Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

[Will01]

So another weekend with pretty awlful weather. Unfortunately couldn't get on with much apart from clean up and paint some items for the Capri. I was really hoping to make a start with servicing the Alfa with lots of bits i have for it, but not possible yet.
To start with i trial fitted the aluminium spacers i had made for the front suspension to connect to track control arms and the compression struts. These fitted nicely and have a secure fit to help reduce any play.
I also took the time whilst in the house to protect all the rose jointed ends with some over rubber protective boots. This will help keep dust and grit away from the bearing surfaces and help increase life of the rose joints. These will be secured with cable ties aswell to help ingress between spacers and rubber boot.

After this i spent some time cleaning up the wheel centres i had chemically stripped. First job was to clean with thinners to make sure of no left residue. Then etch prime ready for grey primer and paint. Colour is still open, but my wife will decide and complete this job. No pressure Catherine :).
I also got on with finishing the prep work on the rear axle, so all in all it had 3 coats of Kurust to make sure of making any surface rust stable. Then i had to apply 5 coats of Etch to get an even coverage of the axle. Next step is high build primer and black paint.

[Will01]

Not that i am a wimp or anything, but it has been far too cold recently to do much unfortunately. Although because i couldn't get on with the Alfa i have taken some time to do some work on parts for the Capri.
I got some really good condition Sierra Cosworth rear calipers, which although are(were in good working order) i have taken them apart and removed the fittings, pistons and seals etc. Then have been cleaned in the parts washer with a metal wire brush. The dirt and grime has cleaned off nicely and any flaky paint has also come off.
The final few steps are to finish cleaning the calipers and keying with a scotch pad and then clean using brake cleaner ready for new fresh paint.
Chosen colour is to be similar to body (signal yellow).

I notice alot of people seem to be using braided hose line for rear brake circuits on Capri's/Escorts etc, which i personally can't understand. To explain flexible lines are only required where movement is required, since these cars have a solid rear axle then solid brake lines should be used with a single flexible line to the car. I will be mounting the solid brake lines with T-piece onto an axle brace and will purchase a universal metric braided line for fixing into the car. Since the calipers all have Metric fittings i would like to try and keep everything along the same lines(where possible). Also means because i am making up my own lines, i can try out our new brake flaring tool from Automec.

Rear brake line pressure will be adjustable with Wilwood Brake Proportioning valve which will be mounted on the transmission tunnel where it can be adjusted in-situ.

[Will01]

Not much on the Capri since we are pretty full on the GTA, however i did manage to strip the sierra Cosworth Calipers right back and have cleaned thoroughly a few times and have started to paint up with Brush on Claiper paint. Note to self and anyone who is interested, don't brush paint your calipers, it is painfull and frustrating and takes many many many coates to get it looking good. I will spray in future. I actually started using heat gun on them whilst my wife painted to prevent runs etc and try to smooth up the surface. Probably pain in the backside this is.
Also got my Bilt Hamber products arrive on weekend and i will be putting them to the test on my Front Calipers ready for paint. Pictures to follow.
After painting the rear axle, quite alot of moisture has got to the axle as the roof started to leak and a glass panel was blown out. Several parts have started to disscolour with rust so the axles needs stripped back again and painted. Not the hwole thing but large patches will need good clean. Pretty annoyed, but thats how it goes i'm afraid.
Any more spending on the Capri will be on hold as we need to concentrate on the Alfa as first priority.

[Paul Eustace]

I just noticed the rubber boots you have used on your rose joints. I must get some of these for my Stratos as I am sure the bottom link internal rose joint will last about a month in it's exposed position.

Sorry to hear about your roof and water leaks. You just have to ignore these events and get on with the job. You appear to be making lots of progress on both cars.

[Will01]

Rubber boots are a must i would say. I normally get the miss-alignment spacers made up to suit the internal diameter of the rubber dust boots(doesn't work if you need a very high level of miss-alignment as the rose joint rotates, if you get what i am trying to explain?). This way i can then put small cable ties around them to further help seal them. They can be a bit of a pain to fit as it is very fiddly. Best thing to do is put the joint and boot in the house or near some heat(don't put on your radiators lol) then it makes the rubber alot easier to stretch without tearing.
I buy them from McGill Motorsport http://www.mcgillmotorsport.com/advance ... =1&x=0&y=0

[Will01]

So not done too much(recurring statement haha) on the Capri recently due to prioritising the Alfa work.
I mentioned before i bought some Sierra Cosworth Rear calipers for the rear axle. Although these were in cleanish useable condition i wanted these to be body-ish coloured so i purchased high temp yellow paint. It said 3 coats, i am at 5 coats and looking to do a fifth as i not happy with the finish yet. The last coat will be sprayed whereas the others were brushed on(not recommended).
I made sure that any lose stuff and rusty bits were brushed back as good as possible.

