What's Wrong With This 1979 Mercury Capri? Fluid Leaks, Bad Noises, And More On The Best "Mustang" 

I must make a confession. I love mopar...but I have 3 ford pickups...87, 89, 90. A fi 302 4x2 that can't be killed...a fi 351in the 89 f250 4x4 that is rebuilt and insanely loud thru glasspacks....and a edelbrock fed 460 in the 87 4x2. I own all 3 big brands actually. A few chevys too. I still have my first... A 71 c10 we put a 396 in and a th400. They're all good.

Capri! first car was a 1980 Capri with a 2.3. delivered lots of pizza and couldn't kill it. eventually got a 5.0 and a T-5. AS an owner of many Fox chassis cars through the years and continue to do so. it is so easy to make it drive nice and that one does need some more help including a suspension rebuild. First - the C4 is a good trans, the kickdown lever is either not there or not setup correctly. suspension: rear: fresh uppers and lowers, decent shocks will transform if you are doing budget things. best thing you can do is ditch the splayed upper arms for a panhard bar and torque arm(3rd/4th gen camaro style) or a single upper arm with a heim joint. you need to increase the rear spring rate by double as you just took all the bind out of the rear suspension. I have about 100K miles on my 93 mustang with the torque arm setup and it's amazing how good it is. Front: same replacement lower arms(covers bushings and ball joints) and a decent strut will do wonders. for the next level some tubular A arms and a basic coil over setup with a decent camber plate will make it really work well. for the chassis and those seat mounts, a good set of subfram connectors will really make a difference. if that is a factory V8 automatic car is most likely has a 2.47:1 gear in that 7.5": axle, the stick cars(4 speed SROD) had 3.08:1 because the trans had 4th as a .7 OD ratio. find a 3.08 geared 8.8 out of an 86-93 and it's a bolt in and a big change in performance. as for the 302 - the heads had 70CC chambers back then, using an 87(E7TE) head will wake it up, 60cc chamber and some better flow. those heads with a good valve job will pick up 30+ hp. then again, it's not your car so assume owner is on a budget so basic replacement suspension parts will really help. love the channel! obviously I'm a Ford guy but love all of it. thanks! Jeff

I enjoy hearing your opinions on things. Many auto channels try to keep everyone happy by liking everything. People like what they like!

My older brothers high school car was a 79 Mercury Capri, it had a 302 and 4 speed trans, it's a cool car for it is, he still has it and it was his daughters first car too

Cool Mercury Capri! I like it! It's different and refreshing to see one again!👍

mmm memories.. Our family learned about the Ford Stick when a member brought home his brand new 1970 Ford Maverick. We all gathered round for a look under the hood and then he raised the hood and fit the hood prop. We laughed and laughed and laughed!

Jamie, foxbodies are kinda our thing. You can get all new tubular rear control arms with polyurethane bushings for not much more than replacement rubber bushings. My son and I have even had good luck with the generic ebay and Amazon kits. If you're going to pull the control arms, you may as well place them. Good luck.

Much respect to Miranda driving the car and not letting it set .

It needs everything because it's 45 years old! At that point mileage doesn't matter. Everything oxidizes, including the rubber bushings. They are toast! Put fresh stuff in, just like you would in an old Mopar, and you might be surprised at the difference. Use '87 and up components if you can. Great video though. It brings back a lot of memories.

I feel that regardless of what it is you are working on, your commentary and information is what makes your channel yours and why we watch these videos.

The Ford C4 is a pretty good transmission. I've run many on the street behind 400+hp V8s. The flare and starting in second gear in addition to the bad fluid smell you mentioned, not good.

"I'd say I'm gonna start this thing on fire...but it might just do it itself" 😆 🤣 😂

A 1984 mercury Capri 5.0 manuel made me fall in love with cars....i love bubble butts i cannot lie

The Fox body mustang needs to appreciated , ford, mopar or whatever, it has done so much for cars of today’s. It brought back the muscle in muscle cars.

I for one like this video and I have been here long enough to remember your greenish 4 door Fairlane . If you record...I will watch.

I like the square light Mustang and Capri’s. I used to want an ‘85 GT. Even took one for a test drive. My brother had a 85 TBird Turbo Coupe 5 speed that had the same rims as the Capri you are showing. I thought the car looked really good.

Ohhhooo my godd.....my parents owned a 79 it was the first car I remember...ours had a luver or loover (however you spell it) covering the rear window. Same red same hood different wheels. I remember the steering wheel was wrapped in black leather and it was a three spoke with multi holes in each spoke and it had a really cool center hub it was a really nice car inside too. I remember the inside door handle was really low on the door. Also you had to push in on the blinker stock to make the horn toot. I remember the buzzer... It kind of sounded like a cicada. Good times.

