OT: Arne’s post-teener projects, Retirement project #7 - 1974 Capri V6 Options

[wonkipop]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif) Interesting. In the US they were sold as Mercurys.

ford did the same thing in the 90s when they sold the mercury capri convertible.
which had many flaws.
not least of being released against the mazda miata. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

that mercury capri was sourced from australia where it was designed and built using mazda 323 mechanicals!!!!! irony or ironies.
down here it was a ford capri.

likewise the mercury cougar of the late 90s was imported down here from the USA as a niche model and sold as a ford cougar!!!!

the mercury capri of the 90s was not a great car much as i would like to be patriotic.
although some of the very last of the line got a fair bit more sorted and are kind of half treasured and stashed away now. a car that is hardly seen anymore except in the junkyards.


a great uk/euro ford was the cortina.
stacks of them down here.
don't think you guys ever got the cortina?
in lotus gt form a red hot little car.
highly treasured. saw one this morning when out for my walk parked outside the workshop local to me.

[arne]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif) Interesting. In the US they were sold as Mercurys.

Ford was afraid that if the Capris were sitting on the Ford lot next to the Pintos, no one would buy a Pinto. So the Lincoln-Mercury dealers got them instead. The L-M dealers got all the cool Ford imports - Pantera (partially Ford), Capri and Merkur XR4ti (Ford Sierra).

[Chris H.]

Love the Capri. My Dad had one (early '70s). Can the bumpers be back dated? Assuming so but not familiar enough with them.

[rjames]

Another big fan of the Capri. Friend had one in high school. Engine sounded good and it felt fast (at least to me at the time). About 20 years ago I went looking to see if I could pick one up cheap. I hadn't realized how popular/rare they had become. I thought I could maybe find one for cheap. I was wrong.
There is one rotting away under a tarp around the corner, but it's too far gone.

[arne]

Love the Capri. My Dad had one (early '70s). Can the bumpers be back dated? Assuming so but not familiar enough with them.

Bumper backdate is definitely possible, if you can find them. Nice bumpers are harder to come by than the cars themselves here in the US.

[jd74914]

Very cool!

My dad had a few back in the day and I've always wanted one but around here they are pretty rare. Looking forward to seeing your progress as usual!

[Maltese Falcon]

@arne

ford capri = one of coolest cars from late 60s/early 70s.

the hot oz capris got the super-roo sticker same as the big falcon GTHO V8s.
same sticker i sent over to the @Maltese Falcon

have not seen one in the flesh out on the streets down here for a long long time. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
all hidden away in collections these days.
same sexy little rectangular headlights that the ford escorts had.
some great cars came out of ford UK / ford Europe.

Yup the SuperRoo...it rides today on my hauler PowerStroke 6.7 turbo diesel. Small World but in the '70-'80s when MSDS was located in Culver City, there was a retail & mail-order Import Speed shop on Washington Blvd. The owners Don and Bill were aka DOBI Co. Specializing in Datsun, Toyota + Capri.
We mfg several of their specialty products for over 2 decades. Don had a metallic blue Capri with an AK Miller turbo (Garrett) kit on it, with Fat tires on wide Centerlines...it was stolen + recovered at least once a year !!
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/marty914.jpg)

[arne]

Waiting on parts for the fuel and cooling systems, so I started on the wheel refresh. One down...

[arne]

Since that last post, I've finished de-smogging the engine, verified that it runs (yay!), refinished all the wheels and installed the new tires, done a complete brake overhaul (master cylinder, hoses and all), and started putting the dash back together at least far enough to be drivable.

More to come, of course.

[orthobiz]

I had a 73 V6 Capri in 75. It was blue, had the decor group with the rear molded seats and AC but no sunroof. My dad wanted me to get a brown Audi Fox automatic: all it did was shift in and out of second gear, what a dog! Got the manual Capri instead, they were 4 speeds, right?

I installed a switch that allowed the fans for the AC to work without the compressor, making the cabin way more comfortable on those in between days.

Rubbed the paint down to primer in the front learning how to use Blue Coral.

