Ford Capri Rust

The-Ry-Man06

Well i went out and a good look at a couple of capris and mk2 escorts and ive finally narrowed it down to one capri. Ive seen it a couple of times now and its a great runner and looks pretty great. But when i brought it too the local mechanic we found a small bit of rust on the right hand chassis arm just behind the wheel. Apart from this its only a small bit of surface rust. Does anyone know how much (ballpark figure) this'll cost to repair coz it wont pass NCT with it.

Btw when i was driving back from the garage the engine seemed to be a bit more 'jumpy'. Is there a chance it could be misfiring on one cylynder. Is this difficult/ expensive to fix?

carchaeologist

Its a common capri rust area,if thats all you have you are doing well.Not sure of a price to fix though.
Maybe change the plugleads and points,its a start anyway,worked wonders on mine,dont pull the leads off with the engine running though..it kinda hurts..lol!!:p

The-Ry-Man06

Ah thats good so. it has to be pathced up if its gonna pass its NCT tho.
Yea i'm not sure about the price he's asking 2500e for it. its '83 mk3 wit 74000miles which has been resprayed but theres bubbles forming in 3 or 4 of the common places which worries me as i dont know how deep rust is.

carchaeologist

Capris seem to have gone into a weird price structure in the last while,hard to value an average one.
God be with the days when they were handy to pick up.Mine was 600quid eight years back,and my friends 450,both were good honest runners at the time,mine is irish too.
Where are your rust bubbles?

The-Ry-Man06

one is just beneath the windscreen but thankfully not touching windscreen. And other two are on both front side pannels.

Ive noticed that with capri prices even in the last 10 months of looking for 1! I mean it seems a good price in comparison to anything else on the market but you see shows like wheeler deelers capri edition and im askin myself how could they be so much more expensive here?

carchaeologist

The-Ry-Man06 wrote: »

one is just beneath the windscreen but thankfully not touching windscreen. And other two are on both front side pannels.

The rust under the windscreen is a common spot,its hard to tell how bad it is,but sometimes looking up from underneath the footwell by the pedals you can see the underneath of that panel,its double skinned where it meets the screen,and thats why it rusts.
The front wings are welded on(for structural reasons as far as i know) so its a bit of a job to change them,so make sure they are in pretty good shape.i need two doing....:(























Other than that they are great cars to work on mechanically,if you have the 5 speed box its a great bonus for long drives.

Great fun in the wet too....

The-Ry-Man06

Wow really wouldnt fancy that. anything to do with paint nd body work scares the S***e out of me! I'm hoping i can send it to a friend in slane who'l do it for around 500 quid.

This is what i'm talkin about http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C81104/
It jus makes me sick to pay so much more here jus coz im too lazy to go to england!

corktina

if thats all the rust on an old Ford, its probably a good one...check out the scuttle and wings throughly as Carcheologist says....good luck, looking forward to pictures

corktina

check out the VRT before you buy...capris seem to cost a lot in VRT

The-Ry-Man06

Ye well thats the thing you wouldnt end up saving a huge amount after vrt, transport and ferry costs. Ye the cars in fairly good nick but im a bit afraid that repairs and constant maintenance will push me well over my budget of 3500e.:o

Oh and by the way about the power steering it turns out the capri i was drivin had 10psi in the front 2 tyres! It was like a boat! but ye steerings grand once i pumped it up.

corktina

I have A Taunus coupe for sale that people say looks a bit like capri...€3000 and NCT exempt....

Mecnically and chassis-wise its the same as a Mk3 Cortina but different styling.

Redrocket

ahem.... looks a bit like a capri??? WHAT!

carchaeologist

Whoa!!Those mudflaps are nasty!!Car looks straight enough though
Still has its original radio too,always a nice touch(dash isnt butchered)!

Another thing i noticed with my one was i couldnt keep rear springs on it,they kept breaking,and not from doing wreck.The first time the main leaf broke under the axle and allowed the axle to move,the handling was very interesting to say the least...

Whosbetter?

Some Capris can look rusty under the windscreen alright.

Seems that ones fitted with sunroofs are particularly prone. The drain holes get blocked up in em.

My GT4 had this problem. Further investigation revealed extensive rot on the bulkhead.

Luckily, I was able to find a fairly solid bodyshell in a scrappy.
Had to cut a huge chunk out of it, most of the A pillar & about 1/3 of the bulkhead.
Had no tools with me,so wound up using a hammer & chisel!!:eek:

Also, managed to find a Wizard with a welding torch to make the repair.

carchaeologist

Whosbetter? wrote: »

Luckily, I was able to find a fairly solid bodyshell in a scrappy.
Had to cut a huge chunk out of it, most of the A pillar & about 1/3 of the bulkhead.
Had no tools with me,so wound up using a hammer & chisel!!:eek:

Jeebus..thats hardcore..if its bad its a screen out job alright.
Check the corners of the front and rear floors too..some nice doubleskinning here to trap water too...

The-Ry-Man06

corktina wrote: »

I have A Taunus coupe for sale that people say looks a bit like capri...€3000 and NCT exempt....

Mecnically and chassis-wise its the same as a Mk3 Cortina but different styling.

dont think i could get insured on a car over 30 years and i'm sort of set on the capri now.

The-Ry-Man06

[QUOTE=
Another thing i noticed with my one was i couldnt keep rear springs on it,they kept breaking,and not from doing wreck.The first time the main leaf broke under the axle and allowed the axle to move,the handling was very interesting to say the least...[/QUOTE]

Ye that was another thing. The car seemed to be sitting lower on the left because of a broken/bent leaf. is this difficult to sort out are the leafs esy to find? Expense?

carchaeologist

Ill put 2.8 single leafs on mine and A bars while im at it.:)

caprilicious

Hi The-Ry-Man06, I reckon for the budget you have if you do get one in the UK you could get one without rust on it and still come in under budget.