Early Fox, Capri flavor, approved! The early ones leave a lot to be desired vs say an ‘85 GT pre SEFI). Those have a faster ratio rack, bigger sway bars, quad rear shocks, roller cams and better trannies. The early ones are a little lighter though. Fortunately they are all super easy to work on. Love your channel.

As a foxbody owner, a 1983 GT convertible, it's my first Mustang and loving it. I grew up with many mopar guys, which are my favorite cars also. Love your channel and humor, too! 😂

I'm a new subscriber. I like your content, humor, and knowledge. I've been sharing your channel with all my car guys friends. Thank you for your content! :)-

Cold beer open… heating the popcorn up … awaiting the comment tsunami 🌊 😅

These are SUPER rare.. love the fox body.. I owned an 85 vert lx 5.0 manual, 85 lx 5.0 hatch manual and an 85 SVO manual. All 5.0 convertibles start as 4cyl notch backs before the ASC company lopped the top off of them. Then ASC would fit the power plant, but that means all convertibles have 4cyl brakes and other weird one off parts. The 85's were all weird, early ones had hydraulic cam block numbers but some had flat tappets, others had rollers, but all had the same block casting numbers. They also all leaked like a sieve. the cork gaskets weren't great when new, front main leaks, rear main leaks, valve cover leaks, oil pan gasket leaks, rear diff leaks, axle seal leaks, all common.. most require engine out to fix. Then good luck on the clutch because they made different counter balances and it sucks figuring out what you have till it's out.. Edit: Lol 😂 they do drive bad, even when they are in mint condition with no miles, only the 5.0 lx hatch had semi high miles with 88k the rest were under 50k miles.. they all aren't great driving cars. the rear clunk: All the bushing were pretty roached on my low mileage cars as they aged, i changed them with polyurethane bushings from the rubber which helped, but the clunk is usually from the upper shock mount being lose and moving around. when i did my rear suspension i swapped the rear for an 86 5.0 rear because pre 86 they were all 7.5in rear and not the much better 8.8 as per the c4 my friends did the same on his 89 GT.. it lunges when it would go into gear, he replaced the transmount which helped a little, but not much.. 😂

As a fan of the Blue Ovals I too appreciate the looks of the fox body platforms however they are not very robust shall be say and greatly benefit from aftermarket suspension upgrades and you are also correct that gearing and a 5spd manual are what make these cars truly fun to drive as the little windsor likes to Rev and makes its power in the upper rev range. Hence why the dinky C4 auto slush box is not a very good performance option. They do help the 302 get ok fuel economy when driven like a 50 year old going to church. In a nut shell this poor little Capri suffers from the late 70's early 80's fuel economy / emissions performance robbing options with the C4 and terrible rear gears.

So much potential in the fox body platform

It's a car your a macanic don't have a problem and it's your channel variety is the spice of life

There might be a shift kit in the C-4 - some of those really slam into gear

I had a 79 Mustang 5.0 liter. It had the same clunking noise at about 150k miles. I changed out all of the trailing arms which fixed it. I had a lot of fun or should I say beat the $hit out of that car and that little 302 just took it. It was by all means not fast but was Sporty and fun to drive

Mercury Dodge, whatever. Any brand, make the best of what you have is the real core of hot rodding.

I had a '78 Merc Bobcat...pulled the sick 4 banger out, swapped with a 302, did a valve job, dual exhaust, 4bbl and...a 289 hi perf camshaft...amazing results. That thing was a screamer. Fast forward, I was so glad when Ford came out with the Fox Body mustangs. Anyway, I'm a mopar guy, but can appreciate any muscle car that is well maintained. My current baby is my '67 dart with a 360 magnum...it is a BEAST!

I'm with you on the beauty of the 1979-82 Capri's! Love the fender bulges and the front end. Liked the tailights too with the black fins. When they went to the "Bubble glass and weird tail lights, it lost me. I ended up getting a 1985 Mustang GT with 5speed V8. Last year for no computer, 4 bbl carb and dual snorkle air cleaner. I still own the beautiful all stock vehicle.

