1974 Ford Capri GT 2.0L overhead cam Pinto

Summary:

It is a definite pleasure to own and drive

Faults:

Apart from minor dents, paint chips and police attention, nothing until one day:

The water pump packed it in;

The bottom end bearings went;

The head gasket blew;

And finally the cam shaft had enough.

So it's to the drawing board to build an ultimate street car.

General Comments:

This is a car for serious street racers who want a powerful, fast and cheap to run car without having to invest in a V8.

Capri's are extreme fun in the wet because the back end gets out of line very easily if you nail it;

Very cheap and economical sports car to run in today's world of high petrol prices.

The car screams look at me every-time it is taken out for a drive and at least one little boy in his Japanese import tries to race you.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th February, 2003

1990 Ford Capri SA 1.6 injected

Summary:

Looks great and fun to drive, but definitely not a sports car.

Faults:

Fuel gauge broken at around 140,000 km.

Often idles at around 500 RPM, shaking terribly.

One of the pop-up headlights had dirty contacts - it wouldn't go down until a mechanic cleaned them.

Passenger side window will only go down from the drivers side control.

Indicator/light stalk is oddly sensitive to any forward pressure and can flash the high beams when trying to indicate at night.

Both inside door pulls have fallen off.

Glove box handle broken off.

Electric mirrors sound as if they are about to burn out.

General Comments:

The Capri was based on the Ford Laser so mechanically they are quite reliable.

I have the Automatic model. It's a 3-speed unit and is rather fuel in-efficient.

61kw is not much power and the car must be revved very hard to extract any kind of performance. The engine also lacks torque so ascending a steep hill can be a painful experience. The turbo models are much, much quicker, but unfortunately they were never available with an auto transmission.

Despite its bad points, I do really like this car. Its fun in the summer time, looks great and is good to drive especially in city traffic.

A better buy would be a series II model from 91-onwards. They had a much zippier twin cam engine and a 4-speed auto.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 6th August, 2002

25th Sep 2002, 20:39

I would like to let you know that it was a great report.

I have a Capri '90, and yes, I have the exact same problems, they are as follows:

- The high beams are VERY sensitive, and when touched at night, the high beams flash on (very frustrating).

- Yes, my glove box is also locked, and the handle has broken off.

- My electric mirrors are too loud as well.

- The exact same thing happens to me, I can only put down the passenger window using my window switch.

- And the cover thing for my arm rest on the driver's side door keeps falling off too.

It's good to know people have the same problem with their Capri's.

Thanks buddy.

15th Jul 2006, 19:29

I had a Series II 1991 Capri Convertible with the twin cam engine and 5 Speed transmission. Wow what a fantastic car. I bought it second hand with 40,000km I owned it for 5 years and clocked up 200,000+km of very very hard diving and terrible abuse with the taco sitting in the red zone on every gear change and I never had a days trouble. This car was just unbreakable! Absolutely nothing went wrong, only normal servicing, tyres etc.. This vehicle may look a bit dated, but it is built like a tank. I sold it 2 years ago, and I still pine for it. Biggest mistake I ever made was selling it!

4th Aug 2006, 05:59

Hi, I am driving my second Capri, a 90 SA turbo, and OK, like all cars, it has a few problems with age.

Now I'm not going to extoll the virtues of these great cars, but I would like to let others know the interior door handles are available from Ford Australia or capriparts.com, or at least they were!

Safe and happy driving,

Grant.

15th Aug 2007, 23:06

I have a dohc 1.6 v which I have only had the pleasure of driving for 2 weeks before the gears packed up. I have been looking for a replacement transmission at a reasonable price, but there don't seem to be many or any dual cam transmissions for a 1990 dohc out there. G.

1974 Ford Capri GT 2.0 litre

Faults:

Diff broke, clutch cable snapped...

The kinda things you might expect from a 25 year old car.

General Comments:

One of the sexiest cars ever, and definitely the best Ford ever made!

"The car you always promised yourself".

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 17th July, 1999