Welcome to my Capri blog!

Another year & the blog started in 2013 is still functioning. I hope 2021 is better for everyone.

It is designed to help me & others interested in Ford Capris share information on events & anything of interest about the cars. Rather than revamp my previous blogs I decided to make a fresh start and just add bits & pieces about Ford Capris, in particular, the Mark 1.



These are my two Capris. I have owned the white (Winter White) 1972 1600 XL since 2000 when I paid $2300. I really liked the steering wheel and it was registered so I bought it but have since spent a considerable amount restoring it to its present condition.

I bought the 1970 Jewel Green 1600 Deluxe in 2008 on EBay for $3000 (very lucky!). Again, I have spent a fair bit of the green stuff to get it to its present condition.

Both cars are very original with matching numbers & I have kept them as original as possible. I am the second real owner of the green car & I have the original sales docket for it. I am a retired educator and live in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia so most of my posts will relate to local items but you are most welcome to add any comments or items of interest.

I hope you enjoy the posts & I will try to add more this year.

Here are some more photos of the cars at various shows in past years.

My other discontinued blogs are:

http://my70fordcapri.blogspot.com.au/

This is a rather long blog detailing the restoration of the Jewel Green Capri. There are quite a few posts so if you are interested, be sure to look at all the Older Posts.

http://redcapri.blogspot.com.au/

This blog details another restoration project that I was involved in.

Capri - Rear Engine/Gearbox Mount Replacement

Just recently when starting and backing my green Deluxe out of the garage, a strange vibration developed. I had not noticed this before and as I backed out of my driveway, it seemed to be worse. So, back into the garage. My initial thought was that it was something to do with the exhaust system so I checked all that out and couldn't see anything that was broken, loose or knocking the body.
The vibration only seem to occur when starting or just idling and was around the central console and gear stick. I also checked out the drive shaft and everything seemed to be in order. A bit more pulling around and I thought that the gearbox mount had a bit of movement. Next move was to remove the cross member at the rear of the gear box and undo the rubber mount. It comes off pretty easily, just undo the one central bolt that goes into the gear box first and then the 4 bolts holding the cross member to the body. I placed a jack under the gear box to retain it in the correct position. Once this was off it was obvious what the problem was. The rubber section of the mount was completely stuffed. The rubber was jelly like and had separated from the metal section of the support. The photo shows what it was really like, compared to the new one.

After determining I needed a new rear mount, my next concern was where was I going to get a replacement part from. After a short time on Dr. Google, I found that several places had the part available. It seems that this mount is used on quite a few small Fords eg. Escorts & Cortinas. I ordered one for $39 from Supa Spares in Melbourne a day before they went into lockdown. Expecting to wait weeks, it was surprising that is arrived within the week from a Sydney warehouse. Whilst not an original part, it fitted exactly.
The cross member goes back on fairly easily as long as you fit the centre bolt first.

As I had the car jacked up, I decided to try to solve a very slight leak from the bottom gear box plug. It was just a very, very slight drip but annoying. This meant draining the gearbox oil. But first to undo both plugs which proved to be very difficult. Eventually after using a bit of heat, they cracked and came out without too much pain. I wrapped a few turns of plumber's tape around the bottom plug hoping to help the seal. Refilling the gear box is always a bit of a pain but I saw these plastic bags of oil (Nulon) which I thought would make it much easier. I did until the very last bit when the plastic spout disconnected and oil spilled all over the place. Thankfully, it wasn't much.

Did the new rear mount solve the vibration? Yes, thank goodness. I don't know why I didn't replace it several years ago and I can only say it must have seemed OK. But after seeing what state it was in, I am surprised that the rubber didn't separate earlier.
(Click the photos to enlarge)

Capri - Distributor & Ignition Coil Issues

I had troubles again with my white XL. It would run OK at my house & then as soon as it went up a slight incline in my street, it would miss & carry on, sounding as if it was running on 2 cylinders. I went over the usual things - plugs, leads, timing, mixture. The timing was way out & any small adjustment would still not get it right. My neighbour & mechanical wizard suggested that I remove the Accuspark Electronic distributor & replace it with the original Lucas type.
The problem was the original distributor was damaged when I reconditioned the engine several years ago. Luckily, I had a spare one that someone had given me so my friend took both home and rebuilt me one good one, complete with new points. After inserting this one, there was still a problem as the car would not run properly & the timing was still out.



