Tag Archives: Capri

Reflecting Good Taste – Lincoln Capri

From 1952 to 1959 Lincoln manufactured the Capri with 4 door sedan, 2 door coupé and 2 door convertible bodies only the first generation was manufactured from 1952 to 1955 the second from 1956 to 1957 and the third and final generation from 1958 to 1959.

Lincoln Capri, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Powered by the all new 160hp 5.2 litre / 317 cui Lincoln Y-block that replaced the flat heads in all Lincoln’s in 1952 the Capri when tested by Popular Mechanics reached 60mph from rest in 14.8 seconds, covered the 1/4 mile in 21.3 seconds and recorded fuel consumption of 21 mpg at an average speed of 40mph.

Lincoln Capri, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

To mark the Capri out from it’s competitors like the Cadillac 62 series, Chrysler New Yorker and Packard 400 teams of Lincolns were entered in the last three Carrera Panamericana races that saw them win the Tourismo Internacional class on each occasion with Chuck Stevenson and Clay Smith finishing 7th overall in 1952 and 1953 while Ray Crawford and Enrique Iglesias finished 9th overall to claim class honours in 1954.

Lincoln Capri, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

With the strap line “Everything about Lincoln reflects good taste” the 1955 Capri was offered with a 225hp 5.6 litre / 341 cui Y-block atop which sat a 4 barrel carburetor.

Lincoln Capri, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

There was no Carrera Panamericana for the more powerful Lincoln Capri to prove itself as a result of the 1955 disaster at Le Mans and so far as I know the model was never seen in contemporary competition again.

Lincoln Capri, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Today’s featured 1955 Lincoln Capri owned by Dick “El Flaco” de Luna was competition prepared by Dennis “El Gordo” Varni who fitted a modern 425hp 5 litre / 302 cui Ford V8 and all modern safety and handling equipment to the car which is now said to handle like a 4000 lb Porsche. The duo have competed on numerous resurrections of the Carrera Panamericana winning outright in 1999 alongside numerous class awards.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photograph’s taken at Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance in 2011.

Thanks for joining me on this “Reflecting Good Taste” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Ferrari that competed on the Carerra Panamericana in 1952 and 1953. Don’t forget to come back now !

Ken’s Samaritan Karma – Ford Escort RS1800

When Ken Jones set off from Nottingham with his mates in his 1970 3 litre / 183 cui Ford Capri registration “EVO 281J” to spectate on the Lombard Esso Scottish Rally in June 1976 he could have had little idea how his Samaritan spirit would either enter rallying folklore or be rewarded.

Ford Escort RS1800, Vatanen, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

Today’s featured Allied Polymer Group sponsored works Ford Escort RS1800 first came to the public’s attention in November 1975 when Timo Mäkinen and Henry Lydden over came several punctures and drove the car to victory on the RAC Lombard Rally to become the first driver and co driver pairing to win the Rally three times in a row.

Ford Escort RS1800, Vatanen, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

The following season LAR 801P was assigned to Finish young gun Ari Vatanen, seen at the wheel in these photographs taken at Castle Combe’s recent Rally Day, who despite crashing out of the 1975 RAC Rally was offered a shot at the 1976 British Rally Championship.

Ford Escort RS1800, Vatanen, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

Ari and co driver Peter Bryant went into the 1976 Scottish rally on a high, having won the previous championship round the Western Mail International Welsh Rally a month earlier and were leading the Scottish at the start of stage 13, but only managed to roll out of the stage after the crown wheel and pinion in the differential broke, depriving the rear wheels of any drive from the engine.

Ford Escort RS1800, Vatanen, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

These parts were hitherto considered so reliable that no spares were carried by the Ford Team and rival manufacturer Opel’s service chief Robin Turvey recommended to Ford service chief Mick Jones that he look for a 3 litre Ford Capri which would have the necessary parts in the back axle to keep Ari in the Rally.

Ford Escort RS1800, Vatanen, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

With time ticking away innocent passer by Ken Brown was flagged down by Peter Bryant and kindly agreed to let Mick and and Ari along with Fords Competition manager Peter Ashcroft take the pieces they needed from his back axle of his 3 litre and fit them to the stricken Escort.

