Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

I really like the sound of one of your engines in my car Guy, but we will have to see. Maybe we can keep the plan for the future.

I have spoken with one of the local engineering firms, i am pretty sure you know who i mean Guy.
We are going to try and custom machine a few parts for this track car, a few different suspension parts i would really like to have machined up including adjustable arb's (anti-roll bars)and lower tca's (track control arms), but also i have discussed with Alan about possibly machining up a few gears for my spare gearbox and trying a slightly different ratio with a straight cut gear.
I have never had the guts to strip a gearbox apart before, but as i have one spare it probably worth learning and also see if i can upgrade it at same time.
I personally feel that 2,3 & 4th could be slightly improved, but at the moment i haven't decided exactly where to go as we need to decide what we are going to do to the engine first. Also i am planning fitment of 15" wheels so will have to look at how this will affect the end ratio with a 1.6 rear axle.

I really am enjoying looking into the various aspects of this car build in much detail, hopefully i can put much of what i have learned into real practice. This will help me see for myself how much these changes mean to a finished car on the track.
Hopefully i can update with a bit more progress on the restoration work after the weekend.
Attachments
Gear Ratio Graph with rpm/speed with 13" wheels
Gear Ratio Graph with rpm/speed with 13" wheels
Capri5speed GearRatio.JPG (102.07 KiB) Viewed 18216 times
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Guy Croft
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Guy Croft »

I am very interested in Alan's capability with gears!

G
Guy Croft, owner
Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

After speaking with Alan we are going to give it a try with mine, however as the car is in no state for driving i am in no rush.
We did discuss machining them out of a high carbon steel and use tooling which he may already have. All i need to give him is a centre distance and approx ratio i looking for. After machining they would require heat treatment.
I think for the ones i will create we will try to keep the cost to a minimum but i think it is definitely worth a try.
If you have something you would like to try out i am sure he would be able to help out.
Guy i can post his link on this thread if required?
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

So i managed a little more this weekend, although not much at all.
Just finishing off the inner wing repair and making sure the wing fitted back on.
Had to make a little panel to brace the inner wing to the headlamp bowl, unfortunately a little more rust was found around the front of the headlamp bowl area, however it will be an easy repair.
I was relieved that the old wing fitted back and lined up, so this will make it easier when i convert the wings for bolt on/off.
I also had to get under the car as there is a section i mentioned previously where a very bad repair has been done to the underneath chassis leg.
Luckily after a phone call to the Capri Club i have found that these panels are available from sacrificial shells they have in stock at a reasonable cost, hopefully this should mean it fits in nicely without too much modification.
I will also source a new chassis to floor stiffner so it is a proper repair job.(These always get crushed as they are mistaken for jacking points)
Attachments
Old wing lines up nicely with repaired inner wing
Old wing lines up nicely with repaired inner wing
IMAG0328.jpg (44.43 KiB) Viewed 18184 times
Very bad repair to chassis leg, it is however solid but i would like to be nicely sorted.
Very bad repair to chassis leg, it is however solid but i would like to be nicely sorted.
IMAG0330.jpg (50.64 KiB) Viewed 18184 times
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

So today i didn't do anything welding or grinding wise as i am still awaiting for panels to put in place.
However due to the cold weather i thought i would get underway with removal of the sound deadening.

I will upload pictures in due time, but first i will share my experience with removal of sound deadening from the
- front foot wells, very tough work especially on the drivers side where i had to wedge myself intothe footwell underneath the steering wheel. In hindsight i think removal of the wheel would make it a much easier and quicker job.
- rear foot wells, very easily broke apart within 15-20 minutes per side.
- rear seat area and transmission tunnel came apart very easily within 10-15minutes per side.

I really do think that the job was made alot easier by having an inch wide sharp ended cold chisel, i used a narrower one on the scuttle panel which always felt like it was digging in to the bitumen style panels.
However the wider sharp chisel allows you to easily cut beneath the sound deadeing and also provides a great deal of shock which helps break up the panel, without damaging the metal work below.

