Messenjah
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 02:42 PM |
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ford capri
hu guys,
i havent been able to find a locost around my budget and my mum has worn me down aswell as what people have said on here and ive decided it is not
really a practical first car , i will therefore be going down the build it as you can afford to route with a 7 esque car starting in the summer.
untill then ill need a first car and ive found a capri 1.6 laser with 12 months mot for £550 anyone got any experience with these ??
insurance is going to be around the £2000 which is about double what i was quoted for a 1300 locost but the car is only £550 not 3000 ish so its
still affordable.
just wondered if anyone had experience of a 1.6 capri and could give advice on what to look out for
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Hellfire
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 02:55 PM |
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Ask a few questions here:
http://www.southyorkshirecapriclub.co.uk
My old club (I had three)... hated 'em  (Not my website now BTW - just in case you wondered!)
Probably been extensively welded by now...
[Edited on 27-10-05 by Hellfire]
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 02:55 PM |
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i love capris but having not owned one am not too clued up. what age/mk is it
why not buy a couple of copies of classic ford, and have a look round the forums eg interford?
Build Blog
Build Photo Album
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Peteff
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 02:56 PM |
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Why make it so complicated?
Get yourself a little hatchback for a couple of years till you have some no claims bonus then look round at other stuff. Capris are old fashioned and
mostly worn out bangers unless they have been owned by an enthusiast, who will be looking for more than £550 for a car they have looked after. Listen
to your mother, she has your best interest in mind.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 03:07 PM |
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You really don't want to go there, to be worth buying a 1600 Capri would need to be perfect and 100% original, if it isn't you are buying
over a ton of rust and problems --- most Capris led a pretty hard life once they got to the 3rd owners who were generally the 70s and 80s equivalent
of the Nova/Corsa boys.
Find something small and cheap to fix that won't cost a bomb to insure.
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Messenjah
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 03:23 PM |
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lol 
its a 1986 mk 3
i get what you guys have said about rust and problems etc
but if its got 12 months mot on it it cant be that bad ....
and as for telling me to keep it simple
a small hatchback that would cost me about £1000 - 1500 anf then about £1200 - 1600 to insure would be similar in cost to getting an old capri 1.6 and
insuring that i dont see what your point is sorry
[Edited on 27/10/05 by Messenjah]
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ned
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 03:35 PM |
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I bought a 106 1.4xsi for £500, a 1.1 will be less or have longer mot. easy to fix and don't go too badly for a little car.
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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Peteff
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 04:43 PM |
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old capri 1.6 and insuring that i dont see what your point is sorry
An MOT isn't worth the paper it's written on if you weren't there to se it done. The Capri will do 25mpg if you're lucky and
you'll be maintaining it more than driving it if it's anything like most old cars I've had.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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omega 24 v6
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 05:18 PM |
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I'm with the rest of the others mate. It's probably a bucket of brown stuff at that price even with a years test. On the other hand though
if you get someone in the know to look at it, and give you an honest second opinion you could run it for a year, and then use it as a doner for some
of the parts and get an age related plate perhaps.
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JoelP
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 05:44 PM |
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with a £500 budget id be aiming for a 1990 to 1995 3 door 1 litre small car, ideally grandad owned and very low milage. I bought a 93K citroen ax last
year, with a genuine 16k on the clock, for £300. Faultless running ever since, except a battery, and new tyres soonish. Oh, and i expect that it will
run out of fuel one day too 
[Edited on 27/10/05 by JoelP]
Beware! Bourettes is binfectious.
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steve_gus
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 07:37 PM |
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why buy a car that was designed before you were born if you can afford better? You could buy a modern, much less likely to break down than a car
designed in the early 80's and has an MOT you can have faith in.
When we were looking at cars for my 17 y/o son, we saw a 2 owner pug 205 with 45k on the clock for a grand - that cost about 1200 to insure too. You
dont have to go back 2 decades..... but then if you love capri's and dont mind the work of keeping a 20 year old ford on the road.......
80's cars rusted a whole lot more than recent cars. Bear in mind that a 1.6 ford of the 80s was only 75 hp and did about 25 to the gallon.
My idea of a first car was a bond bug (!) but I ended up with a mini
There are loads of decent modern cars about for a grand or two. Once you get some no claims under your belt you can get summat more interesting.
I also recon that somethign with a roof is a much better proposition for going out with the opposite sex than an open top locost. Unless you mum and
dad dont spend much time at home
atb
steve
[Edited on 27/10/05 by steve_gus]
http://www.locostbuilder.co.uk
Just knock off the 's'!
