Capri MK1 Restomod - Sri Lanka

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Tue Nov 26, 2013 1:15 pm

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting here...hello to all and greetings from sunny Sri Lanka

I would like to share with you my ongoing project - a MK1 Capri. Capris are becoming exceedingly rare in the island and is fast becoming a classic in it's own right.

I picked up this specimen from the second owner of the car. He had done some "modifications" to it, which was the first thing on my list to rip out. The car has a running 1.6 Pinto (I believe so, is it the Kent?) and a manual trans which is shot. Here are a few pics of it when I got to it.

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Tue Nov 26, 2013 1:19 pm

The Bodykit and the fake scoop were the first on the chopping board

The engine bay

Front

All fiberglass stripped off

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Tue Nov 26, 2013 1:37 pm

The grand plan

V6 engine - Essex, Cologne, 2.8i or Cossie V6 with 5 speed manual 'box to match.
Front shocks, Prop shaft, Diff to be replaced with stronger units (preferably sourced from the same donor as the engine)
Bigger brakes - rotors and calipers
Larger tyres - 255 rear/205 front 16" wheels - arches to accommodate the rubber.
Ducktail spoiler
front lip
Facelift/RS spec tail lights
BMW smiley headlights
Bucket seats
reupholster the interior
Gunmetal grey metallic paint job with trim/moldings blacked out

I'm sure I missed some...

pbar · Post by **pbar** » Tue Nov 26, 2013 2:24 pm

Nice car. How were those body kit panels fixed on?

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Tue Nov 26, 2013 3:17 pm

pbar wrote:Nice car. How were those body kit panels fixed on?

Thank you

the bodykit was riveted on to the existing body panels and blended in with filler. accounted for some corrosion underneath.

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Tue Nov 26, 2013 3:23 pm

Progress so far.

Bought a set of Pontiac Trans Am wheels. 16x8 with staggered offsets.

manged to find this on Ebay UK and used a reship service to get it to SL

however, still looking for the Left hand assembly. Anyone here have one lying around with you or at a mate's?

atomic4 · Post by **atomic4** » Thu Nov 28, 2013 7:16 am

Hi and welcome. Looks like you've got a bit of a unique bodykit there. Best of luck on the resto dude.

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Thu Nov 28, 2013 9:02 am

atomic4 wrote:Hi and welcome. Looks like you've got a bit of a unique bodykit there. Best of luck on the resto dude.

Thank you for the welcome

The bodykit was apparently scratch built and looked hideous. Trying to stay close to the original shape as much as possible so no more fiberglas

Post by **Peter-S** » Thu Nov 28, 2013 11:34 am

Nice project. Just ripping that bumper off has improved the car no end. Good luck with it all. :drive:

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Thu Nov 28, 2013 4:55 pm

Peter-S wrote:Nice project. Just ripping that bumper off has improved the car no end. Good luck with it all.

Thank you very much and yes it does look much better without all that junk

The project is somewhat optimistic. considering the rarity of the car, parts are extremely hard to source. I'm looking at importing most of the stuff I need.

Updates wise a few mini victories..
1. Found a Grant GT Challenger steering wheel and is being shipped in. Will post a pic when I get my hands on it. 13" diameter with a 3" dish.
2. Haven't been able to source the tyres locally so I placed an order for them to be imported from the States.
BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2 Radial Tire - 205/45R16 87Z SL - QTY 2
BFGoodrich G-Force Sport Comp 2 Radial Tire - 255/50R16 99Z - QTY 2
3. Found the RS3100 tail lights yesterday. A complete set this time so I guess I have a spare. The seller says strictly no international shipping. Hope he doesn't have a problem with posting to Reship addresses.

pbar · Post by **pbar** » Fri Nov 29, 2013 8:43 am

Hoonigan wrote:
the bodykit was riveted on to the existing body panels and blended in with filler. accounted for some corrosion underneath.

Thanks for the reply, sounds like it could have been a nightmare to get off. Looks better already though, and not too much damage underneath it all. This will look fantastic I'm sure.

Craigorypeck · Post by **Craigorypeck** » Sat Nov 30, 2013 2:06 am

Someone spent a lot of time and money on that car.... not too into the body kit but the custom interior is pretty cool! Good work so far. Stick a redtop 16v engine in..? Ok wheres me coat. . .

