April 1974, me and my 71 Capri V6, Brisbane GPO to Melbourne GPO 1050 miles 13.5 hours straight including 4 fuel stops. The Newell highway was just a secondary road then (and still is for that matter) no motorways or freeways in Oz in those days. No speed limits either although the country magistrate was not too impressed that the cop had get his 5.7 litre Falcon GT up to 120 mph to catch me. Great car. Great memories.
I always loved the Capri & I wish they sold more of them in the US. My aunt had a Mk II in the late 70s. I remember it was brown and it was the 1st car I had been in that had a sun roof. Wish she had kept it.
The Capri wassold under the slightly "up scale" Mercury marque in the States and was very popular when equipped with the V-6 engine option, which was Ford's first V-6.
hi here birkenhead town wirral near liverpool, great review of the ford capri,my dad had a silver mk2 16 gl same capri model and age as that S REG.he got it when i was 5 years old and still had it when i was 19 years old,shortly after it got wrote off when a speeding mini crashed in to him and speeded off leaving him,the police never traced the mini,i used to stand between the back seats when i was a kid as we drove around, i can still remember the reg plate, NKA612S,my dad was upset showed tears when he scrapped it, it was a part of his life all us kids grew up in it 7 brothers and sisters,i remember my dad tom saying to me he never had a full service or the engine tuning at a garage all the years he had it to keep the cost down he used to do little jobs himself to it on his own,it just kept going and going,he said it was his best car he ever had,he passed away 20 years ago,i would love one myself but they cost too much money for the average working class man these days,lol rumour had it he won the capri off the back of a cornflakes box in a prize,but he was only joking,he was a seaman then a docker on birkenhead docks and thats how he got the money for the car by robbing allkinds of stuff everyone most of the dockers was robbing off the docks them days 1970,s birkenhead docks,lol.
My dad had loads my favourite one he owned a 73 3ltr gxl they make my heart race I shouldn't say this but the capri is the first thing I ever loved of anything and my heart will always beat for the capri
My first car was a red 1976 Ford Capri 1300 GL(no black vinyl roof though)virtually identical to this one ,I was an 18 year old nobhead who thought he was the bees knees driving around in a capri,brings back memories.
Hey just discovered your channel and it's totally cool! I'm old enough to remember these as new cars and regularly drove one that we had on the fleet at work back in 1978 - it was a mark 3 1.6L. I remember it being nippy and great fun to drive. My brother is a bit of a Capri nut and has owned a 1982 1.6LS and better still, a couple of 3 litre models. They were seriously quick! My best mate's Mom had a 3.0 Ghia automatic back in the mid 70's and that was beautiful, though she wouldn't let us young (then) hooligans out in it :)
My dad was a dedicated BMC man starting with a 1936 Morris 8 ,Morris minor [split screen], Austin A40 farina ,. And then he borrowed my 63 mk1 highly tuned ford Cortina. Within the week he had traded in the A40 for for a 1200 105E Anglia. Which he eventually traded for a MK1 1300 Escort. Truly a miraculous conversion into a dedicated Ford man . Sort of a change from flat cap and pipe to baseball cap HA HA HA I still have a MK1 Tina sitting in my garage [not the same one]I love her to bits
Mine was a 1982 Calypso 1,6. I absolutely adored that car had it for 3 years and it never let me down. I drove the car from manchester to sheffield in very deep snow in 1988 and believe it or not to date it is the best car I have had in those conditions. It plowed its way through the snow and never got stuck once..
Good one again loved it! To be honest I’ve never been a blue oval fan, but I did run one of these back in the day for a short time. Personally I found the handling interesting at speed! Well done.
I had a mk2 1.6capri in the late 1980's. Had the obligatory pierced ear with highlighted mullet hairdo and thought l was the coolest kid 👶 on the block. Brings back happy 😝 memories.
Great review, I love the Capri. Although personally I prefer the MK3 or higher spec MK1s because I prefer the round headlights over the frumpy square ones that your lumbered with on the MK2
Great video ‘ the car you always promised yourself’ as the Ford advert said, my dad a one in silver fox with Ruby trim we thought cool instead of the normal cortina or Corsair.
great video as always - my second car was a USA model 1977 - German Made Capri Ghia V6 2.8. - with Dual Monsa exhaust - lowered - American racing rims and Pirelli 50 series tires - such a cool car - in Silver - My dream would to get a 1986 Ford Capri . stick a 5.0 v8 Ford Mustang engine in It - lower it a bit -
My 2.8 which I still have was literally the first car I ever drove (let alone owned) and almost 20 years on is still the smallest engine I've had. Literally the car I always promised myself as I wanted one before I started school. And is better than the 1977 Ferrari I passed my test in! Some trivia: The Ml1 facelift added the bonnet bulge to accomodate the carburetor on the 3.0 Only around 6,000 Capris left in the UK, Mk2 is generally the least popular of the 3 Mks, even if Ford never called the last "mk3".
Steph, when speaking of the Capri's origins and while driving around town (I'm jealous, by the way), you forgot the most important aspect of the car that contributed to its sales and continued appeal: Chicks dig it.
