ford capri Any Ford Capri fans?

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Spent a year two being ferried around in this 1.6L when I was young, think that's me leaning forwards from the back seat:

The John Powell photos I purchased had a few:

 

 

I think this was a 1975 model. Same colour as yours @danthecapriman?

3.0 Ghia, apparently with a turbo. Seen in 1984, last taxed in 1999.

That blue mk2 does look like Miami blue, yes. 
It’s an earlier mk2 as it still has the wing shield badges rather than plain text badges so 74 or early 75.

Whats the deal with the Q reg mk1 that looks like a US spec car?? Looks an interesting one.

[Spottedlaurel]

28 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Whats the deal with the Q reg mk1 that looks like a US spec car?? Looks an interesting one.

 

From my Flickr description in 2020:

 

An odd one here. DVLA have it as being first registered here in 1989, and lasting until just 1993.

As Mr Powell's caption says, it's obviously US specification and with the big Federal bumpers possibly a 1973 model? The wiper pattern is LHD, but to me it looks as if the steering wheel is on the right - perhaps it was converted, or is it just a trick of the light? Difficult to be sure with the black interior.

Photo taken at Awre, Gloucestershire on 16th September 1991.

[danthecapriman]

11 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

 

From my Flickr description in 2020:

 

An odd one here. DVLA have it as being first registered here in 1989, and lasting until just 1993.

As Mr Powell's caption says, it's obviously US specification and with the big Federal bumpers possibly a 1973 model? The wiper pattern is LHD, but to me it looks as if the steering wheel is on the right - perhaps it was converted, or is it just a trick of the light? Difficult to be sure with the black interior.

Photo taken at Awre, Gloucestershire on 16th September 1991.

Very odd. Being first registered in 89 seems strange too, importing such an old car that by that time would have been almost worthless. 
I did actually wonder if it was a RHD car/conversion looking at the photo!

[Rightnider]

It definitely looks like there isn’t a steering wheel on the left. But I agree, it seems pointless to import and convert an American Capri to the UK in 89.
 

Why then not do anything about the LHD-wipers, since they went to such lengths anyway? They could have fixed the rust around the windscreen at the same time, as well as the inevitable rust in the A-posts. 😜

[danthecapriman]

Just looked it up on DVLA, which has it down as a 2.0. Last V5 issued in Jan 94. 
Unlikely it’s still squirrelled away somewhere.

Theres definitely a period charm to it in @Spottedlaurel photo! Just that right amount of wear and tear and little extras! Is that a CB aerial on the back wing? 
Id love a US spec mk1 too! Different!

I wonder if it originally came from Tennessee? Definitely a better climate than the UK but still prone to rusty cars and wet weather.

[quicksilver]

19 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Very odd. Being first registered in 89 seems strange too, importing such an old car that by that time would have been almost worthless. 
I did actually wonder if it was a RHD car/conversion looking at the photo!

Almost certainly a US forces import. Not worth it commercially but it likely came over in a USAF transport plane on Uncle Sam's dime. I'm sure I've seen other Yank stuff on Q-FDD (Gloucestershire) plates and that's where Mr Powell saw it so I'd put money on RAF Fairford being its origin.

[danthecapriman]

55 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Almost certainly a US forces import. Not worth it commercially but it likely came over in a USAF transport plane on Uncle Sam's dime. I'm sure I've seen other Yank stuff on Q-FDD (Gloucestershire) plates and that's where Mr Powell saw it so I'd put money on RAF Fairford being its origin.

That would definitely make sense. 
I’ve heard of that happening with US service personnel. Apparently the US government did very good prices on vehicles and then shipped them for their military personnel. There’s lots (or were lots!) over on mainland Europe too near the various bases over there. Lots of them in the Netherlands for example… many now utterly rotten and finding their way to the Emmen banger track!

[New POD]

11 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

That would definitely make sense. 
I’ve heard of that happening with US service personnel. Apparently the US government did very good prices on vehicles and then shipped them for their military personnel. There’s lots (or were lots!) over on mainland Europe too near the various bases over there. Lots of them in the Netherlands for example… many now utterly rotten and finding their way to the Emmen banger track!

On thier first tour of Duty, my sister and her American husband brought a Mazda 656 Estate ?  with them and on the second tour a Ford Taurus Station Wagon. 

