Mk1 Ford Capri: recapturing the dreams of my youth

Long day on the Capri today.

First, got the brakes flushed and bled.   The remote reservoir is mounted on the right side of the dash, and was kind of a PITA.

In that position, it's very difficult to see the fluid level through the opaque plastic, and the only way to look down into the reservoir is from outside the windshield.  At least there was enough room to pour brake fluid in the top.  I ended up using an LED light to try to backlight the reservoir to see the fluid level.  PITA, but it worked.  

Next up was replacing the leaking oil supply line, which at least was pretty easy to remove.

I used a Koul Tools AN hose assembly tool, and it made life pretty easy.

Once that was replaced, I filled the new oil filter with oil and got it installed.  I'll fill the dry sump tank when I'm ready to start the car.

Next project was the front wheel alignment.  I mentioned in a previous post that the car had an extreme amount of toe out (over an inch).

When I looked at the tie rod adjusters, I discovered they were already as short as they could go.

Even though threads are visible on the inner, it was bottomed out in the adjuster.  I pulled the adjusters and outer links, and shortened them slightly to allow more adjustment.

The other thing I noticed was that the steering rack was not centered when the hub splines were welded on.  I was able to move the wheel one tooth, and it's better, but it's still got slightly more lock to the right than to the left.  Once I had the rack as centered as I could get it, I put the car back on the ground and roughly aligned the wheels.  I need to get the measuring tape out and make some more precise adjustments, but it's already much better than it was.

Over the last few days I finished changing the oil in the Capri, and getting a rough alignment.  I dropped the suspension all the way around while doing the brake work, and have made a couple of rough adjustments.  I need to take some final measurements. I also cut off the 'mud flaps' the PO had integrated into the flares, and took some material off the flares in the wheel arches for clearance in the rear.  Brake pads are bedded, and while braking feel is much better, it's still not great**.

Here's a couple of pics at the new ride height...

I do have some rubbing in the front at full lock, which I think is due to the PO not removing any of the original fender at the front of the wheel arch.  

** I think my Miatas have spoiled me.  My NA track car is so good that it makes this thing feel like a bucket of bolts, and I think that's a little unfair to the Capri.  There are still some issues to correct... the pedal assembly is installed too low, so your foot presses on the pedal arm more than the pad.  I need to raise the brackets to fix that.  Once the pedal assembly is raised, I can raise the steering column so the wheel isn't in my lap.  A real alignment is needed.  The gearing is very very long with the 3.30 rear end...  1st gear is good for 40mph and 2nd for over 75mph.   But, it feels like it's making great power... it loves to rev.  It looks fantastic.  It's just going to take a while to dial everything in on the driving dynamics.

Looking good! Hopefully dialing it in isn't too much of a chore

Front clearance...  here's a couple of shots with the wheels turned right to the point of contact:

Left (front of wheel arch)

Right (rear of wheel arch)

Things are reversed when wheels are turned to left. 

My take is that the factory sheet metal was not removed from the lower part of the wheel arch, and as a result, the flares were installed ~ 1/2" too far forward, reducing the rear clearance.  Front clearance is reduced by the piece that ties into the airdam/splitter in the front, which is bolted onto the flare.

Shouldn't be too difficult to fix.

Your car is indeed gorgeous!  
 

runbing tires is always an irritation at the least and I'm glad it doesn't look like too much work to correct

Rodan,

You may already have these photos, but if not here are some photos of your Capri with the previous paint work. They are posted on The Vintage Racing League

In reply to Umanisti :

Thank you for posting those!

I didn't have any of them, and they are all helpful to understand the chronology of modifications on the car, and I can see from these why a few things were done the way they were.

Added for posterity (and in case I forget to write it down) those pictures were posted in January 2008.  That coincides with the last entry in the logbook I have.

What's the backspacing on the front wheels? It looks like you're running a bit of a spacer on the hub, is that about 1/2"? How much do you think the wheels would stick out of stock wheel arches?

I was planning on running 225/50x15 all round on mine but now wondering if I could squeeze the 245s under a small (RS3100) style flare.

Front wheels are 15x9 ET0.   IIRC, front spacers are ~25mm... It's more spacer than I would like, but necessary to clear the struts with any kind of wheel width.  Tire clearance to strut is ~5mm with the current setup.

It would easily be ~2-3" past the stock fender... 

Thanks,  I might have to stick with a 225 then

Finally finished (for the moment) fiddling with carbs, so today I put the airbox back together.  This is a fiddly process that takes most of an hour.  It requires removing the velocity stacks, putting the baseplate and airbox body in position, then getting the velocity stacks back in place.  Then the nuts that hold the stacks and airbox baseplate can be put back on and tightened down.  Next the screws that hold the airbox body to the baseplate go back in, followed by the top plate and those screws.  My hands look like I've been trying to give a cat a bath...

Also gave it a bit of a cleanup for C&C in the morning.

Apparently I need to learn to read a calendar... the C&C I meant to attend this morning was last Saturday...

Well, at least I snapped a couple pics of the Capri somewhere other than my driveway.

Looks great!

Any chance you could measure the height of the rocker panels from the ground front and rear? I'm trying to work out ride height on mine so I can modify the arches but I don't have an engine in it yet.

Thanks for posting those interior shots. I have a few Longacre gauge panels and switch plates for the Fiat 600, but haven't installed them yet, nice to have a rough idea of how they'll look.

This car is so rad, really enjoying following along. I also can relate to the "bucket of bolts" feeling in my older cars vs. anything more modern. However, recently driving some originals from the 70's has made me appreciate the "sorted bolt bucket" feeling vs. "coming apart" feeling I get from the originals.

Not much going on with the Capri, as the Miata has a K swap underway.  It is the Capri's turn to go to C&C this weekend, so I got it cleaned up, and added some roundels.

We're moving, and I relocated the Capri to it's new home.  It will have a little more elbow room in the 40x40 detached shop... 

One lucky b*stard! No, just kidding, good for you. New member here just shouting.

I have original factory workshop manual, micro films for MK I and II, and parts list (whole car) for MK II -in case you need original parts number or info about available options.

I can send those as needed. I am not going to digitalize whole material -yet, anyway.

Keep posting Capri pictures!

In reply to Tosa :

Thanks for posting, and welcome to the forum!

We're still working on the move, so nothing is getting done to the cars right now.  The shop is filling up...

Just read through this entire thread. Good stuff. I just closed a deal on a '74 V6, totally desert sun-baked, but very original and amazingly rust-free. My build will be mostly stock - I can't bear to just throw out all the originality.

In reply to Serial_car_restorer :

Interesting project   which V6 did you 'Mericans get in the hockey stick Capris?

RichardNZ said:

In reply to Serial_car_restorer :

Interesting project   which V6 did you 'Mericans get in the hockey stick Capris?

2600 Cologne through '73 model year, 2800 Cologne for the '74 year like mine.

For a Capri that's pretty much spotless.  Nice basis for a project / resto.