Ford of Britain produced some interesting small cars, including the Escort and Cortina. One of the more unusual was the Consul Capri, featuring styling cues from the Thunderbird and the Starliner. It is believed that only around twenty-five examples reached North America, and this 1964 model is only the second we’ve seen at Barn Finds. It has hibernated for decades, but the car’s location has preserved it remarkably well. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Rob for spotting this rare beauty listed here on Craigslist near Brooktrails, California, with an asking price of $8,600.
Launched in 1961 as the more luxurious version of the new Consul Classic, the Capri featured a two-door Coupe body penned by Charles Thompson. The Capri drew on styling cues from Lincoln, as well as the Thunderbird and the Galaxie Starliner. It included extremely fine pillars and an enormous glass area for a vehicle of this size. The Pressed Steel Company manufactured the bodies at its Cowley plant, then shipped them to Ford’s Dagenham factory for final assembly. Later cars left the line in Halewood, with sales ending in 1964 as the Capri struggled in the market. The seller believes that only around twenty-five examples reached North America in 1964, and considering the low production numbers, the figure sounds plausible. Finished in Raven Black, this Capri has spent forty years in storage. The environment must have been ideal, because while the floors feature a dusting of dry surface corrosion, there is no evidence of penetrating rust. The trunk pan is perfect, and there are no panel issues. The biggest obstacle for the buyer is the windshield, which is cracked in one corner. The rarity of these classics may make finding one locally challenging, so importing a replacement from the UK may be the only option. The remaining glass is clear and crack-free, and the trim looks complete and acceptable for a survivor of this vintage.
Initially released with a 1,340cc four under the hood, Ford introduced a vastly improved 1,498cc powerplant in August 1962. The upgrade didn’t just boost power and torque from 56hp and 76 ft/lbs to 64hp and 86 ft/lbs; it also addressed a significant mechanical weakness. The smaller motor featured a three-bearing crankshaft that was prone to failure. The larger engine’s five-bearing configuration eliminated that problem. No automatic transmission was available, and all Capris sent power to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual. The seller says that this classic doesn’t run, and I suspect it hasn’t in four decades. The engine bay looks remarkably clean, with no significant corrosion on any components. Therefore, if the motor turns freely, revival might not be difficult.
The Californian climate that has admirably preserved this Capri’s steel has been pretty harsh on its interior. The dashpad has more cracks than the San Andreas Fault, while some Red vinyl upholstered surfaces are split and warped. However, the seats don’t look too bad, and the buyer might be able to save items like the passenger-side door trim by transferring the vinyl onto a replacement card. The wheel is cracked, and the speedometer is missing, and sourcing replacements for any parts beyond repair would likely involve contacting a UK supplier.
The Ford Consul Capri shared some characteristics with the Edsel. It didn’t suffer the quality control issues that helped sink the Edsel, but its complex body construction meant the sticker price was far higher than originally envisaged, pushing the cars beyond the reach of the company’s intended target demographic. Early cars suffered engine reliability issues, and the later cars faced stiff internal competition from the Cortina. The jig was up, with the last cars leaving the Halewood line in 1964. With a production total of 1,007 vehicles that year, they are extremely rare, and this final-year example is a promising project candidate. So if you have Blue-Oval leanings and are seeking a rare, affordable project, this ’64 Consul Capri could be a strong option.
What a fascinating little car! I think I see ’65 Mercury Comet DNA with the tailfin treatment. Shame about the windshield.
I’m thinking the same! I see early 60s big Mercury and Comet all over it… I like it a lot
1964…. That’s my birth year !
I’ve seen more than one of these with a Ford V8 under the hood.
Serious resto-mod material.
Styling from a strainer and thunderbird?? LOL
Sunliner and Thunderbird styling cues, yep. The codename for the Capri was Sunbird. Radiused wheel arches, the front sidlight pod and the rear fenders. The Thunderbird wasn’t so much in the styling but size and marketing. The Consul Capri was sold as “The First Personal Car, from Ford of Great Britain”.
There was one of these cars near Flint, Michigan back in 1971 and 1972. The guy who owned it hadn’t maintained it all that well and his teenaged son gave it the final nail in the coffin. It was a shame, considering the car’s rarity.
Wow, the car was less than 10 years old, then.
With Halloween a little over a month away, If you look at the side picture of the car in front of the house, you’ll see (now use your imagination) what looks like a face in the drivers seat looking at the camera!
I notice that too. Lol
Imagine walking on the dealer lot in ’64 and seeing a cluster of these? Cool find.
