This was a no brainier! When this capri came along I had to buy it. They have always been one of my favourite cars and being a 3.0 v6 and even better a rare non sunroof model I had to have it.
Not to bad in terms of bodywork and structure as the previous owner had it re sprayed which I was happy so the majority of work on this one was mechanical. A full engine inspection and brakes & suspension replaced and this was transformed back to its original glory.
when I brought this Capri I was still working from my old garage where space was a real issue. I sometimes wander how I use to manage building cars in such a confined space but even so this one worked out pretty good. I had to recover this one on the back of a truck to get it home as it was a non runner. Best way to deal with that was to remove the engine and check everything out.
The non running was a simple enough fix. The car had sat with fuel in the carb which was left to solidify blocking the jets. A good clean out and a Webber 38 dgas rebuild kit along with new ignition was really all it would have taken to get it running.
A common weak point on the Essex v6 engine is the nylon fibre timing gear. A bit like a cam belt they have a shelf life and need replacing or they tend to explode. In this case I opted for a steel timing gear. The advantage hear is that the new timing gear will last the life of the car. The disadvantage is that they are noisier than the fibre gear. While the timing cover was off I took the opportunity to clean out the thread holes.
A few years into its new ownership and the Capri decided to start leaking water. After an inspection the radiator was found to have expanded and blown the welds joining the core of the radiator to the tanks. A chemical co2 detection test revealed the pressure to be coming from the cylinder head gasket letting gasses into the water system. The rad cap should have aloud this pressure to be released but it's not unusual for them to stick and hold all the pressure in.
Cylinder heads removed and skimmed to insure they are perfectly flat for re-fitment.
Valves were also lapped in at this stage to insure a good seal valves and seats.
During the work on the head the customer requested a few other jobs he wanted done.
A standard service didn't really come up with any problems but it did bring light an un noticed problem with the wheel studs. The customer has had an aftermarket set of wheels fitted and as a result the studs were nowhere near long enough to safely hold the wheel in place.
Hear we can see the difference in length of the old studs next to the new. The new studs provide far more turns on the wheel nuts making these far safer for the new wheels.
This next job was not something I wanted to do to this car as it is such a nice example of a 3.0 Capri. The customer however was pretty insistent that he wanted me to drill 8 holes into a perfectly good boot lid to fit a spoiler.
In the end it turned out alright and the customer was happy with the new look.
Next was to fit a new dashboard .
Old dash removed and we can see why the owner wanted a new one fitted. Standard cracking along the top due to 40 years of sun exposure.
The new dash was a fibreglass re-manufacture although next to the original you almost wouldn't no the difference if not for a couple of holes that needed to be cut out.
All finished and it looks a lot better than I imagined a fibreglass dash would look. No gaps or fitment issues this is a good quality part that has enhanced the over all appearance of the interior.
