My New Capri Blog

I have just started a new blog for 2013 so if you are a Capri tragic have a look at:

http://fordcaprichatter.blogspot.com.au/

I will continue to add bits & pieces of all Capri things including what I do with my own Capris.

2012 ALL FORD DAY - BRISBANE (14 OCTOBER)

This was a great day for Capri owners. It was the largest turnout of Capris in Brisbane this century. There were 13 great cars lined up & all very impressive. 7 V6s, a racing V6, a RS3100, a Mark 3, a 2 litre and my 1600 Deluxe. The wild violet car was judged best Capri.

Capri Club Christmas Outing 2011

Another year has passed & that means another Christmas breakup. As the pictures show, we ended up with eight very colourful Capris, one Escort & one Cobra. There were the 2 RS3100s of Jim & Ray, 5 V6s of Wayne, Anthony, Gerry, Hunter & Paul and the 1600 Deluxe of Ian. All were really well presented & all in different colours. Several cars were on their first club outing so this was also pleasing. After some serious discussion, the best car for 2011 went to Paul from over the border for his great looking Wild Violet V6. Runner up this year was Ray for his immaculate Daytona Yellow RS3100. Well done to Paul & Ray & all the other owners as the cars looked great & it was the largest number for some years.

Goodna RSL Car Show

Last year this event was cancelled due to the weather so I thought I would go & see what is was like. It's part of the Jacandra Festival & there were nearly 200 cars there. Here is a sample.

29th All Ford Day - 2 October 2011

Another All Ford Day and it was the first time I had taken my green Capri. Lots of great Fords and quite a few Capris, including some really great examples. A pleasant & unexpected surprise was the prize for best capri. I have no idea what the judges were thinking but I will accept it any way. Here are some samples of the day.

Accelerator Problems

As I was exiting the freeway on my last outing in the white Capri, I tried to accelerate around the corner & suddenly, the accelerator pedal went to the floor & nothing happened. I thought the cable had broken & luckily I was very close to home. With the assistance of my good wife who brought some string & wire, I rigged up a hand throttle & limped the car home.
When I finally got around to seeing what had happened, I discovered that the throttle pedal assembly had slid out of its mounting holes & thus, no throttle. After I disconnected the cable, I also found that the welding on the pedal assembly had cracked & was about to break & that the cable was very nearly broken. So, a few things need to be fixed. The pictures tell the story.

I was able to get the pedal assembly rewelded for $20 while I waited at a small welding works at Coorparoo & I thought that was pretty good. They had previously welded up my gear stick. I had also seen a NOS accelerator cable on the English Ebay & it seemed to be the real deal so I bought it for $30, which I thought was a pretty good price. It arrived within 10 days, which was also really good. It was an Alexander brand, model 486C. Also note that it has the correct plastic clip that screws onto the firewall. I now realise that the previous cable was not really the correct model & it makes a great deal of difference.

I also had difficulty getting the pedal assembly to stay in the mounting holes without sliding sideways. The clips & holes seem to be on the LHS which are very difficult to put into place because of the steering rod. I did manage to use a pin on the LHS & two plastic ties on the RHS & that seems to have stopped any movement.
I can't believe how much difference the new cable has made. The accelerator is much more responsive, the car starts much quicker & drives much better. My advice then to anyone replacing the cable would be to ensure that you do get the correct one.

RACQ Motorfest - July 17, 2011

This was a huge event & the biggest car show that I have attended. It had more vehicles & spectators that previous years & it was also combined with the local markets which resulted in some walkways becoming quite crowded about lunch time. The weather forecast was not promising but Sunday morning turned out fine & rain stayed away all day. The damp grounds altered the planned entry routes & resulted in minor traffic jams in some streets at the back of the course.