I definetely think i need to have a hot relaxing bath tonight as i feel like i have a stiff neck, shoulders and back, it is still very hard work.
The cold weather makes this a slightly easier job as the sound deadening is much more brittle.
There is now a tesco food bag full of sound deadening material, so for interest sake i will weigh this to see how much has been removed.
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

Unfortunately whilst i was clearing up the debris i did however find that the inner sill on the drivers side may need repair where it meets the floor. If you refer back to some of the previous pictures on page 1 you will see a poorly repaired panel fitted on the rear section of the sill.
You can clearly see that there is alot of metal debris inside the sill in this area, i dont want to worry too much about this at the moment but i am not expecting to see a very nice sight beneath the repair panel.
Fortunately inner sills are easily available if the car requires them. I possibly leaving the worse side till last but we will see and i will keep my fingers crossed it's not too bad.
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

As promised, please see pictures of progress made on lightening up the shell from the sound deadening
Attachments
Drivers side sound deadening removed
Drivers side sound deadening removed
IMAG0341.jpg (39.44 KiB) Viewed 18076 times
Passengers side sound deadening removed
Passengers side sound deadening removed
IMAG0342.jpg (38.75 KiB) Viewed 18076 times
Pile of sound deadening material just for rear seat area
Pile of sound deadening material just for rear seat area
IMAG0343.jpg (48.31 KiB) Viewed 18076 times
Drivers side front and rear foot-wells with sound deadening removed
Drivers side front and rear foot-wells with sound deadening removed
IMAG0345.jpg (37.21 KiB) Viewed 18076 times
Passengers foot-well before removal
Passengers foot-well before removal
IMAG0346.jpg (47.9 KiB) Viewed 18076 times
Passengers foot-well after removal of sound deadening
Passengers foot-well after removal of sound deadening
IMAG0347.jpg (48.37 KiB) Viewed 18076 times
Passengers side rear foot-well after removal of sound deadening
Passengers side rear foot-well after removal of sound deadening
IMAG0348.jpg (42.43 KiB) Viewed 18076 times
Sound deadening removal from transmission tunnel, also note bag full of material removed, which i will be weighing to find out how much has been removed.
Sound deadening removal from transmission tunnel, also note bag full of material removed, which i will be weighing to find out how much has been removed.
IMAG0349.jpg (45.7 KiB) Viewed 18076 times
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

Nothing done on the car today, however I did travel cross country today with help of a friend to buy and pick up a 4 post lift. Trouble is where we are going to put it? Inside or will it have to live outside! This should definitely come in use. All I need now is another small compressor and a bead blasting cabinet and I can get on cleaning up a lot of the small parts on the capri.
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

Sunday i got a little more done on the car.
I completed removing the sound deadening from the drivers foot well, which means i only now have the boot to remove some sound deadening from. Unfortunately a little more rust was found as is the way, but it will be alot easier to sort now the car is coming apart more and more.

I also managed to remove the front drivers door now even though it was a little tight since i working in a small garage and i have started removing the front drivers wing also.

Luckily i found a new Spot weld drill which made drilling out the spot welds soo much easier.

I thought i would also share with you our new toy, which is a Bradbury 40 series 3.5 ton vehicle lift. Only problem is the garage will need some modification to make it fit.

Here is my Valentines present from my wife, she knows exactly what i need. She purchased 20 wheel nuts which will allow fitment of the lightweight Compomotive 3 piece wheels, plus there will be some spare.

Also started cutting out some of the electrics today as i found a central locking and alarm kit installed in the Capri!
There is almost as much wiring for that than there is for the rest of the car.
Attachments
4 post lift
4 post lift
IMAG0381.jpg (57.37 KiB) Viewed 18029 times
Valentines present from my wife, for Compomotive wheels
Valentines present from my wife, for Compomotive wheels
IMAG0365.jpg (45.68 KiB) Viewed 18029 times
Completed removing sound deadening from drivers foot well, a little more rust to remove from the inner sill.
Completed removing sound deadening from drivers foot well, a little more rust to remove from the inner sill.
IMAG0384.jpg (48.53 KiB) Viewed 18029 times
Drivers door removed
Drivers door removed
IMAG0385.jpg (41.57 KiB) Viewed 18029 times
Drilling out the spot welds on the top of the drivers wing
Drilling out the spot welds on the top of the drivers wing
IMAG0386.jpg (40.9 KiB) Viewed 18029 times
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

Had a good day working on the car yesterday with my wife, we managed to finally remove the drivers side wing that really was a pain to remove.
I am glad we did as there is a small patch of rust on the front end of the sill, so again this will be fixed with a new panel. Also it will make replacing the sill on the drivers side that much easier also.
There is lots of sealant and waxoyl visible on the inner wing however as per the passenger side this will all be cleaned back to bare metal and re-painted.