I’m my younger days, I preferred riding motorbikes to driving cars. And if any car tended to pull out on you at a junction, it usually was a Ford Capri. You had the “jack the lad” type blokes who were bad enough, but even worse when they got behind the wheel of a Capri, particularly with its long bonnet. I found the riding a motorbike, this was the car to look out for and be on your guard. A close family email friend at the time, a confident young lady, got a Capri and drove it pretty quickly. She loved it. I used to do jobs on the car for her like de-coking, servicing it and fitting radios and such, she just bombed around in it to look cool! It was a dream car for some certainly.
My dad had a 1974 Capri. The U.S. version was labeled as a Mercury and sold via Lincoln/Mercury dealerships. Imported from Germany. . It was mustard yellow with brown vinyl.
Great video as usual Steph! My second favourite car, nothing beats a Rover SD1 V8 though. I had a Capri 2.0 Ghia, MHS 682P. It was white with a black vynil roof. My mother helped me buy it, to try to keep me off motorcycles, didn't work though! It had a plate under the bonnet that said Earls Court Show, yet it was registered in Glasgow. It was the first car I saw with a grey velour interior. I also had a Mk1, 1600 gt xlr, red with a black vynil roof, WAG 397K and a Caspian Blue 2.8 injection, A816HSM. I had the Ghia when I was 18, insurance wasn't so bad for young drivers then.
wonderful car! my bestie had one when we were in high school. It was tiny, compared to most of the cars over here, but it was so much fun. My friend, Reveta,(nicknamed Bert) would always say when it came back from the mechanic "Well , at least that should be the last big repair" and she would roll her eyes, and laugh. But, it was so much fun and so damn cool, it was worth it all.
I wish vinyl roofs would make a comeback - had an escort Ghia with one and I loved it. Was also great in the rain as it softened the sound of the rain on the roof
What a beautiful car, the Ford Capri have always been nice cars, my very first car back in 1983 was a 1974 Mk1 Ford Capri 1600XL, it was dark blue and was a brilliant car, you're right about the long bonnet at junctions, but it's just something that you become accustomed to lol, mine came with an 8 track cassette player and tapes, unfortunately, I don't have the car any more, it went to the scrapyard many years ago, but I still have the 8 rack player and cassettes, thank you for doing this video, it was a pleasure to watch.
Love Capri's, had about five over the years, all MK3's, 1.6L, 2.0S, 3.0 Ghia and two 3.0S's, dream Capri would be the MK2 3.0 X Pack in series one of the Professionals.
You're right about every boy wanting one - I did. I even liked the later versions although now, after owning a rear wheel drive car years ago - in the wet they are hairy to sling around. Love this channel Steph - the joy you get from driving these positively radiates from the video.
Driven and worked on almost every model of Capri. I'm starting sound like a stuck record but I've dealt with just about every car that appears on here. Some good some not so good. Enjoy seeing all this. Well done.
Lovely, my first ever car back in 1983 was a 1973 1.6 capri, I absolutely loved it .. i always dreamed of having the more 'modern' 2.8 .. was out of my price range, and funnily .. is again now!! haha
So here I am browsing Capri videos on RU-vid and almost choked on my coffee when the video started, hello Steph! This is Sam, old colleague! I also have a channel dedicated my Capri V8 build. Awesome to find your channel, subbed!
The MK2 must be the rarest of all as I only ever see MK1 or MK3 cars. My Dad owned an S reg MK2 Capri in yellow with the black vinyl roof. His was also the 1.6 but in S trim. After I was born he traded the Capri for a base spec MK1 Metro.
Hi Steph, just found your vids and am catching up.I used to have the 2.0 version of this,same model, same year, same colour. It was a great car to drive, and your vid bought back lots of memories. 😀
Really enjoyed this review, my grandad brought a Capri very similar to that one brand new which my dad bought off him later on, brought back some memories 😀
At the 1:08 mark, I was expecting you to say, "This sounds like an impressive 2.8 litre V6." I was very surprised. I would never have guessed that the Capri was available with the 1.6 Pinto engine. Nice car. I like your opening scene, when you describe how your hair is in such close proximity to the Elastoplast looking headlining. But, then again, the Elastoplast looking headlining was so common to many cars. Beautiful example.
Beautiful car, sooooooo nice! It has the lower spec clock cluster. The higher spec and then later models had two large clocks and then four smaller clocks, but I don’t care that looks so beautiful in red.
That is EXACTLY the same colour combo (Carnival Red IIRC) as my first car I bought in late 1978, a 1975 N reg Capri 3000 GT. I really wanted a Mk1 3000 GXL but even by 1978 they were getting hard to find. The big Essex lump was a lovely engine and sound great in the Capri with the twin exhaust setup. Handling wasn't that great though with the leaf sprung live rear axle.
TSD 852S, my first ever car bought in 1988 was the absolute double of this beauty, except mine was an automatic 😣 Dodgy hood catch could leave you with a surprise windscreen full of bent bonnet at 60mph 😲 I miss that beautiful beautiful car 😍
Another great review. 1.6 OHC quite pokey for 1.6. hope you get to road test mk2 Escort 1600 sport, Mexico and RS2000. They are the best things to come out of Ford factory in 80s.
