Getting through 'The Capri Blues'

[Mr B]

Hi Guys,

Not a rant or a rave really but as we are all Capri lovers on here do any of you guys simply get fed up with our beloved cars sometimes?
I only ask this because at the moment I seemed to be well and truly poxed off with Capri's and I'm wondering if I my fascination for these cars is dying or I'm just in a rut with them.

Do any of you have these moments or is it just me

Wayne

[Andrew 2.8i]

Hi Wayne,

I must admit Ihat I can also get a little down if a job isn't going to plan.
That's quickly forgotten once I'm able to fire up the engine and hit the road. A broad grin covers my face then.....

Andrew.

[andyd]

As Andrew said, if the car isn't running right, you can't get the parts you need or it's raining and you can't drive it, it can be a case of why bother....

But on a good day when all is well, it all makes sense

[Mr B]

Thanks for replying guys, this cheesed off feeling started a couple of weeks ago, I had a perfect plan, book 1 day off from work, try and pick a day where the weather was expected to be good, take my Capri for MOT (which had expired last November) and go for a nice drive out somewhere, perfect plan....but in reality when I got to the garage where I keep her I found the clutch had seized, so up she went on axle stands and after a few attempts the clutch freed off happy days - or so I thought, I then discovered a rear wheel cylinder had also seized - solid, after lots of cursing I eventually managed to get the drum off and free the cylinder off, I then drove her to the MOT station who's entrance was blocked by a truck making a delivery and was told the truck would be moving in 5 minutes I could then have my MOT done, well...... the truck broke down blocking the entrance - it took 16 men including myself to push this truck out of the entrance, my car did pass it's MOT but time was getting on now so instead of going for that drive I promised myself I took the car straight back to the garage parked her up, shut the door and thought thank god that's over and I haven't been back since, I realize the seized items on the car are totally my fault through lack of use but for me owning/driving these cars was meant to be fun...just not sure where the fun disappeared to...

Wayne

[andyd]

Hi Wayne,
Going by your profile you have 6 Capri's

Although my car isn't a Capri one car is enough....I had 3 at one point, but you can only drive one at a time, and all your effort, time and money goes to one place if that makes sense

[Peter-S]

It's why I've always had one on the road all year. Might only get used once a week sometimes for a five mile round trip to work but it keeps you interested.

[Mr B]

Thanks for all your input guys, I have never been one to admit defeat easily but having all these Capri's may sound great but the reality is quite different, there has been a few times over the last 26 years where every car had an issue at the same time and technically non were actually useable - all 6 off the road at the same time with various problems and it never bothered me in the slightest I just got on with it until now, perhaps it's the cocktail of too many cars, age creeping up on me and the stresses of modern life not mixing so well

[brooky]

Hi Wayne, I find it hard enough keeping 1 capri alive and well so no idea how you manage 6. With just the 1 I sometimes go through what you are describing especially when I have had a great drive , put it away and then a few days later plan to go out again only to find some irrational problem has surfaced and so more forum help needed to fix it, agro of finding parts, etc . I strongly believe the more you can use them the more reliable they are so maybe 6 is too many to use regularly, let me know if you decide one needs a new home

[tejb1]

I've had similar things cause me to think 'what's the point?' before, not just in the world of Capri ownership! It can be difficult to see the joy as you scrabble around in a confined space and try and contort your hand into doing something, whilst lying on the garage floor at 10pm on a cold winters night!

Personally, I try to not pressure myself into doing a job that absolutely must be done that day etc to allow for slippage, unless it is something I am confident in a) there not being enough scope for it to go wrong and b) my ability to deal with absolutely anything that could go wrong. That way, if I have to leave the job for another day to fetch other parts, I'm not rushing to get it done by a particular time.

I agree that in my limited experience, regular use helps. And I'm yet to come across a problem that hasn't been sorted by quick reference to this forum, even if the question sounds stupid in your head I'm yet to have anybody take the proverbial over how straightforward something is etc.

[Arya2.0S]

I've definitely been there. Even had full on mental breakdowns because of it, but in the end I'm driving one of my dream cars and it's literally the best car I've ever had.
I think it's normal to get burnt out when a project doesn't go to plan.

[Mr B]

I think brooky has inadvertently hit the nail on the head here when he wrote he doesn't know how I manage to keep 6 on the road at the same time, somehow I've gone from driving/owning 6 cars to managing 6 cars and perhaps that's where I have gone wrong if that makes any sense, there is no time to have any fun with a particular car because there is always another one that needs my attention...

[D366Y]

I think brooky has inadvertently hit the nail on the head here when he wrote he doesn't know how I manage to keep 6 on the road at the same time, somehow I've gone from driving/owning 6 cars to managing 6 cars and perhaps that's where I have gone wrong if that makes any sense, there is no time to have any fun with a particular car because there is always another one that needs my attention...

Know that feeling and I only have 2!

I always found that I'm OK as long as I at least have one going so I can enjoy it, reminds me why I'm working to get the other one working... If you've got six then you need six times the motivation, and no car to remind you why you are bothering in the first place

Cheers
Danny

[pbar]

You guys are making want another one, so I can still drive whilst playing.

[D366Y]

You guys are making want another one, so I can still drive whilst playing.

Would not recommend! I thought the same thing and it was good fun to start but the novelty quickly wore off

Having said that now both of mine are more or less finished I do want another one to start playing with....

[340truck]

The alternative is not having one at all. I can tell you that is no fun. Wish I'd never sold the last one I had but the motivation had gone permanently, not just a blip like you're having.
The motivation for me seemed to go when the car stopped being my daily driver. So my advice to anyone would be...use your classic. Tucked up in the garage, the car sits bored and when you do want it, it just says f you, my turn to p YOU off and won't start or seizes something. Treat her like a lady, love and affection and take her out frequently to have some fun.

[Andrew 2.8i]

Treat her like a lady, love and affection and take her out frequently to have some fun.

That almost sounds like some of Swiss Toni's advice!
It's true what you say though.

Andrew.

[Mr B]

Totally agree with 340truck, that's exactly what my car did, seized it's clutch and wheel cylinder, I left it too long this time, November last year until mid July this year is just too long for a car to sit around unused, perhaps a touch of complacency has crept into this, another good point is not using one of them as my everyday transport, I stopped doing that about 6 month's ago for financial reason's and started using my other half's Fiesta, the Capri was costing forty quid a week petrol where as the fiesta uses a tenner...