IT REALLY IS A CAR

I spent tonight trying to put the Capri back together. It only took five hours, but I think it was worth it. I also included a picture of the drivers door, as well as the inner fender. I think its looking pretty good. I need to do some panel adjustment, but I'll worry about that at a much later date. LATER...

MORE PREP...MORE SANDING...MORE PREP

The warm nights are upon us and the midnight oil is burning. I find that with my back injury I move much slower and can only do about a third of what I used to get done in the same amount of time. I have to take breaks (drink more beverages) to rest, so that I do not overdo it. As you can see by the pics, I have been working on the driver's door so I can get it back on the car. It would be nice to be able to take it out for a run or two, but I'm afraid they would frown upon a car without a door running at the track. LATER...

CRANKED UP

Another part to add to the collection. What we have here is 2M casting crankshaft to hold the bottom end of the motor together. It has been radiused, chamfered, indexed, and shot peened. It even came with the bearings. You have to love the small mom & pop machine shops that are out there. Guess what else? NO CORE CHARGE. It seems that your "big" parts stores want anywhere from $25-$95 for your old crank. This place didn't. It was also super cheap. LATER...

JUST A BIG AIR PUMP

That's all an engine is. It's one big air pump. How efficient it is will dictate how much power you can produce. Can I produce this power that I am seeking? I have no clue, but I am giving it a try. The picture shows my latest score on Ebay. $22.00 for the pistons and rods. The connecting rods are some Ford pieces, but look at Carroll Shelby and his ability to wind-up those small blocks of old. He did it with stock rods. The pistons are almost new. The guy I bought them from went with a forged bottom end because he was going to use nitrous..a lot of it. They are 9 to 1 compression and with the heads that I have they should yield about 9.8 to 1 or maybe 10 to 1. I have about 8.4 to 1 right now stock. Right there I should pick-up about a 5% increase in horsepower if nothing else changes. That is a compression only figure. That does not include the fact that I'll pick-up about 50HP from the heads alone. The rods and pistons weighed in at 2.85. One rod and piston was 2.90, but I shaved some of the rod to get it to the 2.85 of the others. Yes, I am going to do my best to balance the motor. I don't have all the fancy equipment, but I can get real close.