Ford Capri mk1 427 ci v8

[capri v8 driver]

Here is my 23 year ongoing project. Its a European Ford Capri mk1 from '71 witch started his live as a 55 hp v4 1500cc automatic.

I bought it from a old lady, who bought it new and drove it for 5 years and than stored the car till I bought it '92. Needless to say that after a 16 year storage the seals of the engine and gearbox where gone. It still started first try but the oil and water was coming from every seal on the engine. The body and chrome however where perfect. Back than, nobody, at least in my country, had a v8 in his/her Capri so it was a good idea to drop a Ford 302 v8 into the Capri and the Capri was given a new paintjob and used it as a daily driver for a few years till it got vandalized by a few kids in '97. I rebuild and repainted it and turned it into a drag racer with later a rebuild and hot 302 a c4 and nitro. It wasn't really slow as it did low 11 sec on the quarter but I broke 3 302 blocks and the last 10 years there aren't many places or events where you can drag race a car and with the drag race setup, a 302, a c4 and carb it wasn't a good daily driver or street car either with the result it was stored more than I drove it.

5 years ago I found a forum about pro touring and that got me interested again in my old Capri. First things on my list was the build a decent engine and gearbox. I was able to buy a brand new, un machined Dart block and started from scratch and last year finally I finished the 427 engine and the t56 gearbox. I did not like the idea of a carb on this engine so I switched to fuel injection. First with a A9L ecu and a tweecer and now with a MS3.57. Its still work in progress as I still have to change the suspension, make room for bigger wheels and tires and later on, turbo charge it as this engine is build for it.

I would like to take the opportunity to say big thanks to Scott from Elutionsdesign. I appreciated all the help figuring out the problems end setting up my MS. I would definitely recommend Scott to help with any issues.

[AdeV]

That is just lovely.... Stunning car mate, nice one.

I've raced a couple of Capris over here, never a Mk1 though - had a Mk3 then a Mk2 - but I've never had anything quite as, ah, "stanced" as that!

Does it go around corners like a standard Capri (i.e. backwards?)

[capri v8 driver]

Those pictures are from a photo shot years ago and I just got new wheels and tires however they where slightly bigger than the old ones . To make it to the shoot I had no other option than to raise the rear. Shortly after the shoot I broke the 3e 302 and it got stored.

Have you ever seen a drag race car do some serious cornering????? That's why I will converted to be a street car that can do corners. I started with the engine and gearbox first as they are the heart of any project. That's also the reason why it has a T56 now. Next year I will remove those big wheels and rear end and i will put a rear and front suspension from a Nissan skyline underneath it to help it with the cornering department. So I am not done yet. A lot of work ahead.

[AdeV]

That should be really interesting to see, I hope you'll keep posting the pics here. I think it'd be a little bit sad to lose the rear axle; it's part of what makes a Capri a Capri... and they can be more or less tamed using coilovers instead of those d*** cart springs.

That said... I raced both of mine with leaf springs at the back, multi-leaf on the Mk3 & single leaf on the Mk2. The multileaf was brilliant off the line - it sort of wound itself up a bit then just launched like a rocket. Of course, one then immediately went backwards through the nearest hedge upon encountering a corner!

[capri v8 driver]

Capri mk2 and 3 never had reaction bar (anti tramp kit) fitted like the mk1. Just a little sway bar. The rear springs would wind up very easy. It got even worse if you use heaver springs and stiff dampers. The light weight (+/- 2300 pounds) and 63/37 weight ratio did not help much either in the cornering department.