TeamCapri
General => General => Topic started by: David Deutsch on August 24, 2009, 11:33:00 AM
-
So my $800 Capri has quickly ate up another $4,000+ BUT you know what? I'd rather be driving this than almost anything that's new out there. It's now received new:
drive axles;
rear calipers, rotors, pads and wheel bearings;
front brake pads;
timing belt and tensioner;
water pump;
cam seals;
crank seal;
tires;
trunk lid struts;
windscreen wipers;
Grey vinyl top goes on tomorrow.
Replaced the badly damaged front bumper and trunk lid. had three small rust areas repaired so needed to have some paint work done as well.
Picked up a good used ignition lock w/ key from fattie, here on the Team. Found the missing western/pbl wheel center caps and pair of sun visors I needed, on eBay. Got the A/C converted over to 34 coolant.
I'm still looking for front indicator lenses and interior door pulls. Also kicking around the idea of replacing the seats w/ some Miata seats (w/ speakers in headrest) I have, that were going to be used on an MGB I recently sold.
Need to figure out why the headlight lift motors are not working and what is up with the intermitant oil pressure gage. Pulled the sending unit and hooked up mechanical test gage and pressure is fine.
That's my update, thanks for reading this far. I'm enjoying reading here... if for no other reason than just knowing I'm not alone w/ one of these cars.
-
nice , lets see some pics
-
Fattie, I have no idea how to post images here but I just emailed you a couple.
-
Russ hooked me up w/ some image hosting. Let's see if I got this right.
First Image was taken 7/22/09
Second was taken 8/18/09
(http://photos.imageevent.com/roosport/roosportmisc/websize/Merc_Capri_001.JPG)
Picture #2:
(http://photos.imageevent.com/roosport/roosportmisc/websize/Merc_Capri_005.JPG)
-
wow nice transformation dude!
-
Thanks. I got the grey top installed today but what an adventure. The shop I used is about 3.5 miles from my home so I decided to drop it off and walk home. 1/3 of the walk is thru Eisenhower Park so it pleasant enough. Upon returning home I get a call from the shop saying that they got started on the top but broke one of mt top latches. Frantic wrecking yard search found two Capris in Peconic Auto Wrecking, Speonk, NY, 54 miles away (108 there and back). Was a little ticked cause the guy would not go and look to see if latches were still on the cars... "It's a big yard, I don't have time, come take a look for your self". I needed a couple of other odds and ends, so figured, what the hey? Wound up w/ two latches and the two front indicator lamp lenses for $40.00 all. It wasn't that big a yard either. Top looks great.
-
http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/DavidDeutsch/Capri/MercCapri003-2.jpg (http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/DavidDeutsch/Capri/MercCapri003-2.jpg)
-
looking good.
-
Your car looks fantastic !!! i am hoping that if and when i get a job i can get a new body kit hood scoop and paint job on my car and make her look real purrdy
-
Thanks for the compliments... it really does mean alot and helps to keep me going. I'm actually hoping to make it over to PA for the Oct. 3rd shindig.
<a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/DavidDeutsch/Capri/?action=view¤t=MercCapri002-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/DavidDeutsch/Capri/MercCapri002-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Capri"></a>
-
That last photo post attempt didn't work. I'll try again:
http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/DavidDeutsch/Capri/MercCapri002-1.jpg (http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/DavidDeutsch/Capri/MercCapri002-1.jpg)
(http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/DavidDeutsch/Capri/MercCapri002-1.jpg)
-
looks awesome...thats where alot of us started
keep it up....
-
i do not like your rims :(
get 17s
-
You do not like my rims?
I want a second opinion!
-
Id go bigger but thats just me.
-
17's will actually lift your car. Those look to be 14's...15's with a 195-50 will help your handling. I would go no bigger than a 16 with a 205-45 maybe.
Clay
-
When I'm looking for handling and going thru the gears, I drive this:
(http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/DavidDeutsch/randomimages197.jpg)
(http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx212/DavidDeutsch/randomimages196.jpg)
Since I just put new tires on the Capri... I'm gonna stick w/ em for a while.
-
Very nice. I once owned a 66 TR4A-IRS. All British sports cars hold a special place in my heart. That one looks to be about a '71. What year is it?
