The Life Story of a Oyster Gold 3.0S Capri
The Recent Years.
1997
For some months we had been noticing an unusual smell. It only occurred
from time to time so it was difficult to find out what it was. But driving
the car along a straight dual carriage way (luckily so it happened) we
found out what it really was. All feeling was lost in the brake
pedal but Tom managed to stop using the handbrake.We then found that the
'smell' had really been a brake problem. The caliper had locked on and
had blued and warped the disc. So new discs needed! There were also other
brake problems and these were also repaired, so just as well it was a road
where it was possible to stop easily.
The cost of the brake repairs were probably half the possible value
of the car, but it was well worth it, as the car now brakes well and we
still have it in a driveable condition.
MOT : It needs welding to the near side front inner wing tip and
off side front chassis and also hole in off side rear jacking point. Carbourettor
adjusted to correct emissions.
1998
The annual MOT test due at the end of July was faced with great hesitation. It is nearly 19 now, so more welding and lots of new things to be done we thought, money and more money needed...sigh!
So we didn't even bother to look at the tyres, see if the lights worked etc., well in fact didn't even bother to check it out at all. The sort of the thing you would do if you had a car going for its first MOT at the tender age of 3 years not for veteran of many MOTs.
Well you could have knocked me down with the proverbial feather when I was told it had passed, yes, it did and I DIDN'T bribe the tester either! So I took my nice new MOT certificate proudly home.
This year has proved how good this car has been to us overall despite it various problems.. Not only has it passed with no additional expense, but it was also used during stormy weather. It was trusty and reliable in very poor conditions with driving rain and severe winds. The water leak onto my right foot seems to have disappeared, no doubt plugged with some of the mud from the lanes hereabouts, or could it be a rust plug?! :-(
1999
Still going well. Haven't done a lot to it apart from change the oil and wash it. But did put more Waxoyl in various places. A couple of bulbs needed replacing. The rust is starting to show a bit more now. But not bad enough to warrant spending too much on it and doing a respray. To pass the MOT it needed a bit more welding this time on the chassis near the spring hanger. The back rear brake was binding a bit as well. But it didn't cost very much to get it through it!
2000
Well this is when it hits 21 years old ! Gosh has it really been that long? And to give it a birthday present it is going to have a little tidy up, alias a body job. This means cutting out all those nasty rusty bits and having a nice new paint finish. Can't wait to see how nice it will look when it is done. Here are some photos of waiting for some attention.. it looks so sad. .
.
Before I took it to be restored the window winder packed up yet again. I have had a lot of problems getting a new one. I did find one scrap Capri that had a functional one but the rollers that fitted into the window channel were bigger than the one on my car. When I went back to get the channel that poor Capri had been squashed. :-( I did eventually find another Capri of the same year, a 1.6 white model with red interior that had one. I had to get inside a very damp and musty car and use a hammer of course to undo the screws that had rusted in. The rollers were the same thank goodness as it was not a quick couple of minutes job to remove it (as it was on my own Capri)
Collected it but first that dreaded MOT on the way home. Hmm well knew there wasn't any rusty bits didn't I, so had a sneaking suspicion it would pass. But there was a brief moment of worry when the emissions were checked but that just took a little tweak to get them back to normal and yes, it passed. I did have to wait while the tester rushed off to a false alarm as he was a volunteer firefighter. It was worth the wait as I found that no one was hurt or in danger while I was waiting and I got a new MOT in the end.
So now home and looking beautiful, the wheels are done too, even bought new wheel nuts. That took a lot of doing as the rims were in a bad state and there was a lot of corrosion. Photos now developed and here is one to look at for now until I get the rest scanned in. We haven't driven the car a lot since its restoration because it has been raining so much. We have had the wettest Winter on record. Also we have found that the car leaked! A barn owl was using the place where we parked the car and not liking very large bird objects on our new paintwork, I rinsed them off with water when I found them. The we found some damp patches inside the car. Lots of investigation found out the reason was a leaky windscreen wiper mounting rubber failure. This may have been the leak we had a few years ago but perhaps was blocked with some wax polish? We have now fitted mud deflectors in the wheel arches, though not a standard item for the year, think it is a good idea to prevent lots of mud going into the wings.
2001 Decided to fit electronic ignition (again) but a better one, hopefully, this time. Had a few problems fitting it, but now the engine is running well. New plug leads too. The car hasn't been driven much by the time it came to the annual MOT. Was booked for New Year's Eve, but had to delay it as the roads were too icy and didn't want to risk doing any damage to the new paintwork!
2002 The MOT test that should have been done in 2001 was delayed to the first week in January 2002. I had some problems whilst driving to the test. The car started handling badly, then the steering wheel kept juddering. I thought it was a brake problem. I then got brake fade and no brakes! So I stopped to make sure I wasn't bluing the discs. I drove it again and tried to free it by trying the brakes. This did help a bit and limped to the garage. He checked the brakes, but of course I didn't bother with the MOT as it would fail of course. The left front and right rear brakes need attention. Had a problem with the heater fan, thought the car was on fire as lots of smoke came up from the engine, it only happens when the fan is on boost so will have to endure the cold a bit until the car warms up as don't want to smell that horrible smoke again!
2003
A bit cold and the MOT ran out so couldn't drive it for a while, found the handbrake shoe had stuck in the drum so needed to free that before I could take it to get its test done. Arriving there I knew than an indicator bulb had gone, but thought that wasn't going to be the only thing that was needed and wondered when I would have to take it back for its retest. During the test another light was found to be faulty. No, not the bulb... a wiring problem, hmm, that could be difficult to find. The problem was found to be a faulty connection on one of the fuses. Next came the brake check, oh, wondered which one would be faulty..... none! And... it passed its test! Yes!!! Incredible, a 24 year old car had passed its test only needing one replacement indicator bulb and the loose fuse connection fixing. Another fuse was replaced during the test as it was found to be blown, but I discovered when I got home that it needed removing again as this was the fuse for the heater fan... oh dear better not put one in there again!