Captivating Capri

Third time is a charm – that’s what they say. Take a look over this 1969 Ford Capri and you’ll start thinking there’s some real truth to that ol’ saying. On its third rebuild Terry Patterson’s Capri excels in every way possible!

Terry has had a long relationship with this classic beast. He originally picked her up in 1979 as a "$200 special." Needless to say, it required a bit of work...

In its first rebuild – which was back during the dawning of the ‘80s turbo era – Terry ripped out the stock 1600 motor and dropped in a 2.0 Pinto boasting a Garrett T03 turbocharger. Using twin SU carbs in a draw-through set-up, the car made good power – as demonstrated by a mid 13-second pass.

By the time 1993 rolled around Terry had enough reason to give the car another ‘freshen up’. Terry says this was primarily refining the existing package, but some of the new hardware included upgrade rods and bolts, metho/water injection and some minor body add-ons. This set-up gave low 13s, but Terry remembers that the twin carbs were temperamental and performance was extremely variable depending on ambient temperature.

Electronic fuel injection was what the car needed.

Before Terry got far down the path of contemplating a bolt-on injection manifold, he heard that a mate was selling a brand new Ford Sierra RS500 engine and Cosworth AWD gearbox previously destined to go into a Sports Sedan. No prizes for guessing which way Terry leapt.

Terry is a do-it-yourself kinda bloke and spent countless hours transforming the Capri into the magnificent machine seen today. The engine conversion was not overly difficult but we are told the biggest problem was fitting the big MT75 5-speed ‘box (minus the AWD transfer case). This necessitated fabricating a new cross-member and some tricky mount work. The battery also had to be kicked into the boot and a Holden cross-flow radiator was thrown in to cope with the heat exchange requirements.

The clutch was also the cause of some hassle, but the AP Racing ceramic clutch now performs faultlessly. Drive to the rear wheels is channelled by a custom tailshaft with an HSV centre uni and a beefed-up Capri rear joint. The diff is a "tweaked" Capri V6 LSD.

The engine was fired up using a programmable EMS management system, which was fitted and tuned by Vince Rigoli of V&E Rigoli. The EMS unit controls the RS500’s staged eight injector arrangement and the standard ignition. Fuelling the motor is a Bosch Motorsport pump drinking from a Plazmaman surge tank.

Extra power is delivered by a pair of Cosworth BD10 camshafts with adjustable sprockets. According to Terry, these improve top-end power without sacrificing too much drivability. The exhaust system is a 3-inch job with a heat bag on the turbine housing to help utilise every last bit of heat energy. A Plazmaman front-mount air-to-air intercooler (which is as big as would fit in front of the radiator) cools down the charge temp from the standard titanium compressor turbocharger. Boost pressure is two-stage adjustable – low boost is 12 psi, while high boost ups the ante to 18 psi.

In all that under-bonnet sparkle you might also see the GReddy blow-off vale (the biggest Terry could get) and a pod type filter. Terry says a cold air set-up is yet to be installed.

But the warm pre-turbo induction air doesn’t seem to knock around the engine’s power output too much. On V&E Rigoli’s in-house Dyno Dynamics chassis dyno the Capri has roared out around 315hp at the wheels on 18 psi. That equates to 410hp at the flywheel, which is more than enough for a late ‘60s RWD coupe. "Yeah, it’s pretty fun to drive," says Terry...

Thankfully, the suspension and brake departments have both been massively upgraded.

The suspension set-up is an interesting one. Terry has based his front design on both the original racing Capri and VP Holden Commodore. This involved making custom strut tops working with 2.0-litre RS front springs and Koni adjustable dampers. The multi-leaf rear-end has also been substantially improved and includes a custom made swaybar.

"Capris don’t have a good reputation for their handling but I’m really happy with the way mine goes around corners – I now want to take it circuit racing," says Terry.

A lot of work was also put into the Capri’s brakes. After much research, Terry decided to run with Nissan Skyline GT-R ‘kangaroo paw’ ventilated discs and associated callipers. The rear employs Alfa Romeo V6 discs. These anchors are visible behind gleaming 17-inch 3-piece ROH polished alloys wearing 225/45 front and 235/45 rear Yokos.

You’ve probably noticed that the bodywork looks a lot tougher than the average Capri. The side skirts, front and rear spoilers can be credited to Small Four Bodyworks. If the rear spoiler looks familiar there’s good reason – it’s based on the Holden SL/R 5000 design. Terry says the RS3100 Capri rear spoiler is simply too big – you can’t see anything behind it. Terry did the flared guards, bonnet bulge and various other subtle touches.

The Mercedes-Benz Diamond Blue paint job was done by a nameless company. Terry isn’t too happy with the end result – not that it looks bad on-screen!

The interior, too, has been gone over with typical Terry thoroughness. It’s all been revived with new carpets and coverings and the front seats were swiped from a Mitsubishi Scorpion. The rear bench is based on a RS3100 job. Terry has also installed custom woodgrain panels to house an array of VDO gauges. These show road speed, rpm, boost pressure, oil pressure, fuel level, coolant temp, battery voltage and EGT. A matching woodgrain Momo sports wheel, leather gearknob and fire extinguisher are also fitted. In Terry’s own words, the sound system is nothing special. "You can hardly hear it over the engine," he says.

Not that you’d want to drown out that Cosworth concerto anyway.

With over 400hp and suitably upgraded suspension and brakes Terry is very keen to throw the Capri into some circuit race action. "The Holden radiator is pretty heavy so I’d like to first switch to an aluminium radiator and I’ve got to get the crankcase breathing properly - but after that I think everything is done," says Terry.

Racetrack, watch out!

In recent years, however, Terry has turned his attention to restoring old cars – "the geriatric stuff," as he puts it. But don’t be too quick to judge this change of direction. Once Terry has restored these machines to their former glory we can easily imagine him heading out one day to measure up some injected turbo engines.

Then you never know what crazy stuff might happen!

Contact: V&E Rigoli +61 2 9756 3413