1976 Mercury Capri Hatchback Black RWD Manual

1976 Mercury Capri II, 68,000 Original Miles.

Vehicle Details

After 32 years of ownership. It is time for me to part with my 1976 Capri. This car needs restored. It is solid, very minimal rust (see pictures) One spot on the hood and a spot just aft of the right rear wheel. It needs all the weather stripping, except the front windshield. It needs the lock strip. Interior needs redone. It’s useable, but faded. With all the car needs to be what it could be. I have come to the realization that I’ll never do the things I would like to do with the car. I just do not have the time. When I had the time, I didn’t have the money. Now I have the money, but no time and I’ve got other projects. I’ve always envisioned adding a V8 and 5speed transmission, amongst many other little mods. In the 32 years of ownership, I have driven the car perhaps 2000 miles. (I’d have to look at the title, I think it had 66,000 on it when I rescued it.) I rescued the car out from under a blue tarp, sitting in a side yard of a house where it was parked. The owner of the house was selling their home and I happened to recognize the bumper peeking out from under the tarp. You see, this is my second Capri II, having had one when I was in high school. (Long time ago). Therefore, I knew what it was. I inquired if they would be interested in selling the car and the answer was yes. I was told the car had overheating issues and hadn’t been driven for a year, thus parked. It had been in the garage until a few months prior to me seeing it. I ended up buying the car, non-running and trailered it home. The reason for the overheating turned out to be missing bolts from the vacuum advance on the distributor. At the time, I had no place to put the car, but wanted to protect it. I was a poor recent college graduate trying to save for a house, so this car at the time was a luxury/want more than a need. I ended up stripping the car and treating the rust it had at the time, then applying the gloss black polyurethane paint that is on it now. No.. it’s not perfect, flaws everywhere, but it protected the car. The car has been in a garage since 1994, never driven in winter and hasn’t seen a rain drop on a road since the mid 90’s. I rebuilt the 2800 V6 in the winter of 1994 with complete engine rebuild kit. New bearings, rings, pistons, etc. Changed to a metal Cam Gear instead of the Phenolic. I swapped out the automatic transmission and replaced it with a 4speed from a donar Capri II. I added Dobi headers, front spoiler and rear spoiler to the car. I also did the Dobi steering coupler. The brakes were replaced at that time as well. Added the later Capri rims with new tires. (Yes.. they are vintage tires…They need replaced). The Brake booster was replaced a few years ago in 2016 or 2017? New exhaust two years ago. Car runs, drives & stops like an old vintage Capri II should. It is a factory air conditioning car and I have 90% of the parts for it. The previous owner had removed the ac condenser and ruined the ac lines trying to solve the overheating issue. I may still have the condenser, but I know the line set is trashed. I have a bunch of spare parts that I kept from the donor car that provided the transmission and other components to convert this to the 4sp. I have a complete spare engine (ran when pulled 30 years ago), rear axle, rims, rear hatch with glass, doors, etc. All barn fresh, the body panels of the donar car all had surface rust. I can’t say what the stuff looks like today, as it is all up in the barn stored away.