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[antagonist356]

Hi, im Ethan and live in Tampa, Florida and just bought my first capri two days ago . So far I love this car, i have a 1992 capri base model, this is my first car too! I paid $1,700 for it and it has 88,890 miles, came with a new radiator and a rebuilt used battery, so i should be good to go for a bit.
Ive been on this forum looking at everything and plan on making some purchases at roo-sport soon, i think i got a pretty good deal on this car, so far all i need to fix is a new convertible top, brake light socket, glove box handle and passenger door handle, and a holder for the hood prop.
 most of which sound like typical fixes after reading through the pages here. I'm not a great mechanic or anything, but i know enough about cars to replace and work on just about anything but engine and transmission.

If anybody has any tips about owning a capri please let me know!
Also do you guys think i got a good deal on this car?i know they typically go between 2k and 3k.

[luvit]

Ethan, i also have a base model NA with auto transmission.
i'm looking at your beautiful capri and you do not have the rust spots at the rockers as i;m fighting with my two 1993 capris this year.
If that lack of rust resembles the care of the rest of the car, i believe you got a *great* deal.
I'm an IT guy with a passion for cars over this past 5 years and i've done some major surgery on six 1993 engines.
The capri is fun to drive, and I hope you share your experiences here. I'm getting ready for spring and summer work on my capri and am anxious to use some new camera equipment i recently got.

I am going to work on my first 2 capri auto transmissions this summer.. i may still take it to a professional after i drop the transmission an look into it.
Welcome aboard! Post some more pics.. I like your wheels.

[grantduffield]

Ethan - Gorgeous looking car!  You got a hell of a buy at $1,700 and 89,000 miles.  You shouldn't lose any sleep wondering if you got a good deal - you did. 

You may want to check with Rocketman (Matt) on the glovebox thing - I think he crafted some pretty good looking glovebox handles and was selling them cheap.  (Not to take anything away from Roo Sport).

I bought a 91 na automatic for my 16 year old son a couple months ago.  The car had recently migrated from the Cleveland Oh area and I'm not sure she's been meticulously cared for.  We are slowly working over the car and fixing as we go.  Being in South Carolina, we are able to drop the top regularly.  We replaced the top last month - bought from a supplier in California for $200.  (check ebay "diamond mall").  Very pleased with it.

This forum is an awesome source of advice for all things Capri.  With advice from Luvit and Rocket, I'm about to undertake a timing belt / water pump project.

I think what I have learned to date is: the car tends to run a bit "hot", the oil pressure can appear alarmingly low from time to time and the stock brakes are a little soft by nature.  I am going to make it my mission to find an alternative "flip up headlight" motor assembly that can be retro-fitted to the car.   

Welcome!  Its great to have you. 

[antagonist356]

Yeah Grant i saw your timing belt thread, god bless you on that, looks like a hell of a project, ive never worked on an engine before.

Yeah theres a tiny bit of rust under the trunk lid, and thats about it, under the car even looks great! One thing i noticed earlier last night is the (im guessing) brake fluid reservoir has been rigged with a garden can for watering plants XD no leaks though! so thats good. If it ever stops raining here ill go out and post pictures of the underside of the car, and under the hood as well and comment them in this thread. I did notice sometimes when i put it in park...it doesnt park lol, it starts to roll anyway, even on small slopes so i gotta remember to start pulling the e-brake. Even before that happened i also noticed the Parking brake light was on when i bought the car, figure it might be a dummy because the brakes seem fine when im not trying to park it, or maybe it has something to do with the brake thing and the garden tool, lol. Other than that, a small shake in the steering wheel while the engine is running, but runs pretty well . I shouldn't have to worry about the car running too hot though because i drive an average of 30 miles a day with this as my daily, which isnt all that much.

[grantduffield]

Ethan - again, congratulations!  sounds like you found a good one!  I'm no auto mechanic by any stretch of the imagination (20 years as a government CAO) but am interested in learning more.

One thing I forgot to mention - you may want to go to   techcapri.home.comcast.net/~techcapri/1991_Service_Manual.html   and download this manual.  Even if you don't plan to work on the car, it may be helpful to have it available for your service tech to refer to. 

[blueamber]

Congrats on your Capri purchase.  They are a bit of a roller coaster ride to own, emotionally... fun to drive, frustrating when they break, but mostly fun to drive!!!

Your car rolling in PARK may simply be a cable adjustment issue, especially if it is intermittent.  When you advance the lever to get to park, it may not go *quite* far enough sometimes.  Worse case is some teeth or cogs may be missing from the PARK mechanism internal to the tranny.  Keep using that emergency brake (which you should do anyway with an automatic) and you probably will be OK.

The brake light is a little ominous, coupled with your watering can reservoir.  The brake light serves 2 purposes, to let you know when the emergency brake is engaged, and when there is a pressure imbalance detected in the brake master cylinder.  When rust gets into the brake system (from water condensing over the years) it starts clogging little tubes in the master cylinder that lets fluid move around properly.  Your brakes won't necessarily fail, but they won't act as good as perfect, and brake pads one one wheel can start wearing out prematurely. like in 10,000 miles or so.  So, you absolutely need to get the non-metal original equipment reservoir installed and the brake system flushed.  This might break loose the rust, but worse case would be a new master cylinder, not too expensive to buy, but a couple hundred at a mechanic's.

