# ford capri



## Rich (16 May 2008)

My 2 lads were dicussing the merits of the classic ford capri, I'm sure I have seen an older model where the rear window sloped into the car and the rear of the car had wings, or am I getting mixed up with another car, this would have been back in 67,

Rich.


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## PowerTool (16 May 2008)

Sounds more like the Ford Anglia - rear tail fins,in-sloping rear window,and "CND" rear tail-lights.

Andrew (Ford fan,and 3 times Capri owner  )


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## Rich (16 May 2008)

No, this was definitely longer than an anglia, 2 different shades of blue,(top and bottom).


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## Paul Chapman (16 May 2008)

I think you'll find it was the Ford Classic - a very nice car, my Mum & Dad had one and I passed my driving test in it 8) By comparison, the car that replaced it, the Corsair, was a pile of junk with awful handling.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Rich (16 May 2008)

Paul, you have it, thanks alot mate, now I can sleep tonight. :lol: 

Regards,

Rich.


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## mailee (16 May 2008)

Yes you are correct Paul it was the Ford Capri Classic. I remember a few years ago now a prime example existed in a lake in East Anglia in my Scuba diving days. In my opinion it was a very beautiful design and a very nice car. I did own an Anglia bu never managed to get hold of a Classic Capri unfortunitely. :wink:


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## Maia28 (17 May 2008)

I've had quite a few cars, but nothing makes me smile more than this one which is why I have kept it for 18 years. A real Capri Classic


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## Philly (17 May 2008)

I see Ford are looking to release a new Capri model soon.

http://www.yourdriving.co.uk/page/news/ ... QwoddDxVow

Cheers
Philly


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## Gill (17 May 2008)

There are very few cars I feel an affection towards, but the Capri is one of them. When I was at school we used to go sailing in dinghies on a reservoir out in the middle of Lincolnshire. One of our instructors (the woodwork teacher as it happened) would drive us out there in his Ford Capri, so I've always associated it with those happy days away from school.

Boy, did that Capri go fast... in a straight line!

Gill


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## Tom K (17 May 2008)

I beleive you are thinking of these Rich

http://www.breeders.co.nz/capri/

Not the real thing  If you look through the site you should find some pictures of the Classic the rear window has the Anglia 105E style reverse slope (or is it a back bevel)

Tom


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## Scrit (17 May 2008)

Tommo's right. There wasn't a Capri with a "wrong way" sloping rear window, and as it was 1967 (2 years before the "mk1" Capri was introduced) it must have been a Consul Capri. My old man owned a 105E Anglia (horrid little tin box) whilst an uncle had the much larger Consul Classic 315 (rotbox), so I do recall those windows - and the black mould which used to form at the bottoms of the windows in winter....... I can recall at least two other cars with "odd" rear windows at the time; the Reliant Regal 3/25






and the Citroen Ami. I believe that the Slough-built Citroen 3CV (the one with a fi-glass body) had a similar back window design

Scrit


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## mailee (17 May 2008)

Yes that was the one Tom, It was quite a sad sight at the bottom of that lake I am sorry to say. Now Gill that wouldn't have been Covenham resevoir by any chance would it? Have been on and under it many times living quite close. :wink:


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## Gill (17 May 2008)

It was indeed Covenham reservoir  . What a great place! I haven't really sailed since I left school but it's something I've always meant to take up again.

Gill


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## Argee (17 May 2008)

Many years back I worked with a controller who insisted on calling them a "Ford Crapi."



Philly":1l7c6tq6 said:


> I see Ford are looking to release a new Capri model soon.


There was a rumour of a Ford Pubic - made out of recycled Corsairs. 

Coat....

Ray.


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## Digit (17 May 2008)

Ah them were the days. 
I did a lot of long distance courting with a Ford 105 Anglia, and I was heading south from Brum on a triple lane dual carriage way in my very highly modded Anglia and cruising at about 90 when there was bloody great thump at the back and the car developed a mind of its own as regards the direction we should be travelling in. 
The off side rear spring hanger shackle had broken free. 
Apparently it was so well known to Ford that you could by a made up Ford spare part to repair that part of the chassis. 

Roy.


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## BradNaylor (18 May 2008)

This is the Ford Classic, with the reverse sloping back window. This is the first new car I can remember my dad ever having. His was in burgundy, though.







This is the Ford Classic Capri, a variation on the same model with coupe styling.