I also experimented with some of Bilt Hamber products an stripped the front Mondeo calipers apart and brushed these back and dipped them in solution to rid the rust. These have come out nicely and only have the next caliper to sort.
Hint here, probably better to use warm water in a warm room(not a cold garage!).
Also once solution turns very dark remove your items, otherwise the water starts to rust them! I left in for 48hours to de-rust, hindsight would say 36hrs is maximum. (depends on level of rust really).
I just decided to use a 7 litre drum with 5 litre of water/crystalline mixture(1/4 of the bottle).
I have learnt from the last time so these front calipers will be sprayed with the high temp paint. Also the rocker cover will get same treatment.

[Will01]

I should explain, i have put pistons back in at all times when parts were dipped and when painting to prevent paint etc getting in the bores.
Once painted they will be pulled apart and rebuilt with rubber seals etc ready for fitment and new braided(where needed) or solid brake pipes and unions etc.

[Will01]

So it has been a while since my last update on the Capri and it is looking sorry for itself. I really need to make another push to try and get the shell sorted with all modifications as i intended. I have also got made ideas to remove the sills again and do some trickery to try and stiffen up the shell e.g. running cds tubing inside the sill and join in. I may however leave this for the future when repairs will undoubtedly need doing again.
I have just started getting back into sorting parts out for the Capri e.g. rust dipping the front calipers i have for my brake upgrade.
I really cannot recommend Bilt Hamber water solution enough. It is like using magic.
The trick is to dip in a warm or hot solution and not left outside in a cold garage. I leave them overnight, but take them out once or twice and give them a good brush down with a metal hand brush. Then do the same when removed and rinse with water and allow to dry.
Next job clean off with brake cleaner and start applying paint. They will start to look good and once i am happy with the paint i will rebuild with seals and get them fitted to the car.

Next step for me is to strip the front suspension down. Therefore i am going to strip the Bilstein 2.8i shocks removed from a Brooklands Capri and then fit lowering springs and then fit the modified hubs i had machined in order to allow me to run the more outboard front 285mm vented discs. I will use standard top mounts to begin with and then move to Adjustable top mounts once i move to coilovers. I just cannot afford coilovers at the moment after the Alfa rebuild and you can't run rose joint type top mounts with the standard type shocks as there is not enough thread sticking through in order to make it safe.
The rear axle that i stripped back and primed is not looking good at all, therefore i am going to have to strip down again and start over. I may even get both axles sandblasted and primed straight away and then i know its a better job.
I also have my eye on a Safety Devices bolt in cage with harness/door bars etc. I am going to treat myself as it is my 30th Birthday coming up.
That just leaves a few minor shell mods and we can get the car rolling. That will at least boost moral considerably with other family members which may free up more time and help and enthusiasm to get the car progress moving quickly again.
Pictures to follow

[TomLouwrier]

Hi Will,

To be honest: see what you can do to move the project along. There's a German saying: Better is the enemy of Good. Going back to improve can easily keep you in project inappropriate forever. Don't ask me how I know....
Doing things right the first time is a wise decision however. But be wary of wanting to do everything perfectly or raising your standards too much as the build progresses.
Good luck!

regards
Tom

[Will01]

Thanks Tom, i know too as previous projects have gone too far and crippled me in the past.
I suppose in this case i don't need to rush but i am wanting to not do much more shell work and move on with other things.
Best to do first time i reckon, but i didn't have this thought back then as i was obviously seeing orange with trying to fix lots of rust. N
Now going off to write another big list of what i want to do, what i need to buy, whats needs sorted before i can do that etc etc.
My plan is out of date so far.