The hood prop holder can be purchased at Autozone, they sell a pack of about 5 of them. less than $10, one of those in the pack is a perfect fit.

What do you mean by needing a brake light socket???

Inside or outside door handle?  I'm traveling through Tampa this week and could drop one off to you, compliments of a Capri nut with a garage full of spare parts...Chris

[antagonist356]

Congrats on your Capri purchase.  They are a bit of a roller coaster ride to own, emotionally... fun to drive, frustrating when they break, but mostly fun to drive!!!

Your car rolling in PARK may simply be a cable adjustment issue, especially if it is intermittent.  When you advance the lever to get to park, it may not go *quite* far enough sometimes.  Worse case is some teeth or cogs may be missing from the PARK mechanism internal to the tranny.  Keep using that emergency brake (which you should do anyway with an automatic) and you probably will be OK.

The brake light is a little ominous, coupled with your watering can reservoir.  The brake light serves 2 purposes, to let you know when the emergency brake is engaged, and when there is a pressure imbalance detected in the brake master cylinder.  When rust gets into the brake system (from water condensing over the years) it starts clogging little tubes in the master cylinder that lets fluid move around properly.  Your brakes won't necessarily fail, but they won't act as good as perfect, and brake pads one one wheel can start wearing out prematurely. like in 10,000 miles or so.  So, you absolutely need to get the non-metal original equipment reservoir installed and the brake system flushed.  This might break loose the rust, but worse case would be a new master cylinder, not too expensive to buy, but a couple hundred at a mechanic's.

The hood prop holder can be purchased at Autozone, they sell a pack of about 5 of them. less than $10, one of those in the pack is a perfect fit.

What do you mean by needing a brake light socket???

Inside or outside door handle?  I'm traveling through Tampa this week and could drop one off to you, compliments of a Capri nut with a garage full of spare parts...Chris

Well the right brake light is not coming on, even though i replaced the bulb, so im guessing its the socket that houses the bulb, auto shops sell them for cheap, but dont carry the one i need... I need a dual wire single contact element made of plastic which is hard to find (everything for this car is hard to find lol) so i probably need to order it online, i checked advance auto parts and autozone and they didnt have it, i got a buddy who works at o'reillys so he will try n get it shipped to his store for me.

As for the door handle its the inside door handle on the passenger side. Im right outside tampa - specifically Brooksville (40 minutes north of tampa)

[blueamber]

There is a Capri in the LKQ Clearwater junk yard, and one in the Tampa LKQ.  Just get the entire harness for the rear lights, with the 3 sockets, easier than trying to splice in a socket that probably isn't keyed correctly to lock into the light assembly.  Also, that Tampa LKQ may have door handles, the Clearwater one doesn't, I've already visited that one.  If push comes to shove, I've got a harness in the garage somewhere.

Tell you what, come to the Capri meet in Port St. Lucie on the 23rd, there will be spare parts of all kinds there...Chris

[antagonist356]

There is a Capri in the LKQ Clearwater junk yard, and one in the Tampa LKQ.  Just get the entire harness for the rear lights, with the 3 sockets, easier than trying to splice in a socket that probably isn't keyed correctly to lock into the light assembly.  Also, that Tampa LKQ may have door handles, the Clearwater one doesn't, I've already visited that one.  If push comes to shove, I've got a harness in the garage somewhere.

Tell you what, come to the Capri meet in Port St. Lucie on the 23rd, there will be spare parts of all kinds there...Chris

It'd cost me more money to go to tampa than just get a socket myself its only $5, and i just gotta snip the wires, twist n tape a new socket. if that doesnt work ill head to tampa.   - - - I would LOVE to go to a capri meet, but im going to be dropping about $400 into this car in the next few weeks i cant afford a 400 mile drive round trip right now lol.

- I plan to be replacing the top (doing it myself because 1 shop within 3 counties does it and they charge $750)
- im getting a clunk in my right brakes when braking only while going forward and the car is jumping when i brake, i think i need to replace the rotors because the brakes brake fine besides the noise and jumping.
- i'm pretty sure this thing could use a tuneup, i got a friend who can get me a discount on sparks, filter, distributor cap, and rotors and all that, probably going to just throw all bosch or ngk in here, those are the two brands i trust out of whats available for this car around here.

[Rocketman]

Welcome to TeamCapri!

Going to a Capri meet is the a life-changing experience, one of the best things you can do!

Just a heads up, rotors are not easy on the Capri. have to tear into the bearings to get to them. There's info here regarding that
You did well on your acquisition!

[tonlaw71]

Welcome to the Team! You got a good deal on that one! I had no real experience with cars before I got my first Capri a few years ago. It was also a base model, but the first time I rode in an XR2, I was hooked! The NA went up for sale the next day and I had my first XR2 a week later. Now I'm on my 2nd XR2 and will never look back! Love it! I think these cars are great to learn on. They're fairly easy to work on and you don't have to worry about all the complicated computer and electrical systems of newer cars. And Rocketman is right...get to a gathering, they're awesome and you meet some of the best people around! Good luck with your new Capri and keep us posted on your progress. We're all here to help whenever we can!