Also in the same edition on p 201, a nice looking white 1971 Capri XL is listed for sale at $17,000. Interesting!
Thursday 29 January 2015
Capri - Unique Cars Story
There is an interesting story in the latest Unique Cars magazine (Jan 2015,p36) about a very original Capri. The family has owned it since 1971 and it still looks great. The fact that they drove it across the Nullarbor when much of it was a dirt road & with three kids in the back, deserves an award. Thank goodness it appears from the photos that the weather was cool as in the summer, the back seat would have been like a sauna.
Tuesday 27 January 2015
Capri - Bonnet Striker Pin
The night before the Australia Day Rally, I was attempting to adjust the bonnet striker pin on my white XL as the bonnet was difficult to open & not quite sitting correctly. I had the car all ready to go and is often the case, these last minute adjustments don't always go to plan.
I had incorrectly assumed that the nut holding the striker pin, which is located within the cavities of the front of the bonnet, was fixed or held in place as is often the case. Therefore on undoing the pin completely, the nut fell into the dark spaces of the bonnet.
I tried for about an hour with all kinds of wire hooks, telescopic magnets, torches, long pliers but couldn't even locate the nut. How often does this happen? Too often for me!! That's when I conceded defeat and drove the green car to the rally the next day as I have seen a few examples of when Capri bonnets fly back over the windscreen.
Today I solved the problem in about 20 minutes using a great little Kincrome telescopic magnet & light.($11 at Bunnings.) This was narrow enough to fit into the cavity with a very strong side magnet. I have a similar but larger device but it was too wide to manoeuvre in the cavity. With the smaller one, it took about 2 minutes to find the nut & pull it out. Then I attached the nut to the magnet as shown in the picture and inserted it carefully back inside the bonnet. There is a ridge not far in that makes things a bit difficult. I aligned it with the hole & used a small screwdriver to straighten it up & by luck or good fortune the striker pin went in and screwed on.
With one adjustment, the bonnet now opens properly and sits correctly. Good activity for testing patience and one which I will try and avoid in the future. I love old cars!!!
I had incorrectly assumed that the nut holding the striker pin, which is located within the cavities of the front of the bonnet, was fixed or held in place as is often the case. Therefore on undoing the pin completely, the nut fell into the dark spaces of the bonnet.
I tried for about an hour with all kinds of wire hooks, telescopic magnets, torches, long pliers but couldn't even locate the nut. How often does this happen? Too often for me!! That's when I conceded defeat and drove the green car to the rally the next day as I have seen a few examples of when Capri bonnets fly back over the windscreen.
Today I solved the problem in about 20 minutes using a great little Kincrome telescopic magnet & light.($11 at Bunnings.) This was narrow enough to fit into the cavity with a very strong side magnet. I have a similar but larger device but it was too wide to manoeuvre in the cavity. With the smaller one, it took about 2 minutes to find the nut & pull it out. Then I attached the nut to the magnet as shown in the picture and inserted it carefully back inside the bonnet. There is a ridge not far in that makes things a bit difficult. I aligned it with the hole & used a small screwdriver to straighten it up & by luck or good fortune the striker pin went in and screwed on.
With one adjustment, the bonnet now opens properly and sits correctly. Good activity for testing patience and one which I will try and avoid in the future. I love old cars!!!
Monday 26 January 2015
Capri - 2015 Australia Day Rally, Redlands
For quite a few years now I have celebrated Australia Day by attending the rally at Redlands. The club really goes to a lot of trouble in providing breakfast, lots of prizes and four runs that you can participate in. It is a really popular event and the school oval was packed with cars of all kinds. There were two Capris, my green one and another white V6 GT. There is only one minus about this event - that is the weather. It is usually hot but today it was really hot & humid so by the time I arrived home, I was rather damp. How did we ever survive without air conditioning?
Here are some photos of the cars there - mainly Fords with a few other interesting ones thrown in as well. (Click to enlarge the photo).
Here are some photos of the cars there - mainly Fords with a few other interesting ones thrown in as well. (Click to enlarge the photo).
Wednesday 21 January 2015
Capri - Burton Power Catalogue 2015
I received the Burton 2015 catalogue today and as usual it is packed with pages (163) of parts and information.
If you are into small Fords then this is a must.
There are many useful bits of information relating to all the different cars & engines. I found the Tech Talk on ignition coils on p89 very helpful.
This is the link to their website:
Sunday 11 January 2015
Capri - Kick Down Cable Adjustment
For several months I have experienced difficulty in changing down from second to first gear in the Borg Warner 35 auto gearbox in the white XL. All other shifts are smooth & shift up & down OK. I have tried adjustments but the same problem existed from 2 to 1 unless the car was virtually stopped.
