1979 Capri Rs, saved from the crusher.

[marcar1993]

I got a call from a friend his uncle was going to scrap this rough but running/driving 79 Capri RS 302/4 speed back in 2015(?). I couldn't let that happen, so we scooped it up and I stored it for a while, passed it to a friend who bought some parts for it, then passed it off again, and eventually it came right back to me. So I got started with some basic stuff like tie rod ends, wheel cylinders, a section of fuel line, and a water pump. Fixed the hole in the floor the seat had fallen through! I drove the car a bit here and there, and aside from leaking and burning a quart of oil every 30 or so miles it proved to want to live. Even ejected the sunroof on the highway, damn rotted hinges! D'OH! But we've replaced it.




The theme for this car has been low buck upgrades. First was a 3.27 trac-loc 8.8 from a friend he was going to scrap (and another trac-loc rear to grab clutches from). We went through the 3.27 rear, checked all the bearings and clearances, scuffed up the clutches and measured them out to factory upper limit of spec for pack thickness and assembled a tight pack. We then installed the rear. My buddy drove the car home 20 miles with no issue. After getting home, we made it 2 miles and the engine lost all oil pressure: typical snapped oil pump driveshaft.



So then the car sat. Until we had the space to bring it back to the shop and tear into it. Along the way, some years ago, I got a partially complete 95 302 from a friend for free, he was glad I took it! It was sans valvetrain, but thanks to some great friends I was able to source 90% of the parts very cheap, as well as picking up a 4 cylinder t5 to replace the worn out SROD.






So finally we dragged the car up and tore into it. Seeing the sludge in this 302 I was amazed it ran as well as it did. We had just began putting the 5.0 together when COVID hit, and we closed down. Finally in September we got back on the project, albeit much slower than before, and now were getting ready to put it in the car soon.

[marcar1993]

The broken pump driveshaft: The pump was locked up SOLID.



Before COVID we got the B cam installed and thats about it. (I know its not the best cam option, but it'll sound good, not looking for a bunch of power here)
Since then we've gotten it almost ready to drop in.

[marcar1993]

UPDATE: 11/9/20

So we got the drivetrain in and learned a few things. The srod crossmember fit with the t5, no problem. We did cut and weld in a piece of c channel to make it a dual hump crossmember though.
Also picked up a set of fox headers from a friend that made the h pipe go right in, much better than fussing with the sn95 headers. We never even tried to line it up and see if it worked to be honest.

The floor only required a very small trimming up front to clean the front shifter bolts so they're accessible from above. I even think the stock shifter trim and boot should fit and cover the hole.

Were getting closer to starting it. Just some little things (ok a lot of little things at this point) and then we can fire it.

[marcar1993]

So here's some questions:

I have the conversion bearing for the trans to work, and I ordered a distributor which should work with the roller cam? Should be a steel gear, this will work right?
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...283500&jsn=457

Also, I'm running SN95 tubular manifolds, what do I do for downpipes? SN95 exhaust? I just want to make sure it'll fit, the stock Y pipe doesn't appear to line up, so maybe stock fox duals won't fit either? (catless)

What exactly do we need to do to modify the srod crossmember? I can figure it out once we lay the drivetrain in, but if there's some pics or writeups, that'd be great! Also, how much trans tunnel/hole trimming is needed?

[mmb617]

Sorry I can't answer your questions but I did want to chime in and thank you for the write up and pics as I like to see what other people are doing with these cars. As a fellow rust belter I'm surprised at how solid the body looks on that car. In that respect it appears to be in better condition than mine was to start.

[marcar1993]

Thanks, its rougher than it looks. I'm going to need to do some serious frame rail repair up front, and it needs a bumper and hood,, otherwise it is pretty solid.

Frame work will come eventually, first I just want to get it squared away and running. It will all come back apart in the future when we have time.

[mcb82gt]

That distributor says it has a steel gear, so that is correct, if RA is correct. lol

The crossmember is probably a single hump, need dual hump for dual exhaust h pipe. Not sure about sn95 headers, never messed with that stuff. "Assume" a sn95 h pipe would bolt up and fit, but dont know.

Good saving the car BTW!!!!

[at_the_junkyard]

FWIW I used the stock 95 mustang shorty headers on my son's 80 cobra (carbed 302 with 95 E7 heads) and just used a standard BBK off road X pipe. However I can't really remember what exact model number now.

I think I checked into it back then and the difference between the 86-93 pipes and the 94/95 pipes are quite negligible although they do have different numbers. I assume if you are going this route that you are basically re-doing the entire exhaust for complete dual so basically everything needs refitted to some degree anyway. I used mufflers and tailpipes for an 86 model but did have to do some slight modifications to hangers and such.

I believe all the ford stock shorty headers were essentially the same dimensions and the H or X pipe kits will all bolt up relatively OK. I know my BBK shorties on my other 80 cobra are interchangeable with the ford stock ones and fit up with the BBK pipe etc.

Hope that helps.

[at_the_junkyard]

Also you may want to consider getting a stifflers cross member mount designed for the 79-81 cars especially if your doing the dual exhaust. It is a real nice unit and fits perfectly although I'm not sure if SROD is a bit different mount than a T5.

[wraithracing]

Congrats on saving the RS and the progress you have made.

I have 95 shorties on my 79 PC. Mine are aftermarket BBK I believe. I was able to modify an aftermarket offroad H pipe to fit. My issue was the headers flanges seemed to be at a slightly different angle than the H pipe. So I cut the flanges off and rewelded them to line up better. I think I may have had to splice in a extra length of pipe to make it all work. The 79 crossmember is different than the later model cars so that can have an affect on fitment also. I would just recommend you mock it up and see how things fit.

As mentioned you will need a dual hump crossmember for the T5 for the dual exhaust to fit. You can use a stock later model dual hump crossmember, but you will have to cut down the mount tube to fit the early Fox transmission mounts. No big deal, a chop saw or sawzall will take care of it easily. I do recommend a set of poly bushings for the trans mount since most of the stock bushings will be worn out.

The transmission hole will need to some work if you plan on removing the shifter base with the transmission in the vehicle. If you can find a later model T5 car, I do recommend the transmission tunnel hump for the T5. It will allow you to cut the floor for plenty of clearance, then weld, rivet, screw down the hump for access and better seal with the transmission shifter boot and seal. Hope that helps!

[marcar1993]

Thanks guys.
I'm hopefully picking up a catless h pipe from a late 80s fox, I'll see how far off it is, and hopefully with few modifications it will fit.
I looked into crossmembers, and the plan for this thing is cheap and/or free parts, so well have to see what the stock crossmember looks like with the t5, I'm sure we can butcher it together somewhat safely!

Wraithracing, you're saying the only difference on the newer crossmembers is the tube ends are just longer? If so, I'll keep an eye out for a stock one, that's easy enough to modify.

[marcar1993]

Updated, see post #3