ok one for the 40+ brigade
opinions - pros - cons of the 2.8 capri .
fun factor ?
steer from the rear factor
and performance
thanks

 

had this one a few years ago
it was 18 months old when i got it & cost me a fortune to buy & run (12mpg)
the 1st owner had the janspeed twin turbo conversion fitted from new
& it was a real hand full, i put 2 gearbox's in it in 12 months it kept blowing 2nd gear (lots of 1/4 mile )
used to have a paving slab in the boot ! & in the wet it was better to walk or take the bus
only sold it because i got banned for 12 months for speeding
but it was a great car with super performance & a great sound, just a bit weak in the handling & stopping departments

 

I had 4 of these when I was younger
best affordable performance car in them days..............

 

fun factor - nothing beats rear wheel drive... you'll never go round a roundabout without going sideways

performance - grin inducing

mpg? who cares!!!

should be cheap to insure (probably a classic) and has excellent pulling power

go for it!!

 

Those words are music to my ears ........ Capri 2.8i

I want i want i want, but the missis says she will divorce me if I buy another one ......... I'll really miss her

 

Here is my baby, sold her to a loving home almost 3 years ago, since then it has undergone major restoration inc new wings, bonnet and door posts (the usual rot spots)




AP

 

i had a black one b plate 5 speed, cracking car, couldnt keep up with 4 speed or mates xr4i above 70, brings back some good memories from 20 odd yrs ago

 

I've had a 2.8i too they are great fun if you have one you have to have one with the lsd fitted from the special. Without that the inside wheel can spin up instead of throwing the **** out but it's still a huge amount of fun for the money I still keep a mark 2 3.0s tucked away in my garage for a rainy day

Here's the one I had.

 

had a 3.0s before i had the 2.8, same as doyles but with vinyl roof, always smile when i watch the professionals on men and motors

 

I'm trying to find a mint old 2.8/280 or 3.0 at the moment. Ideally a turbo technics 2.8 or X pack 3.0. If anyone knows of any going let me know.

Never really got over selling my old 2.8 back in 1998.

 

Uncle had one of these beige ,with cream leather interior sold it about 6 months ago .was trying to relive his youth

 

Performance for std 160bhp 2.8 was I recall 0-60 in 7.9 ton in about 21 and 130ish flat out.

With the turbo technics conversion brought it down to about 6.5 and 16 secs to the ton.

 

apparantly the cologne 2.8 engine was really only good for about 130 bhp the figures ford released were a bit optimistic. However still a good car, i sold my mint 2.8 in 2003 for 1500 bonarubis, gutted it probably worth 3k now. things to look for when buying.
inner wings rot like no tomorrow as do the bumpers rear wheel arches and the inside of the front of the bonnet. Always check the rear diff cover as these are quite thin and corrode very easily too!
Brakes arent as scary as everyone thinks. Fueling wise i used to do 280 miles to the tank on a journey from colchester to brecon in wales not slowly either.

All in all a class car would love one again but the sti claims enough of my wedge already.

 

Cliff Richard had one, and Ron Dixon from Brookside did also. Says it all really don't it!

 

3.0S - the Essex engine

was gonna convert a Cortina to run the Essex engine but never got round to it

 

Just insured my 2.8 ready for summer. My cheapest policy yet, £110 a year, fully comp!!

It hasn't seen daylight for a couple of years, so it will be good to get the old girl out for a play. There are fewer and fewer on the roads these days.

I've had this one nearly 11 years now, spent 7 restoring it. Never again!! It is as new.



Thankfully it is not totally **** concours condition. Which means that it will still be driven quickly, and the odd roundabout will be taken looking through the side window.

Oh and less of the over 40's, I'm only 31

 

I had a 3 litre Ghia Mk 3 auto. Sounded great, but drank like Olly Reed - best I ever got was 18 mpg. Brakes were **** on a good day - on a bad day frightening!

 

My Dad had a couple of capri's back in the 70's, more than 10 years ago now him and a mate restored one and it was like a new car. I don't know what size engine or anything it was but it looked alright, lol, I don't know much about cars.

 

Looks fantastic olly

Had a 2.8i 15 years ago - had the engine rebuilt at a garage in Blackpool as per recommended in the Capri Club booklet i used to get. Also had new gearbox and full respray.

Sad to the see the car go Would love a go again to see how it stacks up to a modern car.

 

.. about as well as my xsara vtr .(I,6)...

However my 1.6 capri would cruise comforTably at 90 for the trip to work ( at a steady 22mpg.) - in 1986

 

What about these bad boys

 

Capri factoid especially for scoobynet: Ford's Advanced Vehicle Operations unit made a four-wheel-drive special of the 3.0 MkI in the early 70s.

Sort of a prototype P1. Almost.

 

Arrrh the capri.. the first car i ever drifted when working for carwise at duffield aged 17!

 

That'll be Gordon at North Shore Garage then, who also rebuilt my engine, and breathed on it a little while he was at it.

Money very well spent: five years on and the motor still fires on the key after months, has the tickover of a Swiss watch and runs as good as the day it was new. What that guy doesn't know about Capri's isn't worth knowing.

Rexabusa: it's well worth joining the Capri Club if you are after a gooder. The whole club and show scene is definately not for me, but the magazine always has good cars for sale (eg a 6000 mile 2.8i Special recently, and for not as much as you would think) and is a teriffic source for parts and spares.

And to answer your question:
Pros: Grunty, sounds great, retro cool, handles well, opposite lock on demand, teriffic driving position and seats (the best I have ever encountered), surprisingly practical, cheap insurance, cheap parts, pure simplicity.
Cons: MPG, poor brakes, not much else.
Fun factor: Find a damp roundabout, and you tell me.
Steer from rear factor: 11/10- Grunt, long wheelbase, live axle and quick steering. Do it with one hand on the wheel and your elbow on the door.
Performance: Great in its day, just brisk now. Unusually, cologne V6 prefers revs to mauling.
Should I get one? YES!!!

 

Started off with a 1.6 Calypso special edition, then a 2.0S and finally a 2.8i Special.... Only traded that in for my Impreza which I've now had for 7 years.

Classic car and v cool now I hear. I should tell the wife, who only told me how much she disliked them after I'd been driving them for 10 years...

Check the rear parcel shelf. First thing that breaks..

 

big thanks to everyone who replied

 

ISTR the factory 0-60 of the 2.8i was 8 point something...

 

Yep, I am 35 and love the old 2.8's, have had Capris but never injections, missed out twice, first time I went to see one on a whim, it was mint, decided to get it and went to get a deposit, came back and it was sold, less than 20 mins, next one was a mate at work, he had a tidy one a couple of years back and I said I would be interested when he came to sell it, I was on 2 weeks leave and he sold it the git (mainly because he had a Tickford as well, oh and a Cossie engined one)

Still want one,

0-60 was 7.9 for the 4 speed and 8.0 for the 5 speeder.

 

"Autocar" road test of the 4-sp 20/6/81
0-60 7.9
0-100 23.4
Max 129mph

"Autocar" road test 5-sp Special 7/11/84
0-60 8.2
0-100 24.7
Max 127

"What Car" test of the 5-sp Feb 84
0-60 7.8
0-100 22.4
Max 130

"Motor" test of the Tickford Capri
0-60 6.5
0-100 17.3
Max 141

"Autosport" test of Tickford Capri
0-60 6.1
0-100 16.5
Max 140

 

I stand marginally corrected !

I have been in the Tickford, it was really quick, as in a lot quicker than I thought it would be, had been in a Scoob STi a few days earlier and it probably wasnt as quick but felt just as dramatic.