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Simon
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 08:38 PM |
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Had a 1980ish 2 lite GL Auto in 2 tone dog shite. Cheapest car I ever owned.
Bought for £200 with 80k on the clock. Put an MOT on it (ticket cost plus a tenner for a new sealed beam unit), sold 2 yrs later for £190. Put a new
rack in it after the first year.
It did use a bit of oil though.
Also did a power slide about 3/4 of a mile long on the way home once - in the snow
ATB
Simon
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Hellfire
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 09:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
--- most 1.6 & 2.0 Capris led a pretty hard life once they got to the 3rd owners who were generally the 70s and 80s equivalent of the
Nova/Corsa boys.
Oi... I had a 1982 2.8i Special and it was mint! Chavster I certainly was not! It was a superb motor only having a waterpump go on me in the two years
I had it. At 19 yrs old when I got it it was the car to have. No slouch and well sorted handlin' innit bro'... wicked, na wat am
sa'in?
They were too!!!
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mangogrooveworkshop
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 09:42 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ned
I bought a 106 1.4xsi for £500, a 1.1 will be less or have longer mot. easy to fix and don't go too badly for a little car.
Ned.
Thats If you havent got three sierras in bits in the boot
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NS Dev
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| posted on 27/10/05 at 10:02 PM |
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I love capris!
In fact I love anything that isn't a front wheel drive pile of unininspiring crap, which is basically what everybody is telling you to get!!
Well, ball-cocks to that. I followed my parents ideas and got a Polo as my first car and it really was a pile of 5hit. Dangerous handling and no
power, worth crushing at best, as are most front drive shopping trolleys.
I then replced the (crashed and burnt, literally) Polo with that other 70's coupe that rotted really well, an Opel Manta, was a 2.0 GTE which
was affordable for me to insure back in the day (1995).
Yep, it was a wreck, that I paid £600 for (which was cheap in 1995!!) and yep it went wrong, and yep my mum was right I shouldn't have bought
it, but it taught me how to fix cars, how to mig weld a car (quite a lot actually!!), how to change a clutch, do a brake upgrade etc etc etc etc etc
etc.
So, yes, if you want to be boring, sensible, and do the "right" thing then get a pile of crap french built shopping box on wheels, but if
you want a little bit of a challenge, that everybody will help you out with cos it's a bit different, that is the easiest car in the world to
work on cos it has less technology in it than Fred flintstone's car, then get the Capri, you know it makes sense.
Just make sure you take somebody with you who knows about rusty 70's coupes when you go, so that at least the car is a fairly solid basis to
work from. The MOT means nothing comments are quite right, they don't!!!!
I had a Capri 2.8i Special and no, it wasn't the fastest thing, or best handlilng thing or anything else in particular, but it NEVER broke down
and it ALWAYS left me with a smile on my face when I got out of it, for good reasons or cringeworthy ones.
I challenge you to get in it and not laugh at the upturned rowing boat on the bonnet every single morning!!!
Go for it and good luck mate.
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Jago Swizz
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| posted on 28/10/05 at 12:40 AM |
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quote:
On the other hand though if you get someone in the know to look at it, and give you an honest second opinion you could run it for a year, and
then use it as a doner for some of the parts and get an age related plate perhaps.
If you're hankering after a Locost in the next couple of years then i'd say that this is sensible advice. If a second opinion says its
crap though then don't bother - theres loads of cars out there.
You have to be realistic about the MOT though. It might have scraped through on the day, but could still be a pile of crap.
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scotty g
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| posted on 28/10/05 at 08:18 AM |
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I'm with NS Dev on this one, a Capri is going to teach you so much about car mechanics, not because they always break down but because they are
so simple and basic you will be able to do most of the repairs and maintainance yourself.
They are an absolute hoot to drive, even the 1.6 will give you some opposite lock adventures at any mini roundabout so it will teach you how a rear
wheel drive car handles.
A car that old won't really devalue any further as well, its already as cheap as its going to be so if you sell it on in a year or two you
should get most or all of your money back if you look after it.
I think cars like the Capri and Manta are quite cool now in a retro kind of way, how many of your mates will be driving around in a Capri!! None.
Just don't expect to break any speed records, quick they are not, unless you get the 2.8.