I learned a little about these a few years ago when there was a Craigslist add for 2. I found them very interesting and since I had a 2.8 V6 laying around. I thought that I might buy the pair (both looked very abused) and build 1 nice resto-mod that nobody had ever seen before. But the cars were in California with title issues. (Been there,done that with CA vehicles before and it ends up costing way more than you can imagine) Plus parts for these are almost unobtainium. Which translates to expensive. So I passed. But not after spending several days researching.
Parts are very available through the UK club. I think that they are one of the easiest restorations.
These’re nice. Pal of mine had one; lowered a bit with Lotus Cortina wheels. Rust was the main enemy, so if this one isn’t rusty that’s a good place to start.
There might still be most of one with a windscreen in it in a scrapyard near Forfar.
Road & Track did a road test on one of these,& called it
“A sheep in Wolf’s clothing”.
I had two of these,a ’62 & a ’63.I used to keep track of the
serial numbers,& many of them were one number different.
They also made a GT model,& have heard of a couple of
them in the US.
I sold both of mine for about $500 each.The Lime Green ’63
showed up here on a BarnFinds feature on a collection of cars
for sale in the Los Angeles area.I wonder where it is now?
When I sold the ’63 to Don in Brea,California,I gave him lots
of extra parts with it,including a NOS nose badge,NOS taillights,
etc.
I also know about one of these just a little South of Chicago that might be coming up for sale.
Looks like a Russian mobster car off a James Bond 007 movie.
Having owned many of these over 49 years in both the UK and Australia, I can tell you that they are easy to restore. The 1340cc (which this car has) was underpowered and tended to break crankshafts, as it was a hollow cast 3 bearing casting. A Duratec can fit very well into these. I chose the Toyota 4AGE and 5 speed for mine. The Ford Classic and Capri Owners Club has such a comprehensive spares list, it can only be described as Amazing. The windscreen is shared with the Lotus Elan. If you need the chrome surround the S2 Elan has that also. The steering wheel is also an easy fix, 2 part epoxy glue will fill that easily. There is nothing hard on these, But the steering, brakes and suspension is unique and isn’t interchangeable with other Fords from the same era. There are spares though and a great bunch of owners with 2nd hand parts too. Rubbers, and all wearing parts are available. If you are over 5’10” you may want to adjust the seats rearward by modifying the rails. If you buy it get ready for 100 questions every time someone sees it. I also run a facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/CCapriandclassicsww). I am happy to answer any questions about the model on there.
Note the later Ford Capri and Capri II (both sold by Mercury dealers here in the American market) inherited a few styling cues from this ur-Capri:
1. The partial-elliptical shape of the rear quarter windows;
2. The hood/bonnet that dips down between the headlight pods to meet a lower grille slot;
3. Arguably, the raised swage line that wraps around the rear wheel arch and then extends back from the top, just reversed in direction for the Capri Mk1.
This Capri is 1962 NOT 1964. denoted by 110E engine.
Having inherited my Dad’s 1959 English Ford CONSUL as my first car (high school sophomore 1962-63), I was astonished to see one of these Ford Consul Capri’s in the parking lot while I was working part-time, after school, at our local grocery store. It was white and probably owned by a USAF airman from nearby Bergstrom AFB.
Unfortunately, this particular model always appeared to me like the illegitimate offspring of a 1958-60 Square Bird and a 1960 Ford Galaxie.
A Lotus-Cortina donk would put a spring in her step!
The windscreen is the same as a lotus elan 2+2of the same era plus they are laminated which is a bonus, hope this helps
If I remember right,the Reliant Scimatar also
used the same windshield.
Another great project! And you won’t see another one on your block, ever. Very interesting styling mix, out there but very appealing. Price is rich for me but seems reasonable considering. With a 4 spd and the upgrade motor you could have some spirited driving fun. Maybe not winning any races if left stock but why leave it there?
This would look great parked in front of my place.
V desirable over here in the UK these days.
I’ve never seen one in black…..UK colour range much brighter….but black oddly suits
V def a rare car here or in the USA !
A girl in the Consul Capri club in the UK sent me a
picture of her Black one.She called it The Batmobile.
There was a picture of a really nice Black one
on the cover of a Your Classic magazine.Looked really
sharp.
I think that if you lowered it a little,& put a set of
Lotus Cortina rims on it that it’d look really nice.
Seen my first one when I was stationed in England around 1985, instantly feel in love with the car. Ford did a great job with the design but the manufacturing of the body was expensive at the time. I belong to the Consul Capri club in England and they have a great network set up. Been looking for one in the colonies for a long time. Of course this one pops up when I have no room or funds to chase it. Sucks to be me!
I had a red one, sadly Hurricane Agnes flooded her…
I saw one near Circus Maximus in Rome, such memories!
cool cars. i have a project one of these available with a SVO turbo 4/5 speed, 9″. body has been done.