1985 2.0 laser project

[theretrolad92]

1985 Ford Capri laser 2.0 project

Hi Everyone I am Mark, I am new to uploading and using forums so please bear with me.
I thought i would join the forum to upload some pics of my new car and to get some advice and tips about work on my car.

I bought the car in march 2012 the original owner emigrated to new Zealand and put the car up in storage in his Mums garage in 1990 and the car stayed there unmoved until I was told it was to be put up for sale and i bought it.

unfortunately the garage had a roof changed and bits of rubble and stuff that looked like corrugated asbestos concrete had been dropped on the car by builders so unfortunately there is some body work required along with a new windscreen!



After 21 years the car see's daylight!



rear shot



Side

After checking the engine was not seized,topping up the radiator, we checked the oil levels, poured a bit down the rocker cover and cylinders rocked the car back and fourth and made sure everything was free and decided we should give it a turn over. A new battery was connected, fuel added and a bit splashed into the carb, 3rd turn of the engine and she was alive running sweet as a nut.
Everything worked even the electric aerial.

The beast was alive

[dan the capri fan]

hi and to the forum its good to see an other one being saved if i had the money and time and space i would save them all. i like the laquer red lasers because its a nice colour and how did you come across this one mark as well as it just goes to show how good the old fords are it has been in that garage since 1990 and you put a new battery on it and some fresh fuel in it and it went 3rd the time thats amazing you,ve come to the right place for advice and parts keep us posted on the progress

[Peter-S]

Welcome aboard Mark

Damage aside it sounds like you may have a good one there if its been off the road under cover all that while - let's hope there are no nasty surprises. Look forward to seeing the progress and you know where to come for advice

[blitzy]

Hello And Welcome.

Fantastic Job On finding this Capri.
So Am I to guess this car Is now MOTD, Taxed and on the road?

[theretrolad92]

Hi all sorry for the late replies, Thank you for the welcome messages.

My best friend told me about the car it was in his neighbours garage and when the neighbour put the house up for sale the car had to go as well so after having looked at the car i agreed a price with the owner and bought it. The underside is like brand new as the car was sealed from new so i know i have a good one to work with. There is a few small bits of surface rust on the drivers wing and a bit around the rear valance but thats about it. I am told that until 2 years ago the car was gleaming before the garage roof was changed and debris was dropped on it . I Plan on getting her resprayed in the next few months. I have had the car on the road since last may and have done about 7000 miles in her problem free. I have replaced the front callipers with some refurbished larger ones from i believe a 2.8 the original callipers where sticking and I got offered the new callipers at a good price so rather than mess around with the old ones i fitted the new ones. I had the wheels refurbed, a new windscreen fitted, new tyres, points, dizzy cap,leads plugs etc MOT'd it and passed with no advisories or recommendations at all. Not long ago the heater motor packed in and seized up so i stripped it all out and cleaned it up and greased it and that is now working as it should. Also the back box has started to blow where water has been collecting and rusted through so i will need to get that sorted. The engine runs well nice and quiet and was regularly serviced however i think i could do with it getting fully tuned up again as it has a a bit of a flat spot and this can be a bit of a pain especially when she is cold and you are trying to pull out of a junction on a bank!

Anyhow here is a few more pictures of the car and some of the work.







A good scrub later




old screen out


Bumper removal for painting






Bumpers ready to be rubbed down and painted




Refurbed wheels

[Craigorypeck]

looking well good!

[dan the capri fan]

looking good mate i love capris in that colour it really suits them will you be keeping the colour original when it comes to get re sprayed and it surprisingly looks very tidy for a car thats been in a garage since 1990 i expect its got very low milege if it was only used for 5 years. keep up the good work

[theretrolad92]

Hi again, Thanks for the comment yes i am going to keep the colour the same laquer red, the paint is tired looking at the moment in places but when it is polished up as in some of the pictures it really is a nice colour and suits the car. Just like my classic bikes i like to keep them looking more or less as they leave the factory, although i may have just invested in a nice MK2 grill and some black headlamp surrounds. I think the MK2 grill suits the car better than the original colour coded louvre grill. The car itself i bought with 90000 on the clock i was given the history of the car and it was apparently used as a business car for a local radio/tannoy communications company and the car had clocked up most of these miles travelling from Newcastle down to London on a regular basis. The service book was serviced at every interval and there was reciepts for a service at 88,500 miles so the car basically serviced then laid up. so she has been well looked after during her short life on the road before being parked up. I would like to get the engine fully serviced and given a tune up as especially when cold she can be a bit sluggish and when you go to accelerate it has a bit of a flat spot, once past the flat spot she goes like the wind! and the back end occasionally likes to let you know that it is the one in control especially in the wet!