Cheers
Dan


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## BradNaylor (18 May 2008)

PowerTool":3oe6jqkq said:


> Sounds more like the Ford Anglia - rear tail fins,in-sloping rear window,and "CND" rear tail-lights.
> 
> Andrew (Ford fan,and 3 times Capri owner  )



Something's been troubling me about this post Andrew, and I've just worked out what it is...

The Ford Anglia had tail lights like this







The 'CND' tail lights were, of course, on the fantastic Mk 1 Cortina!







Didn't Ford make a lot of different models in the 1960's?

Happy days!

Cheers
Dan


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## PowerTool (18 May 2008)

Yes Dan,thanks for that - brain cells must be getting cloudy (or perhaps it's just nostalgia.. :wink: )
The Cortina shown being the fantastic Mk1 Lotus - I had a 1968MkII;one of those cars that didn't really have enough space for the engine - the twin 40's took up the space where the servo should be,so it was relocated to the battery space (with the addition of lots of tubing) and the battery was moved to a tray in the boot,over the back axle.Because of the voltage drop running the cables the full length of the car,the battery was _huge_!
Bought mine as an unfinished project,and rebuilt it - what a car!Could get to 110 in a very short distance,but was hard work getting to 120 (which was 6,000 revs in top)
Obviously,petrol was cheaper then.. :lol: and I never did find a battery of the same dimensions as the original  

Andrew


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## BradNaylor (18 May 2008)

I've just been having a chat with my dad and between us managed to put together a list of the cars he had between 1960 when I was born and about 1970.

Ford Thames Van
Ford Consul
Ford Classic
Ford Anglia 
Ford Cortina Mk1 Estate
Ford Cortina Mk 2
Jaguar Mk 2

I'd love to have one or two of those now...

Somehow I can't imagine Dan jr looking back on his old dad's cars so nostalgically in 40 years time!


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## Evergreen (18 May 2008)

Paul Chapman

Passed your test in a Ford Classic? Sheer luxury! I used a sit-up-and-beg Prefect which was totally and utterly gutless. 

My favourite old Ford was a Mk1 straight six Zephyr. Very fast around town, provided you didn't change gear too fast because the column change was prone to jam. If this happened, you had to get underneath and push the linkage rods back into place. Not very cool if you were all togged up on a Saturday night and trying to impress the laydeez.

Regards.


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## Digit (18 May 2008)

I took my driving test in Luton in an Austin 1100. In those days you could stand with the town hall at your back and stare at dozens of traffic lights. 
They took you along Marsh road so that inevitably you had to climb away from there, and at the traffic lights you had to do a hand brake pull away. 
Half way through my test the wipers packed up and it was raining. 
In those days, despite flashing trafficators, you still had to stick your arm out of the window to signal your intentions. 
I got soaked!


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## Jenx (19 May 2008)

Great memories !
My second car was a 3.0litre Mark 1 Capri like this.. except mine was blue.. the 3.0 had the 'power bulge' full length on the bonnet, the smaller ones had a smaller bulge. The Mk 1 Capri had a boot.. subsequent models had a hatchback.... I remember hitting a sheep by accident on the Moulin Moor between Pitlochry and Blairgowrie late one night, and lifting the sheep into said 'boot', only for it to 'come round' and vault over the top of me to make its escape.






Passed my test in my first car, a Mk1 Escort 1100... like this, but mine was yellow... Reg No was YRS 14L.




You could time this car's performance with a reasonably accurate calendar. Loved it though !

Does anyone else remember the Zodiac's and the Zephyr's ? Huge things that looked at the time as though the driver should have diplomatic immunity or be chairman of ICI .. .. ( well I _was _young !)





Also had a VX490 Vauxhall, and a Firenza..... but the Vauxhall's were always 'second fiddle' to the fords ( IMHO ) and indeed still are !
( heh heh... light blue touchpaper and retire to safe distance )...

Great memories,,, cars were 'individual' in those days... they had character.... you could fiddle with them yourself with relative ease... and I recall making a new exhaust for my mate's 1725 Hillman Hunter, out of a few bits of propshaft, and although it barely ran, he mananged to achieve about 4 miles to the gallon with it.
Brilliant. Great to see some of the classics! 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)


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## greybeard (27 May 2008)

Ah yes, the days when cars had character, which meant they broke down regularly, but equally they could be repaired/rebuilt by the averagely capable weekend mechanic too. And often were!

