Lot details
Registration: ERJ 40Y
Chassis: WFOCXXGAEAECCG32554
Odometer: 84,000
Transmission: Manual
MOT: Exempt
- A very rare, unmolested example
- Standard specification
- Original 4-speed gearbox
- Been in same family for 33 years
- Full restoration 8 years ago
Here we have a very rare opportunity to get yourself maybe one of the best and earliest examples of the Ford Capri 2.8 Injection. The injection was launched in 1982 and this one was registered on 23/3/1983 making it a very early example. This in many ways is possibly the perfect car - finished in the launch colour of Paris blue over Stratos silver, a great colour combination and instantly recognisable as the injection model. It would appear to be completely standard with the pepper pot alloys and, most important, the 4-speed gearbox. This is important as most of them had a 5-speed box conversion, which is fine but very much takes away the originality - this is the one to have.
The Capri has a lovely story which the vendor has shared with us. The vendor went to his local paper shop one morning and came back with this Capri much to the surprise of his wife - this was 33 years ago. As they were recently married, children and life got in the way and the Capri was no longer practical so the vendor's father bought it and kept it for a number of years. He gave the Capri back to them some years later, at which point G.S. Escorts restored it to the standard we see today. For those who don’t know, G.S. Escorts are one of the country’s leading Ford restoration companies and very well respected in Ford circles for their knowledge and attention to detail. This was 8 years or so ago, and it is still in amazing condition as the vendor has hardly used it in that time and it has been stored very well in a heated garage / office. We heard a little secret that he goes and sits with the car with a bottle of wine and admires it - sounds like a great idea, but we think you get the picture of how it has been cherished.
For the 1982 model year, the Essex 3.0 V6 powerplant which had been the range topper since September 1969 was dropped, mainly because of ever more strict emissions regulations, that Ford knew the old Essex V6 design could not meet. A new sport-oriented version of the Capri debuted at the Geneva Motor Show, called the 2.8 Injection. The new model was the first regular model since the RS2600 to use fuel injection. Power rose to a claimed 160 PS , even though tests showed the real figure was closer to 150 PS , giving a top speed of 130 mph, but the car still had a standard four-speed gearbox. The Capri 2.8 Injection breathed new life into the range and kept the car in production 2–3 years longer than Ford had planned. The four-speed gearbox was replaced with a five-speed unit early on - as we know this is an early car with the 4-speed box) - and at the same time Ford swapped the dated looking chequered seats for more luxurious looking velour trim. A more substantial upgrade was introduced in 1984 with the Capri Injection Special. This development used half leather seating and included a limited slip differential. Externally the car could be easily distinguished by seven spoke RS wheels (without the customary "RS" logo since this was not an RS vehicle) and colour-coded grille and headlamp surrounds. At the same time the 2.0 Capri was rationalised to one model, the 2.0 S, which simultaneously adopted a mildly modified suspension from the Capri Injection. The 1.6 model was also reduced to a single model, the 1.6 LS, all this is very well, but it’s always a great thing to have one of the original cars and this is the one to have.
Some would say that the Capri has lived in the shadow of such things as the RS range and Mexico, etc. but we would suggest that the world has changed and now more so than ever before the Capri is very much rising to the top of the pile as the go to fast Ford, especially one such as this! A great car in fabulous condition with a lovely life story and lived very well in good care. You don’t often get an opportunity such as this, so don’t waste it, come and bask in the beauty of this stunning Capri injection.
Somebody once said “this is the car that you always promised yourself" - it would be rude to break a promise!
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