5 WAYS TO MAKE IT BETTER

1 BETTER HANDLING

The Capri’s largely saloon car driving manners can be made sportier with stiffer springs – leaves at the rear, coils at the front – and dampers, as well as polyurethane bushes. A rear axle location kit will also improve the ride and handling over poor surfaces.

2 WEAPON OF CHOICE

The Capri’s long bonnet allows relatively easy fitment of a huge range of engines, with Cosworth BDAs and Rover V8s common. A popular swap nowadays is the four-cylinder 2.0-litre Zetec, which can easily provide more power than the V6s ever had but are lighter, more reliable and more efficient.

3 BETTER BRAKES

2.8i discs are an easy upgrade, while aftermarket parts that can take things further, with four-pot calipers for example, are readily available, thanks to commonality with most of Ford’s 1970s range. Land Rover master cylinders can also be used to increase brake response.

4 MORE RUBBER

The Capri’s 1970s roots are laid bare by most models’ relatively small wheels. Swapping the common 13-inch wheels for wider 15-allows fitment of wider, lower profile tyres, improving grip levels considerably. This will, of course, come at the cost of reducing the car’s desire to kick the rear out at the mere sight of a wet roundabout, so it all depends on what your personal priorities and requirements are.

5 IMPROVE THE ELECTRICS

1980s Fords were never really blessed with the best electrics in the motoring world, so you’d do well to replace wiring whenever you come to work on it, and pre-emptively replace anything that looks even remotely tired with sturdier, more modern components. Replacing the original fuse box for a better constructed item from a more modern car is a particularly good idea, as is fitting relays to obvious high-power circuits, such as the headlights.