Ah, the lovely Mercury Capri. These Euro-inspired models are a rarity on these shores anymore, with many of them falling victim to the tin worm or just fading off into obscurity. It’s rare to find any roadgoing example, especially one equipped with the desirable Cologne V6 and only one repaint to distort its overall originality. Find this 1976 example here on eBay with an opening bid of $4,000 and no reserve.
This particular car is a later production Ghia example, and officially known as the “Capri II.” It seems along with the Mustang of the same era, Ford was enjoying attaching Roman numerals vehicle nameplates. Unlike everyone’s least favorite Mustang, however, the Capri retained its European influence and was still a decent driver’s car in its day. The seller cites passing the stringent California smog requirements as an important indicator as to this car’s overall mechanical health.
According to Hemmings, Ghia buyers paid extra for “…cord cloth-upholstered “luxury” bucket seats with adjustable headrests and seat-back map pockets, a full console with storage, rear seat armrests, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, full cut-pile carpeting, load floor skid strips and luggage compartment lamps, color-keyed exterior mirrors and 13 x 5.5-inch alloy wheels.” Other options included a sunroof and A/C, both of which this car has.
The 2.8L V6 produced healthy power and torque numbers, and combined with the Capri’s lithe suspension and tight turning radius, these were likely fun cars to hustle back in the day. Although I’d prefer mine with a manual transmission, it’s hard to find fault with such an original Ghia that is loaded up with options. I dig the color and the owner seems like a knowledgeable enthusiast; put this one in the “Buy” column for me.
Why are these “Euro-inspired” and have “European influence?” Every Capri before the 1979 model year was built in Germany. Those descriptions make it sound like they were domestic, but with a foreign style. The European style came over on the boat with them–from Europe.
I don’t think that Jeff is talking about the physical origin of this car, but more the styling and engineering origin. If you look at the European cars of the era (well, the majority anyway), they were following a specific styling trend, with hatch-backs proliferating. In America, there was still a love for the 2-door coupe with a regular trunk. European manufacturers were always cautious about engine capacity, mainly influenced by high fuel prices. American manufacturers were not as constrained in this area.
And circle gets the square. Thanks for translating, Adam!
My thoughts exactly! You would not say “xxxxx-inspired” for a product built and conceived of in xxxxx.
Agreed. Its a European car…if anything its inspired by US muscle of the early 70s.
But its a European car.
i have a 1977 merc capri shawdow in mint cond any idea value
@ethan – We can auction it for you.
Mercury Capri Shadow from what I could find on Google, was a beefed-up Capri done by race car driver Roger Chastain. There appears to be various levels it could be worked up to. “Stage 3” was the highest level I saw. These were driven in Sports Car Club of America races (SCCA). Under his guidance and driving they took 3 1st place wins in races in the GT class. That’s all I could come up with. Best of luck trying to find a value, might contact F40 Motorsports in Connecticut as they deal in sports cars and high-end vehicles. Maybe they could help, I don’t know.
My older brother bought a Capri II new in these same colors except his was a manual transmission. It started giving him problems going into 3rd gear shortly after he bought it. He smoked and traded it in before the ashtray was full.
The European version of the Trans-Am. They were big and heavy, crude machines and powerful compared to most of the cars on the road back then. Like the Pontiac, they aspired to be businessman/playboy cars, but ended up with more of a beer-chugging image at the end of the day. They seemed to rust quickly, but I remember seeing quite a few of them on the road in the UK in the mid and late eighties.
Yes you’re very right. The only Europeans who drove these were the usual ‘Barry Gibb’ look-alikes in leather jackets and white T-shirts, with blond girlfriends in the pax seat hanging out at popular parking spots. I always envied them when I was younger. I have to say, that this is one of the European made cars that looked better in U.S. specs, because of all the add-on’s.
👍 Thumbs up from me, also had the distinction of being an Essex Boys car, Hairy Chest, Shirt Open 4 Buttons & a Large Talisman type necklace & of course a Pornstar Moustache! Google Essex Boy for images
Funnily enough the inspiration for this car was the Mustang. Ford wanted to bring the Mustang style and excitement to Europe. Yes, the Capri had some reliability issues, but were owned by enthusiastic owners who would purchase another. I was recently given a complete collection of Road&Track magazine’s from Jan 1970 to Dec 1990. The Capri, being my favorite car means I have read every article they published on it. They were always enamored with it, from first drive of the underpowered 1600 cc 1970 model to comparing the fox body successor. It is good to see one in such remarkable original shape. A beautiful 74 was recently sold on e bay for $12,900. Any car, no matter what the pundits say about it is loved by someone. I hope this car is bought by someone who loves it’s style and driving experience.
