1976 Ford Capri 2.1 S Mk2 Bryan Piaskowski’s Replica

Restoring his dad’s Mk2 Capri in the garage at home, Bryan Piaskowski’s S replica is a period-perfect homage to altogether cooler times.

Words Gareth Charlton

Photos Adrian Brannan

MK2 CAPRI S TRIBUTE

Rebuilding his dad’s Mk2 Capri at home, Bryan Piaskowski’s 2.1S replica is a period-perfect homage to altogether cooler times.

If we compiled a list of cool things you don’t see enough of, a period-modified Mk2 Capri would be up there with free bars and canned ULEZ plans. Once almost the forgotten Capri, Mk2s have all but disappeared — even at shows they’re a rare spot. Thankfully, we owe the Piaskowski family a debt of gratitude for bringing this particular road and show-ready S replica to our pages.

“My dad bought it in 2006 and used it almost daily, so by 2014 it was getting slightly scruff y,” says Bryan, who explains that his dad sadly passed away in 2017. They had begun the rebuild together prior to his passing, which inspired Bryan’s decision to fully restore the car as his dad had always had it. A perfect tribute to the man responsible for getting him into classic Fords.

“Dad was Ford mad,” he continues, “so I was always around them as a boy. We went to car shows together and that’s what I wanted the Capri for. It had to be exactly the same as it always was and I’ll never sell it — although the previous owner has tried to buy it.”

The rebuild

As a welder and fabricator by trade, Bryan wasn’t put off by any aspect of the physical restoration, but as a tribute to his dad it’s been an emotional journey — the rebuild stalled for two years before he decided it was time to crack on in the garage at home.

Although far from being a basket case, the Capri required plenty of metalwork and Bryan set out to ensure that it would last — there’s a reason Scottish weather stereotypes exist. It’s a climate with a ravenous hunger for old or poorly protected metal.

The corners of the floors and both front wings required repairs with rust cut out and new metal welded in, and it needed rear arches, lower rear quarters, a roof gutter repair and work from the swage line down on both doors. Oh, and it wouldn’t be a Capri without wanting headlight bowls, too. All in all, Bryan favourably describes it as being, “Not too bad.”

In terms of building it to last, having stripped the shell of its running gear he went down the route of ‘Do it once and do it right’, thoroughly stripping, cleaning, etching and Raptor-lining the underside to help protect from the elements, and painting the axle gloss black. For reassembly, consumables such as track control arms were all replaced as he went along. Striving for concours perfection was never Bryan’s aim, and for a car that’s to be used regularly the underside now has a far simpler finish to maintain.

Up top, the finish is sublime. We love the period touches, from diamond-cut Revolution four-spokes to the grille badges, stickers and even the fluff y dice. The car is exactly how Bryan remembered it, just fresher. It’s a simple yet succulent recipe. In fact, the Diamond White respray is one of the few aspects of the build that hasn’t been carried out by Bryan, although he did paint the engine bay himself and has been helped along the way by a band of loyal mates willing to help lump engines and gearboxes about. Even the previous owner, who’d originally got in touch wanting to buy the car back, ended up being the person responsible for sourcing a new set of S decals — simple to source for a Mk3, but decidedly less so for the Mk2. Although never an S originally, the car had worn its period stripes for as long as Bryan was aware and that’s how it would have to stay. And who could argue? The black decals are the perfect complement to the Diamond White bodyshell and vinyl roof, which was restored along with the roll-back section of the Webasto locally. A brand-new headlining has also gone in to finish off the periodperfect interior.

“The back bumper was a nightmare, too,” he continues. “Dad had dinged it on a post at the house and we’d originally chucked it in the bin not realising how hard it would be to replace. I found the metal section in Ireland and the rubber insert somewhere else, but it took about 18 months to get the right brackets required.”

Period performance

Beneath the bonnet and nestled in the immaculate yet functional bay is a 2.1 Pinto. “The engine has been in since the day dad bought it,” recalls Bryan. “I just gave it a refresh with new valve stems, painted the rocker and replaced any seals.”

Spec is a tried-and-tested 2.1 overbore with an FR31 cam, headwork, four-branch manifold and electronic ignition, providing the perfect daily driver spec with sufficient poke to get you into a little trouble.

“It did have 40s,” Bryan continues, “but they never ran right so I fitted a new Weber 32/36 and had it set-up and rejetted by a local oval champion.”