Not exactly my cuppa tea. But ok, I'll watch and comment cuz I like the channel. I did like my 67 Cougar and the 4 68-72 econolines I have owned. But not a Ford guy generally. But then there was my uncle's 66 Monterrey drop with 406fe that was nice. Ok so I will concede Ford had some moments😊

Overall your test drive was a success, usually test driving an old Ford involves the starter solenoid not working even though it's been replaced 36 times followed by the duraspark box dropping dead at the worst possible time in heavy traffic. Old Fords had some common issues that would drive most people nuts and are hard to cope with, not to mention anytime you need parts there's always like 28 different options depending on what day and what assembly plant the car/truck was made.

It's always the frame rails under the battery.Our 67 289 notch survivor is rust free being a Cali car,but same issue.Dont let it break your heart.

It is a nice looking car, I knew people that had them when I was a teen in the early 80’s. I’ll bet that all the bad bushings in the rear aren’t helping the driving experience in the front , especially if the front suspension is bad too as you say. I would hope it’s tune is better too now with a new non leaking fuel pump that’s doing what it’s supposed to 😎 Very cool of you to show this nice car, I am a Mopar guy too, but I have had all kinds of brands 😊

I had a 1983 version of one of these as my daily driver for a few years in Van., back in the day. Great little sleeper.

Jamie - congrats on another Ford video! You're coming around. Couple of things to note with this car: - Fox bodies are pretty notorious for bad bushings in the upper link arms @ the rear end. Happened to my 88GT bought brand new when the car had about 100k on it. Simple replacement. - The trans issue - C4's are very simple and reliable trannies. I would first check the bad adjustment. It's on the exterior of the case and would take all of 5 min to check. That nasty looking trans fluid isn't helping anything. I'd drop the pan and for good measure, drop the valve body and flush everything clean. Also, sure the vacuum modulator is hooked up to the right place? - That thing has a tilt wheel, I think. Looks like the bushings at the joint are pretty worn - resulting in a sloppy steering wheel. Common, not just to Fords.

I agree that it's a rather handsome car for a late 70s American ride. As for enjoying the video, for somebody whose first 4 cars were Ford/Mercury products, any video where the mechanic rags on Fords makes me a happy camper 🤣

You are quickly becoming my favorite channel. I get what your saying about the Capri. my cousin had one (yes 5 spd. flavor)and it was a hoot to drive. Definitely my top 2 fox body's as I also like the ex state police 5.0 sedans from back in the day but you have to manual swap them. anyway just a shout out, Thanks for the videos...🤓

Jamie, You sounded surprised that this video was doing so well, last night. For Xers like myself, this is what was out there. We like seeing survivors. Also, we didn't realize that eventually all cars were going to look alike and seeing an old bubble hatch Capri is now cool. Maliasse era cars are definitely beneath 60s cars, but I prefer them to anything new. I drive new for work. When I am off, I drive a 91 D150 or a 92 Wrangler and I am way happier.

You don't see these things anymore 😊

A size even UK roads could deal with , i like this a lot .90s Merc auto boxes always pull away in second unless you really nail it one

I do like the Capri. It doesn’t look like a rear wheel drive Ford Escort EXP like the ‘80s Mustang does. My mom had an ‘81 Escort when I was a kid (she ironically never bought another American car after owning that jewel) and it had that same metal, swingy map light thing. It was the coolest, weirdest thing I’ve ever seen in a car.😂

My ex-wife’s 1979 Mustang had a goofy Motorcraft Variable Venturi Carburetor. It was standard for that years LTD 302 engine. Pain in the ass. It was an “emissions” design.

Oh man, can't wait for the comments on this one. Damn not a Dodge!

I have a couple of old stereo consoles...one is hardwood and pretty nice. The other is a Magnavox which became famous for making plastic faux-wood faced cabinets. Mine is all plastic in front and it looks like new and it must be 50 yrs old. "Engine turned plastic", what a concept. Less scratching, no denting.

I should add, after we had a good laugh over the hood prop, that 70 Maverick took us on a thousand mile trip a couple of years later and did a fine job of it. It turned out to be a good durable car.

I can't remember the last time I saw one of those.

A long time ago I had a1973 Capri with a 2600 V6 4 speed, it was a fun car to drive.

The Windsor V8's had a long run at Ford. Starting with the 260 around 1960, the displacements eventually grew to 289, and then 302 and 351. The 302s and 351s ran through the late 60''s, all of the 70's, 0's and was gradually phased out by the 4.6 and 5.4 modular motors that first premiered with the Lincoln Town Car for the 1991. The 302 saw its last passenger car application when the 302 was replaced by the modular 4.6 with the 1996 Mustangs. The 351 5.8 disappeared when Ford's heavy duty trucks were replaced by the 1999 Super Duty. The 302 carried on in the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer through the end of the 2001 model year.

