1971 Ford Capri 1600 GT

Mk1 Capri 1. 6 GT Cross flow engine, 4 speed manual.

9+ previous keepers but it is 51 years old. Mileage appears to be correct at 72k but there is no way of confirming, when you hear the engine, you will probably agree with me that either the engine has been overhauled or its original and well looked after.

6 pot dash (all operational), centre console (very rare to find a car with this in place) and a nice ticking analogue clock. The carpet looks to be original as does the headlining, the boot carpet has been replaced with a reproduction.

Original slack seatbelts, who needs inertia reels anyway.

The front door panels have been replaced with Aldridge trimming units correct for the car, and the front seats recovered from the same company. The rear door panels appear to be the standard L specification (without the ribs or chrome trim).

I purchased this car recently, my first capri was a yellow 1. 6 XL, very close to this one. However, I know there are people who love these cars and I love playing with them, so happy to let it go to the right home. I have my eye on a V6 in need of welding, so if this one sells I am going after that, if it does not sell I shall keep this one.

In my ownership I have replaced the rocker cover gasket to cure an oil leak, whilst there set all the tappits up at center of tolerance, changed the oil for nice proper mineral oil, new spark plugs, distributor cap, condenser and points (yep, proper distributor). Set the timing up which is fantastic to see right on 10 before tdc as per factory (well 9. 8 to be exact).

I have repaired the windscreen wiper assembly and fitted new period correct wiper arms and blades (chrome / stainless steel finish). The thermostat has been replaced with a new Circoli unit (my go to supplier).

The 1. 6 GT engine is real, the tappit tolerance is slightly different for other crossflow engines. Now its been set up, it starts on a quarter turn of the engine and runs perfectly at 1000 rpm when warm. It has a manual choke with can be quite fiddly but that is part of the fun.

MOT certificates from 2020, 2022, 2003, 2001, 2000
Then from 1999, 1998, 1996, 1995, 1994 all at the same MOT station
And the final run from 1993-1989

There is a nice eclectic history with the car, interesting to find the clutch replaced on 5th April 1975 and again in 2018.

New 165/ 13” tyres in 2019

Originally Blue then touched up in Ocean Blue in and then repainted in 2019 in traffic yellow as you see it today.

Comes with an owners manual.

There has been some previous welding but it all looks good. There is room to improve the car where some rust is starting to come through but its all small surface areas like on the front wing and rear arches, nothing an enthusiast could not tackle in nice weather with some sand paper, acid and a rattle can.

If I was keeping the car I would remove the front drivers wing, strip back and clear some minor rust and repaint. The decals are available from Australia for £86, I quite like them so I would probably order a new set. I would attend to the drivers rear wheel arch upper (not where it normally goes on the seam) and then pull off the chrome work and give a good clean around those areas. The rest of the paint is really good (not factory but close enough).

I would strip and repaint the Rostyle wheels, this has been done but I would like to improve, and add bigger tyres. I would probably refresh the shock absorbers too.

The last thing to do would be to investigate why the heater matrix has been disconnected (probably rotted through, new units £200 from Motomobil but I can braze or recore myself).

Happy to have a chat about the car, this is my 17th Capri so I can talk your ears off if you want, thanks for taking the time to read this through, all the best, Douglas.