The Ford Capri Laser Page

So, I hate to be that person, but I got my hands on a 1986 1.6 Laser back in January 2017. I was 14 at the time and I bought it mainly so I could restore it with my dad. I'm not that mechanically experienced, but I figured that I could learn on the job and seeing as I don't get on with him, it could be a bonding experience, plus obviously, Capris are amazing. However, it's caused more arguments than it has helped and we have to leave the garage that it's being stored in at the end of May. In this garage, we have lifts, but I'm not allowed to lift the car on my own, and honestly, I wouldn't want it as the chassis rails are quite rotten. Is there any chance that I could restore this car? That I could learn on my own and replace the chassis rails, the wings, the inner wings, the sills, the rear valance, the exhaust and most of the floor pans? I don't want to give up because the biggest kicker is that we got her running. If anyone lives in East Sussex and could come to have a little look at this car and maybe help plan what I need to do it would be much appreciated! Thank you for reading, and any second opinions on the information I've given would be much, much appreciated!

Full credit to you for wanting to give this a go In short, the answer is yes, you can do it. It will take some time and dedication but you really sound positive and enthusiastic and willing to get stuck in. You will get a lot of help on here and if you are able to put pics up then it will make it all the easier for people to help you out.

I'd give it a go if I were you, it sounds like you really wish to, there is nothing to stop you and in a couple of years from now you could be heading off down the street in a Capri you have restored yourself, how good would that be.

Please just make sure you are always safety conscious.

All the best!

pbar wrote:Full credit to you for wanting to give this a go In short, the answer is yes, you can do it. It will take some time and dedication but you really sound positive and enthusiastic and willing to get stuck in. You will get a lot of help on here and if you are able to put pics up then it will make it all the easier for people to help you out.

I'd give it a go if I were you, it sounds like you really wish to, there is nothing to stop you and in a couple of years from now you could be heading off down the street in a Capri you have restored yourself, how good would that be.

Please just make sure you are always safety conscious.

All the best!

Some great knowledge on here (Not me ) and if you have the correct tools you are on the right track.

It's never easy, but stick with it

Stick at it!
If you can upload pictures it would be much easier for people to help you or give you pointers on it for sure

Take it slow, strip it out and do it bit by bit

Well, pretty much anything can be repaired but it's down to time, ability and cost. As an idea have a look at the amount of restoration work that Chris ended up taking on here

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1710

It clearly won't be a 5 minute job so you will need somewhere to keep the car and do the work and be able to fund it of course.
As said if you can get some pictures up it would help us assess the work required.
Where in E Sussex are you?

Peter-S wrote:Well, pretty much anything can be repaired but it's down to time, ability and cost. As an idea have a look at the amount of restoration work that Chris ended up taking on here

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1710

That's a fantastic thread, don't think I've seen it before. Shows what you can do when you get stuck in.

Hi ,I'm Mr negative ,that is a lot of body / panel work ,specially for a 1st timer (Tim & Fuzz would be lacing up their runners ) but then again I have been stunned by the tenacity of some young un's.
Apart from the work ahead and the parts needed you are also going to need a bit of kit and some place that you can be sure you will have for the duration of the job, this is going to take fecking ages ,with waiting for finance to dribble in so tools and parts can be got and the time to do the resto and the last thing you need is to be moving an unfinished project. With that in mind my advice would be to resist the temptation to pull things to bits untill you have most ( like 90%) of the stuff needed AND while waiting to accumulate said stuff you can plan and think about the job.....believe me the more time you spend thinking , planning ,annoying everyone with questions ,drawing sketches and loosing sleep BEFORE starting the job the better off you will be . Shame about your Dad, if you can pull this off I'm sure he will have great admiration and respect for you and your achievement
Hamish