You can adjust the modulator value for longer shift points with a flat head screw driver through the vacuum port on the valve. Also you should check and adjust the kick down rod or make sure it’s properly connected to your throttle linkage.

Mopars handle great with a good sway bar I installed a 30mm bar in the front of my stock 1968 Australian valiant Ute powered by a 360 4 speed my race car/parts gather Keep the inspiring content coming

Grew up on Fords. Miss my 1967 Mustang 351W/5speed often. Not really fast but SO FUN. Best thing I ever did with it was banish the C4 to the void & do the first early-model T5 swap I ever heard of. Of course that was pre-internet, around 1986.

I subscribe to and watch number of automotive youtube channels, this one is my favorite. Keep it up man.

I have a 89 LX 5.0 5 speed with the SAME issue with the upper control arm on the Driver's side. Mine the Hole on the body egged out. I had to change the Lower control arms with a set of polly bushings to stop the Rearend from Steering the car into the DITCH! I changed them almost 20 years ago and it still handles like a DREAM! Poly bushings are the way to go!

I bought a 1980 Mercury Capri with the V8. I bought it in 1993 it was already a rust bucket. I had to get a welding guy to take care of my seat which was already rusting through the floor. I lived in the rust bucket but the car was already a piece of s*** by the time I got it. Within a few months it had a milkshake in My oil. Could have been okay back in the day but I got to it too late. I also had a 1984 Mercury Capri with a 2.3 and no turbo. Slowest car I ever had in my life.

I had a 1982 Capri GS with a 3.3 litre in line 6. It had sufficient power for my needs.It was all black with the optional TRX suspension and Michelin TRX tires.It really held the road.To look at it nobody would know it had a 6 cylinder.I think you could get a v6 and a small v-8 a 265 or the 302 HO like in the Mustang.They had a special Black Magic edition with the 302 I believe. Ihave the salesbrochure from 1982 with all the models and colors and options,, very interesting! I even had a optional premium sound amplifier from the factory!

I had a Thunderbird with the 302. Pretty good engine.

Mercury, baby! 😎

My Mom had an 80 Mercury Capri RS but it was a 6 cylinder slug. It looked good and handled OK but was a slug. My Dad had a red one with the 302 but it had a porous casting and leaked oil. He wound up getting rid of it as the dealership didn't want to replace the engine and wanted to weld it up instead. He was not happy and that was the last Mercury he ever bought.

This channel has it all. 👍

My first car was a 1984 Capri. Yes, the handling sucks, but you can plow over speed bumps without slowing down. The front end does turn to a cacophony of clunking and clattering about about 5 years after a complete refresh. The C4 shouldn't do any of that banging unless it had a shift kit installed, and either that new modulator is crap or the valve body is gunked up.

Such a cool old fox body 😎

I've been a Ford guy, but I love my 79 Camaro!

that's funny as a kid in 80s my mom had one of those with a v6 it was sooo gutless my old man hated the thing

I am here for the foxbody

Great, once seen can't be unseen. Every video is now going to be a where's waldo hunt of looking for the talking with your hands behind the camera reflection. I found it in this one too. Next video, three in a row?

Hmm not bad. I like discovering all these models I never knew existed. Here in the U.K. we had a Ford Capri from '69 to mid 80's, I wonder if this was based on that car's styling.

Great video but you know you need to throw an AVS two on that bad boy lol Capri Edelbrock come on what a great combo lol

It IS a very cool car,and that's coming from a die hard Chevy fan.The poor little car just needs a little (lot) of TLC.Ya gotta remember the auto industry was in the late stages of malaise and the CAFE restrictions,Hell,everyone was saying the V8 was dead!

From the voice of history (old age) : long legged rears and early upshifts characterized this pre-ECM/TCM/PCM quest of meeting Federal CAFE and EPA emissions goals. Manufacturers were forced to present performance packages which featured louvers, fender flares, and decals, and not much else. The alternative from Ford was a stock 2.3 Pinto engine with a turbocharger bolted on (Indy Pace Car replica) which lasted about 15,000 miles if you treated it very well (read: stayed out of heavy boost). The mid 70's through the early 80's were not fun times to be a car enthusiast, if you wanted to buy something new.

"Mom, can we get foxbody mustang?" "No sweetie, we have foxbody mustang at home" Foxbody mustang at home:

I had an '82 Capri 5.0 way back when. It was sweet. It was bright red and not an RS, so had chrome trim and the Mustang GT hood scoop, like the car in the video. I modified it, beat the crap out of it and finally hit a deer with it. Too bad. It was a mighty nice car in its day.

