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Author Topic: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod  (Read 52845 times)

WashiestSnake

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    • 1991 Mercury Capri
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #195 on: July 25, 2021, 04:36:34 PM »

@EShepard just so you know there is no sound deadening. All the sound deadening is attached to the carpet and once you pull it up thats it, theres nothing glued to the floor like new cars. Just wanted to let you know, as i'm currently tackling the interior in my car! All the sound deadening on my  91 is the wool style.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2021, 04:39:19 PM by WashiestSnake »
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1991 Mercury Capri 68,xxx Miles--Project(AWD)
1996 Lincoln Continental -- The Boat(Given to my Brother)

EShepherd

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    • 1991 Capri XR2, 1991 Capri XR2 Rusted out Shell
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #196 on: July 25, 2021, 08:27:18 PM »

@EShepard just so you know there is no sound deadening. All the sound deadening is attached to the carpet and once you pull it up thats it, theres nothing glued to the floor like new cars. Just wanted to let you know, as i'm currently tackling the interior in my car! All the sound deadening on my  91 is the wool style.


That's terrific news. I absolutely hate working with dry ice. Scraping out the sound deadening is always the absolute worst part of putting a cage in a car. I don't plan on going that far with the Capri any time soon, but I'm glad to know it won't be such an ordeal. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm glad I've got the spare chassis now. I can cut it up and play with it, designing the cage and any bracing I want to add, without having to worry about punching superfluous holes in the good chassis.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2021, 08:28:50 PM by EShepherd »
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EShepherd

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    • 1991 Capri XR2, 1991 Capri XR2 Rusted out Shell
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #197 on: July 27, 2021, 02:40:19 PM »




So the stripping has begun. There's one fastener on the drivers seat rail near the center console that's giving me a hard time. That thing is holding me up from tearing the front half of the interior out. This thing was NASTY though. Found a giant mouse nest under the spare tire. And several holes through the car. Sheesh.

I've decided I'll use this chassis to practice/learn body work. It's quite likely I'll ruin it (more than it already is) since I've never tried body work before, but hey. If I salvage the thing, I'll have a spare chassis stripped out and ready to go. Perhaps I'll end up prepping this one for the rally stages. Cage, bracing, etc.

I'll throw pictures up of the good car soon. I just need to swap the soft top cover over, and then the whole two-tone job will be done on it. It looks pretty good.
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WashiestSnake

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    • 1991 Mercury Capri
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #198 on: July 29, 2021, 05:32:01 PM »

I just need to swap the soft top cover over, and then the whole two-tone job will be done on it. It looks pretty good.

Don't forget you need to swap windows over if the frame is different. I don't recall the year but later model cars have a slightly different convertible frame.
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1991 Mercury Capri 68,xxx Miles--Project(AWD)
1996 Lincoln Continental -- The Boat(Given to my Brother)

EShepherd

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    • 1991 Capri XR2, 1991 Capri XR2 Rusted out Shell
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #199 on: July 29, 2021, 06:11:57 PM »

Thanks, but I do believe they are both '91s.
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greywolf27030

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    • 1991 XR2, 1992 XR2, 1993 XR2
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #200 on: July 31, 2021, 04:19:59 PM »

I just need to swap the soft top cover over, and then the whole two-tone job will be done on it. It looks pretty good.

Don't forget you need to swap windows over if the frame is different. I don't recall the year but later model cars have a slightly different convertible frame.

I think the difference is in the length of the cable that attaches around the corner, not in the top or the windows.
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Jack Byrd

EShepherd

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    • 1991 Capri XR2, 1991 Capri XR2 Rusted out Shell
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #201 on: August 08, 2021, 02:59:12 PM »

Small update today guys. I'm almost done swapping body panels to the new chassis. Just the soft top cover left to go. I need to wait for someone to come by and give me a hand, otherwise it'd be done already. The roof it a bit too heavy and awkward for me to install on my own, and that plus the trunk need to come off in order to swap the cover. Other than that, I have very nearly finished stripping out the old chassis. Just the body wiring harness, computer, and HVAC crap left to go. My tentative plan is to simultaneously prep the old chassis for racing, while building the new chassis into a daily driver. Then, once the old chassis is totally ready, and I have a newer daily, I can just transplant the drivetrain from the new body to the old body, and voila...racecar. I am almost positive I'll be prepping it for stage rally, but I need to check and see if the rules have changed in the last ten years in regards to convertibles. If I can't run stage rally due to having no roof, I'll likely end up doing autocross. Either way, it's going to have all the excess weight cut out, a cage, and the bare minimum of an interior re-installed. I'll probably be going with a fully digital dash and all that, too. That's a long-term plan, though. My priority is on getting the red chassis up and running.

