N19's fleet - very slow Capri progress

[N19]

I've given it a clean up, thanks! I had a previous encounter through being stubborn and not fetching the right tool - undoing the rear gas struts a few years ago, trying to do it without the right size screwdriver, it slipped and I ended up with a nasty gash on my forehead. I told myself to listen to the oft-repeated guidance in the handbook to use the correct tool for the job!

(Maybe this is a plotline for Casualty. Grumpy bloke restoring old car in lockup garage injures self. I'll take commission if anyone from BBC Bristol is watching!)

[N19]

Petrol tank arrived, the ancillaries (sender, pipes etc) needed transferring across - I fitted new pipes etc.

As far as I can tell the bottom one is a breather which simply rests on the top, and the 'across' one is presumably something to reduce sloshing around?!

Re-fitting was a challenge, as I was lying underneath it trying to get the filler neck in. A little cursing and swearing later and it's in.

The fuel sender was a pain to extract and reinstate. The best method I ended up using was an oil filter ratchet, gently, to grip and twist.

New tank straps fitted, but they don't come with foam padding, so I'm going to order some up. For that reason I left everything on slightly loose until I can get some on there. May as well do the job properly.

 

It doesn't half look nice and shiny (pic features additional clutter from a job in progress).

Filled up with a gallon of super and the engine is running happily with seemingly no leaks. Phew! I'll chuck a couple more in to check that the sender/gauge is doing its job properly.

 

[N19]

Foam strip arrived and fitted:

 

The back of the speedo had a repair a few years ago - one of the connectors was iffy and I previously soldered some foil to make contact. Maybe need to upgrade - pie tin foil?!

 

 

Mondeo had a wash and a speed-wax this afternoon, which seldom happens.

[N19]

Little progress in these parts. Fuel tank was fine, everything nice and tight and running well, gauge works - chucked a couple of gallons of 4* in (at great expense) and it registered (even showing empty on the tank, before taking the old one off, I drained about 2 gallons out).

The old tank itself is still kicking around, I offered it for free online, it's got surface rust but it is intact and perfectly servicable.

Paint wise, I've contacted a couple of other painters that I've had recommended, and one is coming to have a look at the car next week. Hopefully, that will mean some progress!

I'd no idea it'd be quite this long (but I suppose that's the nature of a project like this) and feel a bit silly given that others can work miracles in half the time.

I popped down today for a bit of a tidy up, and to have a looksee at some shiny parts ready for refitting, as some form of motivation. And to figure out the fixing holes for the side rubbing trim which is supposedly a complete cow to get back on! The longer runs have studs along the middle and some sort of clip should be inside for them to locate on. Hmm!

Opportunistic (or magpie-like) as ever, I found an old coat hook board and re-used it as a fan belt storage unit...

Meanwhile, the Mondeo had a further tart up with a couple of coats on the front bumper.

[N19]

A disconcerting clunk occurred earlier when parking the Focus - reversing and I pulled the handbrake on without being at a full stop. Don't do that! Driving home, luckily not far, gave a selection of clunky noises from the nsr wheel. This was the remnants of the friction material which was floating around inside the drum. Fiddlesticks!

For the Capri, spoke to one paint shop in Kent who could do the job, but not until the new year, hoping to meet another guy I've been recommended this week.

[Noel Tidybeard]

re the fuel tank

is the other nubbin on the left a return for a injected car?

is the right side one a breather?

[N19]

I think so - on mine it's just looped through but some models (possibly also 2.0 pinto) did have a return, and yes that's a breather.

[uk_senator]

On 09/10/2023 at 20:46, N19 said:

I popped down today for a bit of a tidy up, and to have a looksee at some shiny parts ready for refitting, as some form of motivation. And to figure out the fixing holes for the side rubbing trim which is supposedly a complete cow to get back on! The longer runs have studs along the middle and some sort of clip should be inside for them to locate on. Hmm!

 

I haven't touched a 70`s era Ford for years, but IIRC, the rubbing strips were largely double sided on around that time, with locating studs/nut on each end on the doors & quarters? They shouldn't be too much of an issue to re-fit after paint (assuming none of the studs ripped off during disassembly), although I`d use rubber washers on both sides of the studs to seal the holes & reduce the risk of rust in future.. I`d fully expect to drop at least 1 nut into the sill on reassembly, so have a magnet on a string ready...

