Another capri virgin looking for advice

Please restrict your questions and replies to Capri related technical issues!
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James Martin

Another capri virgin looking for advice

Post by James Martin »

Alright dudes. I, too, am entranced by the idea of owning a capri... I`ve been told the 2.o and upwards, c1986 or later, but I`d like some ideas about insurance, reliability, running costs, mpg etc. Any info welcome, drop us a line. Cheers, muy bueno.
Andy

Advice For Capri Virgins

Post by Andy »

A comprehensive guide for those looking for a Capri.

Firstly, find all the money you can! Capris are very cheap at the moment so the more you can afford the less likely you are to get a shed. As a benchmark, £1000 should buy you a very respectable 2.0 on say a C. Anything costing this should be very clean though. Too much rot and the same model is worth £300 tops.

Speaking of rot, you MUST check all the following Capri rotspots: 1. Front wings and inner front wings (esp. under the bonnet rests). 2. Front Panel under grille and headlights. 3. Valences - front and rear. 4. Panels behind rear wheel arches UNDER the wraparound section of the bumper. 5. Rear Wheel arches. 6. Sills, esp. underneath, front to back. 7. Door bases. 8. Drainage gutters in sunroof surround (windback sunroof to check). 9. Spare wheel well in boot floor. 10.Chassis around rear leaf spring mountings. 11.Base of engine bay on each side around chassis arms. 12.Underside of bonnet under front edge as well as bonnet itself. 13.Battery tray.

There! That should keep you busy on the bodywork side of things - be aware that any bubbling on the surface, no matter how small, IS a hole, I promise you. This is because Capris, together with any vaguely rust prone older car, rust from the inside out so anything on the outside means the inside is already dead. Don't let anyone tell you you can just clean it up an paint it over - threaten to take a screwdriver to it if you have to and tap away all the rot and it'll soon go through. Any serious bubbling means an even more serious hole.

Don't be too put off by all this though as bodywork can be repaired. What you have to decide is what would be worth doing up and what you should walk away from. For instance, if the wings and the sills are solid that bodes well for the rest of the car. Other sections such as the rear panels under the bumper wraparound, which are nearly always gone unless the car has had mudflaps all its life, can both be replaced for around £150 (have had that done on mine).

As for the mechanics, these fare much better with age than the bodywork does. This is why, unfortunately, you often see some apalling sheds on the road because they'll drive forever even while the body is falling off around them! They do the image of our beloved Capri no good at all and should be scrapped at once! But that's another subject. Most cars will have upwards of or over 100k miles on them but you can usually be sure that the engine block, prop shaft, axle, and box will be rock solid. Although the clutch will probably be on its way by this point if it hasn't been changed already. Examine the steering rack gaiters left and right that can be easily got at from under the bonnet. Tey're prone to split - replacements in the region of £50. The other area that is often fairly worn is in the engine cylinder head while the head itself is likely to be fairly bunged up. Listen for a rattly sound from inside the rocker cover (the thing that the air filter case sits on). This denotes a worn camshaft and is the result of infrequent oil changes or big mileages. A new one means head off and a £150 bill. But this is often a blessing in disguise as it allows numerous other jobs to be done that can result in an engine running almost as new and also provides the opportunity to make the engine a bit more pokey and unleaded friendly. Obviously this will require more cash though, add another £250 for, for instance, a high torque/fast road camshaft and unleaded valve seats. Hope this helps - feel free to e.mail any further queries, Reagrds,

Andy
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