Open Road

This one is a 76.’ Built in West Germany, it has a 2.3 liter 4 cylinder/4spd that produces maybe one-hundred rabid ponies on a good day. I had an earlier yellow one when I was a teenager that had a v-6 and the Ghia package. So, I bought this one as soon as I saw it with the intention of fixing it up cosmetically and then doing a V-8 swap, since that’s what I wanted to do to mine when I was a kid. Unfortunately, things have changed and where I’m at now I don’t have shop space, so it’s progress has temporarily stalled out. But the cosmetics are getting closer now with the paint completed in December, and the interior as far as I’m going to take it. It’s just a 289/5spd away from being a period correct-ish death trap! Right now I have more motorcycles, cars, trucks and boat projects than I even have room to store them. But I won’t let that slow me down. I’m a hoarder!

Nice! Welcome to vehicle hoarding, too!

Cuda911 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:49 am Nice! Welcome to vehicle hoarding, too!

Thanks, Mike. I know that we both suffer from the same malady. We don’t have too many vehicles, we just need more space!

This brings back memories. I had a ‘73 in my junior and senior year in high school. It was only ten years old at that time and welcomed over the Griswold family, faux wooden sided station wagon that I had access to when I turned 16. The station wagon was the absolute best contraceptive device my parents could have given me. Complete chick repellant.

I had a friend in high school with a green one almost exactly like this picture. I learned how to drive a stick in that car and I still kinda lust after them. They were pretty sporty compared to the K cars and other crap on the road at the time.

The sexy European, at a shamefully low price.

I had friends with these. I always liked them.

That was a cool commercial! And those early chrome bumper ones looked way better than those terrible mid-70’s plastic covered monstrosities.

Holy shit, how did I miss this thread...??? Good stuff, love it!

I had several Capri's growing up, in fact my first car......1972 with a V6, never owned the 4 banger. Had to buy 2 others to keep one running and looking good.

This isn't a part of Open Road that I frequent, so never saw this thread until now.

My folks gave me $500 & loaned me $500, so that enabled me to buy my 1976 Capri for $2,500 in 1980, two days before my 16th birthday. V6 4 speed was a pretty sweet car for the time. Until we bought our first new car 22 years later, I only owned one car that was newer than 4 years old.

I loved that little beast, even if it did suffer from typical teenage ownership issues - I literally broke the shifter on a hard 1-2 shift, welded it back together than broke it again before finally replacing it. It was during one of those broken shifter periods that I found out that 2nd gear could get me from a standstill to 70mph - who needed multiple gears? Somewhere along the line the speedo broke, but the tach still worked, so I could pretty much gauge my speed from that.

Six years later, I sold that car to buy an engagement ring. As much as I may miss that car, 35 years later, I'm still reaping the rewards from that decision.

16 year old me with my first car

Sweet! The v6 4spd cars were the good ones. Well, except for the nylon timing gear. Ask me how I know ;)

You guys are cool!...wish I had a pic of my first.

I liked the smaller taillights in the 72....never drove a newer one...I.e. the 76 Capri II.

I agree. Mine in the photo was a 74’. It was the last one before the Capri II came out in 76.’ I don’t think there was a 75’. But the earlier ones with the chrome bumpers were definitely cleaner looking, especially the early ones with the smaller tail lights.

Not so bad....

Nice - but I'll see you this one...



There were some really crazy Capris in various forms of motorsport in Europe. How about the Zakspeed version?

https://www.classicfordmag.co.uk/featur ... -all-time/

I prefer the later ones with the upgraded headlamps.

^^I prefer those headlights too!^^

amdavid wrote: ↑Fri Jun 04, 2021 5:09 pm ^^I prefer those headlights too!^^

Yep - highbeams are nice.

@Scott at Team Harco those things are larger than an H4 bulb.

Holy crap!

Those are pop-up headlights!


(What Capri?)

I upgraded the headlights in my Capri. I think hers may have been upgraded, too. NTTAWWT.

Even though I grew up in the Motor City, my friends with the coolest cars to me in High School (both GREEN, BTW ;-) were a V6 Capri and a I6 240Z.

Driving either was quite fun compared to my rather anemic Pinto (all were manuals, at least), but the Z was the better handling of the lot for sure.

Good times

The Z was probably a better car overall, although I never owned one.

My first one as mentioned was a 72 in the below color.....

Does anyone see these on the road anymore??