Does any one know anywhere in the northeast (im at newcastle) where i could get the car properly tuned up and serviced without costing the earth? I have been advised not to go to ford service garages etc as apparently most of the technicians will not be used to working on these older and engines.

[theretrolad92]

Also does anyone have a passenger side mirror for sale?

[dan the capri fan]

that would look great a lacquer red capri with a black grill and head lamp facias it will make the front end stand out. i love red capris with black grils and head lamp facias. its nice that your capris got a bit of history with it. as for the serviceing your can do that your self mate i think 99% of us service our own capris on here because its really easy all a service is a oil change (20/50 is best for pinto engined capris) new oil filter, new spark plugs or if the old ones are in good condition clean them with a wire brush also check the ht leads and other things like if any gaskets have gone etc

[stevemarl]

I should buy a haynes manual, servicing can all be done with a basic tool kit, but there is more to it than an oil change & plugs: the manual will give a list of items for attention every 6000, 12000 miles etc etc. Haynes should be the starting point.

[dan the capri fan]

oh yeah i forgot even service for peace of mind you should change the oil spray bar that runs along the side of the cam and sprays oil onto to it to lubericate it when the engines runing. after a period of time these get cacked up with old oil and will eventually stop spraying oil and will cause excessive cam wear and high oil pressure if not changed. so thats why its peace of mind to change it each time the cars serviced and there only 5/6 pounds on ebay

[theretrolad92]

Hi all, i have done the basic servicing on the engine already, plugs, leads, dizzy cap, condensor, rotor arm and cap, filters and oils. sorted out the autochoke as this was stuck open. I changed the points the other day as these where warn and i was getting a slight miss fire, although when i removed the dizzy cap i noticed the new rotor arm centre contact was burnt i dont know why.
Since changing the points the car seems to run smoother and i can happily do 30 in 5th gear. However now the car seems to take an eternity to warm up and the flat spot seems worse untill the engine is warm. I want the carb cleaning out and setting up again, i would imagine that it will be pretty gummed up and want a good cleaning. I dare not touch it looking at the manual it looks quite complex compared to my motorcycle ones i have previously tinkerer with.

have spotted a passenger mirror for sale so i am going to have a bid on that later, the inside of mine as rusted through bummer

when it gets a bit sunnier i will upload some pics with the new grill fitted

[dan the capri fan]

sounds like it just needs a bit of a tune up and yes carbs are complex probably be best to send it to someone who knows what their doing but my guess is the reason why your carb is not operateing properly is because the jets have probably got crap in them

[Major_Tom]

Doing 30 in 5th will damage your gearbox!

[Ghia15]

Looks really tidy there, good to see it being improved and maintained.

[Matty28i]

Hi again, Thanks for the comment yes i am going to keep the colour the same laquer red, the paint is tired looking at the moment in places but when it is polished up as in some of the pictures it really is a nice colour and suits the car. Just like my classic bikes i like to keep them looking more or less as they leave the factory, although i may have just invested in a nice MK2 grill and some black headlamp surrounds. I think the MK2 grill suits the car better than the original colour coded louvre grill. The car itself i bought with 90000 on the clock i was given the history of the car and it was apparently used as a business car for a local radio/tannoy communications company and the car had clocked up most of these miles travelling from Newcastle down to London on a regular basis. The service book was serviced at every interval and there was reciepts for a service at 88,500 miles so the car basically serviced then laid up. so she has been well looked after during her short life on the road before being parked up. I would like to get the engine fully serviced and given a tune up as especially when cold she can be a bit sluggish and when you go to accelerate it has a bit of a flat spot, once past the flat spot she goes like the wind! and the back end occasionally likes to let you know that it is the one in control especially in the wet!

Does any one know anywhere in the northeast (im at newcastle) where i could get the car properly tuned up and serviced without costing the earth? I have been advised not to go to ford service garages etc as apparently most of the technicians will not be used to working on these older and engines.

Hi I recognise your car. You will probably recognise mine, from my avitar.

As for sorting your engine out that's not a problem either. PM for contact number. (I work along the road from you and have access to garage facilities at the weekend).

Nice car by the way.

Matty28i

[pbar]

Doing 30 in 5th will damage your gearbox!

I read that and it surprised me too! I need to be doing 40 in my 2.0 Laser before I'm happy to be in 5th.

[theretrolad92]

Well after a long wait the capri has now gone off to the paint shop to get some body work and a full respray, cant wait to see it all new again. Not looking forward to 12 mile motorbike ride to and from work for the next week or so especially with the shit weather. Have also just bought a electronic ignition setup from a sierra to fit. Then next task is new set of tyres, rear leaf spings.
busy busy busy

[theretrolad92]

Before going to bodyshop








All primed up