History of the Ford Capri
Capri Mk1 was the European version of the highly successful American Mustang.
1964 saw the beginnings of this new coupe codenamed project COLT, a name to be dropped later as another company already had the rights to it.
Olympia 1966 the first glimpse of the soon to be called New CAPRI this car was badged GBX to di . Generally the public disliked the side windows which were practically none existent, they said it made the interior dark and claustrophobic. The familiar 'D' shape appeared just before production in 1968.
The Capri was launched officially at the Brussels show on 24th January 1969 and it was scheduled to be for sale from 6th February. The factories had been producing Capri's for sale from November 1968 and some of these early cars can still be found today - though not many.
Racing was important to the Ford Company and they it was no coincidence that a Capri was included in a saloon car rally which was to be televised on World of Sport around the same time as its launch. The Capri driven by Roger Clark was victorious - what a boost for Capri.
The Capri wheel base is the same as Corsair and many components come from both Escort and Cortina.
The Capri was available in 1.3, 1.6, 2.0, and in GT version, later in September 1969 the 3000 GT was added the first special edition was the Vista orange with Boss dress up louvers at side and rear windows, just 1200 were made.
The 3000E was launched in March 1970 and Ford claimed that the 3000 E and 3000GT versions were the fastest road cars with a top speed of 122 mph. The whole range was revised in September 1972 with 151 changes taking place but not all of these were obvious to the eye. The most obvious changes were to the headlamps and rear lamps, the indicators were included in the bumper and side of the wing. The dashboard was revised and all the lesser engine sized were given a bonnet bulge to accommodate the OHC engine. The 3000 GT was replaced by the 3000 GXL and the 1300 GT was dropped.
Ford Capri MK2 was launched February 1974 and a new concept the rear 'door' on a Capri was introduced.
There were many changes to the Capri though it was built on the same chassis and underneath many parts were still the same so too was the top section with it's small rear quarter window and to the front it still retained the long bonnet. they were available in engine sizes 1300, 1600, 2000, and 3000 the early ones still retained the XL trim later to be dropped in favour of the GL and 'S'.
So what else was new on the 'new' Capri?
The body had been pressed out below the swage line on the former Capri's it had been pressed in, so there was a little bit more room. It was promoted not only as a sporty car but as a utility vehicle as the seats could be laid flat to utilise the back space for transporting large objects. But the front end was blunted with large flat headlamps and a new black mesh effect grille. Though it still looked like a Capri it didn't sell as well as the earlier versions. June 1975 saw the Midnight range in 2000GT and 3000GT these were to become known as the JPS though many were white the black one is the best known. The favourite MK2 without doubt was the luxurious 3000 Ghia so named as Ford
The MK3 code name Carla
Carla was a revamped MK2, gone was the blunt nose and heavy headlamps, and in their place came a new dynamic shape for the 80's. The car had lowered suspension and a louvered grille as well as twin headlamps and later the addition of spoiler’s front and rear for all models.
The range consisted of 1300/1600/ 2000/3000cc with trim in 'L' or 'GL' 'S' or top of the range Ghia. Later specials and limited editions like the Cameo Calypso and Cabaret were introduced to keep the interest in the Capri alive.
In 1981 the ultimate Capri was introduced - the 2.8i - and in 1984 production stopped of all the models except the 2.8i as the special edition LASER appeared. This was a unique Capri in that it had on as standard all the refinements that had been extra's on other models - extra's like a sunroof, electric aerial and plush interior, as well as wide decals along the rubber side mouldings, tinted glass etc. You could also choose a special paint colour - a limited number (1000) of Capri's could be finished in Mineral Blue
The LASER and the 2.8i were the penultimate options and were for sale in Britain only - as the rest of the world, including Germany, no longer had markets for the Capri.
The end came in December 1986 with production of the final special limited edition 2.8i.
This had all the refinements of Capri in a special paint of Brooklands Green with red and white striping and red 280. This car had full 2.8i sp trim and is known as the 280 Brooklands.
With the end of production on December 19 1986 the Capri had attained a sales figure of just short of 2million - there are many books which give an exact figure but this is often disputed in the belief that the figure is nearer the two million mark.
History of Lazys Capri.
