Dad bought it new, and now the next generation have restored it perfectly.
The Binns children grew up being thrown about in the back of this Capri with dad Michael behind the wheel. Sadly Michael is no longer with us, but his car is better than ever and a permanent reminder of the man and the great times the family shared.
One day in 1973, Michael Binns received a letter from HMRC to say that he had overpaid his income tax by £970 and a cheque for that amount was enclosed. Michael's wife Anne remembers this like it was yesterday, saying: 'Our Triumph Herald was on its last legs and Michael always loved cars with a bit of power, so he went straight off to Godfrey Davis in Neasden and came home with a Capri 3-litre GXL.
'Michael worked first for de Havilland and later Rolls- Royce. As members of their motor club, we used to go off in the Capri on a Sunday afternoon armed with a list of clues on treasure hunt style rallies. Michael was always an enthusiastic driver and used to do the ton sometimes. I remember him being stopped by a police car on the M1. They said: “Nice car sir, but there is a 70mph limit, so you really need to keep it under the 80-plus that you have been doing.”
'I didn't drive the car often as I am rather short and could not see over the wheel. One day I really wanted to have a try, so I sat on a cushion from the couch and had a go. I'd never driven a car at 100mph and rather fancied doing the ton myself, so Michael kept his eyes open for the law and I did it!
'Michael was well known for taking roundabouts hanging the tail out with a bit of opposite lock. Those in the back, usually our four children, had something of a dodgy time as there were no seatbelts fitted then. Our third child, Margaret, was often slow climbing in and she never managed to win the scramble for the centre seat. One day, whilst sliding round a roundabout in Hemel Hempstead, everyone sort of slid over to the left and Margaret's head hit the rear quarter window hard. Michael was actually quite cross because she knocked the window out of his lovely car.'
In 1983, traffic became a problem so Michael bought a big Kawasaki motorcycle on which to commute. The Capri was left unused in the garage, Anne's Peugeot 504 estate being used for family outings.
Daughter Kate was just seven when her dad bought the Capri back in 1973. 'Dad used to maintain the Capri himself and would often tinker with the car,' she recalls. 'He used to change the oil or fit new brakes for example. We would come home from school and find mum in tears in the kitchen surrounded by bowls of oil and things soaking. But I was often there helping him. The car would be up on stands or ramps and I'd hand him spanners, generally the wrong size of course and he would look at me and tut and I would put it back, then give him another and we would keep going until I managed to sort out the right one.
'One day when we were on our way to Devon for our family holiday, a stone shot up and broke a blade off the cooling fan, which pierced the radiator. Dad drove to a garage, bought loads of chewing gum and
NOVEMBER 2020
CLASSICS MONTHLY