Now both wings are off the car i will set about repairing these where i have had to drill out the spot welds, then i will straighten the wing drip rail ready for re-fitting.
After speaking with my Uncle there may be someone who can produce some fibre-glass front wings for me using my old wings as patterns? I think it is worth a try to see how good they are, maybe help remove a little more weight from the front end.
Attachments
Drivers side wing removed, the inner wing drip rail is in really good condition so this is a bit of relief
Drivers side wing removed, the inner wing drip rail is in really good condition so this is a bit of relief
IMAG0402.jpg (41.68 KiB) Viewed 18005 times
Inner wing really is in excellent condition
Inner wing really is in excellent condition
IMAG0403.jpg (46.17 KiB) Viewed 18005 times
IMAG0399.jpg
IMAG0399.jpg (51.2 KiB) Viewed 18005 times
Drivers side headlamp bowl needs some repair work, but it is much better than the other side
Drivers side headlamp bowl needs some repair work, but it is much better than the other side
IMAG0404.jpg (46.34 KiB) Viewed 18005 times
Quite hard to see, but at the very front (right side of the picture) there is a hole, but the rest just needs a good clean up. Lots of sealant visible.
Quite hard to see, but at the very front (right side of the picture) there is a hole, but the rest just needs a good clean up. Lots of sealant visible.
IMAG0401.jpg (46.13 KiB) Viewed 18005 times
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

Had a bit of a long weekend, however only spent a small amount of time on the car again. First off i have had to try and make the Capri mobile as i will be shortly losing my garage space and i will need to take the car down to my house. Therefore to make it easier to move around i have removed the brake shoes from the rear drums as they were pretty seized up.
I also took the opportunity whilst the drums were off to try out the rear disc brake conversion i setting up.

I then measured the weight of the sound deadening that was removed from the driver and passenger cabin which weighed in at 6-7kg's.

After this was completed i have made a start at stripping the thick sealant and underseal from the drivers inner wing to check the condition of the metal below. Thankfully the metal is in really good condition, and i thinnk i may be able to get away with just putting a small patch on the front part of the drivers side sill, rather than having to cut out a large panel.

I was then also able to get into the drivers side headlamp area and put a few small plates in to tidy up the front corners.
My spot welder is coming in really handy at the moment since my MIG welding set is still not operational.
All the bare metal will be treated and painted soon to prevent the panels rusting up. I will also go back over areas which will need cleaning up with the MIG welder and grinder.

Due to a new car arriving this is why i will be losing my garage space, so i will have to get moving very quickly now to get all the bodywork sorted asap as the car will have to sit outside underneath a tarpaulin and gazebo. As you can imagine that will not be ideal, but needs must.
Attachments
Drums removed
Drums removed
IMAG0471.jpg (50.32 KiB) Viewed 18012 times
Trial fitting of discs for rear end
Trial fitting of discs for rear end
IMAG0474.jpg (42.94 KiB) Viewed 18012 times
IMAG0468.jpg
IMAG0468.jpg (35.18 KiB) Viewed 18012 times
Stripping underseal from inner wing
Stripping underseal from inner wing
IMAG0476.jpg (43.44 KiB) Viewed 18012 times
Metal in good condition
Metal in good condition
IMAG0477.jpg (46.16 KiB) Viewed 18012 times
Starting to rebuild drivers side headlamp area
Starting to rebuild drivers side headlamp area
IMAG0478.jpg (55.22 KiB) Viewed 18012 times
IMAG0475.jpg
IMAG0475.jpg (43.15 KiB) Viewed 18012 times
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