Ford Escort RS1800, Vatanen, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

Ari and Peter set off with just enough time to remain in the rally, but with the rear axle ratio’s no longer optimised for the high rpm four cylinder BDA motor, they completed just four more stages before retiring from the event that was won by the RS1800 driven by Russell Brooks who finished ahead of another RS1800 driven by Roger Clark.

Ari and Peter went on to win the 1976 Manx International Rally which was enough for them to secure the British Rally Championship, Ari won the title again in 1980 with Dave Richards a year before the same duo won the 1981 World Rally Championship.

A couple of weeks ago I was at an event where Ford’s Mick Jones was one of the guests of honour and he recounted how after Ken Browns back axle was repaired the dealer had a mishap when trying to deliver the Capri back to Ken and so the damaged car was sent to the works competition department at Boreham for further repairs, when Boreham tried to deliver the car they too had a mishap and eventually it was decided to rewards Ken’s loyalty to the brand with a spanking new car.

Footage of Ken Brown’s 1971 Capri’s encounter with works Ford Rally team described above can be seen on this youtube link.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ken’s Samaritan Karma” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Mercedes Monday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Okay Yah – Ford Capri 2.8i

Several years ago I related how a school friend’s #44 Ray’s Toys Ford Capri 2.8i Production Saloon car gave me my first hands on experience of motor racing at the Willhire 24 Hours run at Snetterton in June 1985.

Ford Capri 2.8i, Silverstone Classic

Wandering around the infield at Silverstone Classic last year I was pleasantly surprised to bump into the very car that won the 6th running of the Willhire 24 Hours, having seen it go past many times from the pit lane it looked amazingly familiar and it was almost as if the race had finished the day before, such is the condition of the car.

Ford Capri 2.8i, Silverstone Classic

I believe the #43 Okay Yah Capri was first registered EVU400Y on the 15th of April 1983, I am not sure exactly when former short oval track Speedworth International Superstox driver Roy Eaton decided that his company, RE Developments based in Winnersh, Berkshire, should turn the car into a Class B, up to 3 litre / 183 cui, production saloon racer, but I believe he may have run the car in the 1984 Willhire 24 Hours in which he finished 3rd.

Ford Capri 2.8i, Silverstone Classic

For 1985 Roy chose as his team mates a former short oval track Hot Rod and Super Rod ace David Oates and an oval promoter with some rally cross experience John Clark.

Ford Capri 2.8i, Silverstone Classic

Opposition at the sharp end of the race came from two brand new cars a well funded Ilford Ford Escort RS Turbo driven by Mike Smith and Lionel Abbott which got as high as 2nd before dropping back to sixth and a very controversial, because of it’s cost and 16 valve heads, Mercedes Benz 190/16 driven by ex Formula One driver Mike Wilds, Mike Knight, Gerard Sauer and the cars sponsor Martin Carroll.

Ford Capri 2.8i, Silverstone Classic

The two Class A Rover Vitesse V8s and two Class A turbo charged Mitsubishi Starions might have edged the multitude of Capris present on paper, but they did not have the staying power to go the full distance at a race winning pace.

Ford Capri 2.8i, Silverstone Classic

The Mercedes did lead the race on occasion, but superior pit work by the RE Developments crew helped the Yokohama shod #43 Okay Yah Capri, which had been leading at 17 of the hour marks of the race, to cross the finish line two laps ahead of the Carroll’s Mercedes , completing 970 laps during 24 hours of racing in what was considered to have been the best Willhire 24 yet.

Thanks for joining me on this “Okay Yah” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking a Tyrrells 1975 Formula One challenger. Don’t forget to come back now !

Shadows and Reflections – Silver Jubilee Silverstone Classic

Today’s post features some of the more off the wall stories behind last months Silver Jubilee Silverstone Classic.

Bristol MW6G, Silverstone Classic

Greeting VIP’s in the VIP car park on the Friday was this 1962 Bristol MW6G (Medium Weight originally fitted 112hp Gardiner 8.4 litre 6HLW 6 cylinder engine). Royal Blue operated out of Bournemouth from 1880 to 1986, this coach is one of at least two owned by the White Brothers in Gaydon.

Jaguar XK150, Silverstone Auctions, Silverstone Classic,

On the Thursday I attended the auction, for the first time since the 1980’s, and among the lots was this 1958 non matching numbers Jaguar XK150 in need of a little TLC which sold for a tad over £20,000 pounds, or the price of a couple of brand new Dacia’s.