I got my one for €1400 I am not exaggerating when I say there is not a spot of rust on the car at all, panels waxoyled, undercarriaged painted with hammerite, MOT'd & starts on the button.

I wasnt in the humour of travelling to the UK either/bringing trailer/ferry fee's etc so I paid a car transport company to bring the car over for me (cost €600, had the car within 48 hours of them collecting it).

I've to go down & pay VRT on it on Monday but the VRT assured me it would be €1260 max so all in all under €3500.

Just might be an idea rather than you worrying about the rust/potential suspension problems on the one you're looking at.

I found the UK Capri club websites really handy for finding decent unmolested Capri's and Ebay (thats where I got my one)

Best of luck with it, they're a great car to own

Whosbetter?

Rear Springs;Changing

I've done it a few times.
Could never find any new ones here.
I got them from a bloke in England called Mick Ward, think he trades as MWR.
You should find his ads in Classic Ford(I think?)

They wearn't that dear, as such,but with the postage & the exchange rate the way it was then, they were pricey enough.
Not enough to break the bank though.

Fitting them doesn't require much in the way of skill.
Mostly, it's just a "pulling & dragging" kind of job.
Would take an afternoon to change the 2.

Make sure to get the full kit, as some of the old bolts tend to shear off as you undo them.

carchaeologist

Whosbetter? wrote: »

Rear Springs;Changing

I've done it a few times.
Could never find any new ones here.
I got them from a bloke in England called Mick Ward, think he trades as MWR.
You should find his ads in Classic Ford(I think?)

They wearn't that dear, as such,but with the postage & the exchange rate the way it was then, they were pricey enough.
Not enough to break the bank though.

Fitting them doesn't require much in the way of skill.
Mostly, it's just a "pulling & dragging" kind of job.
Would take an afternoon to change the 2.

Make sure to get the full kit, as some of the old bolts tend to shear off as you undo them.

The only problem i had was with the front bolts on the leafs,they are kinda hidden away in the chassis sections,but its not too bad to get access if you have a good socket set.

Whosbetter?

Yeah, that front spring hanger bolt is a bit of a fiddle alright.
Seem to rem wedging a socket in the box section.
Some 'Vice-Grippery' activity might have been involved too...;)

Redrocket

The-Ry-Man06 wrote: »

Wow really wouldnt fancy that. anything to do with paint nd body work scares the S***e out of me! I'm hoping i can send it to a friend in slane who'l do it for around 500 quid.

This is what i'm talkin about http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C81104/
It jus makes me sick to pay so much more here jus coz im too lazy to go to england!

Chance your luck on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1983-FORD-CAPRI-1-6L-NEVER-BEEN-WELDED-1ST-OWNER-24YR_W0QQitemZ280320857761QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item280320857761

corktina

The-Ry-Man06 wrote: »

Wow really wouldnt fancy that. anything to do with paint nd body work scares the S***e out of me! I'm hoping i can send it to a friend in slane who'l do it for around 500 quid.

This is what i'm talkin about http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C81104/
It jus makes me sick to pay so much more here jus coz im too lazy to go to england!

If you find a car to buy in UK I'll go get it for you at cost....I have to go over increasingly regularly to see my 82 yr old Mum and provided it had T&T I could drive it back for you .... cost would depend on where it is in the UK and where you are....i have Insurance and AA recovery:D

Whosbetter?

corktina wrote: »

If you find a car to buy in UK I'll go get it for you at cost....I have to go over increasingly regularly to see my 82 yr old Mum and provided it had T&T I could drive it back for you .... cost would depend on where it is in the UK and where you are....i have Insurance and AA recovery:D

That sounds like a good service.

corktina

well its not fro profit, just to cut my expenses....:) and maybe have a nice enjoyable drive....

carchaeologist

Whosbetter? wrote: »

Yeah, that front spring hanger bolt is a bit of a fiddle alright.
Seem to rem wedging a socket in the box section.
Some 'Vice-Grippery' activity might have been involved too...;)

Indeed..socket wedging is the best way to describe it..lol!

The-Ry-Man06

corktina wrote: »

well its not fro profit, just to cut my expenses....:) and maybe have a nice enjoyable drive....

That sounds pretty good. I sort of have one lined up here in Dublin so long as the seller is willing to drop price a little. But if that falls through im gonna start seriously lookin at ones in the UK.

The-Ry-Man06

well i finally took the plunge and forked out 2200 for a 85 1.6 laser.:D. Its in really surprisingly good nick! interior is perfect all original and not too worn. but there are a few things i need some advise on. The engine is miss firing on one cylinder, the sunroof has sunk and there is a gap where water could collect, The indicators arent working, the drivers side key hole needs replacing/fixing and the roof cloth is torn in a few places.

will be puttin up some pictures soon.

carchaeologist

Cool,looking forward to pics!
I dont know how you would work on a sunroof on one of these as its all hidden behind the headlining,id be inclined to buy one without a sunroof if i go again,mine rubs the top of the sunroof panel as it slides back,havnt a clue how to fix it.
All the lazers had sunroofs though i think.
As for the indicators,maybe its a flasher unit gone or something like that,do the hazard lights work?
Maybe change the plugs,points and leads on the engine and see how it is then,a good service works wonders.

Redrocket

a good service on ANY pinto will work definitely work wonders

points, condenser, leads, plugs, oil + filters, do the timing and she WILL be spot on

looking forward to pics also