MY current capri project

I bought the car in 2002 for £250 and have since spent an ever increasing amount of money on it, a year ago I decided to bite the bullet and as I had made a few contacts and friends in the right circles I booked it in for an engine rebuild but as things went on we found more and more things causing problems (rust mainly) and it turned into a bit of a nightmare. I really have a thing for classic motors so I pushed on and volunteered my services after work and at the weekends. It has been a long road but things are starting to come good and I am hoping to have it all finished for the show at the end of June. Unfortunately I cannot afford a respray and all the work besides so please excuse the mismatching panels.

It did look quite good
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then the rrust started to win
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and now its got a dirty great hole in the floor
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This months pics
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No engine
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But new floor
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And rear part of cage is in
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01/10/06
Well at least someone was working on it
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But I don't think it's gooing anywhere at the moment
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08/10/06
oooh pretty
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But new rust :evil:
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I have fitted some new gauges in the cluster. I've been a bit optamistic on the speedo though lol.
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I have got some 2 1/4 inch exhaust from a V8 drag racer fitted.
Starting here
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To silencers
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To these tail pieces
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I found this bonnet up the workshop and talked him into trying to fit it onto mine.
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Hello guys, haven't been around for a while. Amazed to see over 1000 views on this.
Have had a few issues as listed below.
1, Having fitted the clutch and spigot bearing found that the gearbox then sat in a different place which caused the starter to jam burning out to starter solenoids. So I have now changed from the tremec t45 to a borg warner T5 world class gearbox and mcleod SFi bellhousing.
2, Having fitted the bellhousing to the gearbox found that the input shat was .67" too long ( BRILLIANT) so tracked down a replacement input shaft for it and fitted that.
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3, decided to fit a new aluminium radiator which I got online for a racing sierra however this being bigger the the hole I had to put it in meant I had to modify the light buckets to give me an extra two inches either side to get it to sit in.
4, fitting the new rad meant I couldn't use the original pulley driven fana so since I had an electric fan laying about decided to make a mount to fit it to the rad with so.....
Got a piece of aluminium,
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Cut a piece out,
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Few measurements and bend later and......
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Looked pretty good but then I found another 12" fan on ebay for 99p so....
Why have one when I can have two,
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5, the new bellhousing has also presented me with two new issues as the release arm would mean the cable went through one of the downpipes so I am now going to build a hydraulic system for it, and the gearbox now sits about 3/4" further forward than it did so mount and tunnel mods required.

I will post up more pics as other bits get figured out.
 
Right here are a few from today
Got the gearbox mount refitted so its all in at the front end again now.
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Need to get the prop measured and made and bung up the hole in the centre tunnel to keep some of the noise out
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And fitted the twin fan unit I made along with the ally rad.
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Hopefully if the weather stays nice and I can keep myself in the mood I will get the hydraulic clutch system made up this week as well, Had a look just need to get some materials and start fabricating.
 
You're making great progress on a fantastic project. With that V8 she's gonna be one wild ride! Really gonna need to hold onto the reins :D

Keep the pictures coming!

__________________
Nick M.

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
Not really, having lots of set backs recently however in the last few days have had a few small victories. Finally got the bottom hose sorted after a few trips to the ebay shops, and with a little regig (i.e. dropping of the rack, one engine mount, so that i could lift the engine up slightly and redirecting a pas hose I have also been able to get the cable to miss the header pipes and bypass the bellhousing to fit into the clutch arm just need to design a mount for it, so that puts off the need to build and entire hydraulic clutch system ffor a while or at least until the cable fails :) WIN..............For now
 
what an really tuff work friend. you have skills and passion.
its an beatifull car, i would love have onde. but here doesn't exist much of them and have little engines..... 1600cc and the owners of thems ask little fortunes in the selling act.
i your car i just don't like the colour on the hood and rear boot.
i think all the same colour lokks better.
you will putt this baby on track or its just for friendly walks?

i apreciatte your hard work on that.
keep it please :)
 
hi cisco nice to see a capri being restored ihad one for 14 years a 2.8i during which time i reshelled it and rebult the engine but i saw a skyline and wanted one so the 2.8 was sold ,wish i still had it !
 
I have been transfixed to this project, I envy your patiences and determination to see this epic rebuild completed and on the road. I am a newbi to this forum but if this is the standard and quality of its members who undertake such projects, I must say I am impressed.
 