[uk_senator]

A couple of other things I just thought of, I`d recommend spraying waxoyl or similar on the foam you put on the tank straps (on the tank side), again, to reduce the chance of rust in the future, & I don't know what your bodywork guys done about the inside of his repairs, but I`d also recommend injecting primer then paint into the sills/pillars/rear arches etc now the weldings been done, if it hasn't been done already, using a waxoyl type injection setup, ideally with POR15 coating if you can afford it, or normal etch primer followed by a thick coat of whatever single stage celly the local paint factors have mixed wrongly & is trying to get rid of.. (I use L.E. Went in Cricklewood for single stage paint, & they usually have quite a few tins of mis-mixes or uncollected orders going for cheap). Tape up the drain holes before doing this, to make sure the excess paint fills the lower seam, then remove the tape after half an hour to allow the excess paint to flow out & give a nice, smooth route out for water, Wipe off the excess paint  round the drain holes after, then give the drain holes themselves a couple of coats of primer to reduce the risk of reaction with the outer coat when that goes on.. Proper rustproofing can them commence properly a week or 2 after its received its paint.

[N19]

I've been quiet for quite a bit, a combination of weather, work, and illness.

The wait for paint drags on, I've been pointed towards somebody who has said he can take the car at the end of Jan. We shall see.

After a while discussing engine out vs engine in, I decided it should come out so the bay can be painted too. May as well.

Started by removing the bonnet - a 2 man job, which I managed alone, although I think if it was a finished car with glass in I'd have wanted a second person.

Oil and coolant drained, rad out and all hoses, fuel line off, vacuum, choke and throttle off, battery out, carburettor off...

Lots of random photos taken along the way as reference points of linkages etc, hoses marked up with chinograph pencil.

 

Rest of the fleet - Focus is plodding along quite happily, albeit it is slow on the take-off - whether this is a clutch issue or something I'm not sure, but may need to check and adjust. Mondeo is fine, I did a coolant change and had an air lock I think as we had intermittent heat output and at one point wildly varying temperature gauge - ran the engine parked uphill with the cap off and topped up a bit, seems better now.

[N19]

Being entirely new to removing engines, and somewhat of a worrier, I'm half convinced that I'm making a massive cockup and it'll never in a million years go back together. But then credit myself with a little confidence that it's all a case of following instructions and being methodical, and even if I do somehow cock it up, I'll learn in putting it right.

Pep talk over, I went through the list from the HBOL...

 

I thought I'd be a smartarse and mark up the propshaft lining up with a chinograph pencil, luckily realised just before taking it off that the grease and so on down here won't guarantee it surviving. I ground a little nick to be sure of having some reference when putting it back together.

The nuts were a bugger to undo with limited ground clearance and a bit of play in the shaft! A spare extension bar was used to stop it rotating, which allowed the nuts to be cracked. A little tugging later and the propshaft slid off.

Also, there's something satisfying about looking at shiny new parts, even if you know that within a few miles it'll be mucky! 

Next job, try to separate the bits of exhaust which really aren't for coming apart... (or, give up, take the angle grinder to the bottom of the manifold, and treat myself to the new manifold as the current one is a bit rusty...)

[danthecapriman]

Nice work so far. It’s a Capri with a Pinto… there’s not much you can get wrong!😆

Worst of it when disassembling is all the grime and crud on everything. Obviously that won’t be such an issue when putting it all back. 
Just take plenty of pics of it all before you do everything.

[N19]

Very true and there are a number of options (ranging from scratching head and reading the manual and re-doing stuff myself, to phone a friend, to paying someone to do a job properly) if I do.

My phone is progressively fuller of photos of the car in various states of disassembly i the same way that 'normal' folk have repetitive pictures of kids or pets... 😂 wiring looms labelled up etc.

The engine itself shouldn't need any work doing to it as it is in good fettle and runs fine, other than an exterior clean up and degrease perhaps. I will do new service items (points/plugs) when it's finished but don't want to do unnecessary jobs while it's out, find there's an issue with it, and have to trace lots of different variables!

