Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

[Will01]

So another weekend and not much work done on the Capri. There are soo many other jobs that are needed that i had to get on with some of these. Primarily in the dry spell i had to clear out a garage (first dry spell in months literally!) in order to get one of the cars under cover as it was getting pretty wet inside.
Thankfully the rain hed off just long enough to tidy and clear out the garage and get everything back under cover.

In the end i only spent a hour or two on the Capri so i decided to sort out the bolting up of the passenger wing to the shell. As mentioned previously i never was intending to weld the wings back on and i wanted them to be removable. So far there are 8 bolts running along the drip rails, the 3 standard bolts that hold the front panel to the wing, added 3 small bolts along the bottom of the wing where it joins to the sill, added two bolts running down the wing behind the door closing into the A-posts and finally added two small bolts inside the headlamp to the front of the wing. It does feel pretty substantially secured now, probably more so that the wing was when it was welded to rust. haha.
Eventually i will repalce these botls with quick release fasteners, but for now this wing is sorted.
I still have alot of cleaning up of the inside of the wing panel as it is still coated in factory sealant, wax and underseal. Potentially quite a bit of weight could be removed from all of that. A few small dents will be cleaned up and one section needs a slight repair, but bottom line nothing that would cause any issues in an MOT. The drivers wing still needs to be sorted and again needs cleaning up and tidying with few small repairs.
Before the wing is fitted properly at end of build i will also be putting a thin gasket around all the matings faces to help prevent the panels rubbing and causing unusual noises and potential areas for rust ingress etc. Gasket may even consist of some type of tape etc?
Apologies for poor pictures. Panels all need cleaning up eventually after everything has been finished.

Hopefully next weekend i will get some time to get the blasting back up and running so i can finish the hard to reach areas on the floor.
At the moment i am unsure if i will be building the Watts linkage for the rear end now, however i will at least need to get measurements done. Other factors are proving to be a driving force to get the car finished earlier than inticipated!

[Will01]

Just in process of ordering up some 3mm Mild Steel plate, some 20x3mm Mild Steel flat bar & some CDS tubing. Will be using this material to help make up more chassis strengthening.
Also had a few spare minutes to mock up a strut brace for the rear turrets in the Capri. See attached. I will be building a small removable cage which will be fitted in the boot to help strengthen the shell a bit. Plus it will also help secure new tank to aswell.

Wondered if anyone can give me a hand looking for glass media seive. I found some on a well known auction site a few weeks back, but unfortunately i cannot find them anymore. I was thinking that i will make up a few different seives, so i would by the mesh on a roll. But again the websites i had bookmarked i have lost. Does anyone know where i can buy mesh of different size? e.g.approx. 0.5, 1.0 & 1.5mm hole size.
If the rolls are large enough i may make up a few seives and sell them on to re-coup some of the cost. Any help greatly appreciated, otherwise i may 'borrow' the flour seive from the kitchen and hope the wife doesn't notice.

[LeoM]

Hi Will,
It you look on Moss Europe's website they sell the one made by Eastwood - normally Frost do these but I can't seem to find it on there. Alternatively try sand sieve's on amazon. I used to use a kids sand pit pack.
it's taking me a fair amount of time to catch up with this build - what a project.

Leo

[Will01]

Thanks Leo for info from moss. Will definitely be checking them out, hopefully they have in stock.
Will also look up amazon for sand seives. Appreciate the help.
Will

[Will01]

So the latest update so far.
As for sand sieves i did have a look for them, but again i just wasn't prepared to spend what was being asked for a realtively simple piece of kit.
Instead i decided to make my own, after my online searching i found a company who could supply me a roll of 1-2mm aluminimum superfine mesh. I think it is normally used for modeling, however for my use it is perfect.
I didn't want to go too fine with the mesh as i really only wanted to seive out the debris as a result of the blasting process.
This was kept simple and i only made a small seive which was suitable for the size of bucket i have which the glass is stored in. I can say although my initial seive is a bit rough and ready it does the job superbly well. I may end up knocking up a few others and sell on to help re-coop some of the cost.
This seiving of the glass material also helped me keep running the pot blaster much more smoothly as it wasn't getting constantly gummed up with rusty debris and flakes of paint. All in all i reckon it porbably cost me something like £1.50 to make my basic seive with some crappy pieces of wood i had lying around and a few nails etc. Not bad for 15 minutes work i reckon.