I think they took them back too. 

 

[robt100]

Oh, go on then...




Got this Capri as my first car back in 2007, couldn't drive yet but saw prices going up so got one quick. When I say going up, the year before one was for sale for £200, and had a complete 2nd Capri thrown in as a spares car for free! This one was a rather high £750....Could've got a 280 for about £1k but decided that was "too much" (more fool me!). Used as a daily for the first 5 years, then became a weekend car, went from 2 litre carb to injection with unleaded head. Then when it was just a sunny days car, a 24v V6 Cosworth conversion with a custom ECU etc, half leather seats, LSD, and uprated front brakes. Sadly the choice of restorer was a bad one, the guy had a habit of starting jobs then getting distracted, and charging the earth at the same time. Came back about 4 years later still without the engine running (!!). Got that working, then covid hit and it sat in a damp council garage for 2 years, wasn't using it, could see it wanting to rot out again, so sold it whilst (I thought) I wouldn't miss it much. 

Got messed about by Mathewsons for about 5 months to the point where the market had that nasty dip in 2023. So sold for about half what it was worth, then the guy wrote it off within 12months. If you can't tell, I regret selling it! Very tempted by a nice 2.0S on the Capripower forum, but im somewhat lacking any money😭

[danthecapriman]

19 minutes ago, robt100 said:

Oh, go on then...




Got this Capri as my first car back in 2007, couldn't drive yet but saw prices going up so got one quick. When I say going up, the year before one was for sale for £200, and had a complete 2nd Capri thrown in as a spares car for free! This one was a rather high £750....Could've got a 280 for about £1k but decided that was "too much" (more fool me!). Used as a daily for the first 5 years, then became a weekend car, went from 2 litre carb to injection with unleaded head. Then when it was just a sunny days car, a 24v V6 Cosworth conversion with a custom ECU etc, half leather seats, LSD, and uprated front brakes. Sadly the choice of restorer was a bad one, the guy had a habit of starting jobs then getting distracted, and charging the earth at the same time. Came back about 4 years later still without the engine running (!!). Got that working, then covid hit and it sat in a damp council garage for 2 years, wasn't using it, could see it wanting to rot out again, so sold it whilst (I thought) I wouldn't miss it much. 

Got messed about by Mathewsons for about 5 months to the point where the market had that nasty dip in 2023. So sold for about half what it was worth, then the guy wrote it off within 12months. If you can't tell, I regret selling it! Very tempted by a nice 2.0S on the Capripower forum, but im somewhat lacking any money😭

Liked for the car being so nice, not all the bad stuff👍

What a shame it was written off.

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, New POD said:

On thier first tour of Duty, my sister and her American husband brought a Mazda 656 Estate ?  with them and on the second tour a Ford Taurus Station Wagon. 

I think they took them back too. 

 

When I was at school there was an American girl in the year above me. She and her family were here with the Navy and they brought their car over with them. 
It was a 70’s Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagon! I used to love that car and saw it regularly around the area. Last time I saw it, it was absolutely hanging though. Probably didn’t last much longer.

[quicksilver]

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

When I was at school there was an American girl in the year above me. She and her family were here with the Navy and they brought their car over with them. 
It was a 70’s Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagon! I used to love that car and saw it regularly around the area. Last time I saw it, it was absolutely hanging though. Probably didn’t last much longer.

And that Yank land yacht didn't influence your current choice of car at all, just like that Capri didn't influence you either

 

[comfortablynumb]

Mates sister had a Porsche 924 from upper Heyford, LHD, he was pulled over one night for travelling a bit rapidly in it, plod gave his girlfriend a bollocking for about 30 seconds before he leaned over and said " shouldn't you be talking to me?" And pointed at the steering wheel 🤣

[Spottedlaurel]

Nice period footage here of short oval Super Rods, back when they were pretty much a Capri only formula (there was the odd Rover SD1 or BMW, and later on I believe it became a V6-engined Sierra formula).

 

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Nice period footage here of short oval Super Rods, back when they were pretty much a Capri only formula (there was the odd Rover SD1 or BMW, and later on I believe it became a V6-engined Sierra formula).

 

A few mk2’s in the pack there. At their oldest they’d have been 6 years old by the time of that video! 
I suppose the cars aren’t like bangers where it’s usually a one time use of it so maybe a little more expense could be spared.