The US got 500k of these and only 6 are on craigslist. (pic dump)

"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond) 10/14/2014 at 12:36 • Filed to: None

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The 70's Ford Capri was a European hit and reasonably so in America sold as a Mercury. It either rusted completely into oblivion, or is loved so much nobody can sell it on. As of this morning, searching with autotempest.com, there's only 6 on Craigslist-5 projects and one blank listing- nationwide. They were imported from Germany. Starting 1971 until 1978 (no US '75 model exists) and sold as a Mercury Capri in the states because if it were put next to the pinto in Ford show rooms, the pinto would not have sold given the awesome performance in comparison. How could so few survive when folks had pictures like this to fantasize about?

Zakspeed was a monsterizer and created track dragons. There were also rally versions Ford created-the RS series. In this case, the RS2600 v6 car.

Bazillions of owner modified cars exist in Europe. Who could blame them when given a F/R contraption that weighed 2500 pounds with the big v6 sitting in enough room for a Ford Windsor v8 swap-wich happened often. This was widely sold as the European Mustang...in Europe. In the states it was just, "The sexy European". Well that's nice but does she do anything else?

I am looking for a rallycross project and this fits exactly what I need for what I want to build but the absolute rarity of cars nation wide has me going for a 79-86 Fox body mustang instead, and a bazillion of those are everywhere like cat litter in my basement...from a cat (what the capri is named after). The 80's Capri was just a Mustang fox rebody. Available but also like the fox, several hundred pounds heavier than this little 70's gem.

There's the Capri owners of america club. Their classifides are a blank page telling you to email them about your needs. They have a Capri swarm every year-their annual gathering but honestly the page is a bit weak for those wanting to learn more beyond what club members are doing where once a year and how their cars are. I'm left with craigslist and ebay (and that's FULL of parts. Have all been parted out?) So I'm left with that. A car that if bent out of shape, would not be easy to find a replacement without driving literally cross country to find a shell.

So here are the pictures of the Capri greatness all over.

Zakspeed turbo in car at the Nurburgring with Mr. Zakspeed himself at the wheel giving it all the beans.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 12:39

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Would love to own one. My uncle had one back in the day, loved that car.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 12:39

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Capri: the car you always promised yourself.

Grindintosecond > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 10/14/2014 at 12:42

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....and then could never find when you had enough money....

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 12:43

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Oh look.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_od…

//cheerfully hops around

Cé hé sin > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 12:45

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And that's just the Mk1, albeit the most popular one.

Here are the Mks 2 and 3.

Grindintosecond > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 10/14/2014 at 12:46

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oh hell. Now I have to go and import one and it won't have any value (i don't think) when it gets here. I just want to tear it up and rally cross it anyway... :)

KnowsAboutCars > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 12:47

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Why no love for mk2?

Also, here's a video of supercharged mk3 figure 8 drifting just because.

Cé hé sin > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 12:48

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In trivia news, these lights are the same as on the mk1 Escort.

Steve in Manhattan > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 12:50

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A long time ago, I had to borrow my Dad's Dodge to go to a wedding - my old Volvo was out of commission. A gold Capri rear-ended me at a stoplight. And who climbed out of it? Sargent Shriver. The insurer said get it fixed anyplace you want, and the check was delivered by messenger. I've been hit by a Kennedy! (sort of).

Grindintosecond > Cé hé sin 10/14/2014 at 12:50

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I'm sure there were lots of parts bin raids. It looks like a mk1 escort just slightly larger for the larger engines so there's probably quite a bit of interchange going on.

Grindintosecond > KnowsAboutCars 10/14/2014 at 12:54

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We never got the square headlights. only dual rounds.

Our Capri II's had the catalytic converter and got smogged power. We never got the mk3 and the Mk2 is fine. I have no problem with them. Our importation of them stopped in 77 so we never got any of the updates after that.

Cé hé sin > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 12:56

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Surprisingly the rest of the car was Mk2 Cortina rather than Escort.

Grindintosecond > Cé hé sin 10/14/2014 at 12:57

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Given the appearance, it's very surprising.

Cé hé sin > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 12:58

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..to me as well, I had thought it was a slightly sportified Escort.

Cé hé sin > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 13:00

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Yes, square headlights or indeed anything other than standard sealed beams were regarded as the spawn of Satan in America and banned.

djmt1 > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 13:06

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I found this on Google and I have to say this is a terrible picture but I can say that because it's my picture.

Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 13:17

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Damn. I would love to own of those one day.

TotallyThatStupid > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 13:22

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Love these. Your rarely see nice ones in the States any longer (non-Fox-bodies, that is).

ranwhenparked > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 19:42

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I've always wondered about the crazy low survival rate for US-market Capris. Granted, it has been 40 years, but there's lots of cars from 40 years ago that are still pretty easy to find. The Capri was a decent success and has always been a pretty attractive car, but there's almost none left at all. Its easier to buy a Chevette Scooter at this point.

Iheartmy365kHonda - Car enthusiasts do like FWD > Grindintosecond 10/14/2014 at 20:20

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I found an orange one in some guy's yard and snapped a pic of it. I later lost that picture and he ended up covering it later on.

Nostromo > Grindintosecond 03/08/2018 at 17:09

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Gorgeous little things. Like jewelry when new. I had a ‘72 V6 Capri in very good condition when I bought it used in ‘74; so I’m extrapolating as to what these were like when new. I’m pretty tall so I didn’t drive my Capri so much as I ‘wore’ it; a fashion accessory and truly the Sexy European.

Mine was red with a fetching black vinyl top. I loved to wax the thing; I waxed the paint so thin that the primer started showing on the fender tops. Some of the drawbacks to the my ‘72 Capri are mostly forgotten now but I’ll try to conjure up memories of a few. The alternator ate diodes like they were candy. Clutch cables frayed as though they were made of cotton. I began to count on replacing wheel cylinders every month. Free play showed-up in the steering and my Dad came up with a way to fix it without throwing away the old rack and pinion. Valve guides wore prematurely and the quirky-but-powerful V6 developed a bit of a smoking problem.

Still, I’d buy it back today and try to restore it to its heyday’s appearance but I suspect that it rusted away. These were very prone to rusting with its early, unprotected unibody structure; I saw some decade-old Capris with their undersides dissolving from the exposure to road salts in the northeast of the United States.