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Syd Bridge
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| posted on 28/10/05 at 09:37 AM |
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My youngster has just seen a Mk1 Escort (and common sense at last). Now says he wants one of those, and keep the Locost for competition.
Can anyone oblige with a not too rusty example in need of restoration?
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steve_gus
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| posted on 28/10/05 at 07:28 PM |
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it depends wether or not messnjah wants a project car that hes always working on, or something that actually runs most of the time.
what was a great car for us in the 80's might seem like a POC now.
Oh, and del boy had a Capri
atb
steve
http://www.locostbuilder.co.uk
Just knock off the 's'!
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omega 24 v6
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| posted on 28/10/05 at 07:59 PM |
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Old Fords never die they just go faster.
Maybe that should now read Old Fords never die they just make us feel young again.
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gazza285
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| posted on 28/10/05 at 08:43 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by omega 24 v6
Old Fords never die they just go faster.
Apart from when you tip your Mk1 Escort clean over a fence and land in a field on your roof .
DO NOT PUT ON KNOB OR BOLLOCKS!
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 28/10/05 at 09:03 PM |
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Boring advice from a part-time boring old fart (no, don't comment on that!) - get yourself a small-engined, bland little FWD vehicle that
won't chuck you in the hedge when you get things a bit wrong in the wet (like the Capri certainly will), won't require major surgery every
fortnight (Capri, Escort Mk1, etc), doesn't upset the insurance companies.
Learn how to drive on the road, deal with traffic and other road users (a.k.a. pillocks), generally build experience and clean-licence-time.
Once you're past the age that upsets insurers, have a couple of years no-claims, THEN start thinking about exciting cars.
Sounds boring - it is! - sounds like your parents - it does! but it's real life. Sorry, but that's the way life is for the very young
driver.
But the best of luck, whatever you end up doing!
David
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steve_gus
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| posted on 28/10/05 at 10:02 PM |
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yep David. I think some people are not considering advice that they might give to their own 17 year old that they would like one day to reach 18 years
old.
29 years ago (!) I would have thought my advice was old dufffer too. 27 years ago I stuffed a mini into a tree and was lucky to survive. We have
learned by experience!
atb
steve
http://www.locostbuilder.co.uk
Just knock off the 's'!
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NS Dev
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| posted on 30/10/05 at 12:40 AM |
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I was a 17 yr old that drove a parentally suggested VW Polo and nearly killed myself (rolled 6 times and caught fire with me in it). The car
doesn't matter a jot, you'll do it regardless at that age. I was 18 when i bought the Manta GTE and it was great, so much better in every
way (other than the rot!) than the Polo.
Likewise my brother learnt to drive in a 2.0 Sierra, which was then upgraded to road rally spec by the time he was 18. He changed and rebuilt the
engine, rebuilt all the suspension, brakes etc and learnt a lot about cars, and how RWD cars handle.
He has (touch wood!!) never had a "driving too fast" accident either.
He has never owned a FWD car for more than 2 weeks. He hates them nearly as much as I do!!
It was interesting because until he was 21 (2 years ago) he had never driven a fwd car at all. he borrowed a Cavalier GSI 16v at that point and
brought it over to me to ask me to test drive it and see if it was ok. I did and it was fine. He then innocently asked why the steering felt so
"funny" under any level of power!!! I had the explain that that is what happens when you try and put power and steering input through the
same 2 wheels.
At that point he vowed to never own a FWD car!
A Capri is LESS likely to stick you in the hedge than most FWD cars as you can actually FEEL what is going on, unlike most modern cheap shopping
trolley crap.
[Edited on 30/10/05 by NS Dev]
[Edited on 30/10/05 by NS Dev]
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NS Dev
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| posted on 30/10/05 at 12:49 AM |
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Incidentally I owned my Capri 2.8i Special in 2000-2001, not the 80's, and it was still a great car.
No, it didn't compare to modern cars in many many ways, but in terms of driver satisfaction, it was great, and that for me is the most important
aspect of a car.
An example of the mirror opposite was an array of brand new Ford Escort Turbodiesels that I drove for work in 1998-1999. These were without doubt
amongst the worst vehicles that I have ever had the misfortune to drive. the bodyshell was so weak that it groaned and creaked and felt like jelly
around roundabouts. they all had similar accelerations to very slow crustaceans, and were possibly the least involving vehicles that I have ever
driven. Getting into my own Manta 16v after driving these brand new piles of 5hit was an AMAZING breath of fresh air.............a car that could be
driven, not just plodded about in.
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