Anyway i ran the pot blaster from full to empty a hadfull of times on the Saturday and completed blasting the underneath rear section of the Capri shell. Then it was cleaned and then primed to help prevent rust ingress. All in all i can say it is a superb tool for getting to the hard to reach rusty areas, but my pot blaster just isn't suitable for doing large scale areas as it just doesn't clean a large enoguh area, plus my compressor struggles to constantly run the pot. Probably a maximum of 5minutes constant use on hard to remove areas.
I think however it will work nicely once i make up a cabinet and just use for refurbing small parts etc. Sorry i don't have any pictures to share this time. Hopefully once i have finsihed the floor i will remember to post up some pictures.
The next area i need to use this setup on is the front valence area and engine bay. Then just get onto cleaning up the axle and other parts etc.
I can report that the blast hood i purchased worked very well and help prevent alot of glass going in my ears and eyes and in my hair. It was much more pleasant to use.
Maybe in time i might invest in a proper sand blaster unit to carry out vehicle blasting etc. Time will tell. But it would be a good bit thing to do as a bit of business on the side to help earn some money to keep these car projects up.

[Will01]

So just a small wee update today. My good friend Kieron Lehane @ Lehane Racing had a spare Malpassi Fuel Pressure regulator with glass bowl and gauge which he sent up to use on the E-Type, however my father has chosen to keep the fuel system as stock. Therefore it means this will come in very handy for the Capri to control fuel flow to the standard 2.0 Pinto engine which we will use for the time being.
Every little to keep the costs down will help get us on the road asap.

More of a important development is the fact that my wife is pregnant and we are now expecting our first child. Therefore she is no longer able to give me a hand in the garage as i don't want her getting hurt. So it means it is now down to me in order to get the car finsihed and the new deadline is before Birth Day! Everyone keeps telling me once you have children you will never have any time left or money, therefore i suppose i better make a big effort to try and get the car rolling and driveable asap.
I not sure the Capri is child friendly, however i still have no plans to sell on. Fingers crossed everything works out ok, i am really excited what the future now holds.

Back to the Capri, we still have a few things to purchase to get the project moving. Sheet Steel & ALuminium & CDS tube is on the shopping list along with a set of Compression struts and adjustable TCA's. Nothing else will change from that for the time being so Coilovers are on hold to help reduce some of the costs. The inverted Adjustable Watts linkage will continue to be developed in CAD drawings, however the car will go without until this is feasible.
We are also looking at alternatives for a Roll Cage as we may end up making ourselves, although this is stil open and quite an important factor.
As for the brakes i will just be moving forward with what i have, but i am still working on the DIY Bias box, so hopefully this will be completed in next few months aswell. Lots to do and not alot of time, then again i have always enjoyed a challenge.

[fingers99]

I said I'd report back on my tube notcher, but so far I've been unable to use it!

Problem is that it's a little too tall to fit my drill press. Although this is annoying, it hasn't been a hindrance with the braces I'm currently making, as the only angle involved is 90 degrees.

I need to either find a longer tube (difficult, I think, to find such a short length with a good enough finish) or raise the tube support away from the base of the stand 4 or 5 inches: I've some scrap box section around which may do just that.

But for the moment I have customers waiting for braces.

The only sensible news I can give is that my notcher takes conventional (Bosch et al) holesaws and that they last remarkably well providing the drill speed is not excessive and you use a decent cutting fluid. Mine are munching cheerfully through 12 gauge CDS tube.

[TomLouwrier]

More of a important development is the fact that my wife is pregnant and we are now expecting our first child.

This is the most important news by far Will!
Congrats to you both, good luck the coming months. Give the missus a hug from me.

regards
Tom

[Will01]

Thanks Tom for your kind comments, my wife appreciates the hug also.
I may have to think about welding in some ISOfix points in the Capri now, but i hope to have a picture of our first child alongside the Capri in the future.

