1973 Ford (Europe) Capri Mk I RS 2600 Factory Stock Road Car

Hi,

I was surprised to read recently that the European Ford Capri Mk I, sold in the U.S.A. as Lincoln-Mercury Capri, was the most successful import car on the U.S. Market during the early seventies.
The choice for overseas Capri buyers, however, was very limited, f. e. only 3 (?) of the numberless European versions of the Capri came to America.

The Ford Capri I RS 2600 shown here was the top model of the whole Capri range. It was built in small numbers by Ford Cologne, therefore I am not sure if it was sold outside Germany. Ford England built a similar version with a different engine as the RS 3100.

The RS 2600 was a reworked standard 2300. Among others it featured a larger crankshaft, a hotter camshaft, fuel injection, an extensively improved suspension, wide aluminum wheels, one separate exhaust system for each cylinder bank, a different interior.
The RS 2600 served as a homologation car for the extremely successful Ford works racing cars of those days. Officially rated at 150 PS (rather 180 PS as motor magazines estimated, 1 PS = appr. 1 HP net) and rather light (1080 kg) it was a very fast car in the early seventies that could hardly be outperformed on German Autobahns (BTW still no speed limit today). Though an RS 2600 cost more than twice as much as the cheapest standard Capri it was a bargain compared to other cars with similar performance.
The number of options was endless. If someone was willing to spend enough money he could order larger engines with up to 230 PS in wide lightweight bodies with plastic doors and lids and even plexiglass windows.
The durability of the RS 2600's drivetrain, however, was a disaster. Engines and transmissions used to explode after 5,000 to 10,000 km - this was also my personal experience, so I sold my own car before the warranty expired.


I built this replica of my own vehicle probably 25 years ago from a very simple Doyusha motorized toy model kit of an early (not 1973 as stated by Doyusha, small taillights!) Capri 2000 GT.

http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/kowalski-juergen/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/bild-3166_zpsdst50dzy.jpg (http://s1033.photobucket.com/user/kowalski-juergen/media/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/bild-3166_zpsdst50dzy.jpg.html)

The body shell was very nice, but it was virtually the only part of the kit I could use. Because of a large battery box there was a flat one-piece interior and the glass parts were deeply tinted to conceal it. All other parts of the kit did not match the RS 2600.
I found making the windows and the rims a bit difficult in those days. Viewing the pictures I see some details for which I would find better solutions today. Nevertheless I hope the result looks acceptable even by today's standards.

http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/kowalski-juergen/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/comp_2600RS00168_zpsd1b79e16.jpg (http://s1033.photobucket.com/user/kowalski-juergen/media/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/comp_2600RS00168_zpsd1b79e16.jpg.html)
http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/kowalski-juergen/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/comp_2600RS00268_zpsac390117.jpg (http://s1033.photobucket.com/user/kowalski-juergen/media/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/comp_2600RS00268_zpsac390117.jpg.html)
http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/kowalski-juergen/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/comp_2600RS00368_zpsd73a4346.jpg (http://s1033.photobucket.com/user/kowalski-juergen/media/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/comp_2600RS00368_zpsd73a4346.jpg.html)
http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/kowalski-juergen/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/comp_2600RS00468_zps9eae225a.jpg (http://s1033.photobucket.com/user/kowalski-juergen/media/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/comp_2600RS00468_zps9eae225a.jpg.html)
http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/kowalski-juergen/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/comp_2600RS00568_zpsef6385df.jpg (http://s1033.photobucket.com/user/kowalski-juergen/media/Ford%20Capri%202600%20RS/comp_2600RS00568_zpsef6385df.jpg.html)

Acceptable by today's standards!??! Until I read the text I thought I was looking at the latest off your bench this week! Excellent work indeed.
How did you produce the rims, may i ask?

ATB
Rick

Great looking model. The finish looks more than acceptable. I'm jealous that you had the real thing! Love the old capris.

Cheers
Anthony

That is excellent

Lots of happy memories of my Dads Capris as a kid, lovely job you've done.

Given the base kit, that is rather nice.

Lovely!

That looks really very nice! I've looked at this kit but kept passing it up as it looked like more work than I was willing to put in. I had a 72 Capri with the 2600 V6, 4 speed, headers and ANSI exhaust. Had a very distinctive sound. Man do I miss that car.

Mike

This build is 25 years old ??? OMG...
Amazing :)

Thanks for the response!


Acceptable by today's standards!??! Until I read the text I thought I was looking at the latest off your bench this week! Excellent work indeed.
How did you produce the rims, may i ask?

ATB
Rick

Rick, after 25 years my memories of building the rims are rather vague but I think in broad strokes this is what I did:

From my parts box I chose tires of the correct size and rims of the corresponding diameter.
Using a self-made jig in order to get four uniform rims I glued sections of styrene strip and tube onto four styrene discs fitting exacly into the chosen rims. After sanding these four finished inserts flat I removed the inner part of each rim and glued the four inserts into these prepared rims.

I hope this is understandable.

Looks superb, l have started the same kit and plan on doing something similar, would also like to know how you did the front and rear light conversions. I spent some time modifying the lower section below the doors of each side of the body so that the sills angle inwards correctly rather than going straight down at the same angle as the doors as produced by Doyusha. Not sure if you did this but it looks correct.

[SIZE="5"]
From my parts box I chose tires of the correct size and rims of the corresponding diameter.
Using a self-made jig in order to get four uniform rims I glued sections of styrene strip and tube onto four styrene discs fitting exacly into the chosen rims. After sanding these four finished inserts flat I removed the inner part of each rim and glued the four inserts into these prepared rims.

I hope this is understandable.

Totally understandable Juergen - very impressive result and thanks for the time you put into explaining - excellent!

ATB
Rick

Looks superb, l have started the same kit and plan on doing something similar, would also like to know how you did the front and rear light conversions. I spent some time modifying the lower section below the doors of each side of the body so that the sills angle inwards correctly rather than going straight down at the same angle as the doors as produced by Doyusha. Not sure if you did this but it looks correct.

As far as I recall I did this:

Headlights
First I chose four lenses for the dual headlights from my spares box.
I cut two pieces of sheet styrene fitting into the headlights openings of the body shell, and drilled four holes with the diameter of the lenses. These two parts could be called "lense carriers".
Next I chose thick pieces of styrene and with a rotary tool and a round bit (or a drill bit) I made four hemispherical indentations as headlight reflectors; their diameter must be slightly smaller than the holes in the lense carriers. These four reflectors were glued concentrically to the back of the lense carrier holes.
After foiling or painting the reflectors the four lenses were attached with acrylic clear; the step between reflectors and lense carriers (remember: different diameters!) made this easy.
Finally the lenses got bezels, i. e. rings of bright wire.

Taillights
Unfortunately I can't remember anything concerning the taillights. I am rather sure, however, that I proceeded in the same way, but, of course, the Capri's unique taillight glasses had to be shaped from clear styrene.

Again I hope this is understandable.