I may possibly be the happiest man alive. That dumb, white, 1980's piece of midlife crisis has actually made me happier than a lot of things can!
First of all, I think a picture is necessary...
You will notice, and its not something I ever really thought about when I was looking at cars, but she is a bit of a land yacht! Its longer than my dad's C class mercedes and bumper to bumper is about the same as a ford mondeo.... yet it only weighs a pinch over a tonne!
When I went to view it, the first thing I noticed was the rust on the front grill, unfortunately this is from stone chipping that has not been dealt with in quick enough succession, in the pictures this looks quite bad, but its actually just a sand, fill and paint job! Not one panel on the car is rusted more than cosmetically! Which is fantastic! More so because the next thing I am about to tell you is pretty hard to swallow.
One hundred and forty seven THOUSAND miles.
Near as damn it thats 6 times round the world at the equator!
THE POOR LITTLE LAND BARGE!
I was told by the owner that the engine is original, and he hasn't done anything to it other than change the oil regularly and knows that the head has been converted to unleaded at some point fairly recently. Having said that the engine isn't a write off, its quite a funny little thing to start, when cold it waddles for a little while making a great deal of fuss as you throttle it and try to get the automatic choke to kick in, but then one cylinder catches and SWEET MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS HOLY IT SOUNDS AMAZING!
To sum up the viewing and buying of the car is this:
1, The body has cosmetic rust, there is no rust whatsoever around the windscreen, underneath, or around the A frames! WINNING! The car is solid, just a little tatty! So I want to correct this before the bloody tin worm infests anywhere else.
2, The drivetrain is good, albeit the engine is a little...used, the gearbox is smooth through all gears, and there are no groans or whines from anywhere in the car. There is a little oil on the bottom of the rear differential but I think that is just a weeping gasket, its something I will check shortly! The brakes are....well it has a peddle in between the clutch and accelerator, I am yet to find a use for it, because it certainly isn't in a rush to slow the car down! A good brake bleed and fluid change is in order me thinks!
3, The interior is all there, the seats are tatty, but I don't really care! Its an old car and I have seen 04' onwards hatchbacks with worse interiors! I am in no rush to get replacing anything, because everything is pretty tidy except the seats have a little tear here and there, and could do with re-padding. But is completely acceptable for me!
4, ITS A CAPRI. I know this is not what you should go for a car on, but its a lovely car, the lines are just right on it! And dare I call it...sexy? Ive had it about 24 hours now, and I have had six people come compliment me on it. When filling it with petrol (which is a story in itself!*) I got a wolf whistle! (Or rather the car did!) Its a joy to drive, and once the little niggles are sorted she will be a pleasure to own.
5, I paid £700 for it. I COULD GET THAT IN RUDDY PARTS FOR IT!
I will keep updating as things are done to her! Anyway, here are a few more pictures of her sitting in the drive. I ate lunch in the garden today, just smiling at it! I really am that sad!
*The petrol cap was seized on....I don't think its been filled up since 1987!
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