[Will01]

So i have pretty much decided now on the roll cage which will be a Bolt in 6 point Safety Devices cage with harness bar and rear diagonal cross(although i suppose a single diagonal will also suffice). Maybe in the future i will upgrade to weld in and reinforce into the front and side pillars, but i really cannot justify this expense. Plus i am not sure about installation as i am not happy with welding it in myself so i am at the mercy of someone else!
I have also found myself some second hand 6 point Securon harnesses which will be sent to me this weekend.
Next big parts on the list are
Side mount bucket seats
Front aluminium Sierra Cosworth radiator(will require modification at front of car)
Rear caliper adaptor brackets for discs

This will at least allow me to start with brake lines and getting seat position right. Also allow me to get shell rolling.
I will upload pictures when i know more but now i really need to get out to the garage and clear the poor out and make some space to start work again. At least now i hope we have the better weather on our side!

[Will01]

So this weekend i spent most of Sunday cleaning and sanding and painting parts ready to fit on the car.

I gave the rear calipers a good clean up after being rebuilt and given a good clean up. I then re-applied a coat of paint to dress up where i had scuffed or chipped the paint on re-assembly. For the rear calieprs at least all i need for these to fit on the car are some adaptor brackets and some threaded ends so i can make up the solid brake lines.

As for the front calipers i have continued to apply a few coats, these calipers were the ones that i had dipped to remove most if not all the rust. The finish on these is much better but i still do not recommend brush painting this type of paint.
I would recommend however painting outside or at least where there is a good ambient temperature.
The fronts still need quite a bit of work so i am just going to take my time.
Hopefully i don't chip and scratch these when rebuilding as it is quite tricky. I already have adaptor brackets for these calipers so i can fit so i painted these aswell. Then i will need to remove the paint where i have any bolted connection. They should look great however when on the car.

I also spent alot of time cleaning up the remaining 2 wheel centres ready for primer. These still had paint and corrosion all over them and because they are soft alloy material i have had to clean up with hand brushes and for the harder stuff i used wire brush wheels in an electric screwdriver. This is very hard work but will be worth it once i get paint on these.
We already know what colour we are going for i think! Either classic Ford Laser style silver with black inserts or gold as they would have been on the Porsche they were previously fitted to?
I am etch priming these at the moment as i think we are just going to put on some high build primer, then paint, then laquer.
However i have also started looking into enamel paint which i have to bake on to give a better stronger coating??

I also checked in on the rear axle we spent alot of time cleaning up in the past and it is looking pretty rough with corrosion coming back through. Therefore i think i am going to send this and the other axle i have for sandblasting and priming. Then i am sure i will have fun removing all the sand and giving them a good clean out(just in case) but at least the finish will last longer.

Last thing i have been thinking abut is exactly what cage to buy. I am dawdling but i know i need to have a harness bar fitted into the cage. But the option is to either have one single diagonal rear or double diagonal cross rear. I am thinking the cross rear will just add weight and not provide significant advantage. Is it worth the extra? Advice please

[Will01]

Some pictures which are always more pleasing than text.

[Will01]

Here is a nice picture of my new 6 point (2nd hand harnesses)
These will be used to help mock up seating position and location of securing points, they will also be used in the interim period until i would need to purchase in-date harnesses. So they will be ok for trackdays until if we ever realise the dream of actually racing her.

So next on this list are
-Side Mount bucket seats
-Side mounts for adjustable seating position(as other people will be driving her)
-Seat frame kit to correctly tie into the strength of the shell

Calipers will be getting a final paint very soon and will be ready for fitting. This goes for all calipers once all the conversion brackets arrive.

[Will01]

So last coat of paint was painted on the front calipers over the weekend and now have been hung to dry. I will be helping the progress by using a heat gun after work to help all the layers dry nicely. They will ultimately dry once on the car and have done a few heat cycles.
So i am really happy with these. Again in future i would spray these rather than hand brush but it goes to show patience does get you there in the end.
I am hoping that i will be able to rebuild them in the next few evenings without chipping or dirty up the paint.

Also i got cracking with the last of the 4 split rim inner wheel hubs. It does take alot of hard work to clean up such intricate detail, but i am now happy for these to get etch primed.
Still looking into final paint finishes, at least the wheels are in a state of readiness.
Next job for these is to clean up the outer rims now!! A few of them have marks and dents, but i am sure they will come out ok.
I don't need perfection, just tidy ish as they are going to take a battering when on the car. I may need to buy outer rims anyway to help with clearance issues, but i won't know that until i can get the axle on the car as the rear arches still could pose an issue.

No pictures this time, but don't worry more to follow