mostly rewritten post
A big thanks to my Dad Jerry Groves & my Uncle Jon Groves, both who helped so far a great deal. Uncle Jim Groves would've helped too if he were around today. Still a big thank you!
Once again, I managed to get in way over my head
Just few things about who I am & what I got---a quick intro about me and about my other half (85 Capri )
Small Personal Intro:
I love 79-86 Mercury Capri cars and I'm from New Jersey.
My FourEyedPride profile page also reads---"I love Mercury Capri's, I'm male, caucasian, 6'-2", 225-lbs, always single/I never grew up lol/no kids, hetero, 41, online & air aka Foxhunter 351 NJ. Intrests include Mercury Capri, vintage hi fi, high power radio equipment, vintage microphones, occassionally ladies, high quality music & cinema . . . (I like a lot more things but gotta stop typing somewhere!) . I also like a lot of things I can't have, but really want. It seems like I always have too many things going and am spread very thin on time & resources but try to do what I still can for side-interests & hobbies.
I live in South/Southern New Jersey about 20min from ATCO RACEWAY in ATCO NJ. I have often attended swap meets & car shows locally as well as the larger ones in Englishtown NJ, Maple Grove PA and Carlisle PA.
FourEyedPride
I've visited FEP as a guest many times in the past, first visiting the "Mercury Rising" section while it was still active. At the time I was online researching Mercury Capri versions made for foreign export. Also about that time I had run a couple of (unsuccessful---still looking) South Jersey Craigslist WTB ads (a while ago) looking for a nice 3-bar Capri grille/grill---as a result several people (FEP members) emailed me via CL, suggesting I join FEP and that the forum was "right up my alley". It was and still is
Unfortunately for MERCURY Capri owners, there's not "a sea" or wealth of parts & info available for the Capri like there is for it's cousin the Mustang. I really hate that. It seems only a small handful of websites even exist that are related to the various versions of this excellent car. I hope that changes.
Why choose MERCURY CAPRI ?
Although I know the production #'s ratio between the Mustang and Capri were very different, I think it's pretty much disgusting how little is available for FOX/FOXBODY MERCURY CAPRI RESTORATION PARTS (ahem ... vendors, WTF?). The Mercury Capri car has a dedicated following which anyone can see is becoming even stronger with time. For me this isn't a passing phase, I've been committed to owning & improving my existing 1985 Capri hopefully for life and aspire to add at least one of the Capri ASC McLaren or Pace Gran Prix versions in the coming years.
Regarding the unique, sleek, and sporty Mercury Capri ? I'm from the oldschool of opinion in the interest of preservation that generally an existing untouched 1983-1986 Mercury Capri with the unique sloped-glass aero rear windshield---aka the Capri "bubble" hatch---should be left alone as a bubble hatch fastback car and not converted into yet another Mustang hatch Capri and/or worse yet further converted with the Mustang hood and the later aero nose as well. It's a different story if the car has already had extensive changes made, there's nothing you can do but enjoy it. But leave those original stock or lightly modified cars alone! Save the Capri's! I admit a Capri-Mustang hybrid can look interesting though, for instance the Foxbody Mexico/Mexican Mustangs. But for preservational reasons, I like to see these original cars mainly left alone and I hate seeing rare Capri versions being broken up for parts to maximize profits.
Previously owned by me:
1971 Mustang Fastback 351C, brown
1973 Mustang Mach 1 302/351C, black w/silver graphics
1973 Mustang Mach 1 351C HO, rare all options, black
1983 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor 351W HO
1984 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor 351W HO
1988 Mustang 5.0L HO LX 3-Door Hatchback (Fastback)
Two other/make vehicles I currently own are:
2008 Dodge Charger Police Package Hemi Pursuit car, unmarked, heavy-duty/severe service package. My daily driver.
1965 Buick Riviera GS Gran Sport 425ci rare factory GS 8-barrel car, 1-owner, 50,187 original miles. Stored indoors last 10 years, outside prior. Motor preserved & always stored indoors. Location: Forked Neck Road & RT206 Indian Mills NJ 08088, a barn find 40 years ago. Needs full restoration
This does get mad street cred . . .
