1973 Mercury Capri

  March 20th, 2023 Time to see if the cooling system repairs worked. I would say it was 90% good. There were a few small leaks but the over pressure issue was gone! I think I'm on the right road. Now it is time to tackle some brake issues so I can move the car around under it's own power. I put the car up on stands and pulled the wheels. Then I attacked the front calipers. They were very dirty and stuck but I was able to break the pistons loose and the fluid flows. There is still work to do but the outlook is promising.  While I was under the car, I inspected the floors and everything else. There were many more signs of rats nests but I pulled them out. Yuck!

  March 19th, 2023 Time to dig in to the cooling system. I was having an issue with over pressure in the radiator. I was thinking there was either a crack in the engine or head gasket, but I didn't have any oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil or exhaust. More likely was a plugged system. I tore the front part of the cooling system off and took out the thermostat. I also found some evidence of clogs in the passages. I flushed the engine and hoses and it all seemed to flow freely. The radiator was removed and back flushed. So far, so good. While I was in there, I removed the A/C condenser for the time being, just to keep it out of the way. I'll add that back later when the car is in better shape.  While I had the system apart, I found that corrosion on the upper radiator hose inlet. I thought I would give JB Weld a try as a temp fix. Then I put the system back together again.

  March 16th, 2023 More cleaning today. Also, I removed the A/C Compressor so I could get to the water pump. The radiator gets too much pressure when running. No oil in coolant or coolant in oil so I'm going to pull the water pump to check things out. I'll probably pull the radiator out as well to check that out.  I also checked the master cylinder to see if that was a cause of my brake issue. In a very quick check, it appears to still be working. On to the calipers and wheel cylinders next.

 March 6th, 2023 It was another clean up day. Most of the interior was taken out and the car was vacuumed out. Another small rust hole was found under the rear seat. The trunk was also emptied out and cleaned and inspected. It appears that there was a lot of water sitting in the spare tire well for an extended period of time. The trailer hitch was also removed and the damage from it checked.  After getting some gas in the tank, the engine was started for real. It would only run if the throttle was used extensively. It won't idle. I guess a carb rebuild is in order.

March 5th, 2023 I got started on some very minor things today. I bought a battery and new cables/ends. I also tried starting it up but it would run on it's own. I need to investigate fuel delivery. When it started briefly, I saw 60psi oil pressure. That's encouraging. I also cleaned up the windows a bit.

 March 4th, 2023 My "new" Capri was delivered today. I'm very excited to get to work on it.

  March 2, 2023 I found a post on one of the Facebook groups stating that the poster stripped out a Capri to make a 24 Hours of Lemons racer out of it. He was selling the parts and I was interested! I contacted him and a deal was made. I made the long drive to Salt Lake City to complete the deal. I will be going through the parts, using what I need and selling the rest.

 February 27, 2023 I have been looking for a Capri for about 10 years. My first car was like this one, a 1973, 2600 V6, 4spd with the decor group. I purchased a 1974 model in the 90's but sold it in early 2000's.  I finally found what I was looking for. This one even has A/C as an option! This car was found on Facebook marketplace. It was located only a few hours away, in Benson, AZ. I took a drive to see it and bought it that day. The guy I bought from found it parked in the desert, so there is a lot of sun damage. When he opened the hood, it was completely filled with rat nests! After cleaning it out, he was able to make it run and drive. There are a few rust spots but no structural damage underneath. There is a small area on the top of the driver's side strut tower that will need to be addressed. We agreed on the car being delivered to me. Here are the specs. VIN GAECNR31474 Built June 1973, Cologne Germany Drive - 1 (Left Drive) Motor - UX (2600cc V6) Trans - B (4 speed...