-
Hi Guest!
You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
There are some perks with a member upgrade!**Upgrade Now**
(PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
Capri - Don't see many any more
- Thread starter Basil
- Start date
Share this page
Offline
Hey Bas -
Does almost count? In '73, my wife and I were ready to buy our first new car. For me the choice was between the Capri and a Celica. A co-worker had a Capri and really liked it, and I was leaning toward it. But my other half preferred the Celica, and so it was. It was a great car, and we both liked its looks better, but I always wondered about the Capri...
Mickey
Does almost count? In '73, my wife and I were ready to buy our first new car. For me the choice was between the Capri and a Celica. A co-worker had a Capri and really liked it, and I was leaning toward it. But my other half preferred the Celica, and so it was. It was a great car, and we both liked its looks better, but I always wondered about the Capri...
Mickey
Chalk the disappearance of the German Merc Capri up to Detroit's lousy attitude about parts support. Within a relatively short time, American manufacturers discontinue parts support, making it difficult to continue maintaining one. I speak from experience, having decided to sell my beloved German Opel Manta in 1984 when I could no longer get parts.
PC
Obi Wan
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
.... I speak from experience, having decided to sell my beloved German Opel Manta in 1984 when I could no longer get parts.
[/ QUOTE ]
You should have hung onto that Manta. You can still get parts for them; you just can't get them from Buick.
Being built from the Opel parts bin its mechanicals are shared with other models and availability is still pretty good across the pond. There is a small core of suppliers in the US that support Opels.
I gave mine to my brother in the late eighties. He had to sell it in the mid nineties because neither of us had room for it. I was looking to get it back a couple of years ago but sadly, it was long gone. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
PC.
.... I speak from experience, having decided to sell my beloved German Opel Manta in 1984 when I could no longer get parts.
[/ QUOTE ]
You should have hung onto that Manta. You can still get parts for them; you just can't get them from Buick.
Being built from the Opel parts bin its mechanicals are shared with other models and availability is still pretty good across the pond. There is a small core of suppliers in the US that support Opels.
I gave mine to my brother in the late eighties. He had to sell it in the mid nineties because neither of us had room for it. I was looking to get it back a couple of years ago but sadly, it was long gone. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
PC.
daddytiger64
Member
Offline
They were cool little cars I had a 1974 model, it was a 4-banger car which was treated to a Ford T-Bird Turbo Coupe motor upgrade. Aluminum kidney bean mags, fiberglass fender flares, fiberglass front and rear spoilers. Unfortunatley the tin worms (rust never sleeps) got to the car and in the mid 90s I parted it out.
Sherlock
Yoda
Offline
Never owned one yet... Wouldn't mind owning one from what I've heard about them.
Right now my friend Clem has a Capri in his used car inventory (picked up from a local police auction, complete with "skull" shifter /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif), supposed to be basically sold to someone from what I've heard but a few weeks later it's still there, could be available still.
Also spotted a rare Mk 1 Capri here in Calgary this past winter, being driven on the road directly in front of me, it looked to be very clean and in nice shape
Right now my friend Clem has a Capri in his used car inventory (picked up from a local police auction, complete with "skull" shifter /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif), supposed to be basically sold to someone from what I've heard but a few weeks later it's still there, could be available still.
Also spotted a rare Mk 1 Capri here in Calgary this past winter, being driven on the road directly in front of me, it looked to be very clean and in nice shape
Slider748
Senior Member
Offline
Strange, I was thinking the same the other day. I bought a '76 Capri II in 1980. It was white with a half vinyl roof and the 2.8L V6 motor. I was 17 at the time and I thought I had the coolest car around. That was until I made friends with some guy who had a yellow '75 TR6. Now that was cool. We use to swap cars all the time until we graduated from grade 12. After that, I never saw him again and I never drove another TR6. That was until a few months ago. After 24 years of yearning to buy a TR6, I finally bought one a few weeks ago. Oddly, in the last 24 years, I've never had any desire to drive another Capri.
PC
Obi Wan
Offline
Steve's right, the internet has opened up a world of communication but if something isn't physically out there Google isn't going to make it magically appear.
That said, the fact that the net does make it easier to connect consumers with suppliers has made it practical and profitable for many suppliers and manufacturers to do business that they otherwise wouldn't.
Capris do have an active following. The Capri Club has a big meet planned in a few weeks.
Some Capris are even LBCs. RHD models for the UK market were built in Halewood, England.
PC.
That said, the fact that the net does make it easier to connect consumers with suppliers has made it practical and profitable for many suppliers and manufacturers to do business that they otherwise wouldn't.
Capris do have an active following. The Capri Club has a big meet planned in a few weeks.
Some Capris are even LBCs. RHD models for the UK market were built in Halewood, England.
PC.
Mark Beiser
Jedi Warrior
Offline
I had a '74 german built Capri with the V6 for a couple of years. Sold an MGB to buy it in '88, and drove it instead of my MGA for daily stuff. I ended up getting rid of it because of the lack of parts availability.
The mechanicals and suspension used very few "off the shelf" parts. Engine was the eurosport V6, suspension and transmission not in common with other Fords, etc. Just about any part I ever needed could be had from Ford, but it was all old stock parts, and took 28 days for the dealer to get it in, or from a salvage yard in Phoenix that had a couple of them.
There was no 3rd party parts supply for it. Parts for my MGA Twin Cam were more available, probably still are...
The mechanicals and suspension used very few "off the shelf" parts. Engine was the eurosport V6, suspension and transmission not in common with other Fords, etc. Just about any part I ever needed could be had from Ford, but it was all old stock parts, and took 28 days for the dealer to get it in, or from a salvage yard in Phoenix that had a couple of them.
There was no 3rd party parts supply for it. Parts for my MGA Twin Cam were more available, probably still are...
In the US Team Blitz specializes in Capri parts. https://www.teamblitz.com/ Body, mechanical, and performance. I think that they are easier to get than Cortina parts. Most of the suspension stuff was common to the Escort (not the US Escorts, the European RWD Escorts). Into the 90's V6 MK 1 Capri's were winning in SCCA Solo racing.
They rusted easily and had pretty flimsy materials in the interior.
A really nice clean one would be a find. The '71 2 liter had over 100 hp and was quick. a '72 or '73 V6 had even more power, and had not become all that heavy yet.
They rusted easily and had pretty flimsy materials in the interior.
A really nice clean one would be a find. The '71 2 liter had over 100 hp and was quick. a '72 or '73 V6 had even more power, and had not become all that heavy yet.
I believe that European Capris shared bits with other Euro Fords-things like motors, suspension pieces, etc. Problem was, none of those cars ever made it to the States, at least not in any numbers worth mentioning. Because they're much more common in England and Europe, parts both new and used are pretty easily available (and most service items are stocked at whatever the British version of Pep Boys is. Halfords???). The whole situation reminds me of the last time Ford tried to do this, with the Merkur in the 80s. After the first couple of years you absolutely could not find parts for them, at all. I kinda liked the XR4ti I test drove way back when, but the lack of oil filters put me off. Strange, when I could buy MG Midget oil filters at Ace Hardware....
-William
-William