Capri Christmas

To all you Capri enthusiasts who have been following my miscellaneous ramblings about my Capris, I wish you a very Happy Christmas.
For some it is a time to spend some of your holiday time working on your Capri, so I hope your time is well spent.
My white XL is about 97% finished but needs a bit of fine tuning for me to be really happy. However, for the next week or so, it will be a low priority.
I am starting to compile a list of parts I used and the total cost of this little exercise. When that is done I will post all the details.
Have a great Christmas!

Restoration (2) White 1972 1600 XL [26]

Today, I took the car for a short run around the block near to home. It seems to be going OK but is not kicking down into first gear on the down shift & my attempt to drive up a fairly steep hill indicated some adjustments need to be made. It sounds pretty good but some fine tuning is necessary. I also refitted the headlight surrounds, fixed a very minor fuel hose leak & stuck on my new 1600 GT sticker on the rocker cover. Time to attach the vacuum gauge & it indicated that the timing was a bit off so I advanced it & the motor seemed to run much better. I would like to advance it a fraction more but I could not & the engine surrounds were too hot to work on it. The next run was much better & we drove up the steep hill but it is still not quite right so back for another look, maybe after Christmas. It also seems to be running a bit hot so a few little things still needs work.
I also need to add up all the receipts & see how much this little exercise cost but all that might have to wait a few days.

Restoration (2) White 1972 1600 XL [25]

Finally, the car is 99% back together. Today, I redid the tappets as two were a bit loose and retightened all the exhaust manifold bolts. The bonnet also went back on. I then completed the inside and refitted the instrument panel surround. I reglued parts of it, cleaned off some of the glue & retouched some of the switches. It went back on OK & doesn’t look too bad apart from one edge. The parcel tray needed a little bit of repair & I won’t complete the final touches until I am sure all the dials & switches are working. The new headlights I ordered arrived today but I will put them in when I have time. I would really like to put the vacuum gauge on it to check the timing before I take it on the road. Maybe tomorrow it might be ready for a little test drive.

Restoration (2) White 1972 1600 XL [24]

At last – the engine is running & not too badly. That means it is a really good day and not before time. I spent more time trying to line the timing up correctly. Initially I may have had the dizzy sorted out on the incorrect stroke, meaning it was 180 degrees out. I then tried various spots for the No 1 wire but still to no avail. I was very determined to do this myself but decided to consult the guru, my neighbour, KH. It took us quite a while to figure it out & it still didn’t fire after several different settings. We had different marks on the side & the top trying to align up the plug wire & the rotor. He then tried to line up the two magnet marks on the rotor spindle with the middle of the rotor for the plug wire. We then re-inserted the dizzy, one slot back & put it back together. It fired up first time & ran really well. The Accuspark instructions make it sound very simple but it is not if you are replacing the whole distributor. We ran it for quite a few minutes with no fluid leaks which is also really good.
I then completed a few other bits & pieces such as: replacing the air cleaner, topping up all the fluids, repainting some areas in the engine bay, attaching the battery clamps & screwing on the black panels in front of the radiator. After taking off all the masking paper & protection material, it is starting to look & sound good. The tappets need a bit of adjustment but that can wait a few days. It is good to have it all back together & good that it is running well.
Now, I just have to sort out some of the interior bits such as the instrument surround.

Capri - Restoration (2) White 1972 1600 XL [23]

The last few days have been a bit frustrating & that is when you need to hide the axe. I collected my 1600GT engine sign from Coloursplash & it looks really good. I then went and collected the instrument panel surround from the guy who has done quite a few jobs for me over the years & it looked OK under his house. When I got home & had a good look at it in day light, it was a pretty terrible job. He has just stuck a bit of vinyl over the top section & done that not very well. I could have cut it straighter! Very disappointing & I don’t know at this stage how I am going to retrieve the surround. Possibly, a visit to another trimmer would be the best bet. [The pic shows the part upside down & I have pulled the bottom edge up a little as it was so uneven - not real good!]

Today was the day to finish the engine & have it running. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. Again, disappointing! I finished putting all the clamps on the hoses & in all there are 14! So, plenty of possibilities for a leak! About 3 litres of transmission fluid (Type F) was poured in, 4 litres of oil & the radiator filled. The only leak was from the lower radiator hose which once tightened was fine. That was a good start. I put the battery in & without the spark plugs, turned over the motor several times. There were no strange noises so that also was promising.