The body trim on the sides don’t do a thing for it. Only see them in older scrapyards now.
I’ve got a 2.8 Capri engine in my fake Cobra, and with the hotter cam, Offenhauser manifold and Holley 4-barrel it’s absolutely as fast as a street driven car needs to be – and it’s got an exotic exhaust note when revved over 3500 or 4000 that has been compared to a Ferrari V12!
We need a video clip of that exhaust note, STAT!
Way cool
Back when I was a car-crazed teenager, a friend I met at local autocrosses, Bill Danylo, had a really cool Triumph GT-6. He yanked out the original straight 6 English mass of iron, and put in a 2.6 liter Cologne V-6, which he said was 200 lbs lighter than the original engine! It had a small hood scoop, tasteful fender flares, headers and a few other performance mods, along with being slightly lowered with bigger sway bars. It was painted white with the iconic blue Shelby stripes, and my friend Tom and I just loved that car! Bill took us for rides, and it sounded so good and hauled ass! It seemed to us like it handled like a race car! It was a poor man’s Cobra, and when you flipped up the one piece front hood and fenders, the V-6 looked perfect in there! It was a labor of love, and Bill had done a great job on it! Like a Cobra, it married the British looks and handling with a more powerful motor, but with much less investment. Bill got married, and a few years later, the slightly neglected Triumph could have been mine for around $800, as I recall, but I didn’t have that money then, sadly. I wonder what became of his mini-Cobra?
Whole car – what a way to recycle and old Capri!
I salute your imagination and wrenching skills, Brakeservo. I’ll bet it is a well-balanced driver. If you’re waiting to see a certain car, just see BarnFinds. Too cool.
I knew an automotive shop teacher who on the side would buy Capris that were wrecks and rebuild them as they were popular at the time. He would take one that was wrecked in the front and one in the rear, cut them and weld the good parts back together using a jig he made. By the time he got done you couldn’t tell they were rebuilt wrecks as there were only three cut and weld points on the car. I bought a ’69 Toyota Corolla that he had repaired conventionally and it was just as good as one that hadn’t been wrecked but if you looked hard enough you could tell it was a rebuilt wreck. But then again as in any endeavor there are the hacks and there are the zen masters. The trick is to find and buy from the masters.
My first car was a 76 Capri II. It was POS brown with the 2.3 and a 4 speed manual. My pops taught me a lot with that car. As many problems as it had, if I could get another I would do it. When I was stationed in Germany in late 89 through 91 I was surprised to see so many in Europe. Still love the lines on the body. The railroad tie bumpers, not so much.
Well Rob I just found one (77 I think) in my father in laws shop. He recently passed and we did not even know it was in there. Buried under a bunch of drapery material…..he was interior design architect type. He was original owner. Seems to be perfect for its age. leaking little oil. Last started in 2000. More to the story but if you happen to see this and are interested let me know. Funny how many people ask me what it is when I am illegally driving it down the street. hahahaha.
Is this 1977 Mercury Capri II still for sale ??
Put some Euro bumpers on it, get rid of the nasty body moldings and breath some life into the engine and it would be fun. I miss my three Capri’s, or Crapi’s as they were often called.
The body moldings aped the same style that were used by big Mercurys and Lincolns from the era. Thankfully, my earlier version used ones like the European Ghia. If I ever decide to redo the original paint, I’d be tempted to remove mine and fill the holes, I think the car has a very good profile and looks good without them. Removing the federal crash bumpers makes the car lighter by 80 pounds at each end. Junebug has this listed as an a/c car, but I don’t see a compressor. Yes, the Capri had reliability and rust problems, but what car from the Seventies didn’t? What killed the Capri was the dollar to German mark exchange rate. In January 1969, close to the time the Capri made its debut, the dollar would buy four German marks. In 1977, when Ford stopped importing the Capri, a dollar bought 2.37 marks, making all German imports cost almost a third more. My car has every option but a vinyl roof and sunroof and stickered for $6,100. Why buy a Capri when you can get a Cougar for the same money?
My wife drove a black 1979 X-pack Mk lll Capri in the UK. It was powered by the UK 3.0 liter V6. Fully flared front and rear fenders and 10″ wide by 13″ diameter wheels. With the X-pack suspension, it cornered like it was on rails. Most guys could not handle a girl driving such a car to and from work…… LOL.
