READER’S RESTO: Capri
Stunning Cabaret brought back to life.
You never forget your first car. Martin Short’s was a 1600 Capri. “I was a second year apprentice carpenter and couldn’t carry all my tools on my Yamaha RD350,” remembers Martin, “so in 1988 bought a Capri Cabaret with 73,000 miles on it. When I traded it a year later for a Sierra I’d added another 21,000 because I drove that Capri everywhere. The registration was YPV 405Y but I imagine now it’s long gone.”
Martin owned various modern cars until he got the urge for another Capri. “I loved that Cabaret and I’d been searching eight years for another when one appeared for sale in 2014. I arranged to view it that Sunday then couldn’t wait so we went down on Saturday, did the deal and I drove the Capri home.”
Rear-ended
That car was CDU 245Y. The Cabaret was a special edition Capri available as a 1600 or 2-litre and including a number of GL and Ghia features. The Cabaret came with sunroof, boot spoiler, tinted glass and Ghia centre console. It sold between MayDecember 1982 while the Cabaret II was available from December 1982.
“CDU was a solid car in perfect condition,” continues Martin. “The first owner had it 20 years and it stayed in his family and was always garaged, I bought it from his niece with 34,000 miles. I did five shows with the car and it won two of them. In 2019 I added a pair of Weber 45 DCOE carburettors and ICS Powerflow built me a custom stainless steel exhaust. I was planning to get the engine refurbished but 120 miles later it was written off…”
“I was hit by a drunk driver on a motorway. We were in 40 mph traffic when he smashed into the Capri at over 100 mph in a 2017 Fiesta. I saw him in the mirror and turned off onto the hard shoulder but he still hit the offside rear, spinning the Capri completely round twice. It ruptured the fuel tank and even bent the front seat bases. Luckily, there was no one sitting in the back and my partner Helen and I escaped with cuts and bruises, although I was thrown forward hard enough to bend the steering column.”
This occurred two days before Martin’s 50th birthday so to cheer himself up he went online and by coincidence found another Capri Cabaret. “It was in Dumfries so we flew up there and I bought it.” That car is KOT 675Y.
Naturally, Martin was heartbroken over his other Capri. “It was declared Category B so could only be used for parts — not returned to the road. I reasoned I still had a really good front half and a large number of the parts had survived, so I set about finding a bodyshell. A chap sold me a decent 1.6LS body with items such as seat bases and glass.” Martin began swapping parts from his wrecked Cabaret into the LS bodyshell to create a Cabaret replica while keeping the LS’s registration of
A259 JFR. “Along with my brother-in-law Roy I stripped everything off the damaged shell. I even sold the roof and the floor to other owners; nothing was wasted.”
Two become one
“I own a Fiat motorhome and when it had previously needed paint and bodywork the dealer recommended Motts Body Repair, they’d mentioned restoring a Capri 2.8 so I now asked if they wanted to do the restoration work on my Capri.”
Lawrence Motts took on the Capri in October 2019. “Martin brought us the two bodyshells and I thought, ‘That’s dead,’” admits Lawrence. “But we don’t believe in ‘can’t’ and once he explained the plan we began picking apart the seams and welds and it became very enjoyable — like a big jigsaw. Martin kept in close contact sourcing the necessary parts as we used the best bits from the two bodyshells plus a quarter panel from another. There was a small rust repair in one wheelarch but no other rot.”
“We replicated details like the sound deadening pads and application of brushable sealer, the trick is to make it neat but not perfect — just like the factory would’ve done it. I can always tell if a car has been restored by the sealer and the way the doorskins are attached. We added more paint in the nooks and crannies than Ford ever did and Waxoyled it, but otherwise we aimed for a factory finish even down to the correct green paint on the brake pipes.
“Martin was great to work for,” adds Lawrence, “and very involved in the project, often coming in to help. The only awkward aspect was that we didn’t strip the car and he’d had all the fastenings anodised and they came back as one big box. We’d normally keep them in sets related to each area of the car. Fortunately, he lent us his other Capri so we could see which nut, bolt and washer combinations were used where. It left us as a complete car that Martin then got running.”
“Motts used the inner wings and scuttle from the crashed car,” explains Martin, “also the doors, front wings, bonnet and everything on the front end. Motts have tremendous attention to detail, they etch primed then painted the car in Diamond White — those panel gaps are perfect.”
Bits and pieces
“The Capri Forum were very useful for bits and I also bought pieces such as the tailgate from Capri Gear. The brakes are all new, as is the suspension, which now has roller bearing front top mounts. I managed to find most things without trouble, although the gasket for the brake master cylinder took some time. The multi-leaf rear springs were specially made to by Kilen.
The stripes are exclusive to the Cabaret model but fortunately Chris from Signace in
“WE AIMED FOR A FACTORY FINISH, THOUGH ADDED MORE PAINT IN THE NOOKS AND CRANNIES THAN FORD EVER DID!”
Colchester is a family friend and was able to scan and print perfect copies.”
Although the engine hadn’t been damaged Martin gave it some attention. “It’s the original Pinto fitted at the factory but it was running lumpy with the new carbs, needed decoking and I’d always wanted an unleaded head. Once I got talking to HPE Motorsport I realised it made financial sense to do any upgrades while the engine was apart. It’s now fast road spec with a lightened flywheel, Kent Cams camshaft, ported head and bored to 1630cc and good for about 115 bhp. While I was there they showed me a pristine rear axle they’d just rebuilt, mine was about to go back in the car but they kindly rebuilt it on a very tight deadline and added an LSD.
“While I wanted the car to look original I couldn’t resist painting the pulley to match the blue on the side stripes. There’s a Coolex radiator, JS Performance custom hoses and electric fan now fitted too along with Magnecor electronic ignition.” Meanwhile the four-speed gearbox got a refresh with new bearings and seals.
“The interior just required new seat frames and the oil pressure/water temperature gauge that HPE Motorsport insist I added. I did all the ancillary fitting while the electrical side of things was handled by Dudley Herbert; a good mate of my dad’s. Sanspeed in Bexleyheath then set up the car on a rolling road.
“Once I’d had the finished car inspected the insurance assessor, who had previously worked for Ford, remarked how everything looked perfect and original. Even down to all the welds being in the right places, which made all that work really worthwhile. As for the future I have two sons and they’re vying for which of my two Capris they’ll one day own — that won’t be for some time though. I love both cars equally; they both put a huge smile on my face.”
Thanks to: Helen for her help and patience, and Dudley and Roy for their assistance.