Capri - Restoration (2) White 1972 1600 XL [3]

Today was not a good day. In fact, I had the axe & sledge hammer out ready to do the Capri harm but as my back was so painful, I don’t  think I could have done much damage
I started out very keen and assembled the engine crane ready  for the job & decided where I was going to place the car. I have limited head room under my house & I wanted to be able to garage other cars as well as work on the white one.

Everything was going well until I tried to undo the drive/flex plate nuts. Firstly, they can only be accessed through the starter motor hole, one bolt at a time, with no room for a socket but a ring spanner is OK. Secondly, they are really, really tight! Bloody tight, in fact! So tight that I couldn’t undo them. They are not in a great place and lying on your back trying to undo them, only helps the physio! The bolt is shown in the pictures below.


Time for some internet research – very useful for any restoration project. The first thing I realised was that I was not alone in having trouble trying to undo these nuts. I have gained a few tips which I will try when my back regains some good feeling! Secondly, I can take the torque converter out with the engine if one takes it carefully. That maybe is the way it comes out but I will give those nuts one more go with a great deal of RP7 & perhaps a little heat. I also tried to buy an extra-long ring spanner but with no success.
So after a couple of days recovery, I will give it another shot & I hope I can get the motor out to start working on it. It is all fun! I forgot how much fun it really is lying on your back, getting oil & green water all over you.