Ooh. X-Pack. How I lusted after them when I was a teenager. I ended up with an Orange/rust MkII 1600 Auto, that ran fine until one day when it didn’t – the camshaft had no lobes left on it! The mechanic was amazed at how it had got that far. Next was a Scarlet MKIII, with beige interior, still 1600cc, but manual. Lastly was a Blue/primer MKIII with a 2.0LHE engine and manual ‘box. Went like stink, and would pirouette around bends in the wet like a champ. I would have another one in a heartbeat – come on Ford let’s have an updated one.
$4,000 let alone $7,500? It appears that the current number of bidders (0 with 2 days left) is sending a message to the seller.
If you were a serious bidder, would you bid early? Of course not! I always assume every early bidder in an online auction is merely a friend or neighbor of the seller and is just doing them a favor, particularly if it is marked “Reserve not met.”
The Capri ll was a much nicer car than the original Capri. I had a ’73 I didn’t care for one bit. Personally, I like the automatic, and a 5 speed was a ways off ( 3rd gen) but I believe they did away with that awful “Pinto” 4 speed on earlier cars. The Capri ll addressed all the issues, hatchback, bigger windows, more rear leg room, but I think it was too late. Hard to believe, the Capri was one of the largest selling imports, behind VW for a time.( before the “Asian” thing took off) Very few survived, as when they broke ( or rusted) they were junked. Yards were full of these. Great find.
Restomod ideas. The aod from a 2.8 or 2.9l ranger will fit. If you use the e4od version you need to buy a trans controller. You can run a 2.9 or 4.0L as a bolt in swap. You need to convert to injection or buy an adapter manifold from Tom Morana Motorsport. Or, http://www.shopfordv6.de sells a timing cover adapter to run the 2.6L intake on a 2.9. Mazda rx7 calipers and VW Corrado rotors can be adapted to the front as can contour front brakes. The mustang 7.5 or 8.8″ rear ends will fit. Legendary wheel sells an alloy 15″x6 version of the rostyle steel wheel. The possibilities are endless.
I loved the sound of a 60 degree V-6, especially with headers! The uneven firing gave them a nice snarl, and the narrower angle between cyls made them a smaller package. I owned and put several hundred thousand miles on an ’88 Merkur Scorpio. I loved that car! In contrast, 90 degree V-6s sound just like what most of them were, a V-8 with 2 cyls cut off-a flatulent drone which is not pleasant at all.
Had a 1974 one. Loved it. Had it stolen, driven to NC & burned. Great handling car.
I dragged a 76 Capri II out of the High Desert of California a few years back. It was last on the road in 1987……I was lucky enough to be able to title it as a 75′ due to a long lost title, but bill of sale from the original owner….Being a 75′ in CA meant no smog and you could “fix” that engine to run a little better. Paid $750…V6, 4-speed, A/C and sunroof……..rough shape, but savable…..
Curious, did you find it in the Antelope Valley, Lake L.A? I live out there and have one in L.A. in my garage. Thinking about bringing it back to life. Retired!
Anyone still interested in this once great car if wasn’t operated on salted roads needs to know about the engines cam gear. Who knows what the original was replaced with long ago–another composite gear or a steel gear?
We that had it fail called it sawdust crap because we were so mad when failed going down the road as mine did. I swore I would never but another Ford but I did. It was a brilliant engineering idea to make the engine more quiet. I installed a steel cam and crank gear kit. The smaller crank gear had different key slots so valve timing could be altered.
Hard to believe, but all I had to do was install an optical ignition system, some fresh gas and this very dusty mill fired up…….I have since sourced a fully built 2.8 with ISKY cam, Offy manifold and Holley double pump, steel gear drive, finned valve covers and all the period correct parts…..Should make a nice revvy 200hp
Haha that is awesome! I am doing the exact same thing for my rebuild as well! I have an Isky cam for it and oversized valves. I am going to try and pass CA smog with the regular intake and motorcraft carb and then I’ll swap in the Offy manifold and Holley. Need to get that steel or aluminum gear as well.
Ironically I was in process of writing to a friend about my old Capri looking for it’s original HP and spotted this sight.
Two 1976 Capri ll’s were long time left overs the dealer couldn’t sell in 1978. One was ugly green, and an orange one which I bought for $3,200. It had 2.8 V6 manual with AC.
This is what I did with mine.
