Australia Day 2017

It is about time I published something on this blog & so my first post for the New Year of 2017 is on Australia Day.
For the last few years I have attended the Australia Day rally held at Ormiston. one of the bayside suburbs to the east of Brisbane. It is always a well organised event with a free BBQ breakfast, raffles & 4 rally runs that conclude at the same venue for lunch.
There are always a huge variety of vehicles in attendance including commercial vehicles & this year the count was over 500. The cars come in all shapes & sizes from all the countries of the world & from very new to very old. The photos are just a random selection of all the different makes.
My Capri was the only one this year & I nearly didn't get there due to some brake issues that occurred just close to the venue. My trip home was carefully planned so as to use the brakes as little as possible (the left front disc was binding up) & I arrived home without any dramas. I always find driving the car at this time of the year results in one arriving sweating profusely even though the day was not exceptionally hot. Maybe I just really miss my air-conditioned comfort.
Here are some photos (Click to enlarge):

Ford Capri - Fitting Gauges (2)

The next to discuss is the voltmeter. Originally I had an ammeter to fit but after researching the best way to fit it, I decided against fitting it due to safety concerns. Many classic cars owners expressed concern about the risk of fire as the ammeter is wired in series to live wires under the dash. If there is a problem with the wires or the gauge, then it could get a little exciting. Instead I went for the safer voltmeter which is wired in parallel to a switched wire. In other words, a wire that is only live after the ignition has been turned on. Installing the gauge on the bracket is easy but finding a suitable wiring point under the dash is the key. I consulted the wiring diagram in the manual & then, using my lighted circuit tester found several wires under the dash near the ash tray. One is permanently live & may have been connected to the clock, if fitted. I then located a double connector where the radio was wired into one & the other side was free. Again, testing this plug with the ignition turned on indicated this would be suitable. Here are some photos.


The rather complex looking wiring section shows the voltmeter wired in via the green positive wire & the black earth wire. This section then plugs into the connector under the dash as per the left photo.
Wiring in the lights then proved another challenge as three gauges had the red wires but only one, the voltmeter had a negative. Also, the Capri lights can be turned on without the ignition so again finding the best place was interesting. The earthing of the lights & the voltmeter could go to the same good earth point. This is how the panel looked when attached with all the wires exposed.



Now to add another variable was the tachometer. The first problem was were to place it. The obvious place was some where to the right of the dash pod but there are no real places to firmly attach it without drilling holes. I then tried some double sided tape but the gauge fell off after about 20 minutes. Next was some stronger Velcro tape. That seemed much more promising so I then went ahead with the wiring. The tachometer has 4 wires: red for power, green to the negative side of the coil, black for an earth & white for lights. I joined the power in wire to the same junction as for the voltmeter & radio, the green went through the firewall to the coil, the earth was also joined with the same wires from the other gauges & bolted to the dash frame, the light wire went with the other lights to a junction under the dash that linked to the car lights which are quite independent of the ignition. Here are some pics.

Unfortunately, the Velcro tape wasn't strong enough & the tachometer fell on the floor after a short road test. For the moment I have just attached it on the RHS parcel tray area until I find a better solution. I have also tried to make the other gauges look a bit better with some tape and a thin board insert underneath. A bit more to do until I am really finished.
With the first turn of the ignition, I was quite apprehensive & was hoping that no sparks & smoke would appear but after double checking all the wiring, the car started & all the gauges were operating as one would expect.
Was it all worth it? Maybe, so we shall see.

Ford Capri - Fitting Gauges (1)

Several years ago I bought a collection of gauges to fit to my green Capri. Being a Deluxe model, it only has a temperature & fuel gauge as standard equipment whereas my white XL has the full complement of gauges (tachometer, fuel, temp, oil pressure & voltage). I have started this project several times but each time I gave it away as being too difficult. The main problem was how to fit the gauges without damaging the original sections of the dash and, secondly, not making them too obvious. The additional gauges I wanted to fit were a tachometer, vacuum gauge, oil pressure gauge & an ammeter. I have always liked vacuum gauges but unfortunately I could not obtain a genuine Smiths old school type in reasonable condition & at a reasonable price. I did find a suitable alternative.
After a bit of thought & experimentation, I put together a small metal bracket that would sit under the dash & bolt onto the brackets under the dash. This was attached to a 3 gauge mounting bracket. Here is what it looks like.



