest disappointment possibly was a 1990 Camry V6.  I'd had two 2.0 Camrys and thought the V6 would be nicer, it wasn't.

[Captain Furious]

If I’m honest all the old cars I’ve bought have been disappointing in some way or another. My Mk2 Granada was my hero car because of all the fond memories from childhood. But really it’s not that great to drive, it’s slow, woolly handling, keeping up with modern traffic can be a chore.

 

Dynamically, modern cars are just better. Old cars have a certain charm and nostalgia but they will always be beaten by new ones in terms of living with them every day.

[Vince70]

For me it was the 105e anglia.

I bought a lovely little low mileage 1200 super a few years ago and spent a fortune restoring it and it really looked amazing and I loved the styling and the 60s retro interior.

 

But when it came to driving it I wasn’t that impressed but then it was completely standard so had drums all round and had a pre cross flow lump and had a standard box so you would be lucky to break the speed limit and 0 to 60 could be counted by the start and finish of a song on the radio.

 

I had a couple of minis years ago and in comparison they felt light years ahead of the old ford equivalent.

 

I know maybe I should of gone through the ford parts bin and uprated it and it didn’t help going from an 80s Vauxhall Astra GTE (which being 80s Vauxhall was fantastic) so maybe I’m being a bit unfair.

[sierraman]

Now, the Lotus 7 is a car I absolutely hated on track. Just felt unsafe.

Have you noticed its even shaped like a coffin.

[rml2345]

The Austin Maestro. Granted the example I drove wasn't the best (gear linkage held together with cable ties) but it was bloody awful in just about every respect. Really wanted to love it as the underdog but it was really just a dog.

Other than that I haven't been disappointed really. The one time I met my absolute hero was courtesy of Peter and his Rover P6 2000TC and it was absolutely fucking ace to drive.

[MarvinsMom]

 

The 911 was utter shit though, I really don't get why people rave about them.

 

well whotch expect? its only a fuckin' beetle afteralll....(runs and hides

[MarvinsMom]

i've not yet revisited any of the cars i loved as a kid.

 

save mini's. and they have been pretty much as i remeber them.

 

slow, noisey, bumpy ride and a funny driving position, now ok, that bit is "new" cos as a kid i remember bouncing about unrestrained on the back seat (how on earth am i still alive?? oh those poor nuns and kittens.....) so i guess i've been able to get along with them cos i knew what to expect? hence the various short commings of a mini havn't come as a shock.

 

which cars from my miss-spent youth do i remember fondly? mark 1 sierra XR4i, the 3 door one with a 2.8 cologne up front. i span it out on Majuba Road. been young and an idiot, i thought changing down into 3rd and hoofing it wound be a good idea at the junction of Lobser Road. there was a squeel, and i was pointing the way i'd just come from oops!

 

others i remeber well was a 405 SR (or was it an SRi?) in white. sporty seats, comfortable to sit in and that too went like a stabbed rat, another was the MG Monty, again i liked it alot, both in how it looked and how it drover, and finally the mark 2 golf gti. the only one i ever drove was a 16v, and that was quick too. though i prefered the XR4, the Pug and the MG over the golf in that order.

 

a friend who was a bit older than me had a mark 2 escrot ghia as his first car. 1600 with a webber carb, in navy blue with the reddest velour interior i think i've ever seen. he thrashed that old thing all over the district, until it got part ex'd againt a Saxo VT-sommat. which i regarded as shit compared to the escort. 

 

i'd love a mark 2 now, but i won't, OSF scene tax coupled with mark 2's been stupid money have put an end to that.

 

thing is, any of those cars above are not quick at all now. all of them would get their arses handed to them by some aldi diesel thing at a traffic light drag race, but i still would have any of them over a bloody rented aldi! at a previous employer had a load of vag-shits finest* turds as pool cars.various piss-hats, a goof and some aldi things. now accroding to the water-cooler bores these were the finest vehicles know to man, me? i hated every single one of them at an atomic level. horrid to look at, horrid to sit in, and horrid to drive. as far as i'm concerned they were all overrated garbage. 

[RobT]

One thing I've learnt is that a car can be a good specimen or a bad one.  I've had six different 405 automatics, three have driven beautifully, two not so good and one felt like an old carthorse; I imagine it had been abused or damaged at one point.  Anyone driving that for the first time would have thought 405s were utter shit.

 

Was my old 405 one of the latter ones? Must admit I wasn't that impressed with the steering or handling, despite their reputation. Steering was too heavy and laboured for me, but it did have 190,000 miles.

 

I bet you'll now say it drove beautifully, which shows how much I know...

 

Not exactly a hero, but I owned a Mk2 Golf GTi 16v back in 2002-03. Oak green big bumper three door so it looked good, but was a lemon. I spent 2k on upkeep in one year it and it just kept going wrong, and left me stranded twice. I was living back home with my parents at the time, so had some disposable. What a waste but things you do isn't it.