And hey, if the red car turns out to be an awesome daily driver, I may not even steal it's drivetrain. I've been toying with the idea of dropping a K24 or similar into the old chassis, once it's ready. If I put that much time, money, and effort into prepping the chassis, I might as well use something better than a 30 year old engine. We'll see. I might still end up scrapping the old chassis. I really have no idea what will happen. Just trying to get all my ideas written down somewhere.




The dashboard put up a huge fight. If anyone goes to remove theirs in the future, here's a pro tip. Drop the steering shaft out first.




Hard to see in the second picture there, because it's on jackstands in gravel, but look to the right of the hood release. There's holes, straight through the floorboard, in a few spots. Lovely...



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greywolf27030

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    • 1991 XR2, 1992 XR2, 1993 XR2
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #202 on: August 09, 2021, 09:25:01 AM »

You're an inspiration man.....makes me tired though.
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Jack Byrd

EShepherd

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    • 1991 Capri XR2, 1991 Capri XR2 Rusted out Shell
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #203 on: August 10, 2021, 06:56:48 PM »

You're an inspiration man.....makes me tired though.

Lol thanks man. These two Capri's aren't even the biggest projects I've got going on right now, either. I've got a 2019 Rogue Sport in my bay at work with the transmission dangling out, mid warranty replacement. And then I've got a 2018 Rogue in the bay next to it, which I've just barely started a warranty engine replacement on. Let me tell you guys, compared to newer cars, the Capri is a freaking CAKE to work on. It took me like four hours to have the engine and trans out of the thing, the day after I bought it. I spent, legit, 4 hours getting just the four torque converter nuts off the '19 today. Absolute nightmare, those.

Off tomorrow though. Should be able to get a little work in. I didn't bring home tools, but I'll figure something out. I've got to pull the parking brake cables off for someone on here.

Oh, if anyone needs any Capri parts, especially interior parts, let me know. I've got mountains of crap piling up in my garage at home, and I reallllllly need to slim down the pile. Cheap cheap. Seats, door cards, dashboard, etc etc. Even got a ripped up soft top I don't need. Just ask, I bet a lot of this crap is hard to find anymore.
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greywolf27030

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    • 1991 XR2, 1992 XR2, 1993 XR2
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #204 on: August 11, 2021, 08:24:25 AM »

If you want to talk simple, back in my college days I did an R&R on an air cooled VW in three hours by myself at the garage where I bought the new engine.
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Jack Byrd

EShepherd

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    • 1991 Capri XR2, 1991 Capri XR2 Rusted out Shell
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #205 on: August 14, 2021, 06:38:56 PM »

So I just got the heater core out. Good friggin lord, did they bury that thing in there. Literally the single last piece to come off the entire car. Jesus.

Started grinding away paint on that LR fender to see how far the rust spread. I got all the way up the rocker to the FL fender, then I stopped. Rust all the way. I was debating trying to repair this chassis, but that was quite disheartening. I dunno about all that, now.

Edit:
-----
Got a little more work done today. Pulled out the engine harness from the white chassis. It's pretty rough. I tossed it in a bag, and plan on re-building it at work with fresh wire and loom. If anyone needs a new engine harness made up, I'm going to measure stuff and make myself a nice little diagram. I should be able to make brand new, factory quality harnesses for anyone who needs them in the future. The only thing I'll need is the connectors. I don't know where to buy new ones, except possibly from Ford (if they even still make them). My plan was to just clean them up, re-pin them, and re-use them all.

As far as the white chassis....it's destined for the scrap yard. I ground off a bunch of paint in a few spots to inspect it. The car is far more rust than steel at this point. So, dead end there. Also, whomever told me there isn't any insulation in these things....that's untrue. I'm not sure what the hell it's made of, but it's definitely there. Makes a HUGE mess when you hit it with the angle grinder.

So now the plan is to rebuild the engine harness, and get that plus the computer installed in the new chassis. Swap over the front suspension, whichever side (or both, I don't recall) is bad. Get new strut mounts for the rear, and install those. Toss the transmission back together. Get my engine back, reassemble the bottom end. Bolt the cylinder head to it (it's ready to rock). Install the transmission to the engine (probably with a new clutch and flywheel). Install the drivetrain into the car. Replace both front axles (they've both got ripped boots). Break in the engine on the factory ecu for a couple of weeks. Then, drive on down to Pennsylvania and have Mr. Rocketman chip the thing. At that point, I'll probably be happy with it and leave it alone (mechanically) for a while. Use it as a daily. It does need a date with the body and paint shop, but that can wait until I know all of the other stuff will work out.

