The Ford Capri Laser Page

Hi all just a quickie really . I have just bought a black 85 2.0 laser . Been of the road for 18 years in a heated garage since the owner died . His wife decided to get rid of it so I bought it . It's got loads of receipts history etc it's never been welded and doesnt need any . Underneath is like it came out of the factory as is the boot floor sills inner and outer and engine bay but the body has lots of surface rust scabs all over it so I'm going to respray it . Question is to keep a good value on it am I best keeping it original . Or would it still be worth the same if I did a colour change o and remove bumpers and rubber trims down the sides ?? Thanks in advance

Keep it original . If you decide to put your own spin on the car then when it comes to sell it you will have to hope that any potential buyer likes what you have done, many won't.

It sounds to me like you are planning on keeping the car for a bit and maybe selling it on in a few years. If that's your intention, definitely keep it as original as possible to maximise your return.

Andrew.

If you do small little changes then keep the original stuff so a new owner can bring the car back to standard also the non bumper capris don’t sell that well and really reduce the price .

Caprigear wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 7:42 pm Keep it original

+1 Original, all day every day.

pbar wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2019 7:24 am

Caprigear wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 7:42 pm Keep it original

+1 Original, all day every day.

Me too

Although stainless exhaust system and wheel changes (So long as you keep the original wheels) are not a problem in my opinion.

It can be hard to keep clean, but black is a great colour for the Capri.

Hi I have rebuilt a brooklands 280 took it down to a bear shell and had it rebuilt from ground up
The only thing I didn’t put back on are the rubber mouldings down the sides I have kept them
I don’t like to see them on a Capri and the just curse rust
With a Capri if you do the restore right you will not lose money
I have some Capri bits if you need eney thing just inbox me
Mark

Bod9084 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2019 10:45 am Hi I have rebuilt a brooklands 280 took it down to a bear shell and had it rebuilt from ground up
The only thing I didn’t put back on are the rubber mouldings down the sides I have kept them
I don’t like to see them on a Capri and the just curse rust
With a Capri if you do the restore right you will not lose money
I have some Capri bits if you need eney thing just inbox me
Mark

Thanks for all the replys .. c
an anyone advise what wheels to get that stick out more . Also how do the rubber side trims come off and the trims under the side rear windows .. also I took the bumpers off and love the look without them so is there any law or can I leave them off ..

You can leave the bumpers off as long as you take out the brackets that hold them in place - skewering a pedestrian would be a bit difficult to explain
The side mouldings have some ridiculously brittle nuts you'll have to gently persuade to come off. Inside of the wing for the front, and the others you have to take the interior out, get the front and rear door cards off and they should be clear as they just bolt straight through the door and the rear quarter panel

Hi as you are wondering about wheels I word stick to pearled revolution or Rfx brooklands 280. I word no ues modern wheel
You can get Ford rs 4 spokes in 15” and I think 17”

You can get RS4 spokes in 13" or 15", if you want a deeper/wider wheel they do 13" RS4s that are 7.5" deep rather than the standard 6"

Stanspeedautocare wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 7:25 pm Question is to keep a good value on it am I best keeping it original .

TBH, all the things you`re doing will probably reduce the value of the car, unless you`re intending to keep in which case that doesn`t matter? As said, most things, like de-bumpering, can be reversed but if you take the side mouldings off you`ll also need to grind off the `rivet` heads on the doorskin they mount on, so that is not really reversible.

Edit: here are removal instructions, courtesy of Simon:
hi , if your taking the rubber door mouldings off you will have to remove the small plastic plug in the moulding , this is the one on the outside nearest to the front wing, then take the screw out . Then open the door and take the screw out from the inner door, its where the door skin curls around near door reflector . Then when you have taken these screws out slide the rubber door trim off towards the rear of the car , it will be stiff to slide because there are plastic clips that are on pot rivets that hold it on , and they are holded in place on the door. Do not twist or bend the moulding just slide it and pull at it to the rear of the car. As your pulling it back you will probably break these plastic fittings as your doing it, but dont worry about this , i broke 3 on each door i did .You can buy these door clips on ebay and if a rivet breaks you can buy them as well. warning when you put the door mouldings back on the car do not slide them back on you will break the clips .
what you do is with the door closed , you hold the moulding in the position it goes back on , so the runner on the bottom of the moulding grabs the underside of all of the bottom clips ,i think theres 5 clips on each door , from the bottom in line , and push it up and bang it gently, then it will grab back on to the top clips and then put the screws back in , good job done .Trust me Ive taken a lot of these door mouldings off in the past when i used to work in a breakers yard and this is the only way and the easiest way to do it .goodluck .
Top

Thanks for all the replys . I got all the side trims of without breaking any clips or even the tiniest nuts and bolts but does look so much better without them but like you've said I'd have to grind off th little tabs and fill the holes .if I go to go without so would be worried about putting it back to stock to sell .. 1 other question . Engine . Do I leave it stock or can I cam it with 4 branch and bike carbs or would that devalue it too

Depends on your target audience when you sell - purists won't be a fan but performance upgrades will be valued by some.
At least it's reversible if you do decide to go ahead with those mods

D366Y wrote: ↑Mon Nov 25, 2019 10:43 am Depends on your target audience when you sell - purists won't be a fan but performance upgrades will be valued by some.
At least it's reversible if you do decide to go ahead with those mods

It's your car and you should do what you like.

As long as you keep any original parts you remove, then if/when you sell it you can return it as close to standard as possible if buyers don't like the car with the mods you have done.

As others have said, original cars tend to keep their value better so by definition it would be good to make any modifications reversaable, keep the bits that have been removed.

There was a phase of people removing the side trims from Lasers, Ls's, GL's etc and fitting S stripes in their place, there are even a few Ghia cars around that have had that treatment.

Don't respray the underside if it's good - original is best as long as it is rust protected, clear wax etc.
I would favour keeping the side rubbers, even pro's don't always manage a perfect finish after the rivets are removed.
Deffo fit bike carbs - highly recommended !
A good cam will help a treat & purists won't mind - they're standard for on any pinto. A few members on here have had good results from Newman brand but any mild road or torque cam is good.
Get an axle location kit for the rear first - best mod on any Capri, then get a strut brace.

Thanks again for replys . The underside is emaculate and never been welded so do I just leave it like that ?
Also what is the axle kit you talking about ? And I have a kent fast road cam ready to go with the carbs . I'm going to put all the side strips back on along with new bumper metal parts . It's just the front wings I need to tackle as they have gone right at the front . Is it best to keep the original wings and cut and weld some fabricated fonts bits . Will I lose value if I chuck some new ebay ones on..

Another thing . Mine is black . So question is . Do I spray grill . light surrounds . Grills under bumper and bonnet lip in the same black or satin and the trims around side glass is that satin .. and how do you get the sunroof out at at least the seal off

Hi,
On a Laser, the bonnet lip trim, headlight surrounds and grille should all be painted body colour, in your case black, and the rear window trim should be satin black.

Andrew.