It all started back in 2004 when I decided to take part in drag racing rather than just watching. Wasn’t sure what car I should race, the things I was sure of was I needed something cheap, a long wheel base, a large engine bay to accommodate a S.B.C., suspension and brakes capable of supporting the power of a Chevy.
This Capri was the ideal candidate, I had owned a 3000e mk1 when I was nineteen, and this seemed to be an ideal choice. Looking through all the local papers etc I came across a 1978 mk11 3000cc Ghia. The car had a blown engine, new front wings and valance had been fitted. As an added bonus it was an auto, on the down side it was brown and had a beige vinyl roof. The car was collected and striped down, the entire trim etc was removed.
A 305 was fitted, albeit it was later found that I had fitted the wrong crank, the pistons were about 6mm shy of T.D.C. This engine block was donated by Boss, other parts were given to me by the rest of Taz. Cut a long story short, surprise surprise, the first day out at Avon Park was a disaster. The engine was gutless; it was put back on the trailer and taken home.
Grumpy sold me a short engine,350, which was fitted and then taken to the track. All was going well during 2005 until I decided to remove the rev limiter and go racing. As I was going over the finishing line at Avon Park the con rod and piston out of no2 decided that it had enough and tried to get out of the engine via the block. Not only was the engine totalled it split the TH350. On a positive note the standard 3.0 ltr axle was still going strong.
Again Grumpy came to the rescue with a 406 bare block, this was rebuilt and fitted. A new gearbox was sourced. My attention was then turned to the body work as to say the least it looked a bit shabby. My son Mark gave me a hand one weekend and we sprayed the car yellow. The weekend we chose to put the car in paint was scorheo, very hot, as the paint hit the car it dried straight away. Nothing that a large tub of rubbing compound couldn’t sort out. Whilst polishing the car it was apparent that the paint was a bit thin in places as the primer started to show through. Any way if you looked at the car from 50yards away and squinted it looked great,
The car was running great, times were coming down. The standard 3.0 l.s.d. axle was removed and replaced with a Ford 9” L.S.D.. On inspection of the old axle it was found to be fine, half shafts were intact and not twisted. In 2007 the new Ford 9” L.S.D. decided to explode into several pieces. A new sure lock was sourced and fitted.
At the time Taz Racing had two capris, unfortunately they were both yellow. One was the fast yellow one, and Colins yellow Capri was the slower one. This was time for a colour change, now it is two tone blue and white. It wasn’t until after I had it painted that I released that it was the same colour scheme as Trevor and Alan’s old Capri. Hey Ho.
2008 wasn’t a good year, as all the work and upgrades I made during the previous year made the car run slower. The car is now back to the 2007 spec.
Current spec. of Capri
Drive chain
Chevy 406
Dart heads and inlet manifold
Holley 750
Th350 with shift kit
Ford 9”axle. True lock, 4.11 gears
Suspension and Brakes
Front suspension, standard 3.0 struts fitted with Brembo 4 pot callipers
Rear suspension, standard 3.0leaf springs and shocks, Well it works so why change it?
Rear brakes……cosworth calliper and discs.
Bits and bobs
Interior has been kept to a minimum, just two kirkey aluminium seats, everything else has been removed.
Hasn’t got a full roll cage just a loop.
Glass has been removed and replaced with Perspex.
Rear wheels 15 x 10 fitted with MT’S Drag Radials
Fronts……….14 x 6
Best time to date
9.700…………139 mph
Plans for 2009
No plans as such, just to keep it reliable and have fun.
Future plans
Well I would like to say that my new project will be started very soon and completed within the year, easy to say but hard to achieve with my track record. However I have purchased a nearly mint mk111 Capri, the guy I brought it from completely restored the car to its former glory. He regularly entered it into many shows. Now its mine, it has been completely stripped, all that is left is a body shell.
Plans are to fit a twin turbo S.B.C., I have brought the block and a set of pistons, and that’s it. It will be fitted with a tube chassis and the rear wheels will be under the arches. Well that’s it in a nut shell, cant wait to get started.
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Progress Report
All Lee had to do was change the torque converter on his Capri but this is a major job with Lee, who lives up to his nick name of Lazy! Still hopefully he will have this done before the next race meeting.
