worried about driving the capri

[80s kid]

Mornin all

Since the troubles i have had with the capri i have lost confidence in taking it out over 10 miles. I no it sounds stupid but i have already broke down once and had a few close calls. Im guessing it will never be a really reliable car cuz of the age i just dont want it turning into a garden feature outside.

Its in running condition its just every new noise i hear now ill be thinkin its goin to die on me.

[pbar]

Just think though, the more work you do on it, and the more you fix, the more reliable the car will become as you can rule those things out from causing issues again, for the time being anyway. Plenty of people use older cars, including Capri's as daily drivers. You are only here a short time, do what you can to keep it maintained, then drive it and enjoy. Do what preventative stuff you can, but don't worry about things breaking, until it happens, otherwise you will just be put off from driving it.

[nigecapri]

Average industry norm with new cars for problems needing dealer remedial work is two in the first year.
A basic toolkit rolled in a pair of old knickers under the drivers seat will get you out of most situations if you know what to do with them and then you're in a better position than drivers of newer cars who'll be absolutely stuffed if it conks out unless they have a diagnostic tester in the boot. A mobi & AA card does give peace of mind though.

[Noel]

Yes, just buy the cheapest AA membership you can find, and then turn the radio up louder so you don't here all them funny noises anyway!

[Andrew 2.8i]

Hi,
I think you have to enjoy Capri for what it is, a classic.
As pbar says, once you've sorted your current issues you won't have as much to concern you when you're driving the car. Problems will inevitably appear from time to time, however, the good times you have with the car will heavily outweigh the bad.
Regular visual inspections and planned maintenance will ensure future breakdowns are kept to a minimum. As nigecapri stated, always carry your mobile and breakdown card for peace of mind.
Hope you get it all sorted,
Andrew.

[pbar]

A basic toolkit rolled in a pair of old knickers....

Sounds like you had to think of a quick excuse to have had knickers in your car at some stage there Nige!

[Big Mike]

A basic toolkit rolled in a pair of old knickers....

Sounds like you had to think of a quick excuse to have had knickers in your car at some stage there Nige!

Especially with a tool in them

[Terra-Kotta]

To be fair I know where this lads coming from. 20+ years of bodges (I've seen them all).
When I had the luxury of the garage I'd buy one and go right over it. To the point I'd literally check every nut and bolt. The only one I had that I had complete confidence in was the orange one. And that's because there probably wasn't a single nut bolt or fixing on the car that I hadn't had apart.

[-JC-]

Know what you mean too, had spells where I'd be hesitant to drive the car much. You can turn it into a "reliable" car but it will cost, there's nothing to stop you replacing every single item of running gear with new/upgraded stuff or even converting it to more modern running gear. There's a company that sells mk1 escorts with virtually everything new (although it's again very expensive)

As long as you keep on top of the important stuff, it shouldn't be anything major/dangerous, a break down is no big deal as long as you can pull up safely, no car is 100% safe anyway. I got free breakdown cover with a bit of haggling with insurance compaines.

[80s kid]

Average industry norm with new cars for problems needing dealer remedial work is two in the first year.
A basic toolkit rolled in a pair of old knickers under the drivers seat will get you out of most situations if you know what to do with them and then you're in a better position than drivers of newer cars who'll be absolutely stuffed if it conks out unless they have a diagnostic tester in the boot. A mobi & AA card does give peace of mind though.

I carry bottles of coolant and water, jump cables, tool kit and have my rac card which i have already used.

What can be done with the pants?

[Andrew 2.8i]

Hi,

What can be done with the pants?

A clean pair of pants is always useful after a sideways 'moment'.
Andrew.

[80s kid]

Hi,

What can be done with the pants?

A clean pair of pants is always useful after a sideways 'moment'.
Andrew.

Haha oh right . Best get some in then.

[80s kid]

That mechanic that messed it up before aint helped much. I dont trust anyone looking at my car now.

