Restorations / 2.8 capri restoration

This is a Capri 2.8 injection special that we restored in 2006.I was in the workshop one saturday morning in febuary when the owner phoned me saying he had his capri on a rented trailer and if I was interested in restoring it he would bring it round.After looking at the car on the trailer we agreed it should be taken into the workshop for full evaluation before any decisions were taken. It turned out the car needed front wings ,front valance,drivers sill,one wheel arch,rear valance,a spare wheel well ,front crossmember,jacking points, and welding to the inner wings and a bit to the floors here and there.The owner just said get on with it (as you have probably already gathered he is a man of action).It was some task getting it stripped ,just about every nut and bolt on the suspension ,underside and engine bay were seized solid and had to be heated red hot with the cutting torch and removed with an air impact wrench .Eventually we got it dismantled with only the sunroof and headlining remaining on the shell.Getting some parts for capris is getting tricky ,for example front valances are not made anymore and good second hand ones are hard to find,the owner bought one on ebay for £80 and it still required a week to repair and prep for painting so beware.Most of the other parts were sourced from capri specialists except for the passengers door mirror which is the "holy grail" according to one used parts supplyer,a genuine boxed one cost us £120 on ebay.Once we had the welding repairs out of the way and the shell and components painted we rebuilt the car with poly-bushes throughout.We fitted a rear disc brake conversion and axle location kit .Oversize front discs and calipers were fitted along with brooklands alloys as they have the larger diameter required for the new discs .The car was ready in august seven months after it arrived .This car was badly corroded but it has only ever had the one owner and just 67 000 miles on the clock and the engine only required minor repairs.The fuel tank was rotten and was replaced and the radiator was re-cored.The car now looks great in its new nimbus grey paint and drives superbly whith the suspension and brake mods .I really like this car ,I occasionally got a lift home from work in an identical one back in 1985 I was really impressed then and it was a nostalgic treat to drive this one 22 years later,cheers for now
PS I recently spoke to the owner and have arranged to take some pics of the finished car which I will post asap

nearly finished