First car I owned was a very elderly and much thrashed Ford 100E, three speed porridge stirring gearbox, and vacuum wipers (had to be experienced to be believed - they stop when you open the throttle, like when you accelerate - ha ha - to get past another vehicle - truly!).

Second was a Heinkel 200 (?), a 'Cabin Cruiser' I think, a bubblecar - first and only car i've ever rolled, luckily at only about 4 mph, when I tried to turn too sharply. Got out, rolled it back onto its wheels. And drove on to a smattering of applause from bystanders.
Lacked compression - I used to get overtaken by keen cyclists going up long hills, but it tolerated low octane fuel - I once used paraffin to make sure I had enough fuel to get to a petrol station. The silencer fell off one night, I didn't realise until a couple of days later. 

Learnt to drive - unofficially - in a Consul 375, then a Zephyr 4, and then a Zephyr 6 estate - 'stick it in 3rd and go anywhere' - a very flexible beasty.
3 litre Capris - fantastic in a straight line, lethal in corners.
Mk2 Jags - fill up with petrol and engine oil at the same time - the original smoky motors.

In those heady days it was all change regularly, for some years the number of cars i'd owned kept pace and then comfortably exceeded my age

My bro-in-law acquired a '65 Zodiac in '66, and is still driving it.

Ah, happy memories, but no intention or desire to own any of them again....apart from maybe a 3 litre Capri, and a 3.8 Mk2!


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## Maia28 (27 May 2008)

Jenx, that looks like a 3.0 GTXLR. I have a photo of me leaning against my father's one in 1969 and my daughter leaning against my 2.8 in 1999. Next year, we can celebrate 40 years of continuous Capri ownership - is that a bit sad? I loved the Mk 1 Capri and have had four of them. My mother had an RS Mexico in 1974 (ish) and then an RS2000 which I learnt to drive in. Happy days, but I don't think I'd want to trade my Mondeo in for one of those as regular transport.
Andy


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## mailee (27 May 2008)

I would trade any of the new cars for one of the old beauties anyday. At least they didn't have an engine bay full of electronics that need a computer guru to work out what is wrong with them. Another plus with them is they are tax exempt too.


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## Digit (27 May 2008)

> Another plus with them is they are tax exempt too.



I could be wrong on this mailee but I believe you'll find that Gord did away with that some time ago.

Roy.


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## big soft moose (27 May 2008)

Jenx":39jn9dm2 said:


> Does anyone else remember the Zodiac's and the Zephyr's ? Huge things that looked at the time as though the driver should have diplomatic immunity or be chairman of ICI .. ..



my first car was a zephyr convertible (and no i'm not that old - this was in 1990) me and my mate farley bought it for 50 quid each, hand painted it silver (it was pink before and there was no way to eighteen year old studs like us were going to tool round in a barbie mobile) using silver hammerite of all things.

with an mot which may not have been fully cosher (well i dont see how it could have been given that the body work was reinforced with two bits of scaffy pole welded on with a mig welder. farley got it from a garage his brother worked at) we were ready for the open road

ahh those were the days - long weekends surfing in newquay , giving young "ladies" a lifts home... we had to park on a hill every night as the starter motor was shot and it had to be roll started, if you went into town you had to park on the top of the multi story for the same reason 

after six or so months i burned the clutch out trying to get up the hill in lynmouth - but it was good while it lasted.


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## Scrit (27 May 2008)

Even though I've owned four V6 Capris (mk1 2.3 GT, mk1 RS2600, mk2 3000S and mk3 2.3S - well I lived in mainland Europe) I still wouldn't want any of them again..... Well possibly the RS which had 235bhp in Group 2 trim, but cost a fortune in clutch and brake linings, and half shafts, etc. My old Scimitar GTE (SE5A) was faster than all of them (partly thanks to an RS3100 engine and three twin-choke Webers off a Fezzer), and it went round corners better to boot. Pity about the crappy electrics 

Scrit


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## Paul Chapman (28 May 2008)

I don't think they ever got the aerodynamics right on the Capri (at least the basic one). My Mum had one and I used to find that as you got to about 70mph the steering would get rather light as the front lifted slightly - most disconcerting :shock: It probably needed a spoiler under the front bumper. Maybe the hotter ones were better :-k 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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