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Hi All - I'm afraid I come seeking the help of the RR collective... Quick potted background (without this turning into WB-fodder) - my lil' Bro spent every spare moment & penny (as do we all) building up his dream car; a Ford Capri 2.8i. With commitments including a baby this was a real labour of love, doing all the work himself or with friends (or me ) and it was fast becoming a real credit to him. Sadly it was recently badly crashed after a new tyre fitted by an independent dealer popped off the rim on one of its first journeys out after having them put on (long story re. liability, insurance wranglings, etc still ongoing... BUT he has got the car back with a fairly insulting pay-out) On with the pics (pretty nasty viewing - NOTE no injuries thank curse word, had the baby seat or wife been in the passenger seat things could've been very different!) Apologies for crappy camera-phone.. So, what would you do? My first impression was its beyond repair BUT it's been written off as uneconomical not unrepairable/dangerous so could be put back on the road (legally at least, if not practically). Obviously the door, wing & inner/outer sill are long gone but more concerningly the floor has been pushed right in: the seatbelt mount has completely buckled and the passenger seat has moved over hard against the tunnel. Interestingly it still drives fine (bar a the exhaust split in the crash) and I can't see that the roof is affected. There is however a weird crease in the rear quarter (not hit in the crash, unsure if that's visible in the pics) and the 'screen has cracked - both I see as bad news re. structural integrity Has anyone ever fixed anything this bent that can let me know what I need to look at before deciding if it's a go / no-go? I was thinking of taking it to DTS and putting it on their lazer wheel alignment jig to see what it says.. Assuming it's dead - what other options do we have? There are a lot of new parts on this car including a completely rebuilt / up-rated engine which is not even run-in & contains half the Burton catalog. I'm thinking a re-shell could be a possibility (certainly less work than a repair) but he doesn't have the budget for another 2.8i - are there differences in the shell or could a 'lower-spec' (& therefore hopefully more affordable) model be used? I'm thinking practically here i.e. will the 2.8 engine, box, front legs, axle etc all bolt straight up to say a 1.6 Lazer shell? I'm sure there's loads of questions I've forgotten / haven't occurred to me yet but I guess that's quite enough for now.. Any hits / tips / help / feedback / commiserations much appreciated HC.
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paul4be
Part of things
'86 Capri Laser, Frontera 4x4
Posts: 395
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Parts should be a straight swap over to reshell it. There are a few extra strengthening plates fitted to the 2.8 shell. These can be replicated and welded in if he feels the need, although i have no doubt that a good many shells have been used as-is.
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It's dead, jim on the positive side, yes, all the 2.8 bits will simply bolt into a lower spec car. Good luck with it, fair play for not just giving up ;D
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in
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Buy a clean 2.8i swop all the good bits over and sell the damaged one on? cheaper to buy a clean laser shell but it wont ever be an original 2.8 so it wont have the same value if he ever comes to sell it.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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given the rising prices of capris at the moment
repair maybe cheaper than reshell
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Someone just shot the elephant in the room.
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Could always re-shell into something that isn't a capri - that always use to be a good use for a wrapped 2.8. anything rwd and live axle should do
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in
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Thanks Gents - much appreciated Good news that a re-shell is do-able. SOC - thanks for your kind words; it has taken A LOT of battling, phone calls, letters, etc just to get the car back & SOME money out of them. The fight re. liability goes on... PopUp - his budget for this is as good as nil; the insurance pay-out just about covered a fiesta so he can get to work (would barely buy the exhausts on the Capri, lol). I was planning to buy panels & do (/get help to do) the repairs but having finally seen the car today & got feedback on here it looks like that's a no-go so any re-shell needs to be affordable. I simply don't have the cash lying around to buy a clean 2.8i, even if it would be (mostly) coming back at some stage (is a very bent one really worth anything anyway? The insurance co. valued the 'scrap' at <£100!) Come hell or high water I will have my brother rolling in a Capri again.. HC.
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SURE, it's dead, Andy? I'd be tempted to bolt on some eyelets to the bashed areas and do a couple solid jerks with some cable using my 4WD Bronco. If he can pull the sill enough to stretch the floor kinda-sorta back into shape, and the pillar and quarter get goosed with it, it MIGHT be OK**. No? or No? Worth trying for the cost of some huge reinf plates, eyes, cable and nuts, wouldn't you think? Poor man's frame machine, FTW?
Damn, I'd try it before binning that baby were it mine.
**By "OK", I of course mean: OK to replace the sills, door, windscreen, pop the quarter back out, and so forth. Not expecting any animal pulling to do anything more than MAYBE kinda straightening the chassis floor pan and connected shell structure.
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Team Blitz Ford Capri parts worldwide: Restoration, Road, or Race. Used, Repro, and NOS, ranging from scabby to perfect. Itching your Capri jones since 1979! Buy, sell, trade. www.teamblitz.com blitz@teamblitz.com
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Davenger
Club Retro Rides Member
It's only metal
Posts: 7,272
Club RR Member Number: 140
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I reckon that could be pulled out if you can find someone with the right gear. The creases in the floor pan will pull out, the sill can be replaced. The worst bit is the kick panel, but I'm sure you can get replacements. get those sorted, bung a new door on and Robert's your mothers brother. I kow I make it sound a lot easier than it is, but it would be a shame to give up on it after all the work that's gone into it
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not SURE, I havn't seen it, Norm gut feeling from the pics and description is that it's well beyond an economic fix, I've seen plenty of side-swiped capris too . Main problem is the way the bulkhead tends to twist at the top.. besides, mk3 capris arn't that scarce yet. Ebay is still full of half done projects and no running gear stripped shells.
