futurexdesign
05-09-2008, 08:06 PM
I always struggle with deciding where to start for a post like this. So I am just going to go for broke and start from the beginning. We will start with the justification for building this new machine.
Some members here may recall my current 1986 Capri GS (No, I don't actually expect you to..) Well, to say the least, my 86 has issues, a lot of them. While the 86 looks good from a distance, it suffers from many hidden flaws. The largest being the accident damage which lurks below what is left of the new paint. There is rust damage compounding the chassis twist, and all but nonexistent passenger side quarter panel. It has been 5 years since the car was "repaired" and the "new" paint has turned into a rusted bubbled out mess. I frankly don't even feel safe driving it anymore due to the rust and accident damage. But it sure does look good from a distance..
But this thread is not about my 86. The decision was made, a new chassis would found and built up into my dream machine.
The hunt for a new body was far shorter than I ever expected. My only real criteria were, that it had to be straight, it had to be a Capri, and I preferred it to be drivetrain free. The perfect car came up locally for just 500 bucks. It was a 1983 Capri GS. It was sporting a 302 at the time, but that was going to be removed before sale. The only flaw with the car? It had holes in the floorboards. A careful pre-purchase inspection reveled that while the floorboards were shot (due to a clogged sunroof vent more than likely) the entire rest of the structure was 100% straight and solid. I checked and double checked the subframes for any sings of rust, and found none. This car was solid.
After getting the car home, and procuring the resiquite Bubble hatch, we quickly begun the tare down. This car was going to get naked... VERY VERY naked indeed. :cool:
Considering the amount of work I've done so far... I am going to save everyone the pain of reading my dribble, and just jump to the more important stuff... The photos!
http://vb.foureyedpride.com/photoPost/showgallery.php?cat=852
(Sorry.. I'm not going to paste in 159 image tags ... its just not gonna happen..)
Stay tuned for more details!
Some members here may recall my current 1986 Capri GS (No, I don't actually expect you to..) Well, to say the least, my 86 has issues, a lot of them. While the 86 looks good from a distance, it suffers from many hidden flaws. The largest being the accident damage which lurks below what is left of the new paint. There is rust damage compounding the chassis twist, and all but nonexistent passenger side quarter panel. It has been 5 years since the car was "repaired" and the "new" paint has turned into a rusted bubbled out mess. I frankly don't even feel safe driving it anymore due to the rust and accident damage. But it sure does look good from a distance..
But this thread is not about my 86. The decision was made, a new chassis would found and built up into my dream machine.
The hunt for a new body was far shorter than I ever expected. My only real criteria were, that it had to be straight, it had to be a Capri, and I preferred it to be drivetrain free. The perfect car came up locally for just 500 bucks. It was a 1983 Capri GS. It was sporting a 302 at the time, but that was going to be removed before sale. The only flaw with the car? It had holes in the floorboards. A careful pre-purchase inspection reveled that while the floorboards were shot (due to a clogged sunroof vent more than likely) the entire rest of the structure was 100% straight and solid. I checked and double checked the subframes for any sings of rust, and found none. This car was solid.
After getting the car home, and procuring the resiquite Bubble hatch, we quickly begun the tare down. This car was going to get naked... VERY VERY naked indeed. :cool:
Considering the amount of work I've done so far... I am going to save everyone the pain of reading my dribble, and just jump to the more important stuff... The photos!
http://vb.foureyedpride.com/photoPost/showgallery.php?cat=852
(Sorry.. I'm not going to paste in 159 image tags ... its just not gonna happen..)
Stay tuned for more details!