[dollywobbler]

I drove a Nobel M12 GTO on a track and absolutely loved it. Phenomenal. 

 

I drove a Honda NSX on the road and ended up hating pretty much every moment of it. I think sports cars are not really to be driven on roads. That said, every time I've driven a TVR, I've found myself giggling like a schoolgirl, so maybe it just depends on the car...

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Was my old 405 one of the latter ones? Must admit I wasn't that impressed with the steering or handling, despite their reputation. Steering was too heavy and laboured for me, but it did have 190,000 miles.

I bet you'll now say it drove beautifully, which shows how much I know...

Not exactly a hero, but I owned a Mk2 Golf GTi 16v back in 2002-03. Oak green big bumper three door so it looked good, but was a lemon. I spent 2k on upkeep in one year it and it just kept going wrong, and left me stranded twice. I was living back home with my parents at the time, so had some disposable. What a waste but things you do isn't it.

Forgot the Mk2 GTi, in about 1992 I had the chance to swap my Cavalier SRi company car for a 12 month old GTi, 5 door in that lovely dark green. I took it for a weekend and found it slow, noisy and old fashioned, first thing on Monday I grabbed the Cavalier back- maybe I was just old before my time.

[rantingYoof]

I had a Saab 9000 with a naturally aspirated engine and loved all of it except for its lack of shove. The appearance, build quality, generally tank-like feel of the bodywork, the quirky interior, all of it just made me feel happy.

 

So I was rather surprised at how disappointed I was with the 9-3 Aero, which fixed the 'lack of shove' issue rather well but at the expense of nearly everything else. I reckon I'd have been happier with the appearance of the car had it not been in resale silver (the black ones look particularly evil), but the build quality, flimsy feel of the bodywork and surprisingly poverty-spec cost-cut interior put such a bad taste in my mouth that within three months the novelty of doing 30-70 in around five seconds had completely evaporated (funny that).

 

The S60, therefore, represents a good balance between all of the factors above, and is probably why I've owned it nearly two and a half years, making it the longest-owned car I've ever had.

[bezzabsa]

Vectra two litre.........about as exciting as a hand job from abul hal wasssis name (hook hands)

 

no power...so wooden and wooly.. wife had a 1600 that felt way better, and quicker

[Bradders59]

Early Mark 1 Capris looked best. The later ones looked overbodied IMO. This is a bizarre early US spec 2000 from around 1970 - not sure of it has the Pinto or the V4 or, being German built, the 2000 V6. Pretty car though and they handled and drove very well for the era.

 

Most surprisingly good car? Renault Laguna II. The handling was very good, the ride superb, fantastic seats and just an agreeable vehicle.

 

Citroen Hydropneumatic was okay but could be caught out by bumps that a Renault 20 for example would just sail over. It was a clever idea but a technical dead end.

 

That looks exactly the same as the MK1 Capri I owned. I thought it was an awful car to be honest. Just a Cortina with a long bonnet and no room in the rear.

I bought it off a neighbour because I had just sold my Chevette HS and needed a car in a hurry.

 

 

Edit. Strangely, the pic in the original post I was referring to hasn't appeared in the new post. 

[Bradders59]

Had an MGB briefly. an awful contraption, with no redeeming features. Had a drive in a TR6, looked like a barge and handled even worse. Not very quick either.

Drove a Mk2 Golf GTi many times at work and was very underwhelmed by it. Similar story with a Saab 93 turbo convertible.

I owned a 205 GTi 1.6 for a while, about 10 years ago. It reinforced my belief that fwd and performance cars are a bad idea, and that I was too old for noisy little hot hatches.

Big, powerful, comfy, rwd cruisers are my thing now. I'm hoping the replacement for my Omega, when the time comes, will be a CL500.

[MorrisItalSLX]

Holden Torana. I had a go in my mate's one that had all the right mods to it but it was just woeful, fully tuned 202 straight 6 with decent suspention, steering etc. but handled like a dog and was severely lacking in the grunt department. 

 

V8 Holden HQ Monaro on the other hand, that was a beast. 

[Zantimisfit]

Had a Citroen DS5 for a bit not long after they came out.

 

I didn't want a blingy badgy German thing, and had good experience of Citroens previously.  I sooooo wanted to convince myself it was brilliant and an inspired left field choice. But it was handicapped by the design team neglecting to include 'suspension'. presumably either a cost saving measure or an unfortunate oversight. Every tiny change in road surface was met with a crash and sharp jolt up the spine. It was the worst riding 'normal' car I have experienced by a long way

 

Heart said 'good choice', head said 'sadly not....this is a pile of shit' 

 

Then it was killed by a large truck so that was that. 