Ill keep checking it making sure everythings running right (to what i no of anyway)

[Matty2148]

Sounds familier! couple of years ago I stuck a v8 in mine, it made the 1 mile trip to the MOT station and back, then made the 13 mile trip to my house, then one night after work I though I`d take it for a mooch (5meters), it didnt even manage to get off the drive! 1 week later and a new fuel pump fitted it ran again, next time it made it 5 miles before the power steering pipe ruptured leaving possibly the largest smoke plume I`ve ever seen and a smell (5 miles)...so nurse it home, a visit to pirtek and a new pipe to match the RV8 power steering pump to the ford one and we're off! then the 3" exhausts I made both fell off at the same time (15 miles), new brackets from rally design, finally the radiator pipe was a smidge to short and again I got home followed by smoke (8 miles), visit to halfords the next day for a 12" universal pipe then it did 7000 miles with out a single problem, I took it to the blackpool capri show, did some enthuastic driving one the way back! The point is, and as mentioned above, fix the faults as they happen then you`ll have a reliable car.

[standard_Man]

"Im guessing it will never be a really reliable car cuz "

I have been left standing more time in modern crap then a capri. May not have got me home in great style but not on the back of a relay truck.

[80s kid]

"Im guessing it will never be a really reliable car cuz "

I have been left standing more time in modern crap then a capri. May not have got me home in great style but not on the back of a relay truck.

True, i have been bought back home once when the carb played up but i overheated it a few times when i was having problems and still limped it home.

Theres no worse feeling than a problem arising when your away from home.

[Andrew 2.8i]

Theres no worse feeling than a problem arising when your away from home.

Hi,
As everyone has been saying. In a modern car, a breakdown always results in recovery to a garage. It never ceases to amaze me how many new(ish) prestige cars you see on the back of recovery trucks. OK, they might not all be breakdowns, but most probably are.
In a Capri, however, with a small bit of knowledge and a toolkit a lot of problems can be fixed at the side of the road. Which is a good thing. Not least because it saves waiting for the rescue people to turn up then a further wait for a recovery truck.
To be fair to all cars, old and new, if they are maintained they will be much more reliable than if not maintained. There was a feature on the 'This Is Money' website that revealed that 38% of cars fail their very first MOT due to issues with lighting and signalling. If that is not lack of basic maintenance, I don't know what is. As Matty2148 pointed out in his post, once you get on top of your current issues reliability should be improved from there.
In summary, fix the problems, keep on top of the maintenance and you should be able to enjoy largely trouble free driving.
Sorry for the long post. I bet it's timed out.
All the best,
Andrew.

[80s kid]

I will keep on top of it. I am reading my manuals to link up parts in the book to the actual parts on the engine. It will help if i know what everything does before i start messin about.

I agree about the modern cars tho, once the engine light comes on in my van its all over. No quick fix there.

[stevemarl]

My brothers car will probably be scrapped at next MOT `cos the airbag light is on, this is an intermittent fault which defies diagnosis. TBH the cost of `stuff` + resetting ECUs, it`s not financially viable. Other than that, bodywise, mechanically - perfectly sound.

[Big Mike]

I will keep on top of it. I am reading my manuals to link up parts in the book to the actual parts on the engine. It will help if i know what everything does before i start messin about.

I agree about the modern cars tho, once the engine light comes on in my van its all over. No quick fix there.

Chin up Dude, I do know where you're coming from when talking about relying on your car as a daily driver, but since it's worrying you so much - I've told you before to go and have a chat with Russ at Shelby, you know where it is - you said you pass it in the van most days so drop in even without the car and have a chat, he's a really top bloke and I guarantee he'll give you confidence to trust him to work on your motor, once he's seen the car he'll soon tell you what's right and wrong - I know there's a cost involved from that point on but seems to me it's that peace of mind you need as well as knowing there's someone behind you knows what they're doing.

Anyway I'm off to the lockup to attempt to refit my seats for the first time since I did my back in so wish me luck lol