GMP Capri

[Andrew 2.8i]

Hi,
Anyone else spotted this for sale?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Capri-2- ... 3a8e2e70fd

If only I had the money.....

Also spotted this one for sale:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Capri-/3 ... 4ad3276e72
What are your thoughts on this?

All the best,
Andrew.

[pbar]

That police car (unless it was another, though seems unlikely), was on ebay about a year ago for £4500 (I think), I was tempted! I've seen it since, once or twice at car shows, namely the Tatton Park one. The owner was commenting that he just can't go anywhere in it for too much attention, which is obvious I guess. The siren still worked etc.

[stevemarl]

The owner was commenting that he just can't go anywhere in it for too much attention, which is obvious I guess.

I`m not being thick am i, but surely it can`t be legal to drive on the road in police livery??
(If it IS I`ll buy it tomorrow!!!

[Andrew 2.8i]

I`m not being thick am i, but surely it can`t be legal to drive on the road in police livery??
(If it IS I`ll buy it tomorrow!!!

Hi,
I'm no expert, but I would be very surprised if it was legal. Although it looks as though it doesn't have 'Police' wording on the car from what I can see on the photos. Perhaps it's just a case of covering the blue lights for road use. It would be a shame if the car had to be trailered everywhere.
Wouldn't it be terrific fun if it could be driven on the road the way it is?
All the best,
Andrew.

[Matty2148]

Also spotted this one for sale:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Capri-/3 ... 4ad3276e72
What are your thoughts on this?

All the best,
Andrew.

if that bumper set up was blended in it`ll look loads better, right now it looks like it was litterally bolted on ! Shame, looks like hes spend a fair few quid on that too.

[mooneyj]

There are three GMP cars in existence.

D432 KVM the best one and as close as you can get, still owned by Mark Smethurst I think.

D443 KVM Formally owned by Babs from Richmond in north Yorkshire but sold on ebay a few years back which may of been the one you were thinking of

and this one. This one needs a few more bits to make it 100% it should have a rear mount police stop sign in place of the spoiler.

All the police crests and the lights will need to be covered for road use but the stripes are fine.

Mark Smethursts has magnetic stripes and emblems which he adds and removes for show use.

[Andrew 2.8i]

Hi,
Thanks for the information you have supplied. You are clearly very knowledgeable and must have researched the subject well. Most interesting.
It's a shame this car needs the parts to make it a complete original. The rear police stop signs will be hard to find as they aren't available from my local motor factor!
Thanks again,
Andrew.

[Andrew 2.8i]

Shame, looks like hes spend a fair few quid on that too.

Hi,
£15,000 spent so far. I'd wager that a few more £'s have to be spent to complete the project.
I know I'll get shot down in flames for this, but for a modified Capri, I think that the overall effect is quite pleasing. In saying that, in my opinion, you can't improve on the looks the car was blessed with when it left the factory.
All the best,
Andrew.

[Matty2148]

Im of the opinion that if a car is modded properly and looks better when completed then do it! I do like the look of that motor too.

Regarding the Police cars, d433 was based at park lane police station in higher broughton Salford, HOW do I know this?! firstly I`m a sad muppet and remember the reg plates, secondly they used to come past our school at top speed when they we out on a job.

Not sure if it was on purpose or good timing, but you`d hear the siren and the car approaching, as the cars went past our school yard the siren would stop and you`d hear just the tyre noise followed by the exhaust. Then my step dad would come pick me up in his beige 1.6 L Capri, I wondered why it didnt sound like the cops Capris.

[pbar]

The owner was commenting that he just can't go anywhere in it for too much attention, which is obvious I guess.

I`m not being thick am i, but surely it can`t be legal to drive on the road in police livery??
(If it IS I`ll buy it tomorrow!!!

This has been answered since, but yes, it's legal with just a few 'cover ups' as mentioned. At the Tatton Park show, just before they drove off at the end of the day, I saw them cover up the siren and front lights, then off they went.

[Andrew 2.8i]

Hi,
This is fantastic! A magnetic removable crest for the side, some spotlight covers for the front blue lights and some sort of cover for the roof light and it is possible to drive around in a genuine police car!

Regarding the Police cars, d433 was based at park lane police station in higher broughton Salford, HOW do I know this?! firstly I`m a sad muppet and remember the reg plates, secondly they used to come past our school at top speed when they we out on a job..

Amazing story. I bet those cops loved smoking around in that 2.8 Capri pretending they were the Professionals while all the other officers had 1.3 Escorts!

All the best,
Andrew.

[pbar]

Here's a couple of pics from Tatton Park last year. Note the covering up of the police sign on the back and the change of siren colour, as the Capri drives home.

[mooneyj]

the final photo shows the rear lights and if you put ford capri police in to you tube you see it working.

