1980 Capri 3.0 Ghia
This story takes some believing nowadays.
It was in December 1999 when I heard of a 3 litre Capri that was for sale cheap, it was an insurance write off and the owner had decided to sell it.
Viewed it, liked the look of it and bought it on Dec 24 (Christmas Eve) for £150.
There was only front end damage and it had possibilities.
It was jigged straight, had a new bonnet, OS front wing, valance, slam panel and radiator.
The new work was painted to an excellent match.
It was MOT’d, taxed, insured and given a full tank of petrol.
The total bill for all this came to just under £1,000 including the cost of the car itself.
However, quite a bit has been done to it in the intervening years.
Cylinder heads were removed soon after purchase and fitted with hardened valve seats for unleaded fuel.
The 3.0 litre suspension, which was soft and spongy was then changed for a full 2.8i suspension with gas shocks and poly-bushes front and rear. Road holding was greatly improved.
Lumenition optronic ignition was fitted at the same time.
The Ghia wheels with standard 185/70 x 13 tyres were changed in favour of 7-spoke, 15 inch “Brookie” alloys. After discovering the 195/50 x 15 “Brookie” tyres gave no kerbing protection they were changed for 205/50 x 15 and the problem was solved. A side effect of this was the speedometer now reads true speed, same as the sat nav.
At 125,000 miles the engine was getting tired and compressions were down. It was fully overhauled and re-bored with new pistons and bearings. “Essex” V6 engines have two weak points. The “Tufnol” camshaft timing gear and the oil pump drive spindle, subject to viscosity of the oil in the sump.
Sure enough, one fine day the Tufnol teeth on the timing gear stripped and caused the engine to fail in mid stride. Total damage besides the timing gear was one bent pushrod.
The pushrod was replaced, a Quaife steel timing gear and a new oil pump drive spindle were also fitted and the engine was quickly running again.
This model of Capri is renowned for having a lively back end, and after twice experiencing the effect of the back end coming round on me a Quaife ATB (Automatic Torque Biasing) limited slip differential was fitted to prevent this problem.
Cost of this LSD was £900 at the time, but it works like magic and keeps the car in a straight line under heavy acceleration.
The next modification was to convert the Auto gearbox to a 5-speed manual. An overhauled and balanced prop shaft was also fitted. The present owner rebuilt the gearbox and used a CCI adapter plate to mate it to a 3.0 litre bell housing. Another success story.
Other minor mods: –
Half leather Recaro front seats, colour keyed to the original interior. Original seats were no longer comfortable on long journeys.
“Sportex” performance exhaust system.
Plastic front inner wing liners – ex Ford Sierra from the breaker’s yard.
Details from the VIN plate:
Chassis No: GAECAK114510
Interpretation: –
G = Germany, A = Köln, E = Capri, C = 3-door hatchback, A = 1980, K = June
The engine code HY = 3000 V6 (Essex) engine
Transmission code D = Automatic 3-speed
Axle code is L = 3.09:1, but without LSD’s which were introduced in 1984