After a fair bit of research I thought I knew where to connect the + wire for the new distributor. I originally had it in a spare slot next to the fuse box wire for the brake lights. After using the voltmeter, I discovered this was a stupid place & the current only flows here when the brakes are applied. After a lot of looking about, I found a spare accessories wire under the dash & this gave me current. After connecting up the distributor & turning the motor a few times there was no sign of life – not even a splutter. After a lot of stuffing around, I am convinced the dizzy is not providing any spark but I don’t really know why at this stage. After a lot of fiddling & redoing things, still not a cracker. Time to give it away & try again next week! I really need to find out more about these electronic distributors.

Capri - Restoration (2) White 1972 1600 XL [22]

I spent considerable time on Google trying to find an alternative to my broken Y junction but really was not very successful. I listed a few places & was determined to spend the morning trying to find a solution. By chance I found I had a ½ inch brass joiner that screwed onto the tapered fitting I already had so I set out to see what could be found. Repco found me a ½ inch T section & then another ½ inch reduced which solved my problem. Apart from meaning some extra joining pieces, I was very pleased to have worked out something. Trying to fit in all the hoses is a nightmare but I think they are all joined up but I need two more clamps. Then it was time to connect up some more wiring & I had a good look at the new distributor. I thought it looked pretty simple but after talking to Capri club member, Ray, it may be a little more complex than I thought. I need to do some more homework but the end is nigh! (Famous last words!) [The brass fittings show my alternative junction].

Capri - Restoration (2) White 1972 1600 XL [21]

After the weekend break I was keen to get in and finish all the little bits and hopefully, have the motor running. Well, today, turned out to be NOT A GOOD DAY! In fact, I nearly got the axe out again. I was ready to do not very nice things to the Capri. I was attempting to put together all the hoses that link up the heater & the automatic choke on the Weber carbie. It is a plumber’s nightmare! I also thought that I should check if the new distributor with the side leads would clear all the hoses. It fits well if it is turned towards the front. I was then attempting to tighten the alloy Y junction that inserts into the inlet manifold & connects the heater hose & the choke hose, when, guess what? It snapped, leaving a small section of thread in the manifold. This was great news!! Just what one needs to happen? There is nothing worse than a hard to get part breaking (I had been concerned about this junction as it fairly fragile). Fortunately there was a fair bit of thread left on the junction & I thought I could re-use it. The next bit was getting the broken piece out of the manifold. I decided to take the carbie off again to get better access. Fortunately, with a bit of tapping on a screwdriver in an anti- clockwise direction, I managed to remove pieces of the thread & then the whole section, which wasn’t very much, came out. The thread looked a bit stuffed. The thread on the junction itself was broken unevenly so I tried to clean it & file it even but it did not want to screw back in. No matter what I tried I could not get it to screw in. Another plan of attack was needed. I ventured down to see my neighbour, KH, to see if he had any suitable brass fittings. I came back with several bits, including one with a tapered thread, which screwed in without any trouble. Anything else I tried would not take up with the thread. That was one alternative but for the moment, I needed to do something else as it was starting to annoy me.
[The pic on the left shows the corroded Y junction. The pic on the right shows the bottom inlet where the thread broke].



The next job was also one of the worst things to do. The handle under the dash that opens the bonnet has been broken ever since I bought the car so as I had the instrument panel out, it was a good time to fix it. Any job under the dash of a Capri is not good for a middle aged bugger. It requires one to lie across the seat upside down & try & remove two little clips that have been on for 40 years. I final got them off & found the original handle was much more substantial than the one I was about to replace it with. It seemed to do the job so I hope it works for a while. Putting the little clips back on was another lesson in patience, especially when you are upside down, deaf & your glasses keep falling off. Finally they were back on & that was enough for the day.

Capri - Restoration (2) White 1972 1600 XL [20]

I did make some progress today but not as much as I wanted. Firstly, when I put the radiator back in, it seemed to be up much higher than normal & after checking with my other car, it was mounted about 40cms higher. After looking at the mounting brackets, I decided to drill four new mounting holes so that it could sit about 30 cms lower in the car. This was done without too much trouble & it looks a lot better. Then the radiator hoses went on. The transmission oil filler pipe was next & then the engine dipstick tube. This was really hard to get back on so a little hot water helped. The guy from ERG phoned to say the starter motor was finished so I went & collected that & then put it in. Then all the water heater hoses went on or some of them. I could not put the heater hoses on, no matter what I tried. I have come to the conclusion that I will buy a short length of 13mm hose & use that instead of the ½ inch which I have been using. There doesn’t seem to be much difference but there is a very slight difference. That was enough – I need a few days away from it!