A classic case of utilising the know-how of a proper expert able to optimise the setup of perfectly good parts.

“Mind you, I would have put it on throttle bodies with an ECU, but dad would never have gone for that so I’ve left it old school,” adds Bryan.

The manifold has been wrapped to help keep engine bay temperatures in check and feeds into a stainless exhaust, which incorporates a custom link pipe that eradicates any annoying banging off the axle or floor. Nothing disturbs a blissful drive more than thinking something is about to fall off (apart from something actually falling off )! With usability in mind, the 2.1 is connected to a Type-9 five-speed as an upgrade on the original four-speed. New Goodridge hoses continue the theme of focusing on the longterm and the fitment of refurbished Princess four-pot callipers are a further nod to old school classic Ford modification.

Elsewhere, the familiar combination of lowering blocks and single-leaf springs at the rear, with Bilstein coil-overs at the front, provide a stance that’s the perfect combination of aesthetic enhancement and Scottish-road-friendly ride height. Ongoing project

Bryan tells us that there are, “A few bits I’d like to improve as I go along”, but we think that’s the price you pay of being responsible for every single nut and bolt on a car: what could be a cause of sleepless nights and cold sweats for one person, might never be spotted by anyone else. For example, we could pore over this build for hours and admire the fit and finish of countless feature and show cars up and down the country and beyond.

It’s this dedication and attention to detail demonstrated by home-builders that provides the bedrock of Classic Ford. But please, could we have a few more Mk2 Capris?

Tech Spec 1976 Ford Capri 2.0 Mk2

• Body 1976 Mk2 Capri, remade S decals, chin and boot spoilers, vinyl roof, full length Webasto sunroof, period badges.
• Paint: Diamond White
• Engine 2.0-litre Pinto overbored to 2.1, Kent Cams FR31 camshaft, mild headwork, twin-choke Weber 32/36 carb, electronic ignition, solid fan, wrapped four-branch manifold, stainless exhaust, RS sump, high-torque starter motor
• Transmission Type-9 five-speed conversion
• Suspension Front: Bilstein coil-overs. Rear: single-leaf springs and lowering blocks
• Brakes Front: Princess four-pot callipers and vented discs. Rear: 9 inch drums rear. Goodridge lines throughout.
• Wheels and tyres Diamond-cut 6x13 inch Revolution four-spokes with 205/60R13 tyres
• Interior Original orange Carla check interior, fluffy dice.
• Thanks My wife, Alan at The Car Cave; George and friends who’ve helped late at night

“I’D FIT THROTTLE BODIES, BUT DAD WOULD NEVER HAVE GONE FOR THAT...”

HOMEBUILT HERO

With the rebuild partially in tribute to his late dad, Bryan was determined to keep it looking faithful. Bryan carried out almost all the work on the car, though the external respray was farmed out. Bryan did prep and paint the engine bay though, which turned out so well the rest had to match. The trusty 2.1 Pinto was stripped down and checked with parts replaced where needed. Meanwhile the running gear was also cleaned and repainted for the factory-fresh look.

Around this time Bryan wisely decided to upgrade to a five-speed. His dad would have approved.

Capri’s immaculate engine bay was prepped and painted by Bryan.

Revolution four-spokes are period-perfect.

2.1 Pinto is built to strong and reliable fast road spec.

Wrapped manifold leads to a stainless steel system. Mint Carla interior was stored in Bryan’s loft

for years until the time was right to install it.

REFURBISH NOT REPLACE KEEPING THE CAPRI INTACT

In a bid to prolong the life of his dad’s Capri and remain faithful to how he’s always remembered it, “I’ve tried to keep as much of the original car as possible rather than just replace everything, refurbishing wherever possible,” says Bryan. It’s easy to compile a shopping list and buy new parts off the shelf, but it’s much harder and ultimately more rewarding to build the shelf itself… For example, the radiator was cleaned up and repainted, the Webasto restored and old school Princess four-pot brakes retained, despite more modern parts being freely available. Likewise the stunning Carla interior, the perfect 1970s centrepiece, spent years taking up space in Bryan’s spare room before emerging for a deep clean and refitting.

“THE REAR BUMPER WAS A NIGHTMARE — IT TOO 18 MONTHS TO FIND ARE PLACEMENT”