Cooper Monaco, Silverstone Auctions, Silverstone Classic,

Waiting ready to race was the Cooper Monaco chassis CM/2/59, its early history is unknown to me, but more recent owners have included Frank Sytner and Bristolian Ted Williams. The Cooper was bought for just short of £220,000 by Justin Maeers who claims he only popped in to the auction for the free beer. After Charles Gillet blew the engine in his Willment Climax the following day Justin came to an agreement to enter his newly acquired Cooper in it’s place for the Stirling Moss Trophy race. Starting from the back of the grid Justin unfortunately damaged the gearbox after just two laps.

Porsche 911 RSR, Cooke, Dowd, Silverstone Classic

When the heavens seriously started to open during qualifying on Friday many of us with camera’s caught in the rain went for some reflection shots, above the Martini liveried 1974 Porsche 911 RSR of Jeremy Cooke and Mike Dowd which qualified 32nd for the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car race was probably my best effort.

Shadow DN8, Jason Wright, Silverstone Classic,

It was a pleasant surprise to see not one but two recently restored 1977 Shadow DN8’s taking part in the FIA Masters Formula One race, above Jason Wright which has a two race history at the end of 1977 when Jean Pierre Jarier replaced Ricardo Patrese at the Canadian Grand Prix and finished 9th and Ricardo finished a non runing 10th at the US GP the following week.

Bugatti T35, Duncan Pittaway, Bentley Blower, J Ernst, Silverstone Classic,

Taking time off from running his monstrous show stealing FIAT S76 was Duncan Pittaway who is seen wheeling his #13 Bugatti T35 passed the #47 Bentley Blower driven by J Ernst on his way to a 7th place finish in the Kidston Trophy for pre war cars, from 8th on the grid.

Arrows Megatron A10B, Mike Wilds, Silverstone Classic,

Demonstrating the Turbo Megatron (BMW) powered Arrows A10B was the severely underrated Mike Wilds who just made it to Formula One with the struggling Ensign team then to BRM when BRM was collapsing and since then he has been racing all manor of vehicles including a Shadow DN3, Can Am BRM, Production Saloon 16 Valve Mercedes Benz 190 and numerous Sports and Group C cars at Le Mans.

BMW 3.0 CSL, Peter Mullen, Ford Cologne Capri, Rick Wood, Silverstone Classic

Alpina, celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year, took a famous RAC Tourist Trophy at Silverstone in 1973 when Derek Bell and Austrian Harald Ertl driving an Alpina BMW 3.0 CSL claimed a 3 lap vicotry over solo driver Jochen Mass in a works Ford RS2600 Cologne Capri, on this occasion Ric Wood in the 1974 24 valve RS3100 Capri got the better of Peter Mullen in the Alpina BMW on their way to finishing 20th and 24th in the Super Touring Car Trophy.

Rover BRM, Silverstone Classic

Completely unannounced the Rover BRM which Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart drove to a 10th place finish in 1965 came whistling by on a demonstration lap, I have no idea who the driver was.

Bristol MW6G, White, Silverstone Classic

Finally the White brothers 1966 Hants & Dorset Bristol MV6G was on VIP duty all day on Saturday.

Thanks for joining me on this “Shadows And Reflections” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another 1975 Formula One contender. Don’t forget to come back now !

Terry’s Jam Jar – Ford Capri II 2.0S

After selling more than a million Mk 1’s Ford Capri’s between 1969 and 1974 Ford gave the ‘Car you always promised your self‘ a new body with a shorter bonnet / hood and hatch back tailgate while retaining most of the original running gear.

The 4 cylinder 2.0 litre / 122 cui Pinto motor was offered as a half way house between the top of the range 3.0 litre / 183 cui V6 Essex powered vehicles and the lesser 4 cylinder Kent powered models.

The Capri II, like it’s predecessor was sold under the Mercury brand in the USA, it was taken off the US market after the 1977 model year.

The 2.0S, seen here at last weeks Bristol Classic Car Show, was available with came with standard alloy wheels, in 1975 a John Player Special, (tobacco brand !) limited edition was announced with gold coloured alloy wheels, the 1976 example seen above has similar black and gold paintwork to the JPS limited edition which mimicked the colour scheme seen on the world championship winning JPS Lotus team cars of 1972 and 1973.

