J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

How come the Mk1 Capri and even the Cortina get igonored comparatively even though they all share a lot of components and the Escort and Capri were the same floorpan.

In a few months I will replace the daily driver Saab with a Diesel something and look for a 'project', current favourite is a solid but unmolested MK1 Capri as this was my first car, a couple of grand should secure a nice one and then to pull it to bits, I was thinking all new suspension, welded in cage, some nice minilites, a repaint, decent brakes and perhaps a high revving, throttle bodied Zetec or similar, 200 bhp should be enough in such a light car, the emphasis would be on making it handle. The kids are getting older so I will get them involved and can justify it as education, also we will have to get the driveway widened to accomodate this, it will live outside as the garage is too full of crap.

Or would it be better to get a YB Cosworth and go everywhere sideways, my own thoughts on that method are that it will be more expensive and end up too much of a scary handful for my limited talent, best to stick with a smaller amount of torque and a decent revvy 200 bhp, dont want big thumping v8's either as I wouldnt mind using it to commute occasionally and I dont fancy 15 mpg.

So the brief is, something I can use for work should the need arise, do track days and possibly a bit of drifting, is 200 bhp enough ?

The other question I have is that there are loads of cars out there with 200 bhp engines that get wrecked yet never get transpanted into anything else, every YB get snapped up, every Vauxhall XE, every Scorpio Cosworth has dissapeared to give up its motor but what happens to a Volvo T5 engine if the car gets crashed, ditto other Saabs and Volvo's, I mean YB's are expensive but a crashed Saab is about 10 quid yet comes with a 2.0 turbo with an easy 250 bhp potential, transverse installation notwithstanding.

Basically I want a shopping list of bits to bid for on Ebay.

mattbeef

why not just see what engines you can get your hands on and then take it from there? I mean at the minute the 1.8T VW VAG engine is a popular choice for transplants so i guess its always a personal choice or whats avaliable to them

Olly

Personally if I was going up that route, I would plump for a scruffy but solid 2.8i Special as a base, mainly because the LSD, Bilsteins and single leaf springs are already in place: must-have items on any Capri. Solid Mk1's seem to be fetching more money than ever, and second hand LSD axles and Billy legs are still expensive second-hand.

As for engine, IMHO it would only be right that something with a minimum of 6 pots should lie under the bonnet of a Crappi. There's a decent, fully running Scorpio Cossie on Ebay, buy it now for £300, for an easy 200bhp. Scrapyard tuning. A screaming Zetec on throttle bodies appeals, but why not rip all that emission stuff off and go for TB's on the V6? Should sound awesome, and go pretty well too...240bhp on standard cams?? You can always put a throttle stop on it . Mate it to a Cossie 5 speed Borg Warner and away you go.

Capri Club are now re-manufacturing Princess 4 pots for reasonable money if you fancy retro 13" (Minilites??) or go for 15" wheels (IMHO only 7 spoke Brookies look good in 15") and bigger discs/calipers. Add a front ant-dive kit, some good rear axle location (or go 5 linked), poly bushed all round (transforms a Capri) and some beefing in the shell department, and you've got yourself a cool retro track weapon for under £5k. A mate had a tatty Turbo Technics 2.8i track dayer a few years ago: fair play the boy could drive, but VERY little got near him...

Karl 227

Simply, the dog's knackers

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Olly, see what you mean about the Mk3 but its the Mark 1 (pre facelift) that I fancy, I appreciate the point about finding a good one, there have been a couple on Ebay recently, in fact my old one (OJA 375G, 1600 GT XLR) is still going according to the RAC reg checker, albeit now with a 3 litre engine.

Its a trade off between finding something that hasnt been ruined already or is too rusty, or getting a minter and spoiling the originality.

Has anyone ever heard of a Capri being made independant at the rear end, I seem to remember that people did it with the Jag IRS but I suspect that was more your custom brigage, and I dont want it to look like some whiffy dralon interior jacked up 70's metalflake nonesense.

Also, was there much difference in the shells between the models of mk1, was the three litre reinforced ?


PS, that Escort is very nice but I still cant see why they are so much more 'popular' (Geddit)

Olly

Jacko, Mk1 3 litre Capri's were re-inforced around the strut tops and bigger chassis side rails were fitted, although IIRC the rest of the shell was the same. Would be easy enough to beef up a 1600 shell.

The Capri Club could have just what you are looking for,has a Mk1 pre facelift rolling shell for sale, described as having excellent factory front wings, solid floors and perfect inner wings, for £850. Not peanuts, but you could easily spend that on replacement panels and bodywork in patching up a basket case.

Kevin Groat

I had a mk2 rs2000 for years also drove my mates mk3 3.0s capri and although it was fun it was sooo much heavier and nowhere near as well balanced as the escort. My STi V3 reminds me a lot of the mk2 rs2000, very easy to place it where you want precisely on the road and excellent feedback through the steering. Capri was just so much woolier, Depends what you want.....the way the 3.0s capri could pick up from walking pace in top gear was so impressive and the sound of the v6 was fantastic.
Best serious project would be a mk1 2 door escort wit the cosie lump, best value project would be a mk3 or 2.8 capri with the scorpio cossie v6 lump.

NotoriousREV

302 cu in V8. You know you want to.

CrisPDuk

Aussie spec Nice

On the subject of engines Jacko, 6 cylinder is the absolute minimum if you want it to be taken seriously Volvo 5cyl engines are long and heavy, and I bet getting the bits made (engine mounts, gearbox adaptor, etc) to convert it longitudinal installation in an old car would cost you a fortune, as you'd into 'one offs' at every point. A 24V Scorpio engine is a pretty straightforward install as the mounting points are as near as damn it the same as a Cologne.

Good luck anyway

It might be worth getting hold of some back issues of Evo and look how much 'fun' John Barker had building his

CrisPDuk

PS On the subject of brakes, anyone who fits Princess 4 pots to their car in this day and age wants their bumps felt. I've just rebuilt a pair for my lad's mini, and frankly they're ****e. The pad area is tiny, you can only get a maximum of a 10" disc in them, and being cast iron they weigh over 3.5kg each, which for the record is more than the 4 pots on a scoob
Then into the bargain, the design of the fluid galleries makes them a tw@t to bleed properly

CrisPDuk

Can't fault your reasoning

midget1500

200bhp in a mk2 is more than enough to go everywhere sideways.

great fun watching them hooning about at hillclimbs. typical shot from the last hillclimb we did

http://www.reallymeansounds.com/repo...&currentPic=68

CrisPDuk

Let's face it, half that is more than enough