It doesn't sound like a ton of work left, but I really only get a few hours a week to work on the thing. I've got two days a week off of work, both of which I need to watch my son. Which means, I get his nap time, two days a week, during which to work on the car. I bring what I can with me to work to play around with, but that's not much either. Not a ton of down time there. Hopefully it'll be driving again in a couple months, but we'll have to see how it all goes.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2021, 09:25:30 PM by EShepherd »
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EShepherd

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    • 1991 Capri XR2, 1991 Capri XR2 Rusted out Shell
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #206 on: August 18, 2021, 07:31:40 AM »


Couldn't resist the temptation. Opened up the ECU. I'll leave this in Rocketman's domain. Looks too complicated for me. I've built a few computers, but this is way too analogue for my tastes. Don't worry Matt, I made sure I grounded myself before touching it. I closed it back up and put it away. I just wanted to see what a computer from 1991 looked like.




The interior is now fully gutted, minus the fuel pump which I still need to steal. It's only 4 screws, no biggie. You can see in the last picture that there is some form of sound deadening in these cars. And whatever it is, it's super nasty.



Here's the results of my exploratory angle-grinder surgery. I've decided 100%, this chassis is going to the scrap yard. If anyone, for whatever reason, wants it, let me know before this weekend. Otherwise, I'm going to cut the whole car in half, load it onto my trailer, and sell it as scrap steel. The cancer is just too far gone. I discovered the front left jack stand is actually punched through the frame. There is nothing left at all of the driver's side rocker panel. Almost the entire left rear fender would need to be cut away and patched. Passenger side rocker panel is pretty bad. Inside of both front fenders is pretty bad. Driver's side front fender has a rust hole straight through it, smack in the middle. Etc. You get the idea. I'm going to yank off the whole suspension, fuel pump, and all the crap left under the hood, and then I'm sending this one to the dump. Unless anyone here wants it. No judgement if you do.


EDIT:
-------
I forgot one picture. Check out the two harnesses. One is for the engine, the other goes from the battery to the starter, fuse block, and body grounds. Both are at work, and I've started rebuilding the battery sub-harness.


If anyone knows where I can buy replacement connectors for either of these harnesses, please let me know. I don't want to reuse anything from either of these. They are in awful shape....just like the rest of the damn car. Found so much exposed copper under the split loom and electrical tape.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2021, 07:37:30 AM by EShepherd »
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greywolf27030

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    • 1991 XR2, 1992 XR2, 1993 XR2
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #207 on: August 18, 2021, 08:59:45 AM »

Great that you are willing to fix wiring looms. If you want to make a little money at it, you might want to get involved with the Festiva community making swap harnesses for B6's.
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Jack Byrd

EShepherd

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    • 1991 Capri XR2, 1991 Capri XR2 Rusted out Shell
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #208 on: August 18, 2021, 09:59:51 AM »

Great that you are willing to fix wiring looms. If you want to make a little money at it, you might want to get involved with the Festiva community making swap harnesses for B6's.

If I can find a supplier for replacement connectors, I'd love to do that. On the harness I've started on, I measured the gauge and length of each wire, and noted them down along with the color, for every wire in the harness. So I've got a super detailed diagram of the whole thing. I should be able to reproduce a new harness, that exactly matches the factory one, even without having one to compare it to on hand. There are a few small changes I've made to mine, and more that I plan to make to mine, that I'd bet other people would appreciate too. For instance, the large gauge wire coming from the positive battery terminal, at least on my car, was black. I'm going to replace that with a red one. Another change I intend to make is using larger gauge wire to run to the radiator fan. Partly in case I upgrade it one day, and partly for peace of mind. It's a fairly small wire for something that (probably) draws a decent amount of amperage. I haven't dug into it enough to find out if the fan circuit runs through a relay, but if it for some reason doesn't, that'll be something else I'll change.

So I could probably offer two different replacement harnesses. An identical factory replacement one, and a revised harness with my little tweaks. It probably wouldn't be very cheap, though. Material costs alone are going to be fairly significant. I'm not sure yet how long making them will take, but measuring it all out and mapping it is taking a while. I figure after the first one, I could probably bang them out in ~4 hours or so. Just a ballpark guess here, but I'm guessing I could probably sell them for ~$350-$400 ish. Like I said, not cheap. But it doesn't sound too bad for a brand new harness for an obscure 31 year old car that 99% of people have never heard of.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2021, 10:01:37 AM by EShepherd »
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greywolf27030

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    • 1991 XR2, 1992 XR2, 1993 XR2
Re: '91 Capri XR-2 Resto-Mod
« Reply #209 on: August 19, 2021, 07:24:45 AM »

I'm thinking that's a very good price, especiall since it's an improved version on the OE.
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Jack Byrd
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