Tuesday 4 September 2012

Restoration

The Capri is now sat in the garage with many bits taken off it and the long and arduous task of rust and metal removal has started! However, firstly, here is load of photos of the car and how it got to its current state.


The camping trip had a bit of a nasty effect on the Capri, and on the way home I was stuck in some traffic, watching the temperature needle creep slowly up, a bird released all mother of its bowels onto the windscreen. On turning on the windscreen washers I managed to get the majority of what should remain inside a bird off the windscreen before hearing a muffled "Sploof" from under the bonnet.

Nothing serious! But the 25 year old rubber water hose had popped off the junction to the sprayers, simply solved with a cable tie round each end of the hose to make sure it doesn't happen again!

The temperature problem is a simple fix that will be sorted with the engine overhaul. The radiator is new, and all the hoses, pumps and thermostats work as they should, on the move it is fine! But the viscous fan has had it, I will either replace the coupling or more than likely replace it with an electric fan in front of the radiator which will provide piece of mind in traffic jams and also free up a little space in front of the engine. 


 Finally the last problem I had on the trip was the weather, which was glorious! So the windows and sunroof were open as wide as they could go! Unfortunately the rust on the sunroof wouldn't let the thing close....with force it did! But made a nice cut line down to bare metal...great! So a quick spray of white undercoat to keep rust away was sprayed on and a mental note to not open it fully until mended!

Whilst driving it around I did notice that the engine was a bit rough running. Starting was problematic with a few long turns of the starter to get it going as well as it being almost impossible to start when hot! Followed by dieseling (engine run on) when the ignition was switched off. After joining the ford Capri laser forum (http://www.fordcaprilaser.co.uk/ - a must if you own a Capri!) I was told to give the car a thorough service, time it and clean and set the carb up properly. I ripped apart the carb, being careful not to drop and screws down the throat! I cleaned it up with kerosene and mineral spirits and it all came up beautiful. I am lucky enough to own a sonic cleaner, which on little intricate parts such as that in the carb was perfect, see the following pictures for the before and after!

 Horrible right? The two plates on the right are the choke flaps, which were sticky and black, a tarry like substance which was a mix of burnt on petrol and oil. When the car diesels it sends up a haze of petrol vapour into the carburettor and sticking to all metal surfaces. Nice. The rest of the carburettor that was too big to fit in the cleaner was given a good scrub. When I pull the engine I will renew all the gaskets and probably the thermostat on the automatic choke, which is a little sticky.  

Carb in bits! New gasket needed!
Sonic Cleaner














The pictures below show the carb after it had all been cleaned! 
New toys!
Cleaned carb! Nothing stuck any more!


This next picture may just seem like a receipt, but notice how much it all cost! The oil in the Capri as well as the filter had been changed about a week before I purchased the car, and to look at the oil and the filter, they look both new, so im willing to accept it! It will do until I sort the engine anyway! 
My little shopping spree should have cost about 45 quid, but came to £16.71 thanks to a bloke (who is my hero and shall remain unnamed!) putting it all on his halford discount card. Top lad!

This is what your garage should look like after a service! Notice the timing light above the sockets! I love new toys!

The spark plugs! Look at them! Crusty horrible things that the ceramic had turned to dust on! Small wonder the car was running so bad! One of them was even cracked and came apart when removed! They are so old they are using the old Champion ID numbers! They are easily 10-12 years old! They came out....eventually with a pry bar...and new ones went in! This helped the running enormously! 
 After the service I never had a hitch with the Capri, it started up fine, ran great and the dieseiling had minimised. The fuel economy per tank increased about 100 miles per tank, and it sounded and pulled great!

James = very happy chappy. 

The next picture shows the start of the restoration, which is going to be done in my sisters garage. She has been a great sport actually, along with her boyfriend Simon, and here is a very shameless plug for her blog - http://www.laurenlovesblog.co.uk/

Its all about fashion and junk, which I suppose doesn't really apply to many of the people on this blog, but if you drive a Capri and like wearing make-up then its a match made in heaven. 

Having said that, the only problem with my sister's garage is that its in an alleyway. Which is too narrow to allow the Capri's 3 mile long body into the garage. So we had to edge the nose in and then push the back round using a jack! Fun times!

The car was enough in the garage to be driven in....but the garage doors were blocking the car doors! Simon had to jump in through the window....
 Here's my next problem.....RUST. Owning a Capri I am told is a game of "which bit to replace first" and every car is the same! If you can find a solid one you are only prolonging the game! This picture shows the bumper bracket, which I am going to have to cut off as the nut and bolt have become one piece! 
 The car with the front off! Strapped up the bonnet to the roof for a bit of extra security when sanding and working under the bonnet, the long job of grinding off rust starts!
 When I took the radiator cowl off, I found these beauties! AIR HORNS!!

They were disconnected, but working! I used them a few times by jumping them across the battery terminals. They sounded EPIC. I have taken them off however, and now are a garage toy!
These are brilliant! If you are taking off rust, this is brilliant! They wear down quite quickly, and cost about 8 quid, but they take everything off, rust, primer, filler, topcoat, the lot! And they also leave the metal underneath  perfectly shiny and nice!













Body rot...just in front of the headlight unit
















 Inner sill rot...should be able to cut and replace
 This one is in the headlight unit itself, water collects at the back and has no way of escaping!
Finally the car as it stands currently, rust taken off the valence, and then crust put on top to stop it in its tracks! I will update later on when all the rust comes off and we start some welding!

2 comments:

  1. A lot of work to do! But looking good so far.

    Also, please put the air horns back in when your done - you can't honestly tell me they will remain in the garage?

    ReplyDelete