My '91 XR-2 was rotten when I bought it 3 or 4 years ago but I did a patch job on it, painted it and drove it anyway. The car runs like a champ and I love it. 25 mpg city and up to 36 hwy and it's never let me down. Everything works perfectly (except for 2 bad struts) but geez, even the A/C blows ice cold ! It's a great car.
About a month ago I'm sitting at a light and a police officer pulls up to my left.
He looks at me and points to the shoulder so I know I'm in trouble for something.
All my lights work I've got a stock muffler, no exhaust leaks, valid tags on my plates so I'm wondering what's going on ?
He decides the car is "Unsafe" because there is a hole in the driver's side fender :
I tell him I've got a new one to replace the rotten one but I have to wait for the warm weather to paint it. (I don't have one a new fender but I'm hoping this will get me out of a ticket but no dice with this guy.)
I get a ticket AND an order to have the vehicle inspected to see if it's fit for the road. Now I know I'm done. As you'll see by this picture I took from in front of the passenger rear wheel:
This doesn't look too bad but there are 10" holes in the floors at both "A" pillars and the driver's side rocker panel is about 80% bondo.
Any hole anywhere on the body is automatic grounds for the mechanic to pull the plates. You can't drive the car until the same mechanic certifies that the vehicle is safe for public roads. Also, no chips/cracks in the windshield, all brakes have to be within specs, no CV joint boot rips, all tires have to be above the wear bars and show no uneven wear, etc, etc..
The poor car was rotten when I bought it and it's really bad now so long story short : That's the end of me driving this Capri.
So I got to thinking.
This engine runs beautifully, trans is great.....since it can never be legally driven again and is bound for the junkyard, why I don't I use what I've got ?
Enter car number 2 :
It's a 1979 Kelmark GT. Most Kelmarks were kit cars but this one is a very rare factory built original (guesstimates are about 40 factory built cars were made out of about 1200 total kits produced.)
This is the actual factory demo car that was used in ads from the late 70's and early '80s.
The fiberglass body is on a '68 Beetle pan. It has a very strong dual carb 2180 cc VW engine, runs like a bear and weighs in at 1750 lbs full of gas and all my tools/stereo etc. It scoots along very well but to me it'll never be anything more than a pretty body with a loud sewing machine engine, crummy heat and a 4 speed that runs 3800 rpm at 65mph.
The handling is not fun with the engine hanging out behind the rear wheels but if you just want to go for a ride in a neat looking car, it'll do just fine. However, I've always wanted a lot more.
Hesitantly, I stripped my poor Capri and got the entire drivetrain out (all the while cursing the cop!) :
The Kelmark is about 1000 lbs less than a stock XR-2. Even with my new frame and the added weight of the XR-2 engine (and the rad etc..), I'd think I'll still be about 500 lbs less than your run-of-the-mill Capri. Add some power to the mid-mounted engine and we might have a real screamer here...
By the end of this week I'll be ready to start on my engine cradle and frame.
What do you think ?
Dave