So i managed to confirm a delivery time now for new panels which i have ordered. Should be receiving the front sill ends, chassis floor stiffners and second hand front chassis rail off good donor car this week.
I will add pictures when i get them. The Chassis Rail section will have to be seperated from the floor section with it, but hopefully it all lines up nicely.
From an MOT point of view the chassis rail would pass, however it looks like a horrid repair so it will get sorted properly, there is no point leaving it to get worse.
Due to weather however and more project cars to look after, i haven't even touched the car, so i will be devoting some of my time after work during the week to make more progress.
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

So as promised please see attached some pictures of the replacement panels now they have arrived.
I am very pleased with the help from the guys at the Capri Club i am a member of. I am pleasantly surprised with the chassis rail section as they have also left the floor stiffner attached, which means the separate floor stiffner i ordered can be kept as a spare for the drivers side.
The drivers side floor stiffner has been crushed in the past due to someone incorrectly jacking the car up at that point, however i will leave for time being as it is still solid.

I now have all the panels i need to get cracking again on the shell repairs.
Luckily i have managed to sell a van i had sitting on my drive so the money has helped pay towards the different replacement parts.

Once i have these repairs in place next item to look at will be shell strengthening, roll cage and paint.
I just need to buy some more replacement spot weld cutters so i can neatly remove the panels from the car. Anyone know of a good supplier of these cutters?
Attachments
Left hand & Right hand front sill ends to replace rusty perforated front sections on car
Left hand & Right hand front sill ends to replace rusty perforated front sections on car
IMAG0523.jpg (42 KiB) Viewed 17872 times
Replacement chassis rail taken from a good donor shell, with good condition floor stiffner
Replacement chassis rail taken from a good donor shell, with good condition floor stiffner
IMAG0525.jpg (52.06 KiB) Viewed 17872 times
Replacement floor stiffner for drivers side to be kept as a spare
Replacement floor stiffner for drivers side to be kept as a spare
IMAG0524.jpg (38.01 KiB) Viewed 17872 times
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

Last night i continued to strip the shell of underseal in order to allow access, as i am going away for holiday i also took the opportunity to put a little paint on the bare metal areas just to stop the panels rusting up again. The car is now starting to undertake a rainbow colour scheme at least until all the hard work is finished.

To take a break from this task i decided to strip down the 3 piece Compomotive Porsche Alloy wheels I acquired a few years ago. I have asked Alan at my local machine shop and he will be boring out the centre's of the inner wheel rim to suit the Ford fitment that i require.
I will add a picture soon, they are in a bare metal state at the moment, but once they have been machined this will also make it alot easier for me to paint them properly.

On a slightly different note i managed to get some help from someone in a Capri club and i will be converting one of my spare pedal boxes to run dual master cylinders with bias adjustment. Pictures of this process will also be added in time.
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Will01
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Re: Ford Capri Mk3 Track/Race Car Project

Post by Will01 »

Just to make things a little easier with the restoration job, myself and family all got together to move the 4 post ramp into the garage where it will live. It was only 700kg+ so it was a bit of a pig to move around by hand with only 3 men and 2 women. Unfortunately the garage needed a little modifying in order to allow us to get it through the door however it is now in.
The next step for us is to fix the ramp poles into position and then rig up the 3 phase inverter, i will add pictures in due course but this will allow easier access underneath and should allow easier fitment of all parts.

More on subject now the centre's for the 3 piece split rims will be machined and finished this week with the Ford hub bore 63.5mm. Once this is complete i will ask my wife nicely to blast down the wheels and start giving them a lick of paint. Hopefully they outer rims will polish up, however if not some more paint should make them look really great. Thankfully the inner gasket on all wheels looks in good condition so i will give a good clean and re-use. As for paint my wife has chosen a very simple and effective colour scheme with silver and black inside the spokes. It will give it a stock retro ford look.

Next on the agenda is to try and find a good source of double ended spot weld cutters, they are pretty expensive, any recommendations?
Does anyone know what sort of rpm i should be using with these cutters, i have a feeling my drill is too fast which is why i am burning them out?

I also had a little trip too a little supermarket and have bought a few air tools which were on a good deal. Managed to source a good set of Air Shears which work amazingly well, which i am very impressed with & i bought a spot blaster which i am yet to try. It may help me clean those really hard to reach areas.
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