Beakster

I did a lot of driving in bad conditions with my Capri a few weeks ago when I drove around Scotland. I have a normal diff, no LSD. I had lots of problems where I got stuck and was just spinning one wheel. I don't think an LSD would have just made me spin both wheels. It means I would have been able to move both wheels which would mean double the traction. Without an LSD, if one wheel is on ice and the other is on dry road, surely it would just spin the wheel on the ice and the one on the road would stay put. With an LSD the one on the road would turn as well meaning you wouldn't need to tell your girlfriend to get out and push like I had to. The key to driving in the snow is high gear and very gentle throttle movements to avoid spinning wheels. I was starting in 2nd most of the time, and going up hills in 3rd gear at 20mph. Dropping to second when going up hills made me loose the back end a few times. Some more pics of my adventure here: http://www.fordcapriforum.com/forum/vie ... 10&t=33845

Check yellow pages for Steel Stockholder or Steel merchant. You want to get 20swg and 18swg gauge steel. 20swg = 1mm good for panels, and 18swg is 1.2mm, good for chassis sections. I also got a few bits of 15.mm, 2mm and 3mm steel for the odd really thick bit, like the strut top cups and chassis rails.

Could be an older style of these:

You can convert the dizzy shaft into a simple plug to keep the oil pump drive. Or, I had one where the dizzy was all chopped off except for the base and the coil pack mounted on that. Kept the plug leads in their original place. The machining of the dizzy was done by Colin, aka Capri Turbo on the laser page. Here it is sitting on an engine I built. I needed rid of the engine before I moved to canada so put it on ebay. Sold for 125 quid cost me 3 times that in parts not to mention time oh well.

Very cool. Reminds me of the kind of things I saw at the Ford Museum in Australia. Its a shame Ford UK is crap when it comes to heritage and doesn't have a museum open to the public here. I'm hoping to get the Henry Ford museum in Michigan early next year. Its more of a theme park than just a museum.

Hi, I need 11 days cover for my 1983 Capri Injection with a 24V Cosworth engine, 283mm front brakes and fibreglass front wings and valance. I've tried a few places but none of them insure modified vehicles. Can anyone suggest a company which can cover me for 11 days so I can drive my car while I'm back in the UK over Christmas visiting?

Back end of it reminds me of the Shelby replica Memphis Raines was working on years ago. If it's been sat out in that condition for 15 years its probably beyond saving. The way the door is hanging off it suggests the A pillar is rotten, so probably everything else is too.

Hey, Here's a really good diagram: It's not mine, its copied from: http://www.fordpower.org.uk/forum/index ... topic=5265

Lexus V8!!!! 1UZFE! Here's a complete doner car that sold for 500 quid http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Toyota-Celsior-JD ... 286.c0.m14

Legend! Respect due mate! You're in for a rough ride though... Took me 2.5 years to sort the rust on mine, but I was a complete amateur when I started, now nothing scares me. If you haven't already, get on to http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/ and follow their instructions practicing on some scrap metal first. You're going to need a good angle grinder too, and a ton of slitting and grinding discs. Get at least an 800watt angle grinder and find a good welding supplies shop to get your wire, tips, gas (Co2+Argon), and discs from. You're going to have to do a lot of fabrication I expect too. www.steelpanels.co.uk sell most replacement parts but they are pricey and some have a 6 month waiting list, so fabricate what you can. There is a guy in France who makes good outrigers and rear spring hangers which aren't too expensive. Have a read through my restoration thread to get an idea of what you are in for: http://www.oldskoolford.co.uk/phpBB2/vi ... hp?t=65678 Over the course of doing mine, I gave up about 5 times, even near the end. Finding more rust when you didn't think there could possibly be any more is soul destorying. You just need to cut it all out, then start thinking about how to make a repair section. Good luck! Looking forward to following your progress. Lots of pics please.

Really sorry to hear that Steve. The mechanics shouldn't be a big deal, but like you said its the rust that kills them. Always sortable, but takes so much time and effort its usually better to get another shell/car.

gone up in price lol! Last time I bought a manual rack it was about 17 pounds. From A&M Factors in Reading 0118-950 5070. You give them the old rack back aswell so they can have it reconned. I also got a power rack from them for my 2.8 and it was 119 pounds, cheaper than most places.