[danthecapriman]

6 minutes ago, N19 said:

Very true and there are a number of options (ranging from scratching head and reading the manual and re-doing stuff myself, to phone a friend, to paying someone to do a job properly) if I do.

My phone is progressively fuller of photos of the car in various states of disassembly i the same way that 'normal' folk have repetitive pictures of kids or pets... 😂 wiring looms labelled up etc.

The engine itself shouldn't need any work doing to it as it is in good fettle and runs fine, other than an exterior clean up and degrease perhaps. I will do new service items (points/plugs) when it's finished but don't want to do unnecessary jobs while it's out, find there's an issue with it, and have to trace lots of different variables!

I remember a lot of this from when I was doing mine. I wish I’d made more labels and taken more pics though. It’s surprising how much you forget once things get around to rebuilding time.

On the engine, that’s similar to what I did on mine. Just a bloody good clean and refresh on some gaskets etc. I would recommend you change the rear crank seal regardless though. You can bet it’ll start leaking shortly after if you don’t! I put a new clutch and release bearing on mine too. Easier while the engines out…

[N19]

I was thinking about the clutch, but it was replaced 5 years / 14k miles ago, so I don't think it'd be worth it? Good shout on the rear crank seal!

 

[danthecapriman]

6 minutes ago, N19 said:

I was thinking about the clutch, but it was replaced 5 years / 14k miles ago, so I don't think it'd be worth it? Good shout on the rear crank seal!

 

Your clutch is almost certainly fine if that’s all it’s done, maybe just check the bearing is ok and reuse it? Mine still had plenty of meat left on it but it was a Ford branded original part so probably the car’s original clutch. I replaced it and the bearing just to be safe.

The rear crank seal on mine was also a Ford part and very very old. The new one I replaced it with had some extra rubber barbs on the outside face so I think the design must have been upgraded over the original’s. Mine didn’t leak but it was very hard and I think it wouldn’t have taken long to start leaking if I hadn’t changed it.

Check the sump gasket too. It’s far far easier to change out of the car while the cross member isn’t in the way.

[N19]

Engine came out with very little hassle in the end-

Bloody heavy things, a pinto with a gearbox attached. Nicely stowed in the garage for now.

leaving a bereft looking engine bay

Featuring, pile of washing powder over where the gearbox pissed everywhere (just when I thought it was empty!).

Next jobs, removal of o/s wing mirror, clean and degrease the engine bay, remove the brake lines (bar the one to the back - that's a bugger and can stay) and servo/master cylinder.

[N19]

It's been bastard cold during January and I've been busy and tired, so progress limited.

The Capri turned 44 today! 4 years ago I celebrated the historic status being achieved. I celebrated with a picture on the top of The Spires, complete with a pound shop decoration.

At the time, I had the front seats out and with an upholstorer who did a really really good job with them. I still have the passenger seat, which I picked up from someone in Thetford, it's actually in the car now as I'd worry about damaging the nice originals with so much work ongoing!

End of Jan 2020. How little we knew about how the world was about to go slightly mad.... I still have the banner somewhere. If I keep it for another 6 years, it'll be valid for me!

Back to today.

I did get the brake lines out, including the rear one. It was quite a bugger to release, and I ended up cutting through it so I could get a socket on the rear cylinder. A new full car set is only £55, with all the pipes cut and bent to size. I may also spray them green, which was the original colour.

The hydraulic system was then drained, master cylinder removed, pulled most of the electrical and bauden cables from the front of the car together and secured it. Then got to work on a bit of the surface rust on the engine bay, in a location that would usually be an utter bastard to get to.

Hoping to go away in a couple of weeks and come back for easter.

I changed the coolant on the Mondeo a while ago, and I think I managed to introduce an air lock. The heater varies wildly, as does the indicated temperature and coolant level. I had to pull off the A1 today at South Mymms to top up the expansion tank. Back home, and in the dark, I took off the highest hose in the system (on the rhs of the expansion tank here, next to the water-bottle-funnel) and ran the engine until water started spitting out. See if that behaves any. A little easier solving them on the Capri, massage the big hoses and keep the rad cap off!

The Mondeo also needs 2 new tyres soonish (down to about 3mm). Various long trips in the next few months including Scotland three times, Norwich and Brizzle. 