I got the cosmetic and suspension parts from Rokstock in Oregon, they were big on Capris back then. I noticed below my entry some one brought up Rokstock. The side profile above more Rokstock Capri is what mine looked like with diff wheels but had the whale tail, Shadow rear window louvers and front air dam.
Suspension-Bilstein struts and shocks, oversized anti sway bars front and rear, caster/camber plates, P-metric wheels (15.2 inches, stock was 13) Ford used in the early/mid 1980’s.
Performance-Garratt TO4 turbo kit from Ack Miller from California, $714. In 1979, Ford put out their turbo Mustang using what was called the draw through turbo system. The turbo sucked the fuel-air mixture from the carb mounted very close to the inner fender rendering a very long intake path to the combustion chambers causing lots of turbo lag! I drove one and didn’t like at all. Miller offered a totally different design called the blow though system. Carb stayed in original position and turbo blew into it with a special housing mounted over the carb. The housing was designed for a vapor gas set up, probably for a stationary engine set up from what I understood at the time and Miller adapted it for his turbo kit. Look up Ack Miller, then you can understand who this guy was–a real pioneer in hot rodding. The housing had a fitting on the side and incorporated a interchangeable relief spring, mine set for 9 PSI. Since no gasoline was in the pressurized air path, there was no danger of fire when over boost occurred was relieved under the hood.
Since the car now had a high capacity electric fuel pump installed, I connected the hot wire through an oil pressure switch so fuel pump would shut off in case of an accident, my idea, not Millers.
Car was a V6 so the opposite bank had to feed the turbo installed side with a cross over pipe to feed into the turbo so a single exhaust had to be fabricated, I built a 3 inch exhaust with a (small) turbo muffler in front of the rear axil & no cats. The V6 sound coming from that exhaust system was impressive, revving or just sitting there idling.
I installed a MSD (multi spark discharge) ignition unit plus a very necessary module to retard the spark because the stock distributor with it’s advance system was still installed, it allowed different retard setting plugs to be installed in it to customize the amount of spark retard you needed. I bought 100 octane gas from a local general aviation airport to keep the engine in one piece.
Cosmetics–whale tail, front air dam and “Shadow” aluminum rear window louvers.
Very sadly as stated, salted roads slowly destroyed the car but it also did same to all 1970’s cars. My neighbors Chevy station wagon had rust streaks down the side of that car.
I currently drive a Mazda Speed 6
Great color, great car. These never grew old in spirit. My sister bought an early 1600 shortly after returning from a trip to England. She traded that one on a ’74 V6. Capri was the first car I knew by name!
There was a simple way to wake these up, Local company made kits. ROKSTOK. Simple formula. Turbo package and body and suspension upgrades. I knew of several “Crappies” growing up.
More ROKSTOK Capri
I remember this as being Roks personal Turbo Capri.
No slouches when breathed on
In the small community where I grew up (Corbett Oregon) THIS is how many of the high school kids drove and thats no exagerration. There was a guy Robert Eber, His parents owned a body shop, and I think they got tired of rebuilding his wrecks. I spent many days after school or during lunch breaks wishing he wouldnt 4 wheel drift around EVERY corner. I got lucky that I was never in his cars or the many others when they wrecked, and wreck they did. (often) Another guy, Robert Godat’s older brother personally owns 3 telephone poles he had to pay to replace.
I agree the body side moldings are ugly. I removed them from my 75 Ghia. I do have chrome euro bumpers. At some point soon I will be painting it the original brown. Hard to find a colour that suits the ox blood interior. Not sure what engine it will get yet. It is heavier than the first generation Capri. I have 5 others I am simultaneously restoring, I want each one to be different. I have one built 2.6, offy intake, cam, bigger valves and headers. One euro 2.8, also built. I have one regular ,mild 2.8. One car will get a 5.0. I have a rallyspec 2.9 with a ranger 5 speed. I guess my point is that the Capri was a well built, good handling car that evokes looks and comments decades after they were last imported and have amazing potential to be personalized. As Ford’s European tagline read it’s ” The car you always promised yourself”
I had a 73 2.6 4 spd. I loved it. It was very light and very quick. The only problem I ever had with it was a broken throttle cable. It ran very well, and it was fun to drive. Mine went nearly 200K miles. It had metallurgy issues, and if some rust popped up, it needed to be addressed quickly. A rough railroad track took its exhaust sustem off. The resulting sound was wonderful. I had a new system using an Abarth muffler for an MGB put back in its place. It was the best sounding car I ever owned. It had a single two barrel weber carb that could be tweaked perfectly. The only thing I ever wanted was power steering. And its AC blew cold air till the day I sold the car. I drove a 76. It was not the same.
