Restoration and Rebuild Project
Restoration
Archives

admin

50th Birthday Celebration, Warley 2019

Zippy took part in the Capri 50th Birthday celebrations at the UK headquarters in Warley on Friday 19 July 2019. The celebration is the last one to be held at the Ford offices at Warley as they are scheduled to be closed with a few weeks. Zippy was int he company of an RTS3.1, two Broadspeeds and a Perana.







 

The London Classic Car Show 2018

Zippy was lucky enough to be invited onto the Capri Mk1 Owners Club stand at the London Classic Car Show this year, joining an early 1600 GT XLR and a 5.0 litre Capri Perana from South Africa.

This annual undercover show ran from Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 February 2018 at the ExCel exhibition centre in London. The team from the club were great, really enthusiastic and supportive. A brilliant show and lots of interesting visitors, including my wife Judy, son, daughter-in-law and my grandson.


 

 

London Classic Car Show Preparation

Zippy safely arrived at the London Classic Car Show today.  Fortunately avoided the worst of the rain and managed to get under cover earlier than expected.  A quick rinse and then quite a lot of polish got him ready for the stand.  The show runs from Thursday 15 through to Sunday 18th February.  Looks like a really interesting event with a lot of “expensive” cars.

 

 



 

 


 

 

 

Thorrington Village

Zippy attended the Thorrington Village Fair for a few hours on Saturday 8 August.  This was an opportunity to get out and drive him a little, and begin to bed the brakes in. The weather was very kind too and the black clouds that went overhead all refused to shed any rain.

DSC_0609

In the Sunshine

Zippy came out of the garage this afternoon to catch a little sunshine, and for a couple of photographs.  Still familiarising myself with the rebuild. Probably go for a drive over the weekend.

Ford Capri Mk1 1600 GT Facelift 1973 Ford Capri Mk1 Ford Capri Mk1 1600 GT

Ford Capri Mk1 1600 GT Sebring Red 1973 Facelift Ford Capri 1600GT

Zippy is Home

After another eventful week Zippy has finally been finished and is back under a new cotton cover and securely locked away in my garage.  Everything has been completed although we may check the prop shaft UV joint next year, and he needs to go back after about 500 miles, to be checked again.

Ford Capri Mark 1 Facelift Back View Ford Capri Mark 1 Facelift Front View 1973 Ford Capri Mk1 in the Sun

Ford Capri Mark 1 Facelift Side View 00633 Ford Capri Mark 1

Mark 1 Ford Capri 1600 GT Pinto Engine Bay 00638 00642

00625 Mark 1 Ford Capri Engine Bay 00637

Passed its MOT

Zippy successfully passed its MOT this week passing with flying colours.  And the first road test was pretty good.  Brakes were binding a bit so we’ve fitted some new discs at the front now, so the complete system is brand new.

00620 00614 00615

The stripe is fitted and the 1600 GT badges on the side too.  Replacement “FORD” letters on the bonnet look good, licensed remanufactured items from Australia.

00619 Mk1 Ford Capri Side Stripe 00617

Final adajustments next week, and then a deep clean before Zippy will be delivered back home.

00618 00621

Quarter Windows In

The new rear quarter windows have now been installed along with the modified latches.  These look brilliant, and there is no risk of the glass falling out now.

00604 00606 00608

Next week will be spent finishing off the underside, some of the floor plugs will be sealed and a couple of minor scuffs from the rebuild will be blown over.

00613 00602 00603

Side stripes along with badges on the bonnet, sills and the wings will also be added.  At which point, probably on Friday, it will be driven to West Lodge for an MOT

00607 00609 00612

All the electrics have now been completed and the dashboard is back fully in place.  Here you can see the small repair to the silver finish around the dials.  The central ‘bullet’ clock is also working.

00611 00610 00605

Rear Window Latches

After one of the rear quarter windows dropped out last week I’ve been looking for replacement glass.  I ended up purchasing two NOS glass units from New Jersey, USA.  These are actually for the US version of the Capri known as the Mercury Capri.These are different because, instead of glueing the opening latch to the glass, these have a hole in the glass allowing the latch to securely fixed.  That meant we had to modify the original glue on design latch.

With the help of Malcolm at M.K. Engineering in Colchester, we came up with these.  A new aluminium mushroom head has been created that screws into the original stub, and the stub has been drilled and threaded.  And add to this a new black plastic liner to ensure that the bolt is not tightened against the glass.

00599 00598 00597

00601

Quarter Window Glass

Last week one of the rear quarter window glasses became unstuck, slipped out and smashed on the floor.  It was the nearside glass, the side which I had not re stuck because it seemed well stuck.

00591 00592 00594

But fortunately we managed to locate a NOS pair from New Jersey.  These are Mercury Capri windows which actually have a hole in the glass, thus are bolted rather than just glued like the UK built car.  A good little enhancement really.  Now need to get suitable bolts, and adjustments to the existing latches to complete the fitting of these rear quarter windows.

005950059300590

Still waiting for the electrician to finish work on the dashboard.  That should happen this evening.

00588 00587 00586

Zippy was up on the ramp today so a good opportunity for some underside shots.  Here we can see the completed (wider) steel wheels, the new suspension, brakes, exhaust and so on.

