Picking it up...

When my first Capri ( a quite nice, red 1980 2.0S) got smashed by an evil Mitsubishi, I knew I had to get another Capri again. Just a matter of time I thought.

I spent 2,5 years searching for the replacement. OK, to be honest, the first two years I didn't have the money to get one, but I did look! Anyway, this time I really knew what I was looking for. It had to be a MkIII "S" model, preferrably with Recaro seats. There should be no major rust (I hate to weld, and I am no good at it..), and decent condition overall.

Since I had time to shop around a bit, I decided not to get just any Capri. I had ads in the "wanted" areas out for months, and sure, some cars were offered to me, but most of them looked quite sad. I had decided I was gonna buy a car that didn't needed fixing all the time.

After some disappiontments (you know how it feels when the seller on the phone claims "no rust, good nick" and you get to see a sad example...) a guy named Roland called me up. He said he had a car that wouldn't disappoint me. On the other hand, the price asked was a bit more than I had settled for. Roland convinced me to at least take a look at his Capri, a 1981 2.0S, fitted with the Ford RS-spoiler kit, "turbo-tail", part leather interior, tuned engine and so on... The car really was in great condition, the best Capri I had ever seen so far. I just couldn't get the money, and to be honest, I don't think Roland really did want to sell... As we shared the same interest, we became friends, and Roland introduced me to the Capri Club of Sweden.

This meant my search for a Capri continued. One weekend I was in Stockholm (I lived in Karlstad at this time) to visit my parents, and had a look in the ad paper "Gula Tidningen". A total of 3 Capris were for sale, two black ones, one red. All of them were 2.0S's.

One of the black ones were "in peices", the result of a commenced overhaul that included a new paintjob. Remembering I really wanted a "finished" car, I still arranged to see this one. The car sat in a garage on the way to red car, which I really was more interested in, said to be in good condition, two previous owners and so on.

The "kitcar" turned out to be quite sound, but very dusty, and with some parts missing (minor stuff like engine, some glass and bumpers...), but on the other hand some nice stuff - big exhaust, Janspeed manifold, 4-spoke Revolutions, the standard alloys, new studded winter tyres (yeah, like I was gonna drive the Capri in the winter!), and, it had the Recaros...

Camilla, my girlfrend (who at this point was quite tired of looking at old Fords...), and I steered towards the red Capri that was the primary target of this trip (I never got in touch with the other black one for sale).

Until that time I never thought that a Capri could seem dull - but this one did. OK, it was a 2.0S, it had the alloys, and was in generally good shape. No Recaros though, and somehow it didn't have the mean appearance that the black "kitcar" had...plus, the price asked was too much for that car - it wasn't THAT good!

Hummm...I had to think this over. OK, I know I had settled for a "good" car this time, but the black one seemed to have potential. And I also knew that I wanted to improve the car anyway - wouldn't that be a good starting point? The "goodies" included tempted me as well...

I called the seller up, and when he dropped the price to what just the wheels and Recaros were worth, I couldn't resist anymore - the "BlackMagicCapri" was to be mine!

So, now I was the owner of a "kitcar" Capri, with no engine, covered in dust, some "small" rustholes and quite a few boxes with parts. I had to be nuts...I also found out that it really was a 1974 1600XL converted to 1980 2.0S spec.

I talked my father into allowing me to use his garage for the assembly (I already used that garage for my 1966 Cortina...), and to help me get the "kit" home. We rented a trailer and set course for the BlackMagicCapri!