Happy Christmas to all you Capri enthusiasts.
There won't be much activity on the Capri front for the next few weeks but I will continue to post my ramblings in the New Year.
Take care!
Wednesday 24 December 2014
Friday 19 December 2014
Capri - No Go & Fuel Pump
As I mentioned in my previous posting, my green XL would not start not matter what I tried. It was going fine when I parked it in the garage but I had not started it for nearly 2 weeks. I was sure it was an electrical problem so in the course of trying to sort things out, I put in a new set of points, tried a different coil & condenser, cleaned the plugs & still no go. There seemed to be a good spark at the dizzy & at the plugs but even despite pouring some fuel down the throat of the carbie, it still wouldn't start.
Time to consult Dr Google & my neighbourhood expert. Kevin, my good neighbour who knows everything about classic cars, came & we went trough all the possibilities. He felt that the problem was lack of fuel & by testing the flow of petrol from the inlet hose thought the fuel pump may be the problem.
I think that I replaced this pump when I first got this car but it didn't take long to take it off-just the two bolts.
I undid the 6 screws holding the pump together & found that all the parts seemed in good order with the diaphragm intact with no splits or problems. In fact, it was in pretty good condition. I did replace the O ring as the original one seemed a little stretched. Then I just screwed it back together & refitted the pump.
To ensure that there was sufficient fuel in the carbie, I attached a hose to the inlet & with a small funnel, poured in about a quarter of a cup of fuel. Then, I reattached all the fuel hoses to the pump, filter & carbie and crossed my fingers in the hope that it would start.
One quick turn & it fired up straight away & ran like a charm! What a lot of stuffing about!!
My advisor also suggested that the carbie float may have become stuck (due to little use over the last few weeks) & thus not allowing fuel to enter the carbie.
Whatever, it is back to normal & running well as it usually does.
It is all good fun - well sometimes!!
Time to consult Dr Google & my neighbourhood expert. Kevin, my good neighbour who knows everything about classic cars, came & we went trough all the possibilities. He felt that the problem was lack of fuel & by testing the flow of petrol from the inlet hose thought the fuel pump may be the problem.
I think that I replaced this pump when I first got this car but it didn't take long to take it off-just the two bolts.
I undid the 6 screws holding the pump together & found that all the parts seemed in good order with the diaphragm intact with no splits or problems. In fact, it was in pretty good condition. I did replace the O ring as the original one seemed a little stretched. Then I just screwed it back together & refitted the pump.
To ensure that there was sufficient fuel in the carbie, I attached a hose to the inlet & with a small funnel, poured in about a quarter of a cup of fuel. Then, I reattached all the fuel hoses to the pump, filter & carbie and crossed my fingers in the hope that it would start.
One quick turn & it fired up straight away & ran like a charm! What a lot of stuffing about!!
My advisor also suggested that the carbie float may have become stuck (due to little use over the last few weeks) & thus not allowing fuel to enter the carbie.
Whatever, it is back to normal & running well as it usually does.
It is all good fun - well sometimes!!
Tuesday 16 December 2014
Capri - Ignition Switch
After little activity over the last two weeks, I could not get my green 1600 Deluxe to fire up. More of that story in a future blog. In the process, the ignition switch became very loose so I thought I would clean it up and tighten the assembly. The photos show the switch and how it fits into the steering wheel console.
To get to this stage, just undo the LH bolt securing the steering wheel to the dash as the plastic lug holds the console in place. Loosen the RH nut a little as this gives a little more movement. There are two screws on the side of the console holding it together & they need to be removed.
Having it out, I thought I would clean it a little & put a few squirts of WD40 around the key & switching mechanism. So I could assemble it correctly, I marked the two sections with black marker pen as in the photo.
Little did I know that after a few squirts of the magic stuff, both marks rubbed off & I was then confused how it went back together correctly. The metal switch had numbers for the wiring but the plastic bit had nothing. Great! If this didn't go back together correctly, all hell would break loose in the wiring department.
I consulted all my manuals, parts books & nothing helped. I used the wiring diagram to list all the wires & their locations but not a lot of help. What next?
Having a second Capri can be very useful at times so I should be able to look at it & that will tell me easily. I undid the plastic bits & surprise, surprise!!. The switch was a completely different unit (RH photo). See the photos. So between 1970 & 1972, that was a change that was made.
Back to my initial problem - how does this go back together correctly?
Looking at both sections, I noticed there is a small ridge on both sections so I figured if this was aligned it would be correct. I looked carefully at the placement of all the prongs & connectors & it looked pretty right. In fact, when you look carefully & try the different positions, it will not align properly so really there is only one correct way. It is just that no one tells you this or prints it in any manuals (that I could find!).
After pushing it securely & reconnecting the battery leads, there was no smoke & everything worked OK, except the car still did not start. That is another story.
So the moral of this blog is - either mark better or take good pictures of how things go together & you will save heaps of time.
To get to this stage, just undo the LH bolt securing the steering wheel to the dash as the plastic lug holds the console in place. Loosen the RH nut a little as this gives a little more movement. There are two screws on the side of the console holding it together & they need to be removed.
Having it out, I thought I would clean it a little & put a few squirts of WD40 around the key & switching mechanism. So I could assemble it correctly, I marked the two sections with black marker pen as in the photo.
Little did I know that after a few squirts of the magic stuff, both marks rubbed off & I was then confused how it went back together correctly. The metal switch had numbers for the wiring but the plastic bit had nothing. Great! If this didn't go back together correctly, all hell would break loose in the wiring department.
I consulted all my manuals, parts books & nothing helped. I used the wiring diagram to list all the wires & their locations but not a lot of help. What next?
Having a second Capri can be very useful at times so I should be able to look at it & that will tell me easily. I undid the plastic bits & surprise, surprise!!. The switch was a completely different unit (RH photo). See the photos. So between 1970 & 1972, that was a change that was made.
Back to my initial problem - how does this go back together correctly?
Looking at both sections, I noticed there is a small ridge on both sections so I figured if this was aligned it would be correct. I looked carefully at the placement of all the prongs & connectors & it looked pretty right. In fact, when you look carefully & try the different positions, it will not align properly so really there is only one correct way. It is just that no one tells you this or prints it in any manuals (that I could find!).
After pushing it securely & reconnecting the battery leads, there was no smoke & everything worked OK, except the car still did not start. That is another story.
So the moral of this blog is - either mark better or take good pictures of how things go together & you will save heaps of time.
Tuesday 9 December 2014
Ford Capri - Clutch Cable
I have been meaning for some time to buy a spare clutch cable. These seem to break at the most inopportune time so having one in the car can sometimes be handy.
I recently purchased this NOS Quinton Hazell cable from the UK for $33.50 including postage, which I considered to be a pretty good price. It was delivered to my door in just over a week. Much cheaper than buying it locally and also illustrates the variety of NOS available in the UK.
I recently purchased this NOS Quinton Hazell cable from the UK for $33.50 including postage, which I considered to be a pretty good price. It was delivered to my door in just over a week. Much cheaper than buying it locally and also illustrates the variety of NOS available in the UK.
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