Capri - My Dream Engine

I came across the beautiful Capri in a magazine I picked up recently at a book fair.
The engine is a Lexus 1UZ -FE with twin turbos. It is putting out 410 RWHP! It certainly is a work of art & the whole car looks beautiful.
The owner is Joe Geri from Sydney & the photos are courtesy of ZOOM magazine No 127. (No date mentioned.) The car has had a successful drag racing history with 302 Ford engines but is also road registered.
I think I could make room for it in my garage!

Capri - For Sale

Postscript
This Capri sold for $22,650 after over 40 bids.

This local Capri V6 is for sale on EBay & its owner is a member of the Capri Club of Qld. He reports that there has been a great deal of interest in the car with the bidding already at $20,000 and there is still 5 days to go. Read more & see the pics.
Here is the link:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ford-Capri-1970-V6-3000-GT-Manual/173119839566?hash=item284ebf1d4e:g:KFIAAOSw-JJaZ84q

Capri - Australia Day Rally 2018

The first event of the year for many Brisbane car enthusiasts is the Australia Day Rally organised by the Bayside Vehicle Restorers Club and held at Ormiston State School. The day starts at 7.30 am with a BBQ breakfast & car show, then the choice of one of four rallies concluding with lunch at a local pub. It is always a well organised event with all the profits going to Sailability, a organisation that teaches disabled people to sail. After attending for at least 5 years, one can be assured of at least three things. Firstly, it will be hot, even at that time of the day. Secondly, there will be a diverse range of vehicles & thirdly, there will be very few Capris. This year was no exception. It was hot & quite a few had left after the raffle results. The two school ovals were packed with vehicles of all descriptions from ancient motor bikes through to huge hard tyred trucks. Yes, there was one Capri - my green 1970 Deluxe.
The pictures below give a glimpse of the variety of vehicles that attended. (Click to enlarge)

Capri - Cost of Fuel

I just happened to go to the local servo today to get some mower fuel (91 octane) & that was about $1.53 a litre. The next pump had V-Power (Shell's 98 octane fuel) which I usually use in my Capris. The price was $1.72 a litre ($10 buys you about 6 litres) at which I had to look twice to make sure it was correct. Thankfully, I don't drive very far or use much fuel but at that rate I won't be filling the tanks of the Capris. I usually like to add a bit every couple of weeks to ensure it is not sitting for too long but until the price reduces, it won't be much.
There has been a great deal of press lately about the petrol price rip-offs in Brisbane and this is a good example. It doesn't help owners of classic cars very much. I guess I will be looking for cheaper alternatives to the local Shell.  😔 😒

Capris For Sale

There are a few interesting Capris for sale on Gumtree at the moment and they reflect a wide range of cars available & their prices.

This is an interesting unfinished project for $23,500 with much of the body work done but without engine & gearbox.
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/cairns/cars-vans-utes/ford-capri-unfinished-project/1164975247

Another project V6 for $15,000 - no engine or gearbox & stripped. Most body parts seem to be there but a pretty optimistic price. Good luck!
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/highland-park/cars-vans-utes/1971-gt-capri-ford/1169246675

This a really nice looking 1600 GT auto for a top price of $44,900. It has been advertised for several months & hasn't left the show room. It is advertised as a GT but several features (dash & engine) would suggest it is a 1600 Deluxe. Is it really worth that much?
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/carss-park/cars-vans-utes/1970-ford-capri-deluxe-vermillion-red-3-speed-automatic-sedan/1163141189

Here is another V6 project - a genuine numbers matching car, stripped back in primer with a dismantled engine for $8,500 negotiable. The body doesn't look too bad but the compliance plate is missing. It might be a good project but it would need a thorough inspection, Not sure if all the parts are there so you would need to do your sums!
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/dayboro/cars-vans-utes/genuine-3000-gt-ford-capri/1168447260

If you have a spare $99,990, then this is the Capri for you. It looks a really tough unit & has all the good gear for a drag/street car. It also has been advertised for quite a while
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/burwood/cars-vans-utes/1970-ford-capri-gt-purple-orange-automatic-coupe/1164180748

Capri - Club Christmas Party

We had our annual Capri Club Christmas break up a few Sundays ago & although it was not a huge gathering we had 9 Capris turnout.  There were four four cylinder models, four V6s & one SA convertible. Anthony's Yellow Fire V6 was awarded the best car & my Jewel Green 1600 Deluxe was judged best 4 cylinder. As the occasion was very close to where I live, I managed to convince my wife to drive my white XL so it was the first club event that I have been able to attend with both my Capris. This may never happened again so I was really pleased to get some photos with them both together.
Happy Christmas to you all & here are a few pictures.


(Click on photos to enlarge)

Capri - Engine oil overfill

It's a long time between blogs. As both my cars have been running well, I haven't done much to them lately. However, due to my overcautious concern about the oil pressure in my white XL, I decided to add some engine oil. I have a great deal of trouble trying to read the dipstick as it is not clear to me exactly where the oil level is, even though I have made marks on the dipstick. I put in about 1/3 to 1/2 a litre. All good, well for a little while!!
As I drove up the street, I noticed huge clouds of blue smoke in the rear view mirror. As I drove up & down a small hill near my house, it was really bad. OK, I knew what was going on as it had happened once before in my green car after I had overfilled the engine oil. I tried to keep driving in the hope that the excess may be burnt out but things only seemed to get worse & home I went. I have had one opinion that the oil seals can be damaged when this happened but I don't know how correct that is. So the easiest way to correct the problem was an oil change. A new filter was due anyway.
I found my original spare Motorcraft long life oil filter (AFLE-227) that I had bought on Ebay a while back so on it went. Now to the oil - I use Valvoline Classic 20W-50. To ensure that I did not overfill it again, I checked the official Ford Workshop Manual which states the correct amount, including the oil filter is 7 Imperial (UK) pints. That converts to 3.977 litres so 4 litres sounds pretty good to me. After checking that the filter was tight & the sump plug tight, a short idle of the engine indicated no leaks.
Out on the road, no smoke, which is a relief! On returning home, another inspection indicated a very slight leak at the bottom of the front oil seal cover. Hopefully, a quick tightening of the two lower cover bolts will sort that out but I will check after the next run.
So, the lesson for me again is, don't overfill the engine oil & for the 1600 Kent engine stick to the 4 litres.