I remember when I was at a Show in Cayton Bay Yorkshire in 1993 (I Was 9) Mark Smethurst let me sit in D432 KVM and let me use all the sirens, lights and the tanoy system. When mark turned up at that show in KVM it looked like a standard 2.8 with no stripes and a odd back spoiler.

An hour later it was a fully stripped Capri Police car.

Theres a very good short documentary called Several Careful Owners all about D432 Which was on the BBC 15 years or so ago and it spoke with original officers about the cars and what they were like. It also documents its life as a police car and Marks Restoration.

It had 2 Clutches and 26 pairs of brake pads in its life with the police.

Would Love to see D432 again as it would bring back so many memorys. It seems like last week but its 20 years since I seen it.

There was another one which belonged to a forum member but that has now been scrapped.

[stevemarl]

photo shows the rear lights and if you put ford capri police in to you tube you see it working.

You`re OK - I can remember what they look like thanks....

[stevemarl]

I bet those cops loved smoking around in that 2.8 Capri pretending they were the Professionals while all the other officers had 1.3 Escorts!

I think Chevettes up here. I seem to remember metros as well - that can`t be right?

[rich_jc]

Wasn't that shelby capri thing at CoC/Crap a few years ago? Turned up on the sunday trophy hunting if I remember correctly. 2010 maybe? The last year MKCC ran it.

Rich

[unobrow]

Hi all
The Capri pictured at Tatton last year (D443) is mine, and I can clarify/clear up most of the points raised. So, from the top:

There are now 4 of the D-KVM Capri's in preservation. D432 (Still owned by Mark), D439, D443 (mine) and the recent eBay one D448. The last one was recently "re-discovered" in dry storage, still owned by the guy who bought it at auction after service, used it a couple of years then stored it. It was bought by a guy from the Cheshire Capri Club, who was the partner of the guy I bought D443 from. I hope you're keeping up, there's a test later. I helped him with the stripes and force crest on the doors.

All 4 are fully working, although only D432 has the correct wail and yelp style siren that was fitted to these Capri's, the rest of us have klaxons, which I prefer as it suits the car better.

The legalities are a bit of a minefield. Essentially, blue lights are illegal to even have fitted to any vehicle that isn't an Emergency registered one. Blue reflective tape is also classed as a light. Audible warnings are also a no no. POLICE wording is a bit more hazy, as there are other vehicles that now carry that wording without being police cars. This was brought up in a recentish court case. However, the club(s) side of these preserved vehicles has worked closely with ACPO and got a written agreement. All blues must be covered or lenses changed. All POLICE wording covered and force crests (I believe this is more a copy write thing, but since they usually have POLICE written into them somewhere.....). Obviously all audible warnings have to disabled. Newer vehicles in Battenburg livery must carry "Not in service" signs in the rear and o/s/r windows. We also need to carry a journey log sheet. However, non of this is a get out of jail free card if stopped because you're acting the goat, and will be down to the circumstances and individual officer's discretion.........or judge.......

I'd forgot about the crest on mine when we left Tatton last year (that is me in the hot seat), but it wasn't a genuine one anyway, just a facsimile of a cap badge. I've since had the correct full GMP crest put on, and rectified the speed slashed stripe on the door to straight cut. The roof decals have also been removed, as only a couple of Capri's carried them, and they would be incorrect for my car anyway. I met a guy last year who had actually been in my car in service in a professional capacity, and could confirm it was an Oldham car originally. Further research has shown she ended her days in Manchester City Centre before withdrawal in 1991.

An interesting fact about D432 is that it was new to Salford Crescent nick in 1987, probably THE car crime capital at that time. Within 6 months it was a total write off, but as there was nothing to replace it, it had a brand new shell and was put back into service. After withdrawal, it went back to the Openshaw garage for decommissioning when Hazel Grove lost one of their Sierra XR4X4's in an accident. Same problem as before with nothing new to replace it, so they put the Capri back on the run for another 18 months I think until they got a new car. Which is when Mark came across her.

Hope you're all still awake after all that

Here's a nice pic of her at Cheshire Polices' open day last year.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/30311970@ ... yyz-aA2SLK

Carl

[Big Mike]

Hope you're all still awake after all that Carl

Are you kidding? That's awesome!

Man I wish I had that sort of history / provenance with my car - really interesting and informative post. I'm pretty sure one of you (sorry not sure which) stood at RAF Cosford Airshow last year (which happens to be this Sunday) so if you're there again this time I'll come and say hello!

Mike.

[Andrew 2.8i]

Are you kidding? That's awesome!

Hi Carl,
Thanks for taking the time to fill us in with the details of the GMP Capris. Fascinating reading.

All the best,
Andrew.

[pbar]

Hi all
The Capri pictured at Tatton last year (D443) is mine...

I took those. Love the car. Must have spoken to you at some point. Thanks for the info.