I'll just leave this here and retire to a safe distance...

Fastest I’ve ever been in a car was in a brooklands capri

I wasn’t driving- it was when capri weren’t cool and my mates dad owned it

I was taking the p155 out of it. After that I had a begrudging respect for it
 
bigwinn said:
Fastest I’ve ever been in a car was in a brooklands capri

I wasn’t driving- it was when capri weren’t cool and my mates dad owned it

I was taking the p155 out of it. After that I had a begrudging respect for it
Click to expand...
And they handled even worse than normal with the stupid 15 inch alloys on. Totally messed up what little handling the car had.
My 2.8i Special had fatter front and rear ARBs, Strut brace, and a Skorpion X-Frame that triangulated the rear axle. Worked so well I usually lost the front end first. Straight line no quicker than the 280, but my claim to fame was chasing a Mk1 Golf GTI round some twisty bends until he stuck it in a hedge.
Best and cheapest mod though was Austin Princess 4-pot front callipers with Tarox 40-groove front discs and matching pads.
 
My chum had one. Wrote it off by sliding it down the road on its roof….is only injury was where his squash racquet bashed him on the back of his head as it made its way out of the window.
 
I had two early 4 speed Capri 2.8 Injections and absolutely loved them. :D

Managed to get one off the clock on the M25 (those were the days) although a spirited launch at a set of traffic lights did blow the diff up! And the standard brakes were pretty hopeless. 13" wheels didn't help - bigger wheels and front brakes would have been a huge improvement.

But having said that I would probably have preferred a TR8 Coupe if there had actually been any as I also had fond memories of that V8 from my Rover P6B 3500S, although it was slightly less powerful than the 2.8i.

Although when I got my E46 325ti in 2014 it occurred to me it did everything that the Capri did but better, faster and actually more economically, apart from the looks. But that's more of a reflection of another 20 years of development!

Based on my last drive in a Capri maybe 6 or 7 years ago I realised it was something to enjoy in it's time but best left as a memory.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: B21
An old friend of mine had a 2.8i Capri with a cherry bomb exhaust at a time when Capris were pretty much worthless. It was quite an experience but deeply antisocial!
 
Why is every one chatting about Capri's. Is there an elephant in the room I can't see.? I can see that shirt btw :eek:
 
buzyg said:
Why is every one chatting about Capri's. Is there an elephant in the room I can't see.? I can see that shirt btw :eek:
Click to expand...
Strange how life works out..

In 1978-79 I was doing my last year at Uni and for various obscure reasons we ended up living on a farm in Bishop Burton not far from Hull.

The old farmer (he was 26) let us drive most of the vehicles he had, battered Mini pick up, various tractors and a Mk 1 1.6 Capri..he'd bought a Mk 20i Capri..generally I tooled around in the 1.6L ..we rarely had access to the 20i.. then.. 2 years later I had just started my second job with BL's computer division and had the first of many TR7 drop heads.

To me the Crapi was form over function..the TR7 was much prettier, handled better and looked in my eyes far classier than the Dagenham Dustbin.

It was , IMHO, a big mistake both to delay the drop head for several years and bin the UK version of the TR8.

Ironically in 2016/17 it was my search for a TR7/TR8 that ended up with my AY 20i MSport..

Funny world..

1765906637702.pngIMG_2938.JPGYellow TR7.jpgIMG_3976.jpegIMG_3774.JPG1765906637702.png
 
My first car was a 1.6 'L' 1980 Crapi in beautiful beige. It was far and away the worst car I've ever owned. It was five years old at the time. It wasn't a terrible Crapi, just that Crapis were terrible. It was so bad to drive that my Dad insisted on it being inspected by our local garage on a ramp to see if there was anything dangerous. The mechanic gave it a clean bill of health. My old man told him it handled like the chassis was bent. The mechanic responded with "yeah they all feel like that".
I quickly moved on to FWD Escorts of the 'hot hatch' variety. Chalk and cheese to a Crapi.

I would buy a genuine TR8 coupe if there were such a thing in the UK. Every 'TR8' I have seen for sale has been either a Grinnell conversion or a home conversion. Neither of which floats my boat TBH. I did miss out on a very nice TR7 with a sprint conversion recently which sold for very cheap money, considering.
 
My older brother had a red Capri 2.8 injection..........(sounded lovely and looked cool as penguin pi55)

When I think of a TR7, I just think of the V8 Tony Pond used to rally.
 
JonVR46 said:
My older brother had a red Capri 2.8 injection..........(sounded lovely and looked cool as penguin pi55)

When I think of a TR7, I just think of the V8 Tony Pond used to rally.
Click to expand...
Yup he was very active at the time I had mine..
 
Jollyjoiner said:
Hi B21, would that be a mid 80's Kawasaki z1000 possibly z1000r I see in the background then ? I used to have one of those 30 years ago
Click to expand...
Yes it’s was my GpZ 1100 B2…

Lovely bike but wobbled like £€%&…

Sold it for a Honda VF750F..didn’t wobble..
 
Jollyjoiner said:
Yeah they was a big old bus but fast in its day
Click to expand...
Yup it was fast but you couldn’t really use it..the unitrack version that came next year was much more stable..

The Honda ran rings around it everywhere…

Did later have a GPZ1000RX…now that was really quick,,
 
B21 said:
Yup it was fast but you couldn’t really use it..the unitrack version that came next year was much more stable..

The Honda ran rings around it everywhere…

Did later have a GPZ1000RX…now that was really quick,,
Click to expand...
Always been a 'Kwaka man', me.

Coincidentally I am currently enquiring about two old bikes to buy.....a 1987 GPX750R and a 1979 KH250. Two iconic bikes from my yoof. If I had room I would also be looking at a GPz900R, as that was my dream bike in 1984.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom