After the US saw an incredible explosion of muscle cars in the late 60s everyone wanted a piece of the action. All over the world, every market had a different take on what made a good muscle car.
Some of the best takes were often the simplest; a small car with a big V8. Out of all the different cars made in the late 60s and early 70s, few stood out stylistically quite as much as the Ford Capri. It was however fairly underpowered with the 1300 and 1600 Kent motors doing duty for the standard version and the 2-liter V4 getting stuck into the (slightly) more powerful version. When it arrived in South Africa a tuner already affiliated with the brand saw an opportunity, by first putting in a V6 then getting a whole lot more ambitious and squeezing a Winsor 302 V8 into the little car.
More Power Per Hour
That was the very simple, very accurate marketing slogan used at the time. Considering the engines that were usually fitted to these little cars were barely able to make 100 horsepower it was also an incredulous understatement.
It wasn’t even a basic swap; the Windsor got a Holley carb and a tune! It made a very respectable 280 horsepower in a car that weighed little over a ton. That was enough power to rocket the little car from 0-60 in less than 7 seconds and record a top speed of over 140 mph. All this is done on somewhat pathetic 185/70R13 tires! On modern rubber and slightly wider if not bigger rims these numbers would be vastly improved, with traction being one of the car's biggest shortcomings even with its Falcon sourced limited-slip diff.
So Many Imitations
In recent times these cars have become increasingly rare, seeing their value skyrocket.
This has led to another problem with authenticity becoming something of an issue, the Perana came with a factory warranty and was sold thru Ford dealerships as the cars were sent in base form with no engines to the company contracted to build them. They were built well. Sadly, the same isn’t always true for the copies and the price should never be the same, with the popularity so high many people sourced their own junk V8 and subbed it in for the smaller engine. No telling how many miles those older Winsor engines had on them or how much power they actually made.
Summary
As wonderful as the Capri was it is by no stretch of the imagination an accessible car. Genuine cars are extremely collectible and the not so genuine cars are pretty hard to tell apart unless you are able to go through all the paperwork. A key factor in telling the fake from the real one is the original paint, if it was anything other than yellow or “Piri Piri Red” then you need to start asking some serious questions. If it is a clone it will still likely be a lot of fun, as long as you are not paying for the genuine article!