ryn004

I was thinking of getting one for around 500 gbp to use as my daily commuter to work, I only travel about 20 miles a day on a pothole street. Reason I want a ford capri, is because is rear wheel drive, looks gorgeous, and I can sell it for more when I'm fed up with it.

• Are these cars easy to drive?
• Any hints in what usually goes wrong with this car?
• Are there modern day upgrades for the Capri, especially brakes.

OllyK

PeteBrant

Notoriously light at the rear. People used to puy bags of sand/brick/dead bodies in the boot to weigh the back end down to stop it flipping out with the merest change of direction.

If you must have one you have four choices

2.8injection
3.0S
Brooklands 280
RS3100 (incredibly rare)

Anything else is tosh.

what would scooby do

1.6 laser

Longjing

Whatever you get for 500 notes is liable to be a bag of bits... so why not have something with a little "character"?

ryn004

Doesn't a capri have character?
About cornering, some good wide tires at the back should do the trick.

ex-webby

Capris are fabulous cars.

In fact, my very first car was a 1.6LS

I later, briefly had a 2.8 and thought it was the best car in the world.

The tail happy reputation is well deserved though.. aparently if you have a Capri as a first car, you grow up to set a world record for driving sideways!

Seriously.. take it really easy at speed. Get some decent quality tyres on it, and just don't go silly.

They're not a "good car", so just know what you're getting into.

Agreed though.. loads of character. In fact, sod it, I think I'm going to get another one - where's autotrader!

PeteBrant

I don't think you fully appreciate just how monumentally **** the Capri is when it comes to handling.

Putting wider tires on a Capri is like putting Nike Air max on an elephant - It isn't going to turn corners any quicker.

ex-webby

LOL. Absolutely true.. but saying that.. would you rather go quickly round a corner in a ford fiesta, while nodding off, or cross up at half the speed with a massive grin on your face!

ryn004

Well I want to have some sideways fun thats why I'm gettign a RWD car.
If one day I wake up and I feel like driving fast around corners all I have to do is use the scooby.

PeteBrant

This is a true story.

Many year ago, I was following a friend of mine down the road. He was driving a Capri 1.6 Laser, and I was in a Escprt MKII 1600 Sport. We got to a bend in the road, and he can have been doing no more than 30 MPH. I saw him lose the back end, and he hit the curb. The car span 180 degrees, hit a lamp pot, and wound up in the hedge at the front of a house. I was amazed at how mad the accident was given the low speeds.

I pulled up behind him, got out and started to chat to him and the house owner who has come out to see what had happened. THe police turned up and took statements etc.

All the time, the corner, which was obviously greasy, was causing problems for a few other cars, although not to the same extent as the Capri. I thought it prudent to move my car, because I felt it was going to get hit sooner or later. I took my car round into a side street and then walked back up to my mate and his stricken car. The policeman finished off taking details and off he went.

Just as I got to my mate, we heard a car coming round the corner at full chat. This bloke was going for it. Another Capri came tanking round the corner. My immediate though was that he was never going to make it, my second was that he was probably going to hit us. He hit the curb at about 60 MPH, literally sailed over our heads, span 360 degrees and landed in the house next doors garden.

That incident told me all I ever need to know about Ford Capris.

DCI Gene Hunt

I once had a 3.0S.... feckin LOVED that car, even had a BLING rear slated window grill and an extra 1" thick cut steel sheet in the boot.... handled like a DREAM!

Those were the days of wide wheels and chrome.... before twisty's and 0-60's.... the good old days

PeteBrant

Well quite, Like I said, if you get a Brooklands 280 or a 2.8 or a 3.0s, then you can have a bag of fun drifting around. Anything less than that just hasn't go tthe oomph.

OllyK

wayne9t9

Had a few myself, the 2.0GL was my fave. Had a white 1.6 with a black vinyl roof and square headlights, just like the on at the begining of "Minder". Great fun in the wet. Sidewaaaaaaaaaaaaays

ex-webby

The whole "stick a bag of spuds in the boot" / "sheet steel" thing always cracked me up, as it would actually make matters worse, except at really REALLY slow speeds, and would then only really reduce wheel spin, not the tail happy nature of the car.

But we're getting dangerously close to a vehicle dynamics debate on that one, so maybe best left well alone!

Longjing

Yeah it does... I was agreeing with you. It might be a bit rubbish but so will anything else for 500 notes.

DCI Gene Hunt

All it needed was the Dukes of Hazard air horns

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

*cough*

'Other Marques'

CrisPDuk

The road outside the church on the day I got married



Absolutely great cars, and personally I've always thought they handled well

OK their road holding isn't up to much by modern standards, but IMO that's no bad thing, you get to have fun and keep your licence

And big oversteery slides are so predictable even my Gran could cope

The stock brakes do make those on a Mk1 Golf GTi look state of the art though

Loost

Theres a sweet looking RS3100 round my way in kermit green -

i assume it is a copy

ryn004

Thats a nice car that VW Karmann Ghia!

lozgti

Amazing how using cars on TV/in film makes them even more desirable....The Professionals.

Never quite re created the success story with the Probe (great name) or the Cougar.

Great cars but I'm always disappointed when I see the pea shooter exhausts on the 2.8,lovely car or not

Leslie

I had a 2 litre one a good many years ago. Not that poky with that engine of course but it was great fun round the corners. It would slide about alright but was predictable and controllable and it was not bad looking either in those days.

One good thing as I found out was that if the cambelt broke and fell into the road, the valves would miss the pistons! I just walked back to the local Ford garage, bought a new belt, walked back to the car, fitted it by the side of the road and continued with my journey! About 45 minutes maximum to do the job including the walking

The big problem as has been mentioned was the rust. It was bad for that and you would have to be very careful in that respect if you buy one. Another problem the early ones had was the camshaft. The oil supply was not quite good enough to the camshaft and the tappets would suddenly wear out so that you could hear the engine in the next street. There was a modified oil feed on the later ones which could be retrofitted which sorted that problem out.

Best of luck if you find a good one.

Les

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I have forgotten his name - but there is a guy who spends all his time going round Donington sideways in a Capri. I think it has standard brakes - but he loses speed by throwing it even more sideways.

He is very quick!!!

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

if you guys want to see someone passionate about Ford Capri's then speak to PaulPalmer on here, he has a 3.0 litre S (very rare ) undergoing renovation and it looks a great project

SVXNUT

Cheap fun, go for a scimitar, fibreglass body with a 3.0l from the ford Capri/Granada. Someone round here has the estate version running 450hp!!.

Spoon

I once tried the Tickford Capri in 1984-5 but couldn't sit in it, not enough headroom. So that's my Capri experience, although friends had them, albeit nothing smaller than the 3.0S

Spoon

If you're going to list the 4 above then you need to add the Tickford.

swampster

iTrader: (1)

Yours for a little over 10K!