Before I start my long story, I should explain the background to this project. I have owned a 1600 Capri XL (auto, white) since 2000 and since that time I have done quite a lot of work on it getting the car to a presentable standard, but having recently retired for the third time, I was looking for another project. Some members of my family thought I was a bit senile & possibly they are correct. I was really searching for a V6 manual to sink my teeth into but it is surprising how hard it is to find one that is reasonably original and reasonably priced. I had also figured out that with my more mature superior driving skills, I would be able to accommodate two Capris under my house. Others doubted this! So I looked for many months on EBay and all the usual magazines for a car that might be worthwhile saving & one that I could do most of the work on & more importantly, not drain completely my hard earned super funds. This story is the result of my log that I wrote, or remembered to write, after each time I worked on the car. I made 126 entries so that means on at least 126 times I worked on this project and perhaps, 500 – 600 hours stuffing around!!!
Finding the car. One evening in October 2008 when completing my usual scan of the EBay pages, I saw this new posting for a 1600 ‘poverty pack’ manual. It wasn’t really what I was looking for but the advert had quite a number of pictures included & these all suggested that the car was pretty original with most of the parts there. Not much rust was evident but the front right hand guard was a bit bashed in (as per the photo) & the paint (Jewel Green) was faded with the top clear coat peeling. Still, it wasn’t a V6! I looked at it again & it was located on the outskirts of Ipswich & this also meant I wasn’t going to be up for a huge towing bill. It also had a “Buy Now” price of $3000 listed. I thought this was a bit much but considering I had missed a similar car a few weeks earlier that went for $2500 & the body didn’t appear to be as good. I am not really fused on the auctions as I have missed out at the last moment & the ‘Buy Now’ option was appealing. What could I lose? I could sell the body parts and recoup my losses! So, after sitting very quietly for a few minutes, I did something I have advised others not to do – I pressed the ‘Buy Now’ button & committed to buying the car. I then went quietly upstairs and muttered to my wife that I had done something a very stupid thing. After some straight words of advice, she then wanted to see the pictures of this ‘bomb’. There was one really positive aspect however, & I was informed that she really liked the colour. I was somewhat relieved that this was a positive feature that I could work on. I then phoned the guy who had advertised the car who was quite shocked that I had already bought the car as it had only been listed for 30 minutes. He assured me that it was all good & that there was very little rust and that the car had been sitting for the last 3 years after the accident. He had bought it recently from the previous owner of many years (and obviously made a tidy profit!). We then arranged for a tilt tray to pick it up & I would be the new owner of this unknown 38 year old car!
The next couple of days were pretty stressful as I opted not to go up & see the car but just let it turn up on the tow truck. I must admit though, when it did arrive at the appointed time, I was pleasantly surprised after a quick inspection of the body revealed things were as the pictures described. All the panels were pretty straight apart from the front guard & there was very little rust evident. The interior fittings, seats & trim were also as described. The motor was complete but not going so I had the car unloaded in a place that allowed me to work on it without stuffing up my yard too much. What wasn’t really evident in the pictures was the amount of rubbish in the car. It looked like it had been a storage shed for animal feed as there was straw & crap everywhere. The boot was full of junk including a spare gearbox. I wondered what the significance of this really was as I had no idea how the car would drive, if the engine would work or whether the drive train was functional. What had I done?
LESSON 1: Don’t buy on EBay sight unseen & ensure that the seller can provide some proof of ownership. In Queensland, it is difficult to obtain the history of cars made before 1989 and a REVS Check is not really all that useful.
Finding the car. One evening in October 2008 when completing my usual scan of the EBay pages, I saw this new posting for a 1600 ‘poverty pack’ manual. It wasn’t really what I was looking for but the advert had quite a number of pictures included & these all suggested that the car was pretty original with most of the parts there. Not much rust was evident but the front right hand guard was a bit bashed in (as per the photo) & the paint (Jewel Green) was faded with the top clear coat peeling. Still, it wasn’t a V6! I looked at it again & it was located on the outskirts of Ipswich & this also meant I wasn’t going to be up for a huge towing bill. It also had a “Buy Now” price of $3000 listed. I thought this was a bit much but considering I had missed a similar car a few weeks earlier that went for $2500 & the body didn’t appear to be as good. I am not really fused on the auctions as I have missed out at the last moment & the ‘Buy Now’ option was appealing. What could I lose? I could sell the body parts and recoup my losses! So, after sitting very quietly for a few minutes, I did something I have advised others not to do – I pressed the ‘Buy Now’ button & committed to buying the car. I then went quietly upstairs and muttered to my wife that I had done something a very stupid thing. After some straight words of advice, she then wanted to see the pictures of this ‘bomb’. There was one really positive aspect however, & I was informed that she really liked the colour. I was somewhat relieved that this was a positive feature that I could work on. I then phoned the guy who had advertised the car who was quite shocked that I had already bought the car as it had only been listed for 30 minutes. He assured me that it was all good & that there was very little rust and that the car had been sitting for the last 3 years after the accident. He had bought it recently from the previous owner of many years (and obviously made a tidy profit!). We then arranged for a tilt tray to pick it up & I would be the new owner of this unknown 38 year old car!
The next couple of days were pretty stressful as I opted not to go up & see the car but just let it turn up on the tow truck. I must admit though, when it did arrive at the appointed time, I was pleasantly surprised after a quick inspection of the body revealed things were as the pictures described. All the panels were pretty straight apart from the front guard & there was very little rust evident. The interior fittings, seats & trim were also as described. The motor was complete but not going so I had the car unloaded in a place that allowed me to work on it without stuffing up my yard too much. What wasn’t really evident in the pictures was the amount of rubbish in the car. It looked like it had been a storage shed for animal feed as there was straw & crap everywhere. The boot was full of junk including a spare gearbox. I wondered what the significance of this really was as I had no idea how the car would drive, if the engine would work or whether the drive train was functional. What had I done?
LESSON 1: Don’t buy on EBay sight unseen & ensure that the seller can provide some proof of ownership. In Queensland, it is difficult to obtain the history of cars made before 1989 and a REVS Check is not really all that useful.
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