The 1960s through the 1980s could arguably be called a golden age for sports coupes. Everything from the tiny DAF 55 coupe, to the iconic Ford Mustang, and the mile-swallowing Lamborghini Espada. Relatively speaking, we have very few options now, and most are either top-end luxury cars, based on sedans like the BMW 4-series, or just plain boring (hello, Altima). Of course, vehicle types like hot hatches and sports sedans have jumped in to take their place, but that ignores the aesthetics you just don’t get with a hopped up sedan or econobox. So it’s nice to look back at cars like the Ford Capri – an accessible, sporting and fun to drive sporty car in which you can take your friends along for the ride. Check out this 1974 Ford Capri, for sale for $3500 in Los Gatos, CA.
Brown with orange accents – could you possibly get a more 70s-typical color scheme? This car looks to be in generally good original condition, needing only some cleaning and refinishing to really make it pop. Restoring the Rostyle wheels would go a long way to accomplishing that, and with their ubiquity on MGs, there are plenty of online tips on how to do so. And while it’s pretty cool Mercury/Ford had the foresight to install color-keyed bumpers, the car sure looks (and is) a lot lighter without them – could some European bumpers be adapted?
The interior shows some wear, mostly in the form of sun damage, but some cleaning could bring it a long way. Either way, the ubiquity of Capris in Europe should make it easy to get an upholstery kit that maintains the same patterns and materials. It’s nice to see this car has a 4-speed manual transmission – so many North American survivors are lumbered with an automatic, which is only nice if you spend a lot of time in heavy traffic.
The car is said to run and drive well, but no details are given as to recent maintenance or repairs. Most Capris have not survived this long without some kind of damage, so it seems likely this one spent some time in storage to have survived in such original condition. And unless you can reproduce those awesome period graphics, it’s probably not worth repainting the car – your time is better spent tidying up the engine compartment and interior to give the look and feel of a car that’s enjoyed nothing but love over the years.
Looks good from this angle too. It’s actually rather strange how a car that enjoyed reasonable success in North America and is based on simple, straightforward mechanicals, has largely disappeared from American roads. Perhaps that is exactly what’s responsible for the attrition – cheap, simple cars tend to get used up and thrown away. But sporty cars are often cherished – how many do you suppose survive?
Rusty But Trusty 
April 18, 2014 at 10:37 am |
Wow, I can’t recall the last time I saw one of these in the wild.(Capris rusted with much enthusiasm even here in Fla.) It does look to be in really good shape but the brown color is very unfortunate.