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To get a standard A40 this low, you'd have to dig a hole to put it in
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dosent look that bad tbh. as long as the body tolerances check out ok then id say thats repairable. drop test it for alignment and see.
90% of the damage seems to be confined to the door. a new lh floor pan section (which must exist, its a ford they rust) a new sill and perhaps a trip onto the jig at worst case. by the look of it though its mashed the sill and the door and not touched the roof. is the roof warped in any way? whip the screen out and make sure the aperture meets the factory tolerance, it could have just been the shock through the shell that caused the crack, forces like that travel in funny ways and do odd things to monocoque bodies.
if its straight then its good to go as a home project. learn to weld and get cracking.
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Responses coming in quicker than I can reply - cheers guys AutoFive - that was my thoughts initially BUT my current eBay watch list: rear quarter £99.99, door £30, NOS wing £35, outer sill £20 (all + post) so that's £185+ with many parts yet to get (screen, inner sill, floor section...) not that a clean shell would be cheap but would potentially leave parts over. SOC - I've got a Mk1 fez, that would be a ton of win.. Not his bag tho TB - I guess given that that costs 'nothing' to do there's no harm in trying it. However, having had a decent look over it tonight my concerns run further than the damaged area - the panel gaps both sides of the bonnet & boot are mashed (huge gaps on the damaged side of the car & pushed hard against the other). Is there a good way to check a car for basic structural 'straightness' (that's what I was thinking above re. tyre shop lazer jig) cos obviously I don't want to fit a new floor, tons of bodywork & a door if the whole car is bent out of shape! HC.
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Davenger
Club Retro Rides Member
It's only metal
Posts: 7,272
Club RR Member Number: 140
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Hmm Sounds like it's completely FUBAR. Shame, looked like a good car
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plumb bob, some string, bit of chalk and some axle stands. bingo diy alignment check.
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Sorry dudes, I'm typing to slow.. (could be the thinking actually) How do I go about getting it checked out? (body tolerance check? jig?) Davenger - giving up won't be happening, but if a re-shell is the best way to go then so be it (I hope this isn't seen as giving up, I don't see it that way). What is it that concerns you? (i.e. to consider it FUBAR in ur 2nd post) cheers dude. Screech - welding / tinwork, no bother! Structurally unsound totally bent car, I'm out of my depth I reckon. Really need to know in which camp this one lies / how I can find that out for sure. SOC - 'Ebay is still full of half done projects and no running gear stripped shells' - feel free to post 'em up if I'm not asking to much dude would love u long time (metaphorically ) Thanks again all HC.
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Responses coming in quicker than I can reply - cheers guys AutoFive - that was my thoughts initially BUT my current eBay watch list: rear quarter £99.99, door £30, NOS wing £35, outer sill £20 (all + post) so that's £185+ with many parts yet to get (screen, inner sill, floor section...) not that a clean shell would be cheap but would potentially leave parts over. However, having had a decent look over it tonight my concerns run further than the damaged area - the panel gaps both sides of the bonnet & boot are mashed (huge gaps on the damaged side of the car & pushed hard against the other). mmm, when you put it like that - i can see your reasoning i had a t-boned cortina once - i drove it until the MOT ran out - it was a bit like driving with one flat tyre and behaved very strangely under braking
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Someone just shot the elephant in the room.
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do you know if the boot and bonnet lined up to begin with? after all it is a ford and an old one at that. they may not have been right to start with.
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do you know if the boot and bonnet lined up to begin with? after all it is a ford and an old one at that. they may not have been right to start with. Yeah, no problems in that regard pre-crash mate, was a very clean one - never had any welding in the time he's had it and no obvious sign of any in the past. German built too so somewhat better put together (in no way meant as a diss to anyone elses). HC.
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Responses coming in quicker than I can reply - cheers guys AutoFive - that was my thoughts initially BUT my current eBay watch list: rear quarter £99.99, door £30, NOS wing £35, outer sill £20 (all + post) so that's £185+ with many parts yet to get (screen, inner sill, floor section...) not that a clean shell would be cheap but would potentially leave parts over. However, having had a decent look over it tonight my concerns run further than the damaged area - the panel gaps both sides of the bonnet & boot are mashed (huge gaps on the damaged side of the car & pushed hard against the other). mmm, when you put it like that - I can see your reasoning I had a t-boned cortina once - I drove it until the MOT ran out - it was a bit like driving with one flat tyre and behaved very strangely under braking Exactly my concern mate - I had a 2.0 16v Cav (brilliant car in the main) which showed signs of a repaired shunt. Looked tidy enough but when driving enthusiastically turning right gave normal-to-slightly excessive understeer and turning left you got massive oversteer (massive, like a Capri with one tyre fallen off ) 100% of the time. At least it was predictable.. HC.
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have you got some level ground and 4 good axle stands to put it on?
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