I had another try on the weekend & went quite radical on the length of the kick down cable, adjusting it to almost the end of the adjustment thread. A short drive around my streets resulted in the gearbox kicking down from 2 to 1 which was a big improvement so I will be more convinced if it still is doing this on a longer run.
I also fixed a small leak in the sump plug of my green deluxe after the recent oil change. I wrote in a previous post how this plug has always caused a problem. I though that I might have to drain the sump & refit the plug. However, I was in luck using my pink plastic plumber's tape. I loosened the plug as much as possible without having a major oil spill & then wrapped several layers of tape around the exposed thread. Then I retightened the plug and to my delight, there was no more leaking. Good stuff that plumber's tape!
I had another try on the weekend & went quite radical on the length of the kick down cable, adjusting it to almost the end of the adjustment thread. A short drive around my streets resulted in the gearbox kicking down from 2 to 1 which was a big improvement so I will be more convinced if it still is doing this on a longer run.
I also fixed a small leak in the sump plug of my green deluxe after the recent oil change. I wrote in a previous post how this plug has always caused a problem. I though that I might have to drain the sump & refit the plug. However, I was in luck using my pink plastic plumber's tape. I loosened the plug as much as possible without having a major oil spill & then wrapped several layers of tape around the exposed thread. Then I retightened the plug and to my delight, there was no more leaking. Good stuff that plumber's tape!
Sunday 4 January 2015
Capri - Headlight Replacement
Those that follow this blog might remember my attempt to replace the front headlights with a pair I bought online & subsequently did not fit. (Refer to my bog on 15 Jan 2014). Over the past months I have collected several replacements from club members so it was time to try again.
As you can see in the picture, the original LHS light is very corroded with all the silver backing coming away. It is the non-sealed Lucas type with the parking light located under the main globe, as indicated in the picture.
I first tried another Lucas sealed beam but it was stuffed so of not much help.
I had another strange brand sealed beam which did work but only had the small clear hole under the main connections for the parking light.
The only alternative, until I can get a better replacement is to attach the parking light just over the clear hole so that it will shine through. I used Selleys Knead It to do this. It is a very handy epoxy putty which is capable of holding the globe unit in place while it sets. I have attempted to show this in the pictures. This seems to be the only solution until I can find a light surround that is the same as my original.
As you can see in the picture, the original LHS light is very corroded with all the silver backing coming away. It is the non-sealed Lucas type with the parking light located under the main globe, as indicated in the picture.
I first tried another Lucas sealed beam but it was stuffed so of not much help.
I had another strange brand sealed beam which did work but only had the small clear hole under the main connections for the parking light.
The only alternative, until I can get a better replacement is to attach the parking light just over the clear hole so that it will shine through. I used Selleys Knead It to do this. It is a very handy epoxy putty which is capable of holding the globe unit in place while it sets. I have attempted to show this in the pictures. This seems to be the only solution until I can find a light surround that is the same as my original.
Capri - Oil Change
If you own a classic car, there is always something to do or to improve.
My first job for 2015 was to change the oil in both cars as it was long overdue even though they do very few miles.
I decided not to change filters this time as they are relatively new and it often takes me ages to fix the oil leaks that result especially from the green 1970 model that has the older style oil filter attachment.
I also have learnt not to overfill these engines as it results in huge plumes of blue smoke coming out the other end.
I have calculated the following conversion rates and with these amounts of oil they line up with the marks on the dipsticks pretty well.
Oil change with filters - 4 litres (7.2 pints)
Oil filter - .375 litres (.66 pints) so change without filter - 3.6 litres
Manual gearbox - 1.1 litres
Automatic gearbox - 6.4 litres
The only problem after doing the change to both cars is the sump plug on the green car tends to have a small leak. I hope I can fix this without having to redrain the oil. This plug has caused me grief in the past as the thread is just so so & I really don't want to strip it. I used Valvoline XLD which was on sale last month at Autobarn.
My first job for 2015 was to change the oil in both cars as it was long overdue even though they do very few miles.
I decided not to change filters this time as they are relatively new and it often takes me ages to fix the oil leaks that result especially from the green 1970 model that has the older style oil filter attachment.
I also have learnt not to overfill these engines as it results in huge plumes of blue smoke coming out the other end.
I have calculated the following conversion rates and with these amounts of oil they line up with the marks on the dipsticks pretty well.
Oil change with filters - 4 litres (7.2 pints)
Oil filter - .375 litres (.66 pints) so change without filter - 3.6 litres
Manual gearbox - 1.1 litres
Automatic gearbox - 6.4 litres
The only problem after doing the change to both cars is the sump plug on the green car tends to have a small leak. I hope I can fix this without having to redrain the oil. This plug has caused me grief in the past as the thread is just so so & I really don't want to strip it. I used Valvoline XLD which was on sale last month at Autobarn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)