Capri - Restoration (2) White 1972 1600 XL

For many months I have been contemplating doing a major renovation of the white Capri. It is 10 years since I had it repainted and did all the work on it. In that time I have never done any serious work on the engine. Many bit & pieces have been replaced or sorted such as the Webber carbie & various electrical components but I have never done anything to the internals of the engine. It has always been reliable, never holding me up, but is a bit of a slug.

Several other things need some work e.g. the engine bay needs a good tidy up, the front left hand strut needs a good work over, a few very small rust spots have appeared on the right rear guard, the instrument pod cover needs recovering and the headlights need replacement (reflectors are rusted).

So, today was the day (10 October 2013) & I actually started. I am a reluctant starter at times as I know these things take time & it could be several weeks before the car is back in one piece. I asked my good neighbour, KH, to help me remove the bonnet & to do an engine compression test, just to see if my concerns were justified. The bonnet came off really quickly but it really takes two people otherwise paint will be damaged. The compression readings were not very good: No 1 cylinder – 120; 2 – 80; 3 – 50; 4 – 80. This in itself suggests a makeover is warranted. I think that when I did the same test on the green 1600, the lowest reading was 100 with the others being around 120. So, it will be interesting to see what condition the internals are really in and it explains why it is a bit of a slug.

I have developed a list of things to be done in this renovation:
                1. Engine reconditioning (valves & rings, fit electronic ignition)
                2. Repaint & clean up engine bay
                3. LHS front strut bumper stop
                4. Bonnet rubber stops & rod holder clip
                5. Bonnet under dash release handle
                6. Remove rust spots on RHS rear guard
                7. Replace front headlights
                8. Recover instrument pod
                9. Replace front seat belts with inertia belts
                10. Replace window felts
                11. Renew chrome wheel nuts

When these have all been completed, the car should be in really good condition for another 40 years. I will also document progress on this little project.