Capri

[capri v8 driver]

Looks like the cross member sits nicely between the Capri rails. 

[Jaanus]

It is a pretty good fit.

borrowed winter wheels from friends e46. ET47 16", big tires



e36 rack (~10cm shorter than sierra power rack), e34 u-joint, need to get a bmw shaft with splines to go in that, to then weld it to the sierra part. Sierra shaft slides into the bmw u-joint and is held in with the locking bolt, but there are no splines, so no driving with that



re-made stut tower reinforcing lower bits




Even with these big tires and big offset, clearance looks good.

[capri v8 driver]

Almost like original.  

in length, the beamer rack looks very close to the capri rack.

[capri v8 driver]

Yesterday I had a visitor from Polen and he has 2 Capri's with the 4.4 v8 engine and suspension from a BMW. According to him he only modified the mounting points of the body to get the front and rear suspension in witch was easy to do. He also uses wheels with a big offset.

 

[Jaanus]

Thats the general idea yep. front subframe mounts should be same starting from e30, difference in width comes from lower arms being wider for e36 and more on e46.

i chose e36, well because thats first i got.
need to add more camber with camberplates and need coilovers for that, otherwise springs will hit body.

[Jaanus]

buildin front end one piece at a time



tried fitting doors and wings, couldnt get right wing on as it was. right corner was in about 10mm


also both corners were sagging down



made a jig where i think things should be. new frame where to bolt the headlights to and then cut out the rest and to then build up to it

[capri v8 driver]

Thats the general idea yep. front subframe mounts should be same starting from e30, difference in width comes from lower arms being wider for e36 and more on e46.

i chose e36, well because thats first i got.
need to add more camber with camberplates and need coilovers for that, otherwise springs will hit body.

If the lower beam is on the same centerline as the capri one you will have more or less the same caster as a capri. I would reposition the 3 mounting and hole to get the camber at the BMW specs and after that you can use camber plates for the fine adjustment. Just my idea. Using coil overs and adjustable dampers would make it a lot easier to dail the suspension in.

[Jaanus]

The stock bmw springs barely fit in the towers as it is, can't move them closer to the car centerline without going coilovers.

Tops of Capri towers are fairly flat and small compared to bmw:

https://imgur.com/mF94M1W

[capri v8 driver]

Tops of Capri towers are fairly flat and small compared to bmw:

However the bearing top plates are still flat and around the same dimensions as a Capri. I was planning to use BMW top bearing plates on my 20M as its hard/pricy to find original 20M replacements. In the end i found 2 new 20m top bearing plates. 

I checked with my Polish visitor. The BMW springs and spring plate are bigger in size and offset to the damper so that will complicate things. Coilovers is the best way to go to gain clearance. In that case i would replace the stock dampers for adjustable ones.

[Jaanus]

Yep, coilovers are the way if keeping the Capri towers with adjustable camberplates

old headlight buckets:


CAD template




Testing making the hole for changing bulbs etc.


And in the correct piece



Both sides done. On to making the rest of it next time

[capri v8 driver]

Looks very good!

For the lights i use E30 head lights with Osram LED bulbs in the 20M and for my black Capri V8. Not cheap as you need 2 sets of LED bulbs witch are 100 euros a set but the view on the road at night is superieur to the old lights. I can say its one of the best upgrades you can do to these old head lights.

[Jaanus]

[capri v8 driver]

Looking good. Nice work.

I would advice to make drain holes in the buckets and use a epoxy primer and a good seam sealer before painting as parts like the headlight buckets and rockers will see a lot of water.

Would be a shame to re-do all your hard work. Why am i saying this? well i did this for the last week and this is just 1 side of the car:





while i taught that just welding and bondo could keep water out the seams of the rear panels the bondo cracked (after some hit it) and let water in. Now i had to take it back to bare metal, cut and reweld the seams and start over. This time i tinned and leaded the seams.  Something i should have done in the first place the first time but didn't do due time constrains.

[Jaanus]

Already thought of the drain.

I've had to push it outside twice while it rained(not even much). Not good   
Hve to be more mindful about the weather, when others need to use the lift and this needs to go outside for a moment


Just trying not to paint it and then have to grind paint off next week 
Some parts i think i wont be touching again have gotten a coat

[capri v8 driver]

Hve to be more mindful about the weather, when others need to use the lift and this needs to go outside for a moment

I shared a garage with a friend a long time ago and a shared garage does have these kind of disadvantage. Like missing tools ect. Lucky me, the garage next to it came available and i could have it and still bin there for 30 years now. But now looking for a house with a garage.

Since the car is without paint and bondo i would look into tinning the bodywork especially the weld seams. It prevents water into the seams, so no rust and no more cracking bondo due flex and stress in the metal. Yes its not cheap or easy but when done right it saves you a lot of frustration and work in the future. And use a epoxy primer as a first coat. Epoxy primer does not absorb water like other primers and bondo do and therefor protecting the metal much beter against rust.

 

[Jaanus]

Been a bit quiet. Had some stuff to do on the Sierra.
Now started to fix the doors

[dave73]

 

[capri v8 driver]

Looks so much beter then the rust.