Hey, You can drill the spot welds out. Its not alot of fun. Some nice sharp spot weld drill bits from Frost are what you need there. You can usually feel and see the spot welds to drill out, but its always hard because there's always bits you miss. My metal wings were well past it, so I just used an angle grinder to grind through them. Once you have the metal wings off you are guaranteed to find work needing done to the A pillars and drip rails. I made completely new drip rails for mine. Once you have wings off and all good metal there, you can see about getting the fibreglass wings on. They will need some work to fit right, for example I had to cut large sections out around the lights so that the bezels and light units would fit. You will also need to cut the gap between the wing and door, as when my wings went on they overlapped the doors! You can drill and use self tappers to bolt them on. You will also need to do some work with filler here and there to get them smooth before painting, and the holes for the corner bumper brackets need cutting out, as will the side repeaters if you are fitting them. Have a look at my projects thread for all the photos of how I fitted mine. Its at http://www.oldskoolford.co.uk/phpBB2/vi ... sc&start=0 Here's some pics to give you an idea: Overall its a quite a bit of work, but I think it will be worth it in the end. Good luck

Thanks for replies... I called around this morning to see if I could locate a new rack. Spoke to A&M Factors at 8:30 and they had a rack for me by 10:30. £130 and I get a fiver back when I give them the old one. I had it fitted by lunch time and spent rest of day sorting other things including tightening up the wheel bearings (which I then saw were far too loose) and still have power steering fluid in my hair. Was just too late to catch MOT place I use (MOTest Reading) so I'll be there at 9am tomorrow. Going to spend some time tonight getting busy with my extension probe... Waxoyl extension probe that is.

Its a power steering rack though, so they are much more expensive than manual racks. If it was a manual rack I'd have it ordered already.

Hi, So my front wheels where locked up (caliper problem now sorted) and I tried reversing until I span one of the rear wheels. After that as I drove I have a sound like pop corn popping in the microwave. It gets faster with speed and is most noticeable at low speeds. It's coming from the back axle area. The car still drives fine. I lifted the back end off the ground and the wheels rotate fine and seem free of problems. I put it in gear with wheels off ground and they spin fine without making the noise. It seems to only be when the car is driven that it makes the noise. Any ideas?

Hi, Just failed MOT on a few silly things. One of them was excessive play in wheel bearings. Now the wheel bearings are new and have been set as Haynes manual says. I gave them a good shake myself and find the play to be minimal. Not an issue though I could tighten them up a bit more to keep the MOT man happy but... He also said there is excessive play in steering rack, which again I don't agree with. I dont want to spend £200 quid on a recon rack (2.8 Capri) when I think there is plenty of life left in it. The MOT place was one of the Kwik Fit type places. All modern cars and mostly young kids working there. So I think they are used to the tighter feel of modern cars. Can anyone suggets a good tester near Reading in Berkshire that would be more sympathetic to my old Ford? Cheers -Chris

Sorry to hear the bad news. If you contact Phil at Capri Care it could be possible to use this:

Don't know about the Earlex specifically, but I bought an Apollo Spraymaster which is also an HVLP sprayer. Haven't used it yet though. The general opinion from my research seems to be that an HVLP sprayer will be as good as a high end compressor with good spray gun.

Yuck! Don't like that at all. Seen lots of concept photos and drawings of Capris but never one that looked like that. There's some very good Capri concept drawings here: http://www.fordcapriforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=29618

Ah, in that case 75p from Burton Power

Don't know where to get one, but I lost mine a year ago and its been fine without it for the last 15,000 miles so wouldn't worry if you can't find one.

Hi, Yeah that bit should move. When the throttle is opened it pumps the diaphragm to spray a bit more petrol in for accelerating. Maybe you put the diaphragm in the wrong way around, or forgot to put the spring back in. There's a good rebuild guide on the Laser Page here: http://www.fordcaprilaser.co.uk/carbure ... erhaul.htm Here's a pic taken from the front of the car with the throttle closed and open. Note how the shaft turns the bit which pushed on the lever to pump the diaphragm. Throttle Closed Full Throttle

Look really nice. Tempted myself for pinto I'm building just now. Are they just for show or can they actually be used to lift the engine safely? I've heard stainless steel is not as strong/more brittle than mild steel.

I like the sound of this one. I lived in Australia for a while and there's loads of straight 6s there. Always thought one would go really well in a Capri bay as even V8s usually have a massive gap at the front when fitted. Would probably need a mod to the front cross member too. If I was fitting a straight 6 it would be one of these: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/FORD-EF-EL-XR6-T ... 240%3A1318 http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Ford-Falcon-Fair ... 240%3A1318 Very cheap and 220bhp & 270lb/ft as standard. Only problem would be the shipping charge from Australia. But its different, and its a Ford/Tickford engine so you could put a Tickford badge on the Capri and really confuse people.