Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Andy H]

My first car was a 1256 HC Viva. It was built down the road in Luton, everyone I knew had a family member who worked for Vauxhalls (or one of their suppliers).

I was happy enough riding motorbikes. I had a Suzuki GS850G and didn't have a car licence but one day my parents convinced me to hand over 70quid for a brown 2 door viva with a curious crease in the rear bodywork.

Coil springs all round (take that Crapi !) and front disk brakes. The Suzuki claimed 85bhp, the Viva 55bhp.

My point of reference was motorbikes, all cars were gutless slugs by comparison so the Viva didn't seem particularly crap as cars go. My brother had a Capri at the time which started life as a 1300 but had acquired a 1600 engine. It was a bit more lively than the viva (but not much)

[Raeturbo]

I had a HA 1057,   WTX 47.  And later a HA ex post office van. Not too bad for the time. My uncles burnt the inside of the saloon while doing a bit of welding on it, I had to drive it home sitting on a pop crate🤣🤣

[Rangie]

My father was a Ford man & I followed suit for a while Escort Sierra Cortina & the best of the bunch 3 V6 Granadas got pissed off as they nearly all seemed to let water in when it rained hated the damp carpets, so switched to Japanese vehicles & never looked back, always fancied  2.8 injection Capri but not practical with kids & dogs .Had most Japanese 4x4s  and a couple of Mercs a 190e & an E430 V8 not forgetting the V6 Omega but always hankered after a Range Rover got one almost 4 years ago now and it is without a doubt the best of the vehicles I've owned,  as for EVs they don't figure in my plans at all.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

The car you always you promised yourself is coming back, reading between the lines it's going to be an EV..

https://youtu.be/CLGrlPCOYTk

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I never had any desire for the originals, despite being a big fan of The Professionals back in the day.

But Ford will be trying to push junk on the back of a name that had a following, much like Vauxhall tried with the particularly crap Viva.

You'll need to change your avatar, TB.

Every time I see it I can't help but think of STMO getting ready to walk the new whippet.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

My first car was a 1256 HC Viva. It was built down the road in Luton, everyone I knew had a family member who worked for Vauxhalls (or one of their suppliers).

I was happy enough riding motorbikes. I had a Suzuki GS850G and didn't have a car licence but one day my parents convinced me to hand over 70quid for a brown 2 door viva with a curious crease in the rear bodywork.

Coil springs all round (take that Crapi !) and front disk brakes. The Suzuki claimed 85bhp, the Viva 55bhp.

My point of reference was motorbikes, all cars were gutless slugs by comparison so the Viva didn't seem particularly crap as cars go. My brother had a Capri at the time which started life as a 1300 but had acquired a 1600 engine. It was a bit more lively than the viva (but not much)

From memory this was a bulbous shafty based on the GS550/750.

Presumably to compete with the Yamaha XS 750/850 shafty.

[YZ250]

I owned a black MK111 Ford Capri 3.0S for about five years. It was quick for those days and never let me down. Had to sell it when our kids were born as the boot was too small for a buggy. I bought a Rover SD1 V8 TP Vitesse to replace the Capri and they both hold a place in my heart, one for being a fast for it’s time two door coupe and the other for being a piece of shit. Boy did those SD1’s rust. 
I personally see no point reviving old car brands. They’ve had their day, let them stay that way, in the past. 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I owned a black MK111 Ford Capri 3.0S for about five years. It was quick for those days and never let me down. Had to sell it when our kids were born as the boot was too small for a buggy. I bought a Rover SD1 V8 TP Vitesse to replace the Capri and they both hold a place in my heart, one for being a fast for it’s time two door coupe and the other for being a piece of shit. Boy did those SD1’s rust. 
I personally see no point reviving old car brands. They’ve had their day, let them stay that way, in the past. 

I have only owned one Capri. A 1600XL MK1 from 1973. It was slow and handled like a lorry but looked good in white with a BVR.

I knew a woman who owned a 2.8i with the 5 speed box. This was underwhelming.......probably due to the combination of  'long gears' and little low down stump pulling torque, unlike the old 3 litre V6 Essex lump.

[YZ250]

I owned a black MK111 Ford Capri 3.0S for about five years. It was quick for those days and never let me down. Had to sell it when our kids were born as the boot was too small for a buggy. I bought a Rover SD1 V8 TP Vitesse to replace the Capri and they both hold a place in my heart, one for being a fast for it’s time two door coupe and the other for being a piece of shit. Boy did those SD1’s rust. 
I personally see no point reviving old car brands. They’ve had their day, let them stay that way, in the past. 

I have only owned one Capri. A 1600XL MK1 from 1973. It was slow and handled like a lorry but looked good in white with a BVR.