I checked a number of things again, including all the vacuum hoses. There didn't seem to be any problems with these and I also went over the inlet manifold bolts. The other possibility was the ignition coil which I tended to dismiss as it was fairly new. Going back over my records, I found it was 13 years old.

Looking through my spare parts boxes, I found an old Bosch GT 40R coil. With the one in my green 1600 Deluxe, that made three similar coils so I decided to do some tests. On the Primary Circuit tests, all 3 were very similar and, as measured on the multimeter, had the required resistance parameters ie. .4 to 2 ohms.

On the Secondary Circuit, 2 were similar having the accepted range of 6,000 to 10,000 ohms where as the one I had in the white car had a much higher resistance of nearly 16,000 ohms. So, that would certainly not be helping. Because of this result, I installed the older Bosch coil to see if that helped.

It took a bit of fiddling, in fact several attempts, to get the distributor in the right slot so as to align with the No 1 cylinder distributor cap plug. When I finally found the place, the engine fired up well, sounded pretty good, idled easily and I just had to move the distributor a fraction to get the timing where it should be. So far so good. Then with a bit of adjustment of the idle mixture screw, I had a good steady reading on the vacuum gauge.

How would it go on the road? No troubles! It starts first go so my retro step of refitting the conventional distributor seems to have been a success. I may invest in a new coil. Both Bosch (GT40R) & Fuelmiser (C80R) make the correct coils that are suitable for these old Fords with the resistor wiring.

Capri - Radiator Recovery Tank

For a long time I have considered installing a radiator recovery tank in each of my Capris but other tasks have required attention so nothing happened. Having more time at home because of Covid 19 and because I was tired of cleaning the garage floor after a run, it was time for some action.
It just so happened that SuperCheap were offering me $10 in credit so I went & purchased one of their brand packages ($27, so $17 with my credit). It comes with all the brackets, screws & hose.

My only concern was that it is a non genuine part so when I installed it, I didn't want it to stand out too much. An easy installation would have been to put it on the inside of the mudguard, up near the radiator. I just didn't like how obvious it would be so I spent some time with the empty tank trying to find a less obvious place. I finally settled on about half way down the side of the radiator (as shown in the photo), just above the wiring and with the bracket being attached to the radiator bracket and a flat section of metal beneath the wiring.
To do this & put the bottle sideways, I had to reshape the bracket as in the photo. This then meant I only had to drill one hole and then attach the other end of the bracket with a small nut & bolt to the spare mounting bracket of the radiator.


Once that was done it was just a matter of getting the overflow hose cut to the current length and then inserting it in the bottle. All done! It took a bit longer that I thought, mainly in the time taken in locating the best place.


For the next run, I filled the radiator to the top and on returning home, the excess green water was in the bottle, not on the floor.

Capri - Fuel Tank Cleaning

Last week I went to take advantage of cheap petrol prices and fill up my white XL. Unfortunately, it seems it has caught the virus!!! It was running so badly I didn't even get to the servo. It seems that not been driven for a few weeks has revived a chronic problem I seem to have with this car & that is that it seems not to like contaminated fuel. It may have got water in the tank or the carbie, whichever, it seems to be a fuel problem and is running badly.
After several hours of procrastinating as to why I shouldn't drain the fuel and/or clean the tank, I decided to drain the tank & then see what the fuel was like.
Step 1: Drain the tank. I siphoned the fuel out, about 10 -12 litres, into a bucket. I was rather shocked at the colour of the fuel. It looked black, not the usual colour I expected. That made the decision for me. The tank has to come out & be cleaned - maybe the first time in 48 years.



Step 2: Disconnect the rubber hose between the tank & the fuel filler. This would rate as one of the worst jobs to do on a Capri. The manual says to undo the screws (4) holding the filler pipe. If you do this first, you cannot really twist the rubber hose on that end to the extent you need to. After undoing the clips & copious amounts of RP7, I final had the hose moving a little but not enough to move it along back up the filler to disconnect. I walked away about 3 times. Come back & more spray. When I did get it moving a little, I undid the fuel filler screws & then I was able to turn the hose around a little more. More spray & then some detergent, more twisting & finally using various tools, screw drivers, I was able to move the hose off at the tank outlet. Don't be in a hurry to do this job as it will drive you crazy, not too mention where the hose is and the body contortions necessary to reach it.