I took my green Capri & met up with members of the British Ford Car Club who had about four cars in attendance (Escort Twin Cam plus several Cortina GTs). There were two Capris, mine & fellow club member, Gerry Romano’s white V6. Gerry, after a few engine dramas, put the finishing touches to the car last weekend so it was good to see another Capri on the road. In the row behind was a beautiful green Zephyr Mark IV with a turbo-charged Falcon engine – serious grunt! There were some really magnificent cars on show with it being special anniversaries for the Chev Corvette & the E Type Jaguar. One local restorer had 10 cars on display, 6 Jags of different years, an Alvis & 3 Jensens. All were immaculate.

There were lots of beaut British cars, heaps of Falcons & Holdens (there was a huge number of HSV Commodores) & large displays of BMWs & other European makes. Just down from us the Japanese clubs showed a large variety of great looking cars. Another area was full of vintage speedway cars. One display that was a bit different was a guy, complete with tartan kilt & beret, who arrive in a Hillman Imp complete with a spare engine on a matching trailer!
 In addition to the cars there were lots of displays featuring the RACQ, Main Roads, Police, Fire & Rescue with all proceeds going to the RACQ Care Flight helicopter service. If you are into cars, this event is not to be missed so book early for next year. A really good day & it is always well organised.

Logan City Car Show - July 10, 2011

Because it seemed a nice winter’s morning, I decided at the last minute to take my white Capri to this event. It is held in the car park of the Logan Entertainment Centre so it is not a huge event but all the spaces were taken & quite a few cars were on the oval next door. Most of the cars were modified vehicles, mainly hot rods, Falcons & Commodores. There was only one Capri but there was a very nice Cortina GT.

There was one exhibit which may have interested the President & that was a genuine Cobra Panel Van (apparently 1 of 4, with all its story printed on a surfboard). There were also plenty of police persons in attendance. I stayed for a couple of hours & it is an event for the south side members to consider in the future.

My main excitement was on the way home as I turned off the freeway when the accelerator pedal went straight to the floor. I am still not sure what broke (possibly the end of the cable) but being very close to home I rang my wife to bring down some string & scissors & I set up a hand throttle. That got me nearly home before the string broke & I had to walk home & get some heavy duty wire. This got me over the last hill & into the garage. So much for my pleasant Sunday morning run!

Red Capri

For those of you who are really into Capris, you may be interested in another project that I completed recently. It is not a concours example but the car is complete after many years of being in pieces. It still has a few items to finish to be ready for a RWC. Read the blog at:

http://redcapri.blogspot.com

2011 So Far!

Due to another Capri project that I have been working on, I have not posted any details about my 2011 activities which, in fact, have been very few. I started the year with the Australia Day rally at Cleveland and have attached some pictures of interesting Fords at the gathering. I have missed a few club outings due to being away which always seems to happen. The green Capri has also developed a bit of a miss under load especially when accelerating hard uphills. I have replaced the fuel filter which was really dirty & cleaned the carbie & thought I had fixed it but last weekend it happened again, so I will have a look at the electrics.
Having just finished the red Capri project which I will also post on a blog, I should have a little more time to post items here.

 

 

Capri Club Christmas Outing 2010

After trying all year to attend a club outing in the green Capri, it finally happened at the end of the year. I was a little concerned how the beast would perform as there was a combination of freeway, counrty & suburban driving. Although I had driven it on many occasions around the city, it had never been on any extended trips. As the weather was very mild for summer I even convinced my wife to accompany me. I think that she also was a little worried that we might end up by the roadside down the back of Jacob's Well. However, there was no need to worry as the beast never missed a beat & although I didn't push it too hard, it cruised along easily between 90 - 100 kph. The temperature gauge didn't move so I was pretty happy. There was only one moment of drama when the bonnet catch let go but I stopped quickly & fixed it with a good push & it didn't happen again. I was also worried about oil leakage from the main rear seal but it was very minor but it is something that will have to be replaced eventually.
I have attached some pictures of the other Capris attending and they are all in immaculate condition & a credit to their owners.