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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

The rear seats will probably get installed next week too

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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