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Hey guys, thanks for the support. Have been really busy at work since we started doing MOT's but have been spending as much time as I can trying to get bits and pieces done on the car.
As winter is coming thought it would be a good idea to have somewhere to work when the weather kicks in so I have built myself a little home so I can continue working even when I shouldn't.
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Nice little car port and you wouldn't even no it from the road.
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As a previous comment suggested I have been looking for a new set of wheels that are a bit more period than the ones I have on there at the moment. I was offered some rs500 alloys which to be fair need a refurb but they were cheap so snapped them up need to get it outside to see how they sit and if they rub but I hope the pics give you the idea.
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Have put a new heater matrix in as the original one finally broke.
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Same goes for the blower motor.
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And now I am in the middle of making a starter motor spacer from a plate of aluminium.
Draw circle on plate.
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Get old pillar drill.
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And drill 60 little tiny holes.
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Cut between the little holes to leave a BIG hole.
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And so far I am about 2 hours into trying to get rid of enough material so that it fits the starter suggly. Then I can get into profiling the outside and drilling the mounting holes..........OH what fun I have :)
 
nice project mate,brings back memories ,had a 2.8i for 14 years,reshelled it,rebuilt the engine.it was a nice car then one day saw a skyline and bought it so sold capri but i do wish i could have kept it.
 
Right then got a bit more work done heading towards having the propshaft made up.
Had to modify a fuel pump banjo to fit the in line uprated pump into the standard tank pump mount. Turned down the banjo on my lathe so that I could make it fit directly into the fuel line.
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Had the 'new' alloys sent of to be refurbished so instead of looking like this.
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They now look like this.
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I hope everyone approves of the style as it is in keeping with the 'what was available at the time' era build I am going for.
Will try to get it out in the light this weekend to assess the stance of the car now the wheels are on. I will try to get some pics up if I get it done.
 
Great stuff! Is it my eyes or are there two different makes of tyres and sizes on those wheels? If this is so, could you tell me why this has been done please :blink:
 
Great stuff! Is it my eyes or are there two different makes of tyres and sizes on those wheels? If this is so, could you tell me why this has been done please :blink:

my guess would be different ones front/rear like the american drag cars style...
 
Indeed Olley 10 points. I figured that as I now have a 5.0 with a t5 world class gearbox going to a mustang rear axle it would be a good idea to put some slightly bigger tyres under the rear to aid grip. So instead of the 195/50/15 I have at thet front I went to 225/60/15 for the rear and the reason they are different makes is because they are CHEAP as I reacon with the way I am planning to drive it when it finally is up and roadworthy I will be getting through about a set a week :) with a massive grin on my face.
 
the reason they are different makes is because they are CHEAP as I reacon with the way I am planning to drive it when it finally is up and roadworthy I will be getting through about a set a week :) with a massive grin on my face.

I totally understand that ;)
 
Economics is the restrainer of imagination in both art and 'rebuilding classic cars'. If only your bank balance should match your determination in your toil to see this car on the road you would be a very rich man. Keep it going.
 
WOOHOO, what can i do with my ten points? can i convert them to cash prizes to fund my insurance? hahaha

ace thread dude, i love the capris!!!
 
Right then guys, sorry for the delay have had a few probs recently including the comp going up the spout but that is all sorted now I hope so back into the updates.
I have now got both cooling fans wired in and working.
The coolant pipes are now nicely filled with coolant and the level seems to be holding (fingers crossed it stays like that)
The heater fan works but has something touching it so makes a really annoying sound so that will need to come out and get redone at some point( but not right away)
I have had the propshaft made so now the gearbox is all attached just need to get into building the clutch cable mount (probably this week if I can get motivated)
The exhausts are back on just need to do some fine tuning.
The fuel system now has the injection pump fitted with two regulators to get down to carb pressure.
I have pulled the rear skirt off so I can get to the bodywork to get some repairs done before I put the new kit on.
I have run and electrical check on all the lights which seems okay. The horn due to lack of use is a bit crap though.
I am also having a rejig of the instruments I am going to replace the white standard gauges with some autometer units as money permits, starting with the oil pressure gauge ( as it was mechanical but the V8 has a sender unit for electrical gauge) and the water temperature so the pod cluster will look even. Have got a guy I have used before who is going to do me a deal on the gauges but still gonna be about £100.
Hopefully if I can get the clutch cable mount made and adjusted up correctly, weather permitting, I may have a video of it moving under its own steam soon. I have set myself the target of putting it in for it's MOT between the 19th an the 26th this month.
 
Many thanks for the update buddy, it had been so long that I had actually forgotten about this one! :embarrest: Don't let it happen again :)
 
Okay, not many pics atm but here are a few from the recent weeks.
Got the wheels all fitted on and although the paint on the car lets them down :( I think they look about right on the car.
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This is the space I have got to do all the work on the car those of you with keen eyes and sock to match will notice all the parts spread about everywhere.
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And here for those of you who are just reading this for a damn good laugh is a picture of the most basic clutch cable mount IN THE WORLD. It will need a fair bit of fettling I admit but at least it is one there which means I can test the drivetrain and see where the weak links are.
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Cheers dude. Ran into a slight problem today though, tested out the clutch and either the clutch is knackered which it can't be because it's new or there is something stopping the clutch from disengaging fully, because when letting of the clutch in gear with the handbrake on nothing happens engine still runs doesn't even sound like it struggles. BUGGER. Well will be out there after work tomorrow trying to sort out whatever it is. I just hope it's nothing too serious.
 
just looked at your capri project from start to were you are now mate.and you have had one long hard battle mate fair play to you for hanging in there.i cant wait to see it rolling on the road under its own steam.i bet your going to do a few doughnuts to celebrate.this has been an enjoyable project to follow.love the capri i had a 1.6 and a 2.0 litre pinto.but the beast you have now should be awesome.keep up the good work.and keep the pics comeing.:amazed:
 
Fingers crossed for you buddy that it's just a school boy error made and nothing more! :)
Well if it is I still haven't found it. I have tried most things that are easy to get at from the top still no luck so this weekend I will get it back up in the air and start getting serious with it.