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Sat Nov 30, 2013 1:57 pm

@pbar, yes, I was expecting a lot worse..since I'm going for a full respray and had no intention of salvaging the fiberglass, it wasn't too challenging.

@Craig, I'm sorry but I don't know what a red top 16valve engine is exactly

The interior is in pretty bad shape although not obvious in this picture. I'm planning to redo everything in black synthetic leather and gold stitching (to match the gold mesh wheels and the body colour). I'm still on the fence whether to replace the seats with new reclining buckets or salvage the ones in there, since they appear to be recaro fish nets.

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:14 am

Ok I finally got hold of an importer who will get the parts down from UK to SL and the Capri Club had the parts I need in stock.

the engine according to them is 70K mile 2.8 Cologne V6 injection example.

Front shocks seem to need some work to get them up to scratch

The Atlas axle is also included to cope up with the extra strain

Engine cross member, radiator and the instrument cluster will also be shipped along with this.

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:19 am

It will take 4-6 weeks for the parts to get to SL so I wait.

In the meantime, what do you folks think I should prepare myself for? I would love it if the engine can go in after a good clean, but realistically it will need some work.

If for some reason I need a rebuild, what are the components I need to line up for a proper job? OEM or aftermarket replacements like high lift cams in one go? And who in UK supplies them for decent coin?

BMWcapri · Post by **BMWcapri** » Sun Dec 08, 2013 9:21 pm

Love the bodykit, looks better with it gone though!

OEM Capri engine parts try Tickover http://www.tickover.co.uk/shop/contents/en-uk/d124.html
performance and standard engine parts try Burton http://www.burtonpower.com/parts-by-fit ... v4-v6.html

ironically there's a lot more tuning parts available for the little 1.6 kent crossflow you are removing.

You can get uprated cams and big-valve heads for the 2.8 but the siamese ports are restrictive and so tuners tend to focus on other ford engines.

Have a look at the Burton tuning guide http://www.burtonpower.com/tuning-guide ... guide.html

great project & good luck with it

Just a thought - depending on how much power you want - might be more cost effective to source a different brand of engine locally (japanese sportscar? 200SX?)

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 5:24 am

Thank you very much for the links mate

The reason I went for the Ford V6 was to keep it in the family and somewhat retain it's authenticity. Capris over here are a lot harder to come by and transplanting a Japanese unit is sort of sacrilegious. Otherwise an SR20DET makes more sense with 200bhp stock and a block which is a whole lot lighter.

I would be happy with something around 150bhp to begin with. If the engine is in good shape I will slide it in after a good clean and some paint. I'm planning to rig up a K&N on the intake and a custom exhaust which hopefully will give me that number. If the motor needs a rebuild, I will look at an overboar, new cams port polish and stuff. For my budget's sake though, I would love to leave the tuning part for a future project

r2vdh · Post by **r2vdh** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 10:07 pm

Hey matey the engine you have in there is a 1.6 cross flow.
Have you got the gearbox, mount and bellhousing to go with the 2.8 lump as you will need that. I can't remember whether you will need the V6 crossmember to mount the engine as well my mk1 knowledge is limited.
You will need a swirl pot setup or an injection tank to cope with the fuelling.
Fuel injection pipe supply and return.
Are you going to Carb this engine?? if so you keep the orignal tank and pipes. but you will need an inlet manifold and carb. If you end up running a carb you can pick up the early 2.8 Dizzy.
It looks like by the picture the metering head has been cut off at the injector pipes

If you are going to run the motronic igntion then you will need the amplifer and the loom to run it.
From the picture it looks like the axle is missing the pinion and diff flange?

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 2:13 pm

OK that's a bit worrying

I'm getting a matching 5 forward manual gearbox from CCI themselves. As well as the cross member.

The intention is to get the injection system to work...the tank and the fuel system will be sourced locally.

I asked for the loom at extra cost of £90. Didn't realise what has been cut where

Does it look repairable?
Here are some other pics of the parts being shipped.

Hoonigan · Post by **Hoonigan** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:52 pm

Managed to find a set of RS3100 tail lights, additional to the one I already found, so I have 3.

And the Grant steering arrived as well

The Ford Capri Laser Page