Very nice ride! We have a few Majorette diecast versions of the Mk2 Capri. IIRC John Wayne used one of these in the film _Brannigan_ - alas, he ruined the thing in a high-speed chase...
Had a great looking slightly used German built metallic 'peacock blue' MK1 Capri with off-white interior here in Canada. Great sporty car but unfortunately did not endure Canadian winters well as various trim parts fell off ( wiper arms, door handles, etc. ) and rust quickly set in. But was my first manual drive and fun to drive!
I've always liked Classic Ford's. My Ford Escort 1.3L mk2 1980V was stolen in 1989. It was recovered&repaired by my Insurance so I installed an alarm& a handbrake gearshift lock.
I will always remember my first car. It was a Hillman Imp. It had the essential add-on that was needed in every one of them that was a bag of cement in the front spare wheel well to stop the front of the car skipping
I would LOVE a Hillman Imp. It’s what I looked for first of all and then ended up with a morris Minor based on parts avails alone. A great decision but I still wonder what an imp would’ve been like.
Thanks for the reply. I had the imp back in my army days it was so reliable that even when I got back from deployment if It would not start all it would take to get it going was one person pushing and away it would go. Did you know that they made a version of it called a Californian. Not many of them made but I was lucky enough to have that model.
@@markdowling5962 Yes! The sporty, 4 headlamped, fully instrumented all-singing all-dancing top of the range Imp! Can't be many left now which is a shame. Very capable little car.
Nice video, I have a mk2 Capri sat in the shed. 2.0 ghia in gold,needs to be restored now. They are a very comfortable and capable cruiser. I love mine,have it over 10 years now. Got to finish my VW golf gti mk2 first though.
slight correction to the video ,the capri came out in 1969 ,not 1968 as was said and the last capri was in 1987 ,not 1986 with the capri 280 Brooklands ,it was the mk 1 escort that came out in 1968
Love the 70's 80's cars.....lots of character.My parents had a Capri around 73/74.They took it into a Ford garage for its first service and one of the mechanics took it out for a drive(race) and crashed it.. ..
Hi again, I like these. I rebuilt one for a client, had the 3 litre Essex V6. I rebuilt the "A" Pillars, sills, floors, Bulkhead sides and front cross member, front guards and areas of the doors. I have a Mk IV Zodiac with the same engine. I remember Del's Capri Ghia on Only Fools and Horses
Love a Ford Capri we never got the Mk2 or MK3 in Australia a shame the Mk1 was assembled & sold in Australia till 1972 then reintroduced as a convertible made in Australia in from 1989 as front wheel drive based on a Mazda 323, I’ve seen a few imports here in Australia very desirable car especially in a V6 nice review by the way
The Capri is an awesome car. I have owned a few covering all three incarnations. You ought to try arrange a drive in a 2.8i MK3. As the advert said, "It goes like lightning"
Had a MkIII Capri (2.0 Laser) with only minor alterations but keeping the hatchback style (think everyone knows that). Had it for seven years. Lacked power steering & a stiffly operating clutch pedal but still ace to drive. Fitted with a 5-speed gearbox.
I loved the Capris as a child and loved the versions with the black blind spoiler at the back. This was factory fitted, I understand. Thanks for uploading, and you must let your hair down next time so as not to touch the ceiling ;-)
I had 3 Capris back in the day all V6s a Mk2 Ghia manual a Mk3 S and a 2.8 injection. I think the 3.0S was probably the best of the three. I would love another one but the V6 cars are now silly money so we are looking for a late model Mustang instead as even if I were of a mind to spend £20000 + on a forty year old car I am no longer fit enough to work on it myself and it's not the kind thing I would want to entrust to a local garage.
I had 3x Capris, they are fabulous , truth be known those seats (interior) are from a Ghia version and dash suggests GL, but it looks beautiful.....😊 love the videos
idriveaclassic hi, love your videos by the way, I also like Morris Minors , do you know that Morris got all the Minor drawings and scaled them to make a replica but larger and the Morris Oxford was borne with a 1500 engine, rare but please try and drive one through your fabulous contacts, I know so little about them...😊
The only Ford I genuinely like, apart from maybe the Granada Ghia Coupe or the Mk3 Escort XR3. The Mk2 was perfect for the newly aspirational early 70s, check out the Jackie Stewart adverts from the time ! The interior is amazingly indulgent... Much more stylish than the late 70s Mk3 which obviously moved things on into the modern era... The Mk1s looked so fussy and old-fashioned once the MK2 hatch arrived, I still don't see the crazy appeal those cars now have.
Radio control Black missing the seats look like they from a ghia spec capri my sweety had a mk 2 1600 gt it was a shed of a capri unloved n been giving a good ragging but still turned heads sadly no longer on road went to the heaven graveyard in the sky not by me but the chap who brought it from my sweety it was bronze n vinyl roof