Let me discuss connecting each gauge with the easiest first, the vacuum gauge. The mounting bracket for this gauge was a different style to the others & did not fit so I had to improvise with some Selley's metal putty. In the picture, you can see it moulded around the gauge (the one on the left) as it is pressed into the bracket. Then it was very easy to attach the plastic tube to the gauge. The tube was then run through the firewall to the brake booster which had a spare outlet. This was a very similar size to the tubing so, with a little plastic adapter, it fitted really easily. Here are a few photos.



Next was the oil pressure gauge in the middle of the three. This required the small plastic hose to be fitted tightly to the back of the gauge & the hose run through the firewall to the oil pressure location on the RH side of the engine block. As I wanted to keep the oil pressure light, I had to source a suitable brass fitting so as to attach the light module as well as the tube from the gauge. After a visit to my local Autobarn, one was located very quickly & matched the engine thread (I think about 3/8) & it all screwed together quite easily. Here are some photos. I will explain all the wiring later.

Ford Capri - Weber Idle Jets

I finally got back to do something on the cars today. I took the white XL for a drive last weekend & while it didn't miss a beat on the motorway, it was hesitating at idle or driving away from the lights. I have been having trouble with this car on & off for some time with this problem & not until this week, after owning the car for nearly 15 years, did I learn that it has 2 idle jets, one on each side of the Weber carbie.
I have blown out the carbie numerous times as I had suspected water in the carbie & it has driven OK for a while. Anyway, after reading a Weber diagnostic chart & looking at an overhaul kit chart & looking at a spare Weber I had, I made this amazing discovery. So, I had never been blowing out this area.
Both jets are really easy to unscrew & then I removed the idle/mixture jet. On with the compressor & a good blasting in all directions. There were numerous small drops of water coming out, especially from the LHS jet area. I did this for about 30 mins until no more drops appeared.
After re-inserting all the jets, the car idled really well for about 10 minutes but I did not have time to road test it so that will really tell me if my cleaning has solved the problem.
Here are some not very good pictures of the idle jet screws.

Ford Capri - Capri History

I have now owned my white 1972 Capri XL for nearly 16 years & I have never been able to successfully document its history. I have the documentation relating to its build by the Ford Motor Company but apart from the person I bought it from, I have drawn a blank. Privacy policies mean you cannot retrieve previous owners names but I do know it has  been in Brisbane for all of its life & mainly on the north side. I was told by the previous owner that he thought the car was a prize in a beauty contest.
The only such contests in the 1970s were the Miss Australia Quests. Each state chose a winner & then a national winner was declared. Ford was a major sponsor & cars were awarded to the major prize winners.
This led me on my latest search to the Queensland State library where all the history related to the Miss Australia Quest is now housed. My search came very close but not quite & a further visit may be necessary. The attached clippings & programs show that the prizes did include Ford Falcons, Cortinas, Escorts & Capris. In fact the prize for the 1973 Miss Australia (Michelle Downs - a previous wife of racing car legend, Peter Brock), held on 3 November, 1972 was a Ford Capri XL. These dates would correspond with my car which was built in July, 1972 but I cannot find a picture of the winner with her car. There are pictures of winners & cars in 1971 & 1973, 1974 but the one I am looking for is elusive. Even if I do find it, I am not sure what it proves but I will rest happy.
Below are some of the documents we found while researching the history. (click on to enlarge)

Ford Capri - All British Day 2016

Because of other commitments, I haven't been able to attend some car shows this year but I was able to attend the All British Day. I always like this show because of the location & the cars. Even after it was postponed for a week because of the weather, there was a good turn out of cars & spectators. There are always some great British cars from Rollers to Morris Minors. The lovely light metallic green Cortina GT took one of the awards of the day. Here is just a small sample of the cars.



Click to enlarge the photos.