Mark
Stratosphere Blue '93 NA 5sp
Dynamic White '94 XR2
Radiant Red '90 Lebaron GT Vert 6cyl 5sp FOR SALE
Frosty White '06 Vibe 5sp
-
This one is a 72 but has the pre-70 front grill, nixed side markers but 74 (ugly) bumper overriders. It's actually my son's... his first and only car for his first 11 years of driving. Adam (son) was in Urbana, IL, teaching at U of L till last summer. He's now in San Diego. I'm caring for his car till he has room for it. I recently sold my 1975 and 1980 MGBs. I also have a 1978 MG Midget. In the last 15 years, I have owned more than 25 British Cars... few were very unusual: 1958 Austin A95 Country man; 61 Bugeye Sprite; 74 Jensen Healey. Before the British stuff I had a Fiat 128 and a couple of Spider 2000s. I just love playing w/ cars.
-
It's a nice car. Personally, I have gotten away from Joe Lucas, Prince of Darkness, in recent years, but the TR-4 was always the most fun car I have ever owned and I couldn't make a complete separation. So I went to the trouble of making my '93 Capri sit up a little bit higher when everyone else was lowering theirs and spent some time and money making the exhaust throatier (a la British).
I was looking at a 59 TR3 on Ebay a few weeks ago and also a Tr-250, but I just don't have the time for it anymore - too many projects. Instead, I found an '94 XR2. My stable overflows for now.
Mark
Stratosphere Blue '93 NA 5sp
Dynamic White '94 XR2
Radiant Red '90 Lebaron GT Vert 6cyl 5sp FOR SALE
Frosty White '06 Vibe 5sp
-
sell them on craigslist for like 250, then use that to get 17's
i ended up getting paid to put my rims on my car from trading and selling the old tires..
-
you guys and your 17s... 17s are heavy, and tire prices jump after 16s...
out of you 17 in wheel guys, whos running a tire size other than a 205/40/17 ???
so your limited in tire size... im running 16s there lighter. reduced rotating mass. and my capri dosent look like a donk on 24s
besides i can run a 205/40- 215/40- 205/45-
215/45 or even higher aspect that i wouldnt run..
and a 16 makes my brakes look bigger, where a 17 makes the rear brakes appear about the size of a personal pan pizza from pizza hut...
now, with that being said ..to all his own...
i hope yall are happy with your 17s and yea some of the designs i see on here look good..just big
..........Joe ..RCICustoms
-
mine weight about the same as the stock ones i had....!
and free..cant beat that!
-
true, but the stockers, are heavy as poo...but free is free...
-
I like heavy poo, they help me get better traction (http://smile.gif)
-
well, believe it or not, the lower the aspect ratio your tire is, the stiffer it is....
stiffer is better for corners.. but not so much for traction in general.. you see in order to grip the pavement a tire needs to "wrinkle" or give a bit to allow more contact patch...
if you have a stiff 205/40 on a 17 inch rim the patch of rubber touching the tar is about 1.5 inches x 6.5 inches or so... on a 14in rim with a 55 or 60 aspect a larger patch of about 2.5 inches x 6 inches is touching the tarmac.
but with a 14 with a 60 aspect. that same give in the aspect of the tire becomes squishy in the corners... so to balance out squish in the corners and squish in a straight line is the idea... lets just put it this way ,
a 14in. with big aspect will give straight line traction...
a 17in. with small aspect will give corner stiffness...
a 16in. with a medium aspect will give a balance of both...
now it goes beyond that, to compounds, and silca content, and theres other tradeoffs like dry weather traction and wet traction, and treadlife (grippy tires dont last long, and long wear tires dont grip woth a beans)... its a science...
but rule of thumb with tires is, you get what you pay for...
an 80.00 17in tire aint gonna grip much... but you dish out about 130.00 and you start to get grippy tires...
with the 16inch wheel its the same rule, but at 60.00 you aint gonna grip much.. but you spend 90-100.00 on a 16 inch tire and you start to get what you paid for...
dosent sound like much 30.00 for a similar quality 16 in. to 17in. but x it by 4... your gonna spend 120.00 more for the same quality 4 tires on 17 inch than on a 16 inch...
those two things, are how i justify my 15lb. 16 inch 5zigens with BFG g force tires.. and i dont spin much after i get past that insanely short 1st gear in our cars..
..Joe....RCICustoms..