The most famous Ford Capri II 2.0S, in British circles at least, was a white one that was seen on the Intro to a TV series called Minder, about London’s criminal under world featuring a crooked entrepreneur Arthur, pronounced Arfur, Daley and his ‘Minder’ Terry McCann who is seen in the opening sequences test driving and accepting a 1976 white 2.0S in return for his ‘services’.

Terry’s Jam Jar, cockney slang for car, registered SLE 71R was voted the 28th most popular TV car in a 2005 pole by Sky satellite TV viewers.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Terry’s Jam Jar’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Colonists Return – Ford Capri RS3100

The Ford Capri RS3100 was a road going performance limited edition of the the MK I (facelift) Ford Capri launched in December 1973 just two months before the new MK II Capri.

125mph performance was facilitated by a 148 hp 3090 cc / 186 cui overbored Essex V6 motor distinguished on 249 of 250 RS3100’s built with blue painted rocker covers.

This particular motor is described as having been rebuilt by Australian Bo Seaton with an upgraded steel crank shaft and balanced pistons, high lift cams, ported heads and twin side draft carburettors to take the power up to 190 hp.

The RS3100 was available in seven colours all came fitted with triple gold go faster strips and the four spoke 6 x 13 RS road wheels.

The interiors were not uniform with differences in seat belts, instrumentation and gear knobs, the black PVC seats and headlining were however common to all 250 RS3100’s.

This Sebring Red example, seen at Silverstone Auctions at last weekends Race Retro, is one of 50 that were exported to Australia between June and July in 1974, when it became apparent that a combination of fuel crises and the introduction of the new body MKII Capri was adversely affecting predicted UK sales.

This particular car is said to have clocked up 100,000 miles before returning to the UK in 2010. It is believed that just 46 of the 250 Ford Capri RS3100’s built have survived.

Thanks for joining me on this Colonists Return edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Niki’s Ford – Ford Capri RS 3100

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With apologies to my Rowdy friends who will have read much of this before, I hope you will agree that there is good reason for reposting this blog today. The Ford Capri RS 3100 was the final 1974 racing evolution of the Mk1 Ford Capri that was launched in 1969. It is thought that four RS3100’s were built by the Ford Competitions department in Cologne, Germany.

The racing debut of the RS3100 appears to have been by the Harry Theodoracopoulos team in the the 1974 Atlanta Six Hours where Harry and team mate Horst Kwech qualified 32nd but are not recorded as finishing the race.

A week later Ford’s Cologne factory team entered two RS3100’s at the Nurburgring Eifelrennen in Germany, where one time German NASCAR racer, ‘dega 1971, Rolf Stommelen & Toine Hezemans scored a one, two in the German Touring car championship.

Power comes from a 440 hp Cosworth developed GAA quad cam 24 valve V6 motor, a similar type was also used in European Formula 5000 races with some success. To improve engine bat aerodynamics and weight distribution the radiators were mounted ahead of the rear wheels.

Despite it’s high state of tune the RS3100 was generally outclassed by the BMW CSL ‘Batmobiles’ much as it’s predecessors the Capri RS 2600 and Capri RS had been in 1973.

This vehicle appear’s painted up at Goodwood as the #3 Niki Lauda used at the two Norisring races on the 15th of September 1974 where he finished 6th and 20th.

Toine Hezemans was Lauda’s team mate that day in the #4 entry who in a symmetrical reversal of fortunes came in 16th in the first race and 2nd in the second race.

Not sure how Niki Lauda who was in the first year of a Ferrari contract was allowed to race for the work’s Ford team given that just a decade earlier Enzo Ferrari and Ford had spectacularly fallen out over a deal in which Ferrari was supposed to sell out to Ford. These days it is extremely rare for a contracted Formula One driver to be allowed to race in any other category.

The RS 3100 differed visibly from it smaller engined Capri RS 2600 and Capri RS brethren with the addition of this large Gurney flap on the back.

I hope you will join me in wishing one of my all time hero’s Niki Lauda a very Happy Birthday.

Thanks for joining me on the Birthday Boy edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow don’t forget to come back now !