I too like the thinner side molding, but this car is gorgeous and I wouldn’t change a thing. At least about the looks.
My first brand new car! I bought a new 77 Capri (the “II” was left off for 77) It was white with the 2.8 4 speed, sunroof but non Ghia. Tan interior. I loved this car so much it made my girlfriend sick. I picked up the Rokstock and DOBI catalogs and drooled over what parts I wanted but couldn’t afford on a high schoolers budget. In short time the variable venturi carb was the first to go. Lowered the suspension and better shocks. Air dam, sway bar, poly bushings etc.. It all went bad one day when I got creamed by a drunk driver. Later on I bought the Merkur XR4ti which was a reminder for me of my old first German Ford. But the Capri was my first car love affair. If I found a nice clean one it would make its way into my hangar. FYI the cost was $3500 plus tax, lic. etc.
I was in a near head on collision when a drunk crossed over the doubles into me. If I owned another Capri I would reinforce the seat anchor bolt plates as my seat tore right out of the floor with me in it. The steering wheel bent forward like it was made of butter but I came out of it alive intact and pissed. Glad my parents made me wear safety belts from day one. I would have been out the windshield without them!
Nice picture, The air dam is a nice touch. The photo looks less like a high school and more like a college campus or military base. When I was active duty the military took a dim view of us miscreants working on our cars in parking lots so at one point I rented a storage locker I converted into a workshop so I could wrench at all hours. We had a autohobby shop on base but limited hours and space. Eventually we had a thriving community of gearheads out at that storage facility. Owner was cool and had a cherry picker and other tools we could use.
It did wonders for our sanity and morale.
The picture was taken in line at a autocross event at DeAnza College in Cupertino Ca. Probably around 1979.
I bought my daughter a 79 Capri with the Colonge V-6 and “overdrive” 4 speed when she turned 16 back in 1989. A $500.00 car.Had a Bosch ignition system which was a B to find replacement parts for. turned out the “broken steering” the seller mentioned was actually the “rag joint” on the steering shaft, a $4.00 fix. A caveat I will pass on to any one considering buying one is to look closely at the floor pan where the driver seat tracks bolt in. They have a tendency to crack, and need to be welded up to give it back the structural integrity.
Mg very first car was a 84 Ford Capri Cabaret (Ltd Edition) with the 7x13J RS seven spoke wheels running a 205/60×13 tyre also had Zender Stripes & a Rubber Boot Spoiler. Stripes were a Grey/White/Silver combo that ran the full length of the sides. Was a Cardinal Red 1.6ltr Pinto with Four on the Floor! SSD16Y was the Registration number but I don’t have ANY photos of it (unfortunately!)
In the mid ’80s my uncle and I took a 2.6/5-speed out of a 73 model Capri. Dropped it in a 1973 Ford Courier. Made an interesting little truck. We used side pipes, reupholstered the bucket seat out of the Capri. It would smoke the tires with no problem!
I have always loved these Capris. A friend in school had one her dad built for her. That Capri (a 1976) was fast, fun, great handling. It’s a good thing, I guess, that only just discovered this featured Capri, it is no longer listed.
I bought a used 76 2.8 liter 4 speed in 1983. I LOVED that car. Fast and fun. Went through a lot of distributor caps but who cared! Wish I still had her!
This was my ’76 Capri II S. I factory ordered it. V6, 4-sp, alloy wheels, AM radio. I wanted a sunroof but couldn’t get one in the black S model….too popular I guess. One of the first things I did was to knock out the cat-converters and the resonators, which allowed the engine to breath a lot better, plus upped my gas mileage considerably. Had a very tall 1st gear….lost lots of rpms 1-2. Went through more than a few clutch cables for some reason….cable would snap, foot to the floor, RPMs way up in the red zone…. Kept the car for 3 years. It was starting to leak oil, but the main reason was that I had gotten married, wife didn’t like a stick shift and we had a kid, so I needed something larger.
I have a 1976 Capri Ghia 4 cyl and bellhousing and 5 Speed trans complete i would like to sell if any one needs one needs to be rebuilt but it ran win i pulled it have a header for it also 2 barrel carb
I have a 1977 capri mercury ghia shawdow anyone familiar
I have a 1977 capri mercury ghia shawdow anyone familiar with the shawdow i cant find anywhere