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ford capri

The Ford Capri Is Coming Back!

March 22, 2023

The Ford Capri is making a return to the world of motoring and is expected to go on sale next year. However, things will be a bit different to the Capris of old, as the new Ford Capri will be electric!

With a price tag of around £40,000, the electric Capri is reportedly going to produce 300bhp, have a range of 310 miles when fully charged, and accelerate from 0-60mph in a little over 6 seconds. Despite being electric, there will still be plenty of recognisable features to be seen such as the traditional four headlights. To help make the Capri practical in the modern world, an interior touch screen and wireless phone charger will also be added.

The original Ford Capri was extremely well-received and sold 400,000 units within 2 years of its launch before going on to sell more than 1.8 million units up until production was stopped at the end of 1986. After being introduced at the Brussels Motor Show in 1969, the MK1 was known for its spotlights, Rostyle wheels, and bulging bonnet. Back then, a Capri would cost you less than £1000 for an entry-level model.

Ford Capri
Ford Capri
Ford Capri

The Capri has been seen and loved at car shows all over the world and celebrated its 50th birthday at the Silverstone Classic in 2019. With several celebrity Capri owners, some of these classics have been sold for more than £70,000 in recent years.

In addition to its popularity on the road, the Ford Capri also experienced success on the race track with multiple touring car championship titles to its name.

Ford confirmed that it plans to launch seven new electric vehicles by 2024 so we might be seeing more iconic classic Fords make a return of sorts in the next 12 months (including an electric Transit Van) so the Capri might still be joined by some of its former road mates very soon.

New Setup – New Carburettor and Intake on the 1986 Ford Capri 1.6

April 7, 2022

The 1986 Ford Capri has been in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop to have its new intake manifold and carburettor fitted to help the classic Ford run easier.

The restoration team have been working on getting the old manifold and carburettor onto the car and checking to make sure everything else looked ok once it had been removed. The issue with running, our technician Jon had narrowed it down to an issue with the carburettor that was fitted.

Because of this and the experience of our technicians, it was decided to upgrade the carburettor to a twin-choke Weber unit. This involved having to change out the intake manifold to work with the new carburettor set-up. Along with that, Jon made the new throttle linkage and set it up to have a better throttle response and be more adjustable.

With everything fitted back onto the car, it could begin testing. As the car sat idling, Jon could adjust the carburettor to get the car running smoothly and then out on road test, the Capri ran like an absolute dream.

Behind the Scenes – Live Draw of the 1986 Ford Capri

March 25, 2022

Last night saw the draw of the latest Bridge Classic Cars Competitions prize, the 1986 Ford Capri Laser.

But, to change things up we decided to start it off a little bit differently. Those following along with Bridge Classic Cars Competitions will know that we also have just released our newest competition, a 2021 FB Mondial 300.

So, we had our friend and local motorcycle vlogger Karina (AKA Bike Like a Mum) ride it into our new building. This bike can be won along with £1000 to go towards either getting your license or new riding gear! You can enter the competition now just by clicking this link.

After Craig had a chat with Karina about her motorcycling story and go through some of the details on the bike, it was time to have a look round some of the other classics in our new Competitions building.

The 1966 Jaguar MkII and 1970 Morris Minor are scheduled to be won next Thursday with tickets still available on both. Along with that was an update on our 1989 TVR S2 competition in aid of the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal which as of last night went over the £25,000 mark with amazing support coming from all corners of not only the automotive media and industry but also from enthusiasts alike.

Then it was time for the main event, to find out who the lucky new owner of the 1986 Ford Capri Laser was. As with all of our competitions, once the ticket entries close at 630PM the entry lists are published ahead of the live stream at 7PM. Using the Google Random Number generator, Craig did some test runs to make sure that everything was working just as it should.

With that, Criag put in the parameters for the number generator and then with the click of a button and a whir of numbers, the future of the Capri was decided. 1384.

That was the ticket number selected by the random number generator. Cross referencing the pre-published entry list it was found to belong with Matthew Mitchell. The lucky new owner of the 1986 Ford Capri Laser.

Moving Forward – Work on the 1986 Ford Capri Wiring, Brakes, Suspension and Parts

February 25, 2022

The team in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been working on the 1986 Ford Capri to get everything working exactly as it should.

First, our technician Jon continued to work on the wiring under the dash of the classic Ford. He found a few repairs to the original wiring which were causing the original radio to not work correctly. So, with the repairs done to the harness and cleaning up unneeded wires, the original radio was now working just right.

Next up, he fitted the freshly repainted and refurbished engine bay pieces into the car. Several shrouds, the rocker cover and pipes were painted by our in-house paint shop for the Capri to give the engine bay a new fresh and clean look.

Finally, work could begin under the Capri. With the car up in the air, Jon had access to the suspension and brakes. First up was replacing the anti-roll bar bushes. These had perished over time and were allowing too much flex, so a new set of replacements were ordered and installed underneath. Whilst in the air, Jon could begin looking into an issue with the rear brakes.

Our other technicians on the car’s initial inspection noted a slight brake bind on the rear. So, Jon looked into the issue and found the rear drums were in need of a rebuild. Along with that, he replaced the hardline that runs across the rear axle to the new wheel cylinders. Then, after bleeding the brakes he reported that all was now OK and no more brake bind.