The Capri is still taking a side line at the moment as we have also been very busy in dismantling my late Grandfathers old shed, that incidentally used to be a BT Telephone exchange house from many moons ago. Because my house has no garage or shed we are looking at re-assembling in my garden. This is involving alot of moving about of plants etc, but i hope this will be my new workshop at home, this is where i will look to do more small DIY modifications. Bit warmer than the garage also. I quite lucky that my parents garages are only a stone throw away, but none the less it is still useful to have my own workshop space.

Back to the Capri. I have been in touch with my local engineer recently and have already taken a trip down to his workshop to see how my Brake pedal modifications are coming along. The pedal itself is now ready to go with 3 different locations for the brake pin to alter the pedal ratio from approximately 4:1, 5:1, 6:1. He is just waiting for a bit of free tiime to machine some nice new metal (brass i think) bushes. This will take a bit of the slop out which the original plastic/nylon bushes have.
He also has a rough plan fo rthe aluminimum brake bias bulkheads which need machining, however i am just awaiting a bit of flat bar and components (balance bar etc) to confirm some vital measurements before machine the plates.
I also have a delivery of metal sheet and tube on hold, and some Compression struts for the front suspension.
Unfortunately it is just waiting on the finances, although i am getting there slowly with selling off spare parts that are not required in the build.
Really this just leaves me with alot of the time thinking about the next modification.
Due to the use of compression struts on the front suspension i will not be using the front anti roll bar for the track control arm location, but i also loose the ability to attach the antiroll bar to the suspension. This is not a problem as i will be using some DIY droplinks i have in the shed, however i really don't want to purchase a hard to get hold of Capri 2.8i (24mm OD)front anti roll bar and cut it up. Therefore because i have two standard Capri 1.6/2.0 (20mm OD) anti roll bars i will be machining some clamps and connect these too each other.
One of these will be cut down slightly to avoid wheel/suspension contact, the other one will have a spacer machined so that a slider can be used to alter the leverage ratio on the front anti roll bar.
There are a few different methods of doing this
- Clamp bars together and use original mounting points for one bar(but use extra wide anti roll bar mounts) OR
- Clamp bars together and machine mounts for both anti roll bars, although this involves manufacturing a double mount for the arb's(not soo prefferred at the moment)
The next plan will be too upgrade this further depending on how it works, for this i would be looking at using some mechanical CDS 25.4mm OD tube with different thickness gauges and use custom mounts to allow blades to be fitted. However this can be left for the future design.

On these old rear wheel drive cars it doesn't really matter how stiff you go up the front as long as you can tolerate the ride. Alot of people remove the anti roll bar entirely when fitting compression struts, but really the ability to keep the arb means i can keep the springs a bit softer and use the arb for roll control rather than having to go very stiff with the front springs.

[Will01]

So i didn't have that much time to even look at the Capri this month, but i did manage to get a bit more done.
First of all i just started to mock up double anti roll bar setup using 2x 20mm Capri ARB's. Because one is slightly different (later model year cars had angled mount brackets, not sure why?) i will only really be able to mount one bar. This is not too much of a problem. Also with a little help and pictures from some other people who have done similar i think this will be the plan forward, i will just hinge one bar with double width clamps and maybe use a third clamp in the middle to help prevent twist. Then use 4 clamps to bolt the bars together.

I also carried on with converting the wings to Bolt On/Off. This time i converted the drivers wing, and repaired a few different areas. They still look pretty rough, but the basic idea is sound now. I still have alot of cleaning up and filling in of holes to do, but they are at least set to go on the car.

I also spent quite a bit of time continuing to prime the underneath of the car where i stripped it back. The next job underneath it to really get the high build primer on ready for paint and sealing the joins.

[Will01]

Right guys this may be a completely bonkers idea, i have to ask honest opinions here and try to be serious at the same time cause i think its completely mad.
One of my friends However all the mechanicals are in good condition. Since i was going to get the Capri on the road with just a standard ish 2.0 Pinto for the first stage and then go for something bigger and more powerful later. Now i have the option of fitting the AJV8 4.0 engine from the jaguar into the Capri. As far as i know no-one has done this before.
Is this a sensible idea which is worth pursuing or not?
If i decide against it i may clean up this restoration thread and delete any relevant posts.
Some tech specs for guys out there it is an unstressed Jaguar AJ V8 Aluminimum block and head engine with 32V and 290bhp standard NA power. Obviously it is auto, but i am looking into options for Manual conversion. I have to do alot more research into electrics. It is a mad plan, but maybe something will come of it. If not anything i sell off the car will be going towards spending on the Capri and beefing up what i already have.