I knew a woman who owned a 2.8i with the 5 speed box. This was underwhelming.......probably due to the combination of  'long gears' and little low down stump pulling torque, unlike the old 3 litre V6 Essex lump.

The earlier 2.8i had a 4 speed box and ran similar times to the 4 speed 3.0S. The later 5 speed 2.8i was too low geared and easily outrun by its predecessor. Mind you, Turbo Technics played with plenty of 5 speed 2.8i’s and they went like a missile. 
Those V6’s thrived on being driven hard. Being driven like Miss Daisy would bog them down and they’d run uninspiringly flat compared to a good one.

[countrywoman]

AS usual Clarkson got it wrong, its a mk1 Escort in a party frock. Advert for new Fraud Explorer on telly, yet another butt ugly POS. Whats with the slab front treatment all these type of motors have now?

[Nick W]

I owned a black MK111 Ford Capri 3.0S for about five years. It was quick for those days and never let me down. Had to sell it when our kids were born as the boot was too small for a buggy. I bought a Rover SD1 V8 TP Vitesse to replace the Capri and they both hold a place in my heart, one for being a fast for it’s time two door coupe and the other for being a piece of shit. Boy did those SD1’s rust. 
I personally see no point reviving old car brands. They’ve had their day, let them stay that way, in the past. 

I have only owned one Capri. A 1600XL MK1 from 1973. It was slow and handled like a lorry but looked good in white with a BVR.

I knew a woman who owned a 2.8i with the 5 speed box. This was underwhelming.......probably due to the combination of  'long gears' and little low down stump pulling torque, unlike the old 3 litre V6 Essex lump.

The earlier 2.8i had a 4 speed box and ran similar times to the 4 speed 3.0S. The later 5 speed 2.8i was too low geared and easily outrun by its predecessor. Mind you, Turbo Technics played with plenty of 5 speed 2.8i’s and they went like a missile. 
Those V6’s thrived on being driven hard. Being driven like Miss Daisy would bog them down and they’d run uninspiringly flat compared to a good one.

4 speed 2.8s had the same gearbox and diff as a 3.0l. They make a bit more power, and noticeably less torque so the similar performance was achieved by revving the 2.8 more than the wheezy 3.0l could manage. 5 speed 2.8s use the same axle, but the gearbox ratios are too tall which makes for a gutless feel and slower acceleration on real conditions.


There are two fixes for this: replace the 3.09 diff that all V6s had with the 3.44 from a 3.0l which was always quick, cheap and easy, or replace the engine with a 2.9 which was more work and cost. Fitting the 3.44 diff to a 3.0l makes for a car that runs slower 1/4 miles, isn't as nice to drive on the road as stock, and has even worse fuel economy. Milling out the carb mount on a 3.0l inlet manifold adds a useful 500rpm increase to the engine's natural rev limit, and is the real reason why the manifolds modified for a 390 Holley helped. You can also replace the 38DGAS with a 40DFI, which helps performance but drops the average economy well into single figures


Neither the 2.8 or 3.0l have much to recommend their usage anymore, when an average 2.0l makes more power for less weight with better economy and durability.

[TheBoy]

I bought a Rover SD1 V8 TP Vitesse
...
a piece of shit. Boy did those SD1’s rust. 

For reasons I'm completely unable to explain, I always wanted a 3500 SD1, and would probably still buy one if one came up cheap.  But Mrs TheBoy unusually put her foot down and said no, they are a piece of junk.  Occasionally, she does possess common sense.

[YZ250]

I bought a Rover SD1 V8 TP Vitesse
...
a piece of shit. Boy did those SD1’s rust. 

For reasons I'm completely unable to explain, I always wanted a 3500 SD1, and would probably still buy one if one came up cheap.  But Mrs TheBoy unusually put her foot down and said no, they are a piece of junk.  Occasionally, she does possess common sense.

Mrs TB was wise in this case.    Mrs YZ hated it from day one. I had a Moonraker Blue Vitesse, which looked great when I bought it. A design flaw in the doors meant that water could pass the door window seal and would sit in the bottom of the door. It should have drained out but it couldn’t, hence the door inner and outer skin separated through rotting out. 

[countrywoman]

My early 3.0 gt mk1 capri went well, the fast road cam and balance helped. 4 speed transit derived gear box was a pig, being an early one it had 3.22 rear gears. BTW its the 2.0 v4 that had 3.44s .

[Nick W]

My early 3.0 gt mk1 capri went well, the fast road cam and balance helped. 4 speed transit derived gear box was a pig, being an early one it had 3.22 rear gears. BTW its the 2.0 v4 that had 3.44s .

We didn't get V4 2.0 here, they were all Pintos. And the 3.44 diff in an Atlas axle was standard on all of them.