[Bren]

I bought an SD1 Vitesse for £800. As rotten as a week old jalfrezi. Fuel pump packed up. Starter packed up. Wiring was of a standard normally found in a kabul hotel. High compression V8 replaced with low compression lump out of a range rover.

 

In true autoshite fashion I spent a fortune on it then sold it for spares.

[Frogchod]

The SD1 I had a go in disappointed me, I think it was because I was expecting a low reving grunty V8. Instead it was reving it's tits off at 70*mph.

Sounded nice bimbleing through town though.

Capris where ok with two weeks worth of dog food in the boot, fecking lethal/fun when empty though.

Cortina Mk3's. Lovely to look at, disaster to drive. Maybe a good one would be ok ? The ones I drove were 200 quid snotters in the early eighties.

I remember when my company got it's first Sierra, we all queued up to have a go in this modern marvel and all of us came back wondering what all the fuss was about. No discernible advance from the Cortina.

[Junkman]

One thing I've learnt is that a car can be a good specimen or a bad one.

 

 

If I’m honest all the old cars I’ve bought have been disappointing in some way or another. My Mk2 Granada was my hero car because of all the fond memories from childhood. But really it’s not that great to drive, it’s slow, woolly handling, keeping up with modern traffic can be a chore.

 

Carlo is on the spot here.

 

After 17 MKII Facelift Granadas I can say that some of them are lame wallowing dogs,

some are true race cars and they come in each and every flavour in between.

[danthecapriman]

Carlo is on the spot here.

 

After 17 MKII Facelift Granadas I can say that some of them are lame wallowing dogs,

some are true race cars and they come in each and every flavour in between.

Must admit, that blue estate I had then you and Skizzer had/have, I had no complaints. It looked rough but I loved driving it. It was easily quick enough and drove perfectly well.

Much of it I suspect is down to previous use and ownership. Babying them and total lack of use or a good hooning now and again probably does things no good at all.

[carlo]

Was my old 405 one of the latter ones? Must admit I wasn't that impressed with the steering or handling, despite their reputation. Steering was too heavy and laboured for me, but it did have 190,000 miles.

 

I bet you'll now say it drove beautifully, which shows how much I know...

 

Not exactly a hero, but I owned a Mk2 Golf GTi 16v back in 2002-03. Oak green big bumper three door so it looked good, but was a lemon. I spent 2k on upkeep in one year it and it just kept going wrong, and left me stranded twice. I was living back home with my parents at the time, so had some disposable. What a waste but things you do isn't it.

 

No, your one was one of the better ones, despite having done 190,000 miles!

[carlo]

Had a Citroen DS5 for a bit not long after they came out.

 

I didn't want a blingy badgy German thing, and had good experience of Citroens previously.  I sooooo wanted to convince myself it was brilliant and an inspired left field choice. But it was handicapped by the design team neglecting to include 'suspension'. presumably either a cost saving measure or an unfortunate oversight. Every tiny change in road surface was met with a crash and sharp jolt up the spine. It was the worst riding 'normal' car I have experienced by a long way

 

Heart said 'good choice', head said 'sadly not....this is a pile of shit' 

 

Then it was killed by a large truck so that was that. 

 

I remember when these came out the road testers were laughing as the ride was so awful, this from a manufacture of some of the best suspensions from the last 50 years.  And they had the nerve to call it a 'DS' too.

[Tamworthbay]

The SD1 I had a go in disappointed me, I think it was because I was expecting a low reving grunty V8. Instead it was reving it's tits off at 70*mph.Sounded nice bimbleing through town though.Capris where ok with two weeks worth of dog food in the boot, fecking lethal/fun when empty though.Cortina Mk3's. Lovely to look at, disaster to drive. Maybe a good one would be ok ? The ones I drove were 200 quid snotters in the early eighties.I remember when my company got it's first Sierra, we all queued up to have a go in this modern marvel and all of us came back wondering what all the fuss was about. No discernible advance from the Cortina.

The styling was revolutionary but underneath was cortina/ Capri/ Granada, typical Ford trick and it worked again for them.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

i've not yet revisited any of the cars i loved as a kid.

 

save mini's. and they have been pretty much as i remeber them.

 

slow, noisey, bumpy ride and a funny driving position, 

 

 

Yeah but even so, for city driving what's better than a Mini 1000? A seventies one on drums, centre speedo, rod change gearbox - absolutely ideal.

[Frogchod]

The styling was revolutionary but underneath was cortina/ Capri/ Granada, typical Ford trick and it worked again for them.

The styling was revolutionary for Ford. Other manufactures had been doing aerodynamic cars for yonks and had managed to make them look good

It's not all bad, that particular Sierra was written off after being rear ended by a Sherpa. Sherpa drove home (without lights).

Sierra was replaced with a rubber band Volvo 343. I liked that