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Readers’ Rides:
1977 Ford Capri
Added on March 20 by RossD

$500, off of craigslist and its being delivered by the guy tomorrow (20 miles down the road). He said it ran when he parked it and now it doesnt run. Its got the 2.3L, 4 cylinder and a four speed manual transmission. This is my first sports car and first classic (if you can call it either of those two terms). The body and floor pans are amazingly rot free, there is a little on the rear quarters but nothing to bad. The interior is sad and the window seals are all shot. A new windshield comes with it since the one installed is damaged. I’ll have to get a battery and see if I can get it started. I’ll probably be needing help so keep an eye on the boards for my questions…

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Comments

Volksroddin:
looks like a good place to start, keep us post'ed
Mar 20, 2009 8:29 p.m.
friedgreencorrado:
Nice find!
Mar 20, 2009 11:17 p.m.
porksboy:
My father had a hard on for those cars back in the 80's. You could still get parts for them at the stealership, the local parts store, even JC Whitney. All the interior parts, seals, mechanical bits and pieces. The junkyards were still full of them. But that doesnt help you does it? The car is dead nuts simple, most of the ones we played with had the 2.0 engine. I just gleaned all the car stuff from his shop to put in mine and will go thru it and see if I have anything interior wise. If the rear fender wells are rust free you have a real gem there. I would like to have another someday.
Mar 22, 2009 3:15 p.m.
RossD:
There is only a couple rust spots and most of them are low on the rear fender. The under side is pretty clean along with the shock towers and leaf spring mounts. We found a LA Times newspaper in the trunk dated 1994. I bought it in Green Bay.
Mar 22, 2009 7:11 p.m.
pres589:
On my '73 Capri I ended up with mid-80's Mustang wheels from the 4 cylinder model, there's about 8 spokes on the face, and if you actually push on them you'll discover they're made of some sort of rubber. In any case, they were a good swap, getting me a 14” wheel. From there I ran Bridgestone Potenza RE910's, 195/60/14's which just fit the front and gave plenty of room out back. I would imagine you could do the same sort of sizing and get into some decent tires. If you want to stick with a 13” wheel, Sumitomo HTR's are probably a good way to go, but I have no experience with them myself. For street use I think I'd go to a 14” because of what's available. If you're taking it to the track you may want to look into something else.
Mar 26, 2009 7:42 p.m.
RossD:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31936748@N00/sets/…
Apr 6, 2009 7:43 p.m.
GElliott:
I just had a look at your pictures. From what I can see your Capri is black and looks like gold colored trim. Could possibly be a JPS- JohnPlayerSpecial , which had the same color scheme as the JPS F-1 team back in the 70's. I have been worikng on British Fords for over 40 years- you can see my Cortina GT on this site.
Jul 16, 2009 9:23 a.m.
RossD:
Unfortunately, its a flat black paint/primer on top of a sweet 70s orange. If you take a peek at the photos again you'll see the original color under the hood. It looks like the rims were painted by someone with that gold color.
Jul 20, 2009 8:35 a.m.
capri73:
The 2.3 Turbo is a great idea here. There are several completed examples in the US. I put a 5.0 in my Mk1 Capri, but you already have the engine mounts ready to go for the 2.3 T.
Aug 5, 2009 5:09 p.m.
RossD:
My current time wasting activity is looking at Zetec DOHC 4 cylinders to slap in there. Should bolt right up… “should” being the key word.
Oct 21, 2009 8:36 p.m.
stan:
Thanks for keeping us up on your project. This would be a nice reference for someone else (me). Stan
Oct 30, 2009 1:41 p.m.
wheelsmithy:
Nice ride. Can't loose with either the Ztec or the 2.3 turbo. Lots of ceiling with the turbo… Maybe a wrecked turbo coupe parts car? Merkur? SVO may even be doable.
Nov 13, 2009 10:05 a.m.
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