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1962 Ford Consul Capri: The Sunbird

1962 Ford Consul Capri

This is one we don’t see in these parts often. Ford of England built some really great little cars in the ’60, but like always we didn’t get many of them. This Capri isn’t quite like the Capri that most of us will think of. This one is a Consul Capri and rather than being the European take on the Mustang like the Capri, this one was more like the European Thunderbird (the internal code name was even Sunbird). There can’t be many of these great looking pillarless coupes here in the States. This one has problems, but the seller claims it runs and drives. It will need work to be a daily driver, so perhaps it could make for a sweet rolling project. Find this English Ford here on eBay in Hathaway Pines, California. This tip comes from Jim S!

Comments

  1. Avatar Mark E

    I can’t say exactly why but this car presses my ‘weird car’ switch really hard. I think I’d even rather have this than my all time favorite weird car, the Citroen Ami 6. That body looks very scary to restore, at least to me. It seems you’d need someone very skilled in metal working to restore the crushed curvy bits. Otherwise I’d hope you could source the missing bits like the ashtray, bumper overrider, etc from England. Especially if they were common to the Euro Fords. Ah, if I were just in my 30s again… ^_^

    Like 0
  2. Avatar RayT

    I’m with Mark E. Would love to be able to take this one on! To stable it with, perhaps, a Taunus 17M, an Ami 6 and a Heinkel would push all my “weirdo” buttons.

    I would fear the bodywork most. I suspect most of the minor items could be found on other Brit Fords of the day, and certainly mechanical parts ought to be no problem.

    Full restoration on this, and I wouldn’t mind being upside-down financially after completion. Wouldn’t sell it anyway!

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mark E

      The 17M is another of my favorite weird cars. I just can’t make up my mind which model I prefer. The newer oblong headlight one has the sci-fi flying saucer vibe going for it but the round headlight one is cool too…the side trim and headlight pods give it a ’56 Ford vibe but the weird touches like the parking light pods on the top of the fenders are incredible.

      Now if I won the lottery, I’d be looking at a different level of weird car like a Citroen SM or even a Jensen CV8! ^_^

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  3. Avatar Craig

    This car is screaming for a nice mild 302 with a 5 speed behind it and of course the obligatory ford 9″ . the disclaimer at the end of the E-BAY listing was very good, it made me laugh. Yeah I’d have it, any decent body man could make quick work of the needed body work.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Blindmarc

    I completely agree with Craig. Sweet little car.

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  5. Avatar Ross W. Lovell

    Greetings All,

    These were even rare in the U.K. Saw one being scrapped about 10 years ago. There was much, much, less of the car than shown here. What Ford or anybody for that matter knew about unibody corrosion would’ve fit o one side of a matchbook.
    Pushes my little weird car button too. Always loved the European Ford engines.
    While you can just about put anything into a car for an engine, the four cylinder fit the scale size of this one.
    Neat car. But he’s overly optimistic on the price. He’ll be lucky if he reaches $4K.

    Like 0
  6. Avatar z1rider

    Saw two of these at Goodwood Festival of Speed last year. One red and one white. I had never seen one in person and to see two was surprising. As an aside, the “Car Park” (britspeak for parking lot) of the FOS is regarded as the biggest (unofficial) car show in Europe, as separate from the event. I was amazed at what the Brits would drive to the festivities. So many cars I had never heard of before. Put it on your bucket list. Period attire is a must.

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  7. Avatar John

    I have always had a soft spot for these. My father and mother loved it too but even though we had a demonstration run at the Earls Court motor show, with me crammed in the back, the lack of a back seat stopped my parents buying it. They were glamorous cars in their day too. The ordinary one was no performer, but the GT got interesting with the 1500 cc engine up front. There was a rare Radford luxury version, and I have seen a convertible by Crayford I think. Recently a classic car magazine can’t recall which one , featured a modified V6 version, and that sounded a sweet car. Parts are difficult if specific, easy if similar to other Fords of the period. I think the price is high. Rust killed most of these. They are quite rare in the Uk even today.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar John L

    I guess that I am an expert on these, having owned 7 over 35 years. I was also Consul Capri Club president for a short while and I wrote most of the stuff on Wikipeadia. I currently have 2 Capri’s a ’62, and a ’63. The 62 is a resto mod. The 63 is as it left the Halewood plant, it is in pristine condition and has 20,000 miles on it.
    The design was done by “the Dream Team”, Charles Thompson and Colin Neale. The Capri wasn’t actually made at Ford. The build was outsourced to Pressed Steel. It went to the Ford Factories (Dagenham before December 1962, and Halewood in February ’63). My ’63 is a February car and pre-dates “The first Ford off the production line… an Anglia on March 8th ’63.
    These cars are nowhere as hard to restore as you would think. The Ford Consul Classic and Capri Owners club is strong, has a very good re-manufacturing schedule in place and most parts are available. Really the engine bay is too small for a V8. But these days with a good Turbo 4 cyl, or even N/A engine, they can be made to get up and boogie. My resto car runs a Toyota 4AGE 1600 Twin Cam. It does a mid 15 sec 1/4 mile and 90km/h in 2nd. For the money the car is OK. A restorable one on the worldwide market will go for 2500 pounds or in Australia (where I am) about $5000. A GT was sold in the USA 3 years ago for US$29,000 and wasn’t correct in all it’s parts. I’d snap it up, but the steering wheel is on the wrong side!

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  9. Avatar blindmarc

    A Buick 231 with a turbo from grand national and I’m in. Love the look of this car.

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  10. Avatar Glenn

    Here is my 1962 Ford Consul Capri. It’s been customized and fitted with a 5700cc V8 Chevvy engine and box. The car can be seen AND HEARD 3 or 4 times a week cruising around West Lothian in central Scotland.
    Extremely rare cars and surely the rarest of all the 1960’s Fords.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Dave

      My dream car! You are a lucky guy Glenn, good luck and happy motoring mate.

      Like 0
  11. Avatar Blindmarc

    Beautiful car Glenn!

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Glenn

    Thanks Marc.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Glenn

    Powered by a Chevy 5700cc V8

    Like 1
  14. Avatar Glenn

    I want to sell mine so I can buy a 50’s or 60’s American car.
    Price is UK £9995.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Glenn

      May PX, but no junky cars please.

      Like 0

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