However in the mean time I have been seduced by a ohhh shiney shiney And hopefully it will be here in a couple of days but in the mean time I decided to upgrade my lights.
A guy I work with had some HID's fitted and they look awesome so I thought I would get a set and try them out. Opinions please.
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If I keep them (which I probably will WOOO ;)) I will need to do the main beams aswell as they look a bit pansy compared to the HID.
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And yes I know about the MOT standards but according to the book I will get away with having them fitted. Will try to update this weekend win or lose.
 
A guy I work with had some HID's fitted and they look awesome so I thought I would get a set and try them out. Opinions please.

And yes I know about the MOT standards but according to the book I will get away with having them fitted. Will try to update this weekend win or lose.

Really :blink1: so you have a loophole that you can exploit due in fact to the age of your car I assume? :blink: Well in which case then, I wish you the very best of luck with the HID modifications! :) I personally prefer to see where I am going and not to wonder where I have been ;)
 
Well the book states that if HID system are fitted there should be self levelling and cleaning systems aswell and where these are fitted they must work. the pattern will not be an issue because it is created by the glass rather than the reflector like on the new cars and as my car has never had a self levelling or cleaning system they cannot fail it. muhahaha.
 
Well what seems to be a victory is happening in my lttle world atm. The clutch seems to now work (will have to get it down off the stands again and check it). I have had my new gauges turn up and after a little bit of wirting and general fiddling have got two of them mounted and one working (need to track down the wiring for the second one) and my new gear knob has turned up and is now fitted.
Gauges
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Gearknob
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So fingers crossed that it all still works tomorrow and I may be on for throwing an MOT at it this week and seeing what happens. Woo :)
 
An MOT :blink: That's bold! I wish you the very best on that one buddy! After all that you have been through with that car of yours, you deserve to pass it first time! :bigsmile:
 
It's not whether the car has these systems or not it's the lights themselves that need them.

HID's aren't illegal if they are fitted correctly and not a bodge job.
You can't just rip your lights apart and convert to HID you would have to buy the whole unit as one and it Has to have the self levelling system and washers fitted otherwise it Is illegal regardless of whether the car should have them or not.


Well the book states that if HID system are fitted there should be self levelling and cleaning systems aswell and where these are fitted they must work. the pattern will not be an issue because it is created by the glass rather than the reflector like on the new cars and as my car has never had a self levelling or cleaning system they cannot fail it. muhahaha.
 
Well I read the part of the manual as I see fit. The whole thing with MOT's it that it is down to testers discretion. As a tester myself if a vehicle was presented to me with HID's fitted aslong as they were fitted safely and where fitted the systems worked I would pass it, but everyones interpritation of the rules is different but I have spoken to the guy who I am going to get to do my MOT (as my company won't let me test my own vehicle and to be honest I wouldn't want to) and looking at the inspection manual on the VOSA system he agrees with me which is handy. There are all these little loop holes in the inspection rules, like if you have a bulb out remove all the lights and it can still pass the MOT as there is a non component list that has a tick box for : no lights fitted at time of test. But no doubt come April 1st when then new set of rules come out they will start closing down alot of the loop holes that most people have heard about.
As it is it didn't get to the testing station yesterday anyway the PAS pipe split and the carb seems to now have an issue as going round corners it stalls. so I am waiting for a rebuild kit now and then giong from there. But when it was working it seemed to pull hard and had an awesome sound. :)
 
ooooOOOOOooooooh. Well the rebuild kit for the carb turned up today at 11am (shame the MOT was booked for 10.30 :() However got the carb stripped replaced seals, valves etc fitted it back on and took it for a quick trip to the roundabout it cut out on the other day and nothing went round it fine did't cut out or stutter.
It does have a hesitation when pulling away but I put that down to a need for a tune on the carb after the rebuild and without a gas analyser that is a bit beyond my garage.
Sounds strong though but until it has an test and ticket on it can't find out for sure.
 
Marvellous news Cisco, been a while since I have seen a fully operational carb setup.
Although there was this baby at the Haynes Classic 100 Car Show last year which I sponsored :)

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So pretty :). Excuse me I have just had a crisis. Loving the chrome charger bet that's a bitch to clean.
I have upset one of the other guys at work who has been trying to put a rover 3.5 V8 into his Sierra since before I started mine.
 
Well drove here to work this morning for the MOT will keep you apprised of what happens.
I will leave this one with you guys though:-
If a V8 Capri does 60mph at 1600 rpm how fast will it go at 4800 rpm? :)
 

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