Just imagine if Lee and Carroll had turn the driveline around in the correct direction on the Shelby Chargers in the early 1980s and dropped a tweaked 318 with a 4 bbl in there. It would have been Fox body … who?

You may know this, but once upon a time, people used to stick this engine in Miatas! Now, there's muscle!

Jaimie - There's your phone mount!!! Right there on the lift!!! Don't forget your phone mount!!!

you are a Chryslerologyst ... yes I've coined a phrase ... look at me !! yay ! I rock .... not really at all

Huge fan of Duel. Would love to see a 71' Valiant.

More of a parklane /XM-55 guy myself but I'm intrigued

While I'm more of a Mopar guy (have 69 Charger) I really enjoyed the vid. The car matters, sure, but the process you take us through remains engaging for me. I also feel like given more time and money you could get this car sorted. Perhaps a lot of deferred maintenance is tainting the feel of the car. Dunno. Tks!

The foxbody is my favorite mustang, specifically the early fox

My friend Paul Spivak had one of those back in the day. He called it his; _Mercury Crapee_

The uncle had a black 79 Capri with the 200 tower of power

I could be remembering this wrong, but I am fairly certain that V8 equipped Mustangs and Capris didn't come with four lug wheel hubs. They were 5 lug. I think this version of the Capri looks better than a Mustang. Those flared fenders give the Capri some added coolness the Mustangs don't have.

That Capri needs to be lowered a bit, with bigger sway bars and some Koni struts and shocks. And a quick-ratio steering rack. Then it would HANDLE! A 5 speed and some decent gears would make it even sweeter. I'm not a Ford guy, but I had an 84 Thunderbird Elan with the TBI 302. Gutless wonder, but it had the AOD at least. I lowered it, put some KYB's on, and acquired a quick-ratio Ford Motorsport steering rack on it that I got from a buddy of my father's who ran it on his 79 Capri road race car back in the day. That rack had MAYBE 5000 miles on it, and the dude gave it to me! Nice guy! Oh, the Tbird also got Mustang aluminum 10-hole wheels and some good tires, don't remember which ones, as this was all like 30 years ago. That was one corner-carving Tbird! The 25 MPH cloverleafs were a breeze at 50 plus. Scared a lot of my buddies, a few of whom refused to ever ride with me again. Their loss, I figure! LOL. Take care, Jamie, and it's nice to see you working on different stuff. Variety is the spice of life, after all. Stay cool, brother!

Foxbody rear noise, check torque boxes always. I have torn out so many 😅

Im a Mopar guy too and some people think that means you can like no other cars as well. I disagree. I think it just means you like Mopar the best.. But there are various other cars that are just really cool.

Buff the oxidation out of the paint, that thing would look pretty damn sharp.

I still have my '82 Black Magic 5.0. I tell those who dont know, its a mustang with hips.

One of my buddies in High School had a turbo 4 banger under the hood......pretty good.

I had one just like it

I had a 90 5.0 5 speed it ran great but it also rattled and klunked plus it had a bunch of electrical issues.

A coworker of mine had one of these back in the day with a V8 that had great sound and a stick. It was a nice car except it didn't have AC!

It was great to see a Ford to make people know how much better mopar was in the same era. Thanks

That transmission bangs into gear like it does not have a wave plate in the forward or direct/reverse clutches. I took the wave plate out of the forward clutch for a regular steel in my C6 when I rebuilt it to get the clearances correct and it bangs into drive just like that. BIG difference with that wave plate in there.

My first car was a 79 Capri with the 2.3L. I paid 195$ for it in 1991 with 64k on the odometer.

I like the Capri and the video...i raced one once (his was modified) in my 69 Camaro with the transplaned 327 i built. I always had to launch on the primarys...else would get half second of bog..but once i got those seconadies open it would suck in low flying birds....he told me i went past him like he was standing still. Fun times. Thank you for the video.

I liked this video. Yea, it's a neat car. But you can't go by my opinion - over the years I find that I like lots of the cars considered by many to be turds. For instance, I also like Mustang II Cobras, 76-80 Volare Super Coupes & Kit Cars and yea, even the Gremlin X.

I always liked the capri, here in canada there were a lot, i like it better than a mustang.

I was just about to mention that tiny rod in the modulator 😊

I know where one of these cars are sitting I’ve been trying to buy it for 10 years. It is brown RS. I like them but agree mopar A body is my happy place