[N19]

Slow progress. Reattaching the bonnet is supposed to be a 2 man job, and if the car weren't going for paint soon, I'd definitely have got a second pair of hands doing it!

It's not perfectly aligned by any stretch of the imagination, but as it'll likely have to come off to be sprayed, I'll sort that out further down the line.

With the engine out the car sits nice and noticeably higher at the front!

Meanwhile the wiring loom, bauden cables and so on that go under the bonnet have been wrapped up, hopefully to avoid any damage. Always a little wary with 44 year old wiring, I did worry if it'd cause any issues, but I suppose it's worse if it just floats around under there and invariably gets snagged or whatnot when being moved.

 

Mondeo airlock seems better - did a reasonable bit of driving today and temp gauge sitting reasonably with no wild variation, although the heater was on and off.

[N19]

I'm due to do a lot of mileage in the Mondeo in the next few months, so I want to make sure that it's going to be ok. Done a few long motorway trips and the temperature gauge doesn't budge, although the heater is on and off, but not as dramatically as it was before (going cold for 10 seconds, before staying toasty warm for the rest of the time). I've been told collection of the Capri for paint in the next 2 weeks.

[N19]

Not a terribly exciting update, but then again, I don't promise to be terribly exciting! Driving around late last night in the Focus, I noticed a 'hot' smell, and slower acceleration than usual. Worried it might be the clutch, I did the tried and tested clutch-strength-test which it passed (stalling the car in 5th from a standstill). When I got home I had a feel around and the heat coming from the NSF wheel was something to behold.

Investigation began at lunchtime with suitable consumables to hand.

Seized caliper, it will release with a pry bar, but then when applied it's not releasing again. I took the slider pins out and greased them up to high heaven, but no dice. Sadly the only motorfactors open today near me didn't have one on the shelf, so I'll pick one up from the local place in a couple of days and fit it.

[N19]

Every so often, as I've been clambering around a Capri in the throes of dismantling, repair and rebuild, over the last 18 months, with yet more being added to the list and no end in sight.... every so often I think to myself, "why am I doing this/ I should have left it as it was!". Then I scroll back to the pictures to remind me of the problems it had hiding below the surface.

 

  

On 09/05/2022 at 06:36, N19 said:

The Capri got a wash, which also allowed me an opportunity to get some pictures of the worst bits. I'm hopeful that it'll go into the local garage in October for the winter. Depressing to look at and probably will be expensive, but can't be put off...

 

 

[N19]

Fuck a duck 

The Mondeo has been having a few moments of late, coolant wise. I thought I'd managed to bleed the system again properly, there were a few moments without hot air through the heater but broadly speaking everything was fine. Bowling up the A1 on a test trip, prior to a 400-mile journey next week, and the needle flops into the red. More scarily, presumably the overflow was making it difficult for the alternator to catch up, as everything electrical became that little bit dimmer and slower. Predictably this happened just after a turning, carried on at 50 to the next junction. It's vomited out the expansion cap... Just waiting for things to cool down and see what's going on. 

[N19]

I let the car cool, then filled up with water, ran around locally, then headed for home (I was in WGC at the time) - similar thing happened about a mile north of South Mimms. 

As I'm planning on taking it a long distance soon, I am pondering throwing it at the garage and letting somebody with the time, facilities and brains look at it rather than running myself ragged during a busy week.

[sierraman]

8 hours ago, N19 said:

I let the car cool, then filled up with water, ran around locally, then headed for home (I was in WGC at the time) - similar thing happened about a mile north of South Mimms. 

As I'm planning on taking it a long distance soon, I am pondering throwing it at the garage and letting somebody with the time, facilities and brains look at it rather than running myself ragged during a busy week.

Before you do that, try vacuum filling it, sounds like an air lock to me. 

[danthecapriman]

15 hours ago, N19 said:

Every so often, as I've been clambering around a Capri in the throes of dismantling, repair and rebuild, over the last 18 months, with yet more being added to the list and no end in sight.... every so often I think to myself, "why am I doing this/ I should have left it as it was!". Then I scroll back to the pictures to remind me of the problems it had hiding below the surface.

 

  

 

Been there my friend!😄

It’s better to do it though than let them deteriorate further. It’d just get to the point where it becomes a complete wreck and you’d have to either get rid or spend mega money on major repairs.