00585 00584 00583

00582 00589

Seats are in

Whilst waiting for the electrics to complete, the front seats have now been installed and number plates attached.

00577 00578 00579

The drivers seat was largely re-made using matching vinyl leather cloth and new piping but keeping the original cloth inserts.  The passenger seat had lesser repairs, largely remaining original, and so is about 43 years old.

00580 00581

Still waiting for the arrival of stripes for the side. These should arrive soon from the Mk1 Capri Register.

The Engine is Running

Well, we’re almost finished now.  After 2 years 2 months, this huge project is almost over and Zippy will be driving back home pretty soon.

00556 00558 0559

Most of the trim has been put back onto the car.  The rear quarter dummy vents, the wipers, new door mirrors, bumper brackets and headlights.

00560 00561 00563

The wiring loom, repaired and retaped is now back in the engine bay and all peripheral components have been attached, apart from the rear bumper light.

00562 00564 00565

The engine has been started and run up to normal temperature.  It even starts first time.

00566 00567 00568

The refurbished 5.5J wheels have been shod and fitted with new wheel nuts too.

00557 00569 00570

The front seats have been delivered today so, next time these will be in the car

00571 00572 00573

The dashboard has not been completed yet.  This is waiting on the return of the electrician next week.

00574 00575DSC_0556

The Dashboard is Back

We’re still waiting on the return of the engine bay wiring loom.  However, we’ve started to put the interior back together including the dashboard.

00550 00549 00551

The 5.5J wheels have now been painted aswell so they’ll be fitted next week.

00548 00552 00554

The rear seats will probably get installed next week too

00555 00553

The Loom is ready

Apparently the loom is now ready and will be delivered in the next couple of days.  At which point post of the engine compartment will be able to be completed

00543 00544 00545

Whilst we await the loom, the slam panel is being resprayed as there was a little dust and other marks in the finish

00547 00546

Painting the Wheels

The set of 5.5J Rostyle steel wheels have now been powder coated and I’ve got the job of hand painting the satin black sections.  One wheel done so far, three more to go.

00537 00538 00542

00541 00540 00539

Awaiting the Loom

The engine bay wiring loom has now gone off to the electrician to be tested and repaired.  Once this comes back, then there will be another push to complete Zippy.  As a result the Capri has been sat on top of a hydraulic ramp for the last couple of weeks.  That means it’s a good opportunity to get some shots of the underside, to include the gearbox abd bell housing, prop, axle and of course the exhaust.  This is the original Ford item but treated in a high temperature back paint.

00525 00530 00529

00528 00527 00526

00536 00535 0534

00533 00532 00531

Next week the 5.5J steel wheels will go off to be repaired and painted.

New Headlining

The headlining was fitted into the car this week by Andy Watts, the same chap that repaired the seats.  This is using some old stock Ford lining material

00516 00515 00518

New front calipers have also been fitted as one of the original ones was rather badly damaged.  The rear brake pipes have been fitted and a new petrol tank feed as well

00519 00521 00520

With the drivers door open you can now see how we’ve managed to pain the sill and door bottoms black, as per the Ford Facelift design, but also keep the inner sill in Sebring Red.  This is consistent with the sale brochure material

005170052200524

Also notice a familiar looking MGB GT in the same garage, now sporting some new boots and rubber

00523

Courtesy Switches

Some success this week.  Managed to source two courtesy light switches for the door jams which avoids the need to re-use the incorrect mark 2 versions.

00503 00502 00504

The repaired cardboard parcel shelf is back in now so work is now waiting on completion of the head lining before the glass is re-fitted

00506 00511 00514

That means that Zippy is up on a ramp out of the way.  Time to grab some pictures of the underside

00513 00512 00510

Here are a selection of underside views.  Note the wheels will be changing to the 5.5J steel wheels that would be fitted to a GXL

00509 00508 00507

00505

The Engine is in

Lots of progress now.  Suspension has been build and it is sitting (albeit a little high) on it’s original wheels.  We will be changing these to 5.5Js at some point. A lot of the bright work is on now and the engine and gearbox is in place.

00478 00479 00481

Front and rear suspension, brakes and the rear axle are in place now

00496 00495 00494

00493 00492 00482

The engine is in place, but with no carburettor etc.  But the starter motor and solenoid are in place along with a lot of the brake pipes and the new master cylinder sitting on the refurbished servo unit.

00483 00484 00491

00490 00486 00487

The engine mounts, these are the original ones, distributor can be seen here.  Work on the dashboard and internal electrics will probably start next week.

00489 00488 00485

00497 00480

And inside the boot we can see the rear light backing plates and the painted fuel tank.  Now shopping for various items for the ignition along with hoses for the cooling.

00500 00499 00498

Cleaning the Loom

Over Christmas I’ve been pottering a bit with the wiring loom and the carpets.  The wiring loom, although complete, was covered with insulating tape, underseal and an awful lot of overspray from previous restorations or resprays.  Although the tape and underseal have come off reasonably well, the overspray is proving rather problematic.

00474 00476 00477

The internal carpet and the boot mat have cleaned up very well though, especially considering they are 43 years old now.

00473 00472 00469