The shifter broke off in my hand on the way back to Stony Brook, NY after seeing Little Feat open for Procol Harum in Westchester, NY. Made it back last part of the way powershifting.

I appropriated a set of front seatbelt buckles from a wreck in my neighborhood. That was a 74 innovation, mine had limp short belts that sat on the floor.

Of course, the map light was the coolest feature of all! And the Pirellii CN36's weren't bad either.

Thanks for the memories!

Paul

[Chris H.]

I remember that tach...they printed the whole RPM number 1000 -2000- 3000 etc. lot of digits on that thing.

[mlmgm]

Love your projects and the Capri will be a nice one to watch. My first car was a '73 V6 four speed in 1974, great fun. Second car was a '70 914/6 in 1978 and I still have it.

[rhodyguy]

When I was stationed in Germany there were 4 Capris that raced around town. Flares, big tires and turbo V-6s.

[arne]

Engine tuning and refresh is mostly done. Much cleaning of oily gunk, valve adjustment, rebuilt carb. Lots of oily gunk. Someone's idea of dealing with leaky cork valve cover gaskets was to just keep tightening them down until they were paper thin. Who knows how many years they'd been leaking.

I decided not to mess with the ignition yet, as I knew it worked as is, and why introduce an additional change when messing with a fresh carb.

Runs much better, idles smoothly at around 800 rpm, revs cleanly. So I'll probably pull the distributor for cleaning, service and normal tune-up stuff soon.

This means I should be able to drive it to DMV for VIN check and papers soon.

[SirAndy]

When I was stationed in Germany there were 4 Capris that raced around town. Flares, big tires and turbo V-6s.

They were very common in the '70s in Germany, even in the back woods where i grew up.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[arne]

Can the bumpers be back dated? Assuming so but not familiar enough with them.

It turns out that backdating the rear bumper requires significant metal surgery to trim the impact bumper mounts and fill the holes (which are too low in the valance to be covered by the little chrome parts). I really don't want to hack up this totally rust-free shell, so I'll be refurbishing the original big bumpers instead.

[Chris H.]

Can the bumpers be back dated? Assuming so but not familiar enough with them.

It turns out that backdating the rear bumper requires significant metal surgery to trim the impact bumper mounts and fill the holes (which are too low in the valance to be covered by the little chrome parts). I really don't want to hack up this totally rust-free shell, so I'll be refurbishing the original big bumpers instead.

Yeah that does not sound at all worth the trouble. Definitely not as easy to back date as a 914 that's for sure! It'll look great as is once it's all cleaned up.

[arne]

Well, DMV trip still on hold. The car runs well with new carb and ignition tune up, until you work it hard. Under load (like steep uphill pulls in my neighborhood), it quickly stalls out. It felt to me like the float bowl ran dry. The car was equipped with a small electric fuel pump shortly before it was parked back in 2008 or so. Running that pump with the hose from the carb inlet pointing into a beaker delivered a sad trickle of fuel. I'm not sure if the pump is bad, or just not big enough—it claims to output at 2.0-3.5 psi and 28 gph. Specs I've found for V6 pumps seem to vary from 3.75 to 7.0 psi.

The original engine-driven pump was still mounted on the block. I think I'm going to revert to that style rather than another electric. So still not drivable yet. I'll spend some of the time waiting for a new pump refinishing the air cleaner.

[arne]

Still waiting on the fuel pump, so I clean and refurb other stuff to pass the time.

[arne]

Fuel pump arrived a couple days ago, and works well. The car is a little fussy when cold, but runs well once warmed up. Nice, smooth idle at 600-700 rpm. Pulls cleanly, shifts well. Final prep for the trip to DMV for papers is pretty well complete. Last bit is the wipers, since rain is predicted all week. I dislike modern black plastic wiper blades on vintage cars like these, so I was happy to find a pair of period-correct silver Anco Aero wiper blades in the car when I bought it. I refinished the arms and blades in matte silver. The proper vintage-style refills won't be here for a bit yet, but if they don't arrive before I need to drive to DMV I found I can rob the blades from my '96 Tacoma—they fit just fine.