'72 Mercury Capri

[AngliaGT]

I saw this in the neighborhood about a year ago.At that time,
it was covered up with a tarp.I've been trying to get pictures of it
since then.The owner,George gave me a call a few days ago,& told
me to come over,& get pictures of it.
George bought it new,in 1972.He's decided that he wants to
sell it.He'd like to get $3000 for it.The interior is in great shape,but
the body does have some rust.
What do you think?

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[glemon]

These were pretty popular when they were newish, but they have all rusted away years ago in my neck of the woods in the upper midwest. It looks like a reasonable price for the condition. I think they are kind of cool little cars.

[HealeyRick]

Depending on how bad the rust is, seems like a decent price. They were a nice car Would like it better with the Cologne V6 motor.

[dklawson]

Being a '72 would that be the 2L 4-cylinder?

A V6 Capri was on my "must have" list of cars in high school. Roanoke isn't too far to go but I'm just not ready for another project !

Is the engine free? When was the last time it ran?

[TOC]

Not bad. 2.0L, 2.3L came out in a year or two after this. MUCH preferred the 2.0L

Had these in the shop all the time when I worked for L-M.

Don't see a sunroof, so that's a plus. Lots of issues with those back then.

Front ends were weird, and ten years later hard to find parts for.

Like, the front sway bar was the positioning brace for the lower control arm.

$3K seems high. But if it's solid.....

Two light duty four speeds in that era.....Dagenham was one.....and one was a real problem.
Early Capris....split driveline? Ringing? I remember a TSB to drill a hole in the end of the driveshaft, rotate 180, go to the other end and do the same....early spray foam (got hot) sprayed in one end while associate watched the hole on the other end.....complaint was ringing of hollow driveshaft...and I have never heard of such a thing on any other car...

[LarryK]

They go easily for $3000 in Midwest, rust and all.

[TOC]

Sunroofs. Boy.....I got stuck with them.
Cable issues, some, big deal was the assembly line worker who put them in. Two clear 1/2" plastic tubes for drains off pack corners of pan, went down C pillar behind upholstery, in front of wheelhouse. Supposed to push them in, stick the ends through the holes in the floor to drain.
EVERY ONE they ended up folding them over partway down the C pillar. Completely blocked the drains.

Not a real problem in temperate climes, where you know, you actually NEED a sunroof.

Try it somewhere where it rains a LOT, and gets down towards freezing.
Come off the freeway, on the offramp, hit the brakes.

All that almost frozen water in the pan behind the actual sunroof (think over back seats) comes forward, down the neck of the banker in his (or her) three piece suit.

You can just imagine the upset, wet customers.

[65_BRG_Sprite]

Love it!!!

[waltesefalcon]

I'd say it's about $2500 too much, but that is just me. Apparently some guys like these.

[LarryK]

Just like Mavericks and Pintos , each has a following.

[TOC]

and maybe parts are not the issue they once were. Hated to see them come into the shop, often parts were just not there.
Front end, especially.
I don't think the 4 cylinder ones were 3K new. So much plastic inside. Noisy and squirrely in the snow.

[JPSmit]

Repeat after me. "My name is Doug, I am a caroholic!" No cars for you!

I must admit I have never warmed up to Capri's but it looks like a good project for those who do like them. We have three or four show up to British Car Day - on, still a four cylinder has a very special head (I don't remember the spec) but man does it make nice noises as it comes in!

[dklawson]

Repeat after me. "My name is Doug, I am a caroholic!" No cars for you!

"My name is Doug... and I've been project free for 5 years now".

[waltesefalcon]

I went to a classic car show awhile back that someone, obviously not understanding the word "classic," had let an Edsel in.

[JPSmit]

I went to a classic car show awhile back that someone, obviously not understanding the word "classic," had let an Edsel in.

love an Edsel! And by the same logic....

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[TOC]

I went to a classic car show awhile back that someone, obviously not understanding the word "classic," had let an Edsel in.

Depends on the state of residence. If the car meets the requisite age requirements, 40 or at the most 50 years and it's a "classic".
Only thing wrong with an Edsel was marketing.
Manufactured and sold for a market which just wasn't there.

Same parts used on all the other cars of that time. In fact, the Pontiac emulated the horse collar nose years later.

Pushbutton trans in middle of the wheel?
Like LBC's with headlights and stator tubes is different?

I've driven and worked on Edsels, no different in accessibility and sequence than others of the era.

[TOC]

oh...if you didn't like the taillights on an Edsel, don't buy a new Prius.

[waltesefalcon]

"Pontiac emulated the horse collar nose"

You mean the urinal nose?

[LarryK]

Yeew!

[dklawson]

oh...if you didn't like the taillights on an Edsel, don't buy a new Prius.

I have thought since their introduction that the latest generations of Toyotas and Hondas look like their designers were trying to emulate "Transformers". To each his/her own but they are not for me.