Its worth it in the end!

[N19]

5 hours ago, sierraman said:

Before you do that, try vacuum filling it, sounds like an air lock to me. 

I'm fairly sure that's what it is - it began about a month after I changed the coolant. As the garage is at the end of my street and can look at it tomorrow and won't take the pee with costs (but will take the pee if i've overlooked something!). Hadn't looked into vacuum filling, but the cost of the kit to do so is likely more than any labour charge?

 

2 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Been there my friend!😄

It’s better to do it though than let them deteriorate further. It’d just get to the point where it becomes a complete wreck and you’d have to either get rid or spend mega money on major repairs.

Its worth it in the end!

Yeah, it just has moments of frustration when you trip over a stored exhaust manifold and go "why the hell did I do this, the car went perfectly fine beforehand, I could have been out driving it today" etc etc but, of course, you're right. It'll go together and there'll be the satisfaction of having done lots of it myself.

[N19]

On 25/02/2024 at 18:12, N19 said:

Not a terribly exciting update, but then again, I don't promise to be terribly exciting! Driving around late last night in the Focus, I noticed a 'hot' smell, and slower acceleration than usual. Worried it might be the clutch, I did the tried and tested clutch-strength-test which it passed (stalling the car in 5th from a standstill). When I got home I had a feel around and the heat coming from the NSF wheel was something to behold.

Investigation began at lunchtime with suitable consumables to hand.

Seized caliper, it will release with a pry bar, but then when applied it's not releasing again. I took the slider pins out and greased them up to high heaven, but no dice. Sadly the only motorfactors open today near me didn't have one on the shelf, so I'll pick one up from the local place in a couple of days and fit it.

Caliper replaced with a new one, £39+vat from the factors, no exchange required. Slide pin thread screwed, which is sub-optimal, new ones on order. Nice when things feel a little less crap!

[N19]

1295 miles completed in the last week.

Left London at 6.30am on Monday. Notice the shininess of the Focus, compared to later pictures...

 

Stopped at Ferrybridge where there are shiny new electric milkfloat chargers available.... powered by, err, a big diesel generator?! How does that one work?!

 

Anyway, pressed on to Newcastle, stopped for fuel and saw a 2CV.

A couple of days later and I found myself going up the Cairn o'Mount with beautiful* weather...

comparison - here's a picture taken with the Capri just behind where I was in the pic above - just without the fog

oh and I suppose I should complete the set with when the Bluebird (I miss that car) did the same journey years ago

 

The atrocious visibility was confined to just the higher bits of ground, fortunately. Some very nice roads up there. The Focus behaved impeccably, it's more capable on long journeys than I had thought, although it's definitely not as comfortable as the Mondeo with motorway cruising.

 

More miles covered and eventually we were back home.

... in dire need of a wash, but that can wait.

[N19]

Mondeo news is not good.

Garage vacuum filled, took it on a trip up the motorway to have a look, overheat o'clock again.

Combustion gases in the coolant and water out the back, yes, OMGHGF.

 

Options - engine swap, head skim, or scrappie.

 

It's a 23 year old Mondeo with 186000 on the clock. I've had it for 4 years / 26000 of those miles. It's not ULEZ compliant so is restricted to out-of-London journeys with a few local trips thrown in. I like the car, it's behaved well over the years, very good long distance, cosmetically tired but otherwise was always fine. Estate incredibly useful for moving stuff around and saved me quite a bit on van hire over the years. Towbar come in handy a couple of times.

Anywhere else than AS it'd be a no brainer...

So do I...

(A) chuck another Zetec in it, having (A1) bought something off Ebay, or (A2) paid £££ for a brand new unit

(B) get the garage to repair the existing engine

(C) write it off as a goner, strip anything I possibly can for spares, and scrap it, with possibilities (C1) buy something newer, bigger, and ULEZ compliant, (C2) buy something older and non-ULEZ because it takes that 'slot' in the fleet and because why not.

 

I'm really not sure what's for best at the moment in all honesty! Have I got any chance of finding a car in the sub-£1k category that will do what it did, in today's market... equally, would I throw £££ at it on an old car.

Decisions decisions.

Thoughts and bad encouragement welcome.

@sierraman  I almost know what you'll say, but you're the resident expert.