[TomLouwrier]

If people didn't go for bonkers ideas we'd still be living in caves, without fire... :-)

Frankencars are usually not really my thing, but that is a matter of taste. It shouldn't stop you.
As an engineering exercise: why not, as long as you get the packaging right and keep an eye on weight distribution. Considering that the Capri did very well in V6 form both size and weight might be feasible. You'll always be able to graft a transmission on.
Just out of curiosity: if you compare the alloy V8 with the period cast iron V6? As far as I remember that is quite a heavy unit. And how do they compare on size? I expect the V8 to be somewhat longer and wider since it's a 90 degree block.

Don't be too afraid of the electronics, engines usually have their own environment that is separated from the rest of the car's loom without much trouble. It's pretty much a self contained sub-system.

regards
Tom

[Will01]

Thanks for your info Tom.
I love Capri's however i not really a fan of any engines which they came with. I always liked the idea of using an Alfa V6 as i think they are a great engine. But since this Jaguar V8 has landed on my lap it got me thinking why not.
The options that exist at the moment are keep the auto box and all ecu etc and try and remove parts and just install as is with custom prop. I see there is a speedshifter kit that means you can manually shift the box which might be ok for the car. Or i have seen that people have mated manual gearboxes to the engine e.g. T56 or think someone used an S-Type manual box with modified flywheel etc. I quite like the idea of manual as this is being built as a drivers car for some really mad fun, i want it to be as engaging as possible with a bit of lunacy. My young cousins are working with DIY ECU's on their own cars, so maybe able to ditch the Jaguar electronics and go completely standalone.
I think i will have to change the rear axle for something alot stronger, alot of people say i can use a Volvo 1030 or 1031 axle from 240 Volvo etc? It is still a live axle but you apparently can get LSD's to fit in them also. Not sure an atlas axle would take it??
If it doesn't work out then no loss really and i will just sell it in order to invest in something else.
I haven't even looked into gearing, but as long as i can get it up to 130mph then that be ok, i just want it to accelerate as hard as possible.
Maybe i in dream world but it will definitely keep me busy for a while trying to work something out. Engine and box etc will go in my new workshop once built so i can play on making it work if i ever get spare time.
The other great thing is if i can get it to work and the engine gives up one day there are plenty of cheap rotten jaguars about including supercharged ones which would be even more exciting.

[fingers99]

People have put US V8s in them, so the Jag unit shouldn't be a problem. Volvo 850T rear axle and diff?

I've a vague memory of Austalian or maybe South African Capri V8s straight off the production line?

Those unacceptable folk at Practical Performance Car have put a US V8 into a Capri and are currently putting a Jag V8 into a Scimitar.

[Will01]

Hi Fingers you are correct about Australia & South African Capri's with V8's. They were Perana Mk1 Capri's which run a Ford Mustang 302 V8 i believe.
I know alot of people who have put Mustang V8's, Cosworth V6's and some big block V8's, however i want to keep it light as possible but with a decent sized engine. Hence why i was looking at Alfa V6 or now an all Alu Jag V8. I think a V type engine is at home in a Capri engine bay, although i will still be running the Pinto to start with and that will give me time to aquire certain parts like Volvo axles.
Thanks for the Volvo 850T info, i will have to look into that. I know the Volvo axles tend to come with discs aswell which may make things easier, although getting cables conversions may be a small problem?
Thanks for the PPC info with the Scimitar, it may be of some help?
After my research it does appear that the AJ V8 comes from a family of Ford engines whilst Ford & Jaguar were teamed up. It apparently came from the Duratorq range of engines, more research till required.

On another note the engine measures at 40inch wide from side of one cylinder head to the other, so when the hail stones stop i going back to the garage to make some dimension checks. I don't want to cut the inner wings or other major parts of the shell, so if it doesn't fit it is going up for sale and a re-think.