Board logo

Would you buy a Capri? If so which one?
Mr Whippy - 20/9/13 at 05:06 PM

Yeah disgust at modern car complexity has me thinking of going retro and just buying a nice Capri. I use to have a 3ltr mk1 which was a handful of crazy stupidness but huge fun if a tad scary at times

My wife has said I can just buy a car I want rather than something we both would like....ah well then

What do you think is really the best of the Capri's for fun and value. This is just to be a weekend good weather toy not a daily driver and to take to shows etc so rubbish mpg isn't an issue plus I love the throaty sound of a v6

big_wasa - 20/9/13 at 05:14 PM

The one with the least amount of rust you can find but a Brooklands would be nice

mookaloid - 20/9/13 at 05:20 PM

Find a good solid cheap one then put a V8 in it or a scorpio cosworth - or a 200SX motor etc - you get the idea

Mr Whippy - 20/9/13 at 05:21 PM

quote:
Originally posted by big_wasa
The one with the least amount of rust you can find but a Brooklands would be nice


I certainly won't be buying a dodgy one (there's plently of those kicking around) as that's just asking for trouble and will be very critical of the car, it has to be of show standard or I'm not interested. Don't care less either what mk it is just got to be a good one.

[Edited on 20/9/13 by Mr Whippy]

Smoking Frog - 20/9/13 at 06:06 PM

A mk1, red with black vinyl roof. But I would have to change the engine and make it handle.

morcus - 20/9/13 at 06:08 PM

My mates V8 engined one which is amazing, though doesn't work at the moment.

Alot of capris out there with the Scorpio cosworth engines and you can pickup a whole car for just a few hundred quid (They have comfy seats to).

scudderfish - 20/9/13 at 06:19 PM

Not this one eBay Item

mookaloid - 20/9/13 at 06:29 PM

quote:
Originally posted by scudderfish
Not this one eBay Item


Bizzarre......

mark chandler - 20/9/13 at 07:07 PM

I loved my late 3.0litre mkIII

Think I would miss a 5 speed gearbox these days pushing you into a 2.8i with LSD.

Personally I would look for something with a small block v8 and a leather.

I also had a V8 SD1, faster, quieter and better handling so forget the ford and get one of these

[Edited on 20/9/13 by mark chandler]

RichieW - 20/9/13 at 07:16 PM

Mark1 facelift.

Peteff - 20/9/13 at 07:23 PM

A friend of mine bought a Mk1 3.0 in aubergine a few years ago, it was rebuilt from the ground up and was a bargain at £15,000 He didn't lose out when he sold it though.

r1_pete - 20/9/13 at 07:30 PM

MK1 RS3100 or a Broad Speed Bullet, if you can find one....

sonic - 20/9/13 at 07:47 PM

Over the years i have had alot of Capri's, in the late 80's i had over 15 or so.

The 2.8 special is a nice car but in my opinion i would go for a late 30 Ltr S with the power steering, the engine is alot more torquey than the 2.8 and great fun at low speeds, roundabouts drifting!!.

I had two really special cars in the early 90's, one was a Black 30 ltr S which had been rebuilt by a millionaires son to a 3.1 with tripple IDF webbers, it had a fortune spent on it and some Tw-t ran in the back of it and wrote it off.

The second i bought out of a Ford motorsport showroom in London, it had been used as a road legal pace car and had a Holdon RS3.1 engine in it that ran as sweet as a nut, it was rare as it was sprayed from the factory in Moonstone Blue with a full factory fitted X pack wide arch kit on it.
To this day the best Capri i have ever seen, i sold it and bought a RS2000 after that and still regret it to this day.

Good luck with getting one they are great cars in that 80's retro way, put Janspeed exhausts on it a axle locating bars on the back and have some fun.

Simon - 20/9/13 at 07:50 PM

Tickford Turbo. But agree with Mark, get an SD1 Vitesse. Far better car

ATB

Simon

nick205 - 20/9/13 at 07:52 PM

A friend used to have a Tickford, which I always admired.

Failing that it would be a rot free shell and fit a Duratec motor. Replace the leaf spring/live axle setup with a 5 link setup or better an IRS setup.

sonic - 20/9/13 at 07:57 PM

Only buy a Ticford turbo if you like eating head gaskets a burning valves, they had a reputation for it, i have seen one with a Sprintex super charger which looked good

scimjim - 20/9/13 at 09:05 PM

buy a Scimitar - much, much cheaper, rarer, less rust, more interior space and the ability to go round corners as standard

mark chandler - 20/9/13 at 09:24 PM

quote:
Originally posted by scimjim
buy a Scimitar - much, much cheaper, rarer, less rust, more interior space and the ability to go round corners as standard


Now that's a good suggestion, a tax exempt SE5 throw away the ugly bumpers

This looks ideal

RELIANT SCIMITAR SE5 FOR RECOMMISSIONING,PRE TAX

Fred W B - 21/9/13 at 07:00 AM

V 8 Capri! This a Perana race car in SA.




Heres a discussion (and lots of pics) about a very nice car for sale in UK

perana for sale


[Edited on 21/9/13 by Fred W B]

sonic - 21/9/13 at 05:05 PM

Scimitar go round corners!!!

My old man had one of the first ones in the 70s it was scary to say the least around corners, especially in the wet.
To light on the back end, he used to put a bag of sand in the back when the weather was bad.

SD1 is a good car, if you can find a good one

Andy S - 21/9/13 at 07:12 PM

To answer the original question - a good MK3 2.0S - replace the Pinto with a Duratec - but keep the Pinto in the shed for when it comes time to move it on. More power than a 3.0L capri and twice the economy and all the practicality of a hatch.

scimjim - 21/9/13 at 09:05 PM

More importantly, uprate the axle mounting - despite what the ill informed sonic may think, leaf springs do not give good lateral location.