Restomod 210bhp 2.9-litre 24-valve V6 Cosworth BOB engined 1982 Ford Capri Mk3

This restomod Capri is at once quintessentially British and wonderfully multicultural, shaking off the conventions of the scene to create something unique.

Words Daniel Bevis

Photos Adrian Brannan

RESTOMOD CAPRIMk3 gets 24-valve V6 and much more.

COSWORTH CAPRI – UK

THE GREAT BRITISH SHAKE OFF

Picture the scene: it’s Christmas Day, and you’re unable to move from the sofa. Stuff ed with roast spuds, brimmed with gravy and with a paper crown atop your bonce, you’ve watched the royal speech and now the credits are rolling on the Only Fools & Horses special, Miami Twice from 1991 in which Delboy’s stopped his Capri from rattling by giving it a fi rm slap. You flick over to ITV and bingo, there’s a Professionals re-run with Bodie and Doyle skidding about in a 3.0S. Could there be a more quintessentially British afternoon? The Capri has always been a vital part of Brit culture, of course. We may not have got the myriad V8-powered muscle cars that Ford of America was churning out through the 1960s and 1970s, but we had the Capri instead: our very own V-engined muscle car with slinky hips and priapic proportions, forever associated with Dagenham wideboys and Chelsea Bridge.

Naturally another key part of British culture is a rich stew of multiculturalism, and that’s very much in evidence with the Capri you see here. Its paint is Italian, the interior came from a German car (which was actually built in Hungary), the rear spoiler is French, and the engine is a German unit that was remastered by a British engineering outfit. If you want to put names on all of these elements, we can variously list them as Ferrari, Audi, Peugeot and Cosworth. And that’s perhaps the most British part of all – look at our modifying scene of the 1980s and 1990s, and how it’s evolved across the generations to the 2020s: the coolest cars have always been the ones that were reimagined right here using a whole variety of ideas from across the globe.

“THE REAR SPOILER IS A MODIFIED PEUGEOT 405 ITEM THAT I THINK SUITS THE CAPRI REALLY WELL”

Long association

Adrian Crockett is a man keenly in tune with this mindset. His Capri is essentially the expression of all of his automotive and cultural experiences thus far: “I’ve always been into cars and have worked in the trade all my life,” he says. “When I was young I modified my cars with loud exhausts and loud stereos, as you did; more recently I restored a rust-bucket Mk2 XR2 in 2017 and took that to all the shows.” After this, Adrian was keen to build a restomod – a classic car with a modern flavour; an interpretation of what the manufacturer would be making if the model in question was still in production today. Was this idea always destined to be applied to a Capri? Well no, actually… it happened more by chance.

“THE COOLEST CARS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE ONES REIMAGINED USING IDEAS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE”

“I’d already bought this engine and gearbox and got it running in my garage,” he explains. “A colleague had a Capri and I could see the amount of space in the engine bay, so that was decision made and I started searching. I wasn’t bothered about the condition of the paint or the engine as that was all going to change, I just wanted a good, solid Capri – and I found this one on Gumtree, a green-and-silver 1.6 Calypso that had been overpainted in thick white emulsion. It had been stored in a garage for 15 years.”

“I don’t know the reason for the emulsion, but after sanding it all back to bare metal I think it may have saved the panels; there was only one rust hole, about the size of a 50p piece on the offside wing.”

BOB-on

Hoiking out the old Pinto and mouse-eaten seats, Adrian got straight to work. A PAS V6 crossmember went in so the engine mounts and power-steering were in-situ, and with a slight modification to the gearbox mount, the Cosworth BOB drivetrain was lowered in… which led to the first problem. The previous owner had lowered the car 2 inches, and with the heavier engine and ’box, Adrian couldn’t get the jack out! He eventually managed it with a bit of ingenuity, which led him down the path of figuring out what suspension to run in order to give a sensible amount of clearance. The fuel system also required a bit of head-scratching, as it originally only had a feed pipe and mechanical pump and really needed a return line, electric pump and mods to the tank. Moving on to the wiring and cooling system, everything was neatly coming together with a lot of tweaks and by the point that it was time to turn the key, Adrian found himself with a nice little runner. There was still a lot to do though, and he was becoming increasingly creative as the project progressed.