Now, it’s time to move on to getting the 1.6 litre 4-cylinder running properly.

Filling the Gaps – Repairing the Dash on the 1986 Ford Capri Laser

February 17, 2022

The dash pad on the 1986 Ford Capri Laser currently in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ is starting to show some cracks and splits, but our in-house trim team know what to do.

These types of cracks in classic Ford dashes are relatively common but thanks to the material they’re made from they can be filled and if not completely removed, very much lessened. This is the approach that our workshop and trim team have taken with the dash pad on our 1986 Ford Capri Laser.

Even just with some simple filler work, it already looks far better.

Shooting an ’80s Icon – Behind the Scenes with a 1983 Ford Capri 1.6

September 20, 2021

Well, you may have seen by now the video of our latest competition car but it’s time to take you behind the scenes of the shoot. The icon that is, the Ford Capri.

The sun shone brightly on a crisp but slightly hazy Suffolk morning. At our Bentwaters storage facility, the nose of this black icon stood out of the hanger doors begging to be let loose. With every classic car, you need to let them warm up before any fun can be had. The Capri is no exception.

As the sun began to rise higher in the sky, a sense of urgency swept over the marketing team. The light was perfect, the conditions were perfect and most importantly, the car was perfect. Our marketing expert Freddie was at the controls of the camera, making sure each shot was perfectly tailored to fit around this much sought after sportscar.

As he called out the directions to the helmsman guiding the direction of the Capri’s long, elegant bonnet, the whole piece became a ballet at speed. A carefully choreographed meeting of two vehicles in one place to be captured in a moving image.

Lap after lap, the Capri performed faultlessly. Even when an unexpected and unruly herd of deer managed to find their way onto the south circuit of RAF Bentwaters and the brakes had to be tested a couple of times. The steering wheel felt almost telepathic to the new RS 4 spoke wheels, finding the path of least resistance around the sweeping and tight corners of the old base.

The 1983 Ford Capri 1.6LS you see before you is our newest competition car, available for anyone in the UK to enter over at Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.

Ford Capri gets a new lick of paint

September 2, 2021

After huge amounts of work from Matt sanding, filling and more sanding, and then transferring it into the paint booth for priming, the 1983 Ford Capri 1.6 LS has now been painted! After turning up to us with the exterior looking a little worse for wear, it’s now back to looking fantastic. The final step will be to polish the new paintwork. Great work from Matt, I’m sure you will agree.

More paint prep for the Ford Capri.

August 27, 2021

As well as the exterior of the 1983 Ford Capri 1.6 LS being transformed in the body and paint shop, Lydia’s been getting pieces from the engine bay in a better state for re-painting. This piece was sandblasted to get the original paint and corrosion off in preparation.

Ford Capri goes monochrome!

August 26, 2021

It’s priming day for the 1983 Ford Capri 1.6 LS! But let’s go back to the end of last week for this blog post, when Matt was marking out with masking tape where he could spot dents were on the exterior of the car. He then masked up the front windows and sun-roof to avoid any damage, and began the process of sanding, filling and sanding again all over the car, using both a DA and block sander for the large areas and then using red scotch to go over the shiny bits lefts behind. The work has continued this week. It’s going to be a sympathetic paint job because we’re not taking the windscreen out, so can’t go all-out on it. Thankfully, Matt has found very little corrosion in the process.

Capri gets stripped!

August 20, 2021

Chris has started to strip the 1983 Ford Capri 1.6 LS, in preparation for re-painting.

Ford Capri needing TLC

August 17, 2021

Our 1983 Ford Capri 1.6 LS that we bought last week has arrived! Unfortunately, it needs some TLC, so it’s going to be heading into the spray booth soon to get re-painted. It’s also going to get a full mechanical check and service in our workshop. Stay tuned for the progress!

Newly purchased, Ford Capri!

August 11, 2021

Here’s a car that a lot of people are fond of. Purchased by us today is this 1983 Ford Capri 1.6 LS! The bodywork on this car is fantastic, with no signs of corrosion underneath, the original cloth interior is in great condition for its age and it’s only had two other owners! Keep your eyes peeled on the happenings of this new purchase!

Ford Capri Bumps And Scratches Healed

May 14, 2021

Our 1971 Ford Capri has been into the paint book where, in the capable hands of our painter Chris, its paint chips and scratches have been corrected.

Chris begun by apply primer and filler which he smoothed and flattened before masking it up and painting over.

Now finished, you’d never have known there were scratches and chips on the rear quarter panel.

The Ford Capri’s Run-In With A Ladder

May 11, 2021

This stunning 1971 Ford Capri has had an unfortunate run in with a ladder that has left some small cosmetic grazes on its rear quarter panel. We’ve taken it into the capable hands of our paint shop to have a touch up so that it can leave looking brand new.

We’ve all been ogling at this stunning bronze example. The paint, a golden bronze, is otherwise spotless and the interior is well preserved and well-loved.

1970 Ford Capri 3000 E Interior Trim Work

March 31, 2020

Friend of Bridge Classic Cars, Phil has come to us to re-trim the steering wheel on his stunning 1970 Ford Capri.

This will be one of the last elements of this car’s beautiful restoration.

Bridge Classic Cars are award winning Classic Car Restoration and Maintenance specialists. Your pride and joy is in safe hands with our expert Classic Car Technicians. Take a look at our awards here.

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