Step 3: Disconnect the vent hose that runs along the top of the tank. It comes off the vent pipe with a bit of pulling.



Step 4: Get your longest socket + extension bar with a half inch socket and undo the top two nuts holding the tank. With the long bar it wasn't too difficult. The 2 bottom bolts are very easy.
Step 5: Just move the RHS of the tank out enough to be able to disconnect the fuel line + the wire for the fuel gauge. They both come off without too much trouble. Then remove the tank.



Step 6: Mark the sender unit & the tank to ensure they match up when putting it back together. With a large set of shifters or a Stillson wrench, remove the unit, ensuring that the float does not get damaged on the way out. There is an arrow on the sender unit indicating which way to turn the unit. The filter which may be an original looked pretty dirty and I am not sure how I will clean this or even replace it.



Step 7: The cleaning of the tank - I was surprised that the inside of the tank was as clean as it was. I was expecting a lot of sludge, but none. I poured in a bucket of warm water plus some detergent & then used a pressure spray to rinse out the inside. After several rinses, it seemed OK & I left it to dry.
Step 8: A quick paint touch up of the tank plus the area behind the tank in the trunk area.
Step 9: I located a Mustang fuel sender filter ($8) which I thought I could modify to fit the tank. With some super strength Araldite, I attached the new filter to the old top so it would fit tightly onto the fuel pipe.
Step 10: A complete cleanout of all the fuel lines & the carbie jets using compressed air & carbie cleaner.
Step 11: Fitted a new fuel filter between the fuel pump & the carbie.



Step 12: Refitted the tank, fuel hose & fuel gauge wire. The top two nuts for the tank are not easy! I used a magnetic tool to attach the washers & then the long handled socket with the nut in the socket to screw up the tank. A bit of mucking about but they eventually went on.
Step 13: THE WORST JOB OF ALL THINGS ON A CAPRI - FITTING THE HOSE BETWEEN THE TANK & THE FILLER PIPE. Nothing could be worse than this. I have had people say just put a bit of detergent on the connection areas & it slides on. Not in my experience! I tried everything & could not get it on the filler pipe. I eventually put the filler end in some very hot water for a few minutes & eventually got it on & then was able to slide it back over the tank pipe. Very difficult for me & I was stuffed. Tightened up one clamp but did not have the energy to finish the second one. I hope this is all worth it & the car runs OK. Finished the job today. Much easier after a night's sleep. Checked all the hoses.
Step 14: With some fresh Shell V-Power in the tank, will it start? Yes, and without too much trouble and the fuel gauge still works. No apparent leaks. The engine is running OK & I will not say too much more until after a road test which we are allowed to do this weekend. One think is for sure is that the fuel system is clean.
PS. Finally able to take the car out again and it went really well, thank goodness!
[Click on photos to enlarge]

Capris in Isolation

Even the Capris are having to isolate. Mine don't seem to understand that they have to be 1.5 metres apart.😷😊
Have the best possible Easter!

Capri - Bonnet Catch Adjustment

Being partially isolated due to the pandemic has meant a bit more time to do some maintenance tasks on the Capris. Next on the list was to adjust the bonnet catch on the green Deluxe. The bonnet has a rare habit of popping up when you least expect it. Thankfully, the safety catch works & prevents the bonnet from lifting right up. On a recent run over some country roads, the bonnet popped twice. I have a theory that when the body flexs a little on bends or bumps, the catch releases.
The first thing I did was measure the height of both the bump stops & the bonnet catch with the spring. I then wound back the RHS bump stop a few mm to even it up with the LHS. Next was to see if the rod was entering the bonnet catch correctly. Using some masking tape, it seemed as if this was all good.


Then to lengthen the pin/rod so it would fit more securely into the catch. That's when the difficulty started. The pin/rod would not turn even after the spring locking nut had been released. No matter how hard I tried & with different large screwdrivers, it would not budge. I guess it hadn't been moved for 50 years. OK, out with the RP7 & Inox. Much spraying at different times & still no movement. I ended up leaving it for the day & came back the next day & continued spraying & trying to undo it. Finally, with a spanner clamped onto the screw driver, I got a little movement. Working it back & forward slowly finally cracked it & then it started to undo.
The whole bonnet pin assembly looked like it hadn't been cleaned for many years so it was taken apart & cleaned up.



Then everything back on & with a few adjustments, it all looks good. Let's wait for the final comment after a bit of driving.