“People like to fi t Princess callipers, and I did a lot of research into that,” he says. “Although they are four-pots, the actual surface area isn’t all that different to 2.8i callipers; I found a thread on a forum where someone was talking about using Toyota Hilux four-pots and, although the thread was never continued, I saw that a pair of brand-new Hilux callipers were only Åí60 so I thought I’d give it a go. With slight modification they fitted fine with 2.8i vented discs; the brake pedal travel was very long though, so I upgraded to a Land Rover Defender master cylinder.”

TT-time

When it came to the interior, it was once again a case of finding inspiration online and then using bargain parts to make it a reality. Having seen a picture of a Capri with Mk1 Audi TT seats, Adrian found some for sale for £80 – much less than a set of Recaros. The fronts went in with only minimal mods and, while the rear bench was horrendous to fit, it’s in there now and it split-folds properly! And this kind of ingenuity can be found all across the subtle but detailed exterior, too.

“The rear spoiler is a modified Peugeot 405 item that I think suits it really well,” he says. “The car’s got universal rear spats cut down to size, and people are often surprised to learn that the sideskirts are made from square ABS plastic guttering downpipes. The front and rear bumpers have had an inch cut out so they sit flush and they no longer return around the sides to give it a cleaner look – and the front bumper is actually a rear one which doesn’t have the indicator cutouts, as those are now integrated into the LED headlights.”

With everything assembled, fitted and road-tested, Adrian stripped the car back down again to prep for paint. It took a while to decide on the colour, but after visiting a Ferrari dealership to check how Rosso Corsa looked in various lights, that was the clear choice. And with it all back together and winning awards, Adrian still has plenty of plans: in addition to the central locking and reversing camera, he’s going to be adding heated seats, auto headlights, auto wipers and electric windows. Because this restomodding can get a bit addictive.

It’s true British grit and determination that’s got the Capri to this stage, and that’s exactly what’ll keep raising the game.

Tech Spec

• Body 1982 Ford Capri 1.6 Calypso, modified Peugeot 405 rear spoiler, front splitter, custom sideskirt lips, modified rear spats, rear diffuser with reversing camera, smoked-lens LED headlamp units incorporating angel eyes and indicators, door handle lights (illuminate upon unlock), custom rear bumper mounted to front (no indicator cutouts); front and rear bumpers trimmed by 1 inch and wraparound ends removed, aerial removed and smoothed. Paint: Ferrari Rosso Corsa
• Engine 2.9-litre 24-valve V6 Cosworth BOB, colour-coded engine cover, oil catch can, modified Sportex 2.8i stainless exhaust system (rear boxes removed)
• Transmission Hybrid MT75 five-speed manual, standard Atlas axle with 3.?:1 cwp
• Suspension Front: 2.8i struts with uprated -1 inch springs. Rear: multi-leaf springs, lowered 0.5 inches, adjustable dampers
• Brakes Front: Toyota Hilux four-pot callipers, 2.8i vented and grooved discs. Rear: 9 inch drums. Land Rover Defender master cylinder
• Wheels and tyres 8x15 inch JBW RS4 wheels, Avon ZV7 195/50R15 tyres
• Interior Audi TT front and rear seats trimmed in leather and Alcantara, double-DIN head unit/sat-nav/camera display moulded into ashtray area
• Thanks To Visick Cars of Eastbourne, and RPM Body Shop

Red and black colour scheme continues on the inside. Adrian’s super-chuffed with how the Mk3 has turned out. Below: fancy a race? Audi TT front seats were easy to install, the rears less so…

LED headlights incorporate the indicators, too. Cut down bumper is actually a tweaked rear one. Made you look...

The 24-valve V6 looks great in the bay thanks to Adrian’s eye for detail. Rosso Corsa paint looks great — on the bodywork and engine.

15 inch four-spokes perfect for the restomod look.

THE GERMAN MOTOR WITH A BRITISH TWIST THE BOA AND BOB ENGINES

Adrian’s engine choice is simply perfect for this car. The 2.8i Capri was powered by the German-built Cologne V6, and in 2.9-litre Cosworth guise – as we see here – it was an impressive evolution.

Developed in the UK by Cosworth, the BOA engine (above) was created for the Scorpio Cosworth 24v, slightly increasing the displacement as well as adding twin-cam heads on each bank. The result of all this was a meaty 195 bhp, and when the Scorpio received a facelift in 1995, so did the engine: a variable-length intake system was developed to increase power to 210 bhp for the variant you see here: the BOB.