The Capri at Hot August Nights Reno 2017

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rodsgarage
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:55 pm
Location: Pinetown

The Capri at Hot August Nights Reno 2017

Post by rodsgarage »

My brother and I took the the Capri to Reno for the week of Hot August Nights along with my '64 1/2 Mustang 289 4 speed and my '72 Buick Skylark GS Stage 1. We have taken the Mustang and Buick for many years and I decided to see what the reaction to the Capri would be. We had hundreds and hundreds of people talk to us about the Capri far more than the Mustang and Buick which always draw a lot of attention. We talked with people from Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, and New Zealand. People loved it at each show and shine venue and through all of the cruises and the parade. Next year the Cortina is going along too. We can hardly wait.

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zephyrgary
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Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:55 pm
Location: cave creek,az

Post by zephyrgary »

Sharp looking Capri. Good job getting the word out.
the older i get,the faster i went...
Brett Wilkie
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Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:42 pm
Location: Vancouver British Columbia Canada

Post by Brett Wilkie »

I did always like the Capri when it arrived here, and especially the early small bumper version, a friend of mine had a stock early 2 litre version and it was a very quick little car.
Anglia 100e modified
Prefect 100e stock
rodsgarage
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:55 pm
Location: Pinetown

Post by rodsgarage »

Thanks Gary. We met Walt who is sitting behind the Capri 7 or 8 years ago and he always brought his '69 Torino Cobra Jet that you can see across the lane in front of the Capri. Last year he showed up with a '59 Morris Minor pick up restored to stock except that he lowered it 1 ½ inches and was running 14â€￾ Minilites. And we met Nova who has a customized '59 Volvo 544 that you can see in the front shot of the capri. Both cars were magnets for people. So we took the Capri and Cortina to a local show last fall and then I took the Capri to a couple of other local shows and the response was great. I've wanted people to appreciate these little cars forever and apparently now is the time. They would love to see all of the cars on this website.
rodsgarage
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:55 pm
Location: Pinetown

Post by rodsgarage »

I agree Brett. The small bumper cars are the only way to go. When I purchased the first 2 Capris in 2001 I searched for parts worldwide and found a person in Europe who had 3 sets of NOS small bumpers which I purchased so I could use them on the '74 cars and use those big bumpers for anchors.
Brett Wilkie
Posts: 1825
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:42 pm
Location: Vancouver British Columbia Canada

Post by Brett Wilkie »

I almost became a Capri owner a long time ago, I took a test drive in a used 2000GT model but it wasn't the inline German 2 liter. This one had a V4 engine and the body had a flat front hood with rectangular headlights, it was very similar to this picture. The car was nice but the V4 felt and sounded not so great so I passed up the deal.
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Anglia 100e modified
Prefect 100e stock
rodsgarage
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:55 pm
Location: Pinetown

Post by rodsgarage »

Brett, I talked with some of the people from Europe about the different engines offered there and they were not fond of the V-4 but they had more powerful V-6's than offered here. They seemed to prefer the Kent I-4 to the V-4 and definitely wanted the OHC 2000 offered here.
zephyrgary
Posts: 1237
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:55 pm
Location: cave creek,az

Post by zephyrgary »

The Brit V$ was 2/3 of the 3.0 Essex V^. The V4 was not well liked and was quite lumpy. The 3.0 was quite popular but in reality was quite a heavy old thing. That said, it was the best that we had at the time so it went into a lot of hot rods and small production cars like TVRs, Gilberns and Marcoses, etc.
the older i get,the faster i went...
zephyrgary
Posts: 1237
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:55 pm
Location: cave creek,az

Post by zephyrgary »

D'oh! Should be V4 and V6...
the older i get,the faster i went...
Brett Wilkie
Posts: 1825
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:42 pm
Location: Vancouver British Columbia Canada

Post by Brett Wilkie »

That's okay, I understood you perfectly.
Anglia 100e modified
Prefect 100e stock
rodsgarage
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:55 pm
Location: Pinetown

Post by rodsgarage »

Hey Gary, I have a friend who is into pre '32 cars and I go on tours with him in those era cars and his latest ride is a '32 Pierce Arrow coupe. But one of the members of his group has a '28 Model T Sedan hot rod with a 2.8 V-6 in it and he is probably 80. I've seen several 2.8's in various hot rodded early cars at HAN over the years. What kind of cars are you talking about that had the V-6 in hot rods?
Kiwi Cortina
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Location: Novato Ca

Post by Kiwi Cortina »

I had this 1970 Mk1 Capri that had a 2 litre V4. Had Escort style rear lights and flat hood. It was English assembled and had rust proof grease like substance inside all panels.

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zephyrgary
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Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:55 pm
Location: cave creek,az

Post by zephyrgary »

rodsg,
I was talking about when I was growing up in England. American V8s were hard to come by so the engine of choice was the Essex V6. They went into Anglais, Cortina, Consuls, Zephyrs and all sorts of tupperware hot rods. It was the best we had. Nowadays, of course, V8s are much more available, but the Brits are still fond of their 4 bangers. And they extract stellar horse power from many of them. I guess that's the essence of hot rodding- making good use of whatever is available.
Cheers
the older i get,the faster i went...
drewlan
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Aug 10, 2017 7:57 pm

Post by drewlan »

Nice. I always like the front-end styling of Capri.
rodsgarage
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:55 pm
Location: Pinetown

A Couple of Videos of Cruising in and Behind the Capri in Re

Post by rodsgarage »

The first is with my brother driving through the Peppermill with me in the passenger seat.

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=7-vg7sSu15Y

The second is the Sunday parade with my friend Tony driving my Buick in front of my brother in the Capri and me following in my Mustang. We love all of these cars but the little cars are just starting to catch on and that is so good.

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=afZ34gNWYhY

If you can't see them please let me know because I have a inquiry into YouTube because they are not being viewed by anyone but they are set to public viewing.
Last edited by rodsgarage on Mon Sep 04, 2017 11:53 am, edited 2 times in total.
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