1985 MERCURY CAPRI T-Top GS 5.0L 4V New Jersey
VIN# 1MEBP79MXFF603349
Painfully, 3 years ago, I decided to try and save this once proud 1985 MERCURY CAPRI GS 5.0L 4V from the car crusher. I think many would either pass the problem along to someone else or would've broken up the car up for the parts market.
Well, in the summer of 2007 I was driving with my Dad and coincidentally was talking about Mercury Capri's when he said "hey look, there's one parked for sale right there!". I thought he was joking because you don't see many of them around and we were right in the middle of talking about an 86 Capri my Uncle Jon had. Well, after some thought I purchased this 1985 Capri for $3600, we found it along New Brooklyn Road in Winslow Township NJ 08009. The previous owner was listed as William J. Greiechen. Purportedly he had moved away to western PA and his friend was trying to sell it for him by placing it out front of the friend's house at the corner of Lakedale RD & New Brooklyn RD. The first bad sign was when the seller later refused to come up with the car cover that originally was included. A few months later I got the worse news while pulling into the parking lot at work. I went to pull off the street and into the driveway apron and the passenger side frame rail snapped in half and the driver's side frame rail developed a split.
That day my Dad & I discovered that, prior to me buying the car, someone had effectively hid 2 areas of serious frame damage with carefully applied & disguised metal and filler. What a rip-off. For me, the new owner, the car instantly became a near-total loss and facing either salvage or a major restorative operation. The frame rails had cracked in half in less than 9 months after I bought it. I was working 70-90hrs per week at the time, out-of-state mostly and was only driving the car an average of 20mi per/wk. In the end it was like some girlfriends I've had (a tease) and I never really got a chance to even enjoy the car .
Since, it's been an ongoing project and I'm "into it" $ now about twice what I originally paid for the car. Though it's not really an actual bonafide "restoration", still I am trying to really go over the car as much as I can. The biggest effort has been the complete removal of the engine & trans plus the steering system removed & replaced and the entire passenger side frame rail/fender apron & strut tower and the entire radiator core support completely removed & replaced. It involved drilling-out a couple hundred spot-welds each time as well as prep/fitting/and re-welding all the sections. The same effort & work had to be peformed on a 2nd donor car to provide good condition OEM parts. My Dad Jerry and Uncle Jon did or helped do a lot of work to help me save the car. If there's any interest, and if a number of you have ever contemplated doing a similar operation, I'd possibly post a few tips and things to look out for, geared towards anyone who might someday be thinking about saving a Foxbody Capri or Mustang with frame rail damage or rot.
The 85 Capri I own was originally built October 1984 as a T-Top Mercury Capri 5.0L GS. It had been somewhat lightly modified by the previous owner, mainly small upgrade stuff.
From taking it all apart and from the general condition & age of everything the car looks mostly original. It came 302ci 4V with T5 5-speed manual and 8.8 rear & 3.73 gears. Black with charcoal base, red accents. Tail lights have light gray fins. Two-tone gray halo sport seats w/red piping, gray interior. RS air dam w/Marchal 750 foglights. Capri RS raised twin hood scoop panel.
I rescued the hood scoop from a brown/rust colored 1982 Capri car that was hidden in the woods on Piney Hollow Road Williamstown NJ, at a local salvage yard bordering a NJ State Forrest. There I also found and removed an entire frame rail & strut tower from a blue 89 Ford Mustang that had already been stripped down of most else.
I'm going to resume working on this Capri soon (during the winter here hopefully Lord willing) and will be sure to add newer, higher-res pic's etc.
I LOOKING FORWARD TO POSTING IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE FORUM
EDIT: Looks like I'm going to be ordering a Marti Autoworks invoice for the car. Still, any & all help with deciphering #'s would greatly be appreciated.
I'd certainly like to post asking for help with my VIN# in the Production Numbers and Decoding forum
http://vb.foureyedpride.com/forumdisplay.php?f=52
SLIDESHOW:
http://s402.photobucket.com/albums/p...view=slideshow
LAST OF THE 4-BARREL V8'S
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