1976 Mercury Capri

Ghia Hatchback

Manual

Clear

Gasoline

Up for auction with no reserve is my 1976 Mercury Capri II Ghia. I purchased this car in May of 2001. It is a former west coast car that I found in Florida. I have the smog paperwork and an insurance form for traceability of the past two owners prior to me and to support my statement. It had 74,765 miles showing in May of 2001. In nine years I have added another 1343. It currently shows 76,108. I do have a clear title and it reflects the mileage as actual. The wear on the pedals suggest that the mileage is accurate, but I can’t offer any guarantee to it being fact. The car is equipped with the 2.8 liter V6 and a smooth shifting 4-spd manual transmission. It has the 3.09 ratio rear axle. It has always been orange in color. The black strips were added by a previous owner. It has a build date of 03/1976. Over the past nine years I’ve installed a new manual steering rack, poly bushings on both sway bars, new lower control arms, shackle mount and rear spring bushings, OEM style molded carpet, rear brake wheel cylinders, cap, rotor, plugs, air filter, new aftermarket rims, all four tires, all fluids, (yearly oil changes with filter) , re-packed the front wheel bearings, and rear hatch lift struts. Brake pads, shoes, all belts, and radiator hoses were replaced several months prior to my purchase of the car. The car drives well. It tracks straight, although every once in a while it has a “shake” from the front end. I did not have an alignment done after replacing the steering rack. Braking action is good, for a Capri. The clutch is good and the engine revs freely. It has “smoked” on startup before, but does not seem to after it has been run. After 8 months of sitting it will put a small stain on the floor from what I guess to be the rear seal. I did take pictures of the concrete floor where it hibernates if anyone wants to see the size of spot. It does need some restoration; this is a 34 year old car so it isn’t perfect. Having been on the west coast has helped save it. Yet, it does have some surface rust underneath, it does have a rust hole the size of a quarter in the right side rocker, and there are a few areas under the paint that need attention. Wheel arches look good. Both front fenders look good. It does appear that the right rear quarter panel was replaced at some time with a panel from a donor car. When I bought the car the right door was out of adjustment. I have since adjusted the door to where it opens easily. However, the body line is looks off. Looking down the right rear quarter it would appear that the quarter wasn’t positioned correctly when the welding was done to re-attach it. I think this can be fixed. I did check out the right rear frame rail when I bought the car. I didn’t see any obvious damage or repairs to the rail or where it mounts to the car. There is a wrinkle in the trunk pan, and the spare tire well has had some fiberglass repairs. This was done prior to my ownership. I did remove the fuel tank, cleaned up the surface rust and treated the trunk pan underneath with POR-15. I also treated the floor pans when I replaced the carpet. The floors are solid as are the rocker panels except as mentioned. Light surface rust only on the exterior bottom side of the rocker panels and underneath the car where I didn’t clean it up and treat. Bottoms of the doors and hatchback are solid. I treated some surface rust in those areas. The trim on the car is complete except for the chrome strip that goes along the lower lip of the rear hatch. It is missing. Parts of the trim were painted black. The plastic surrounding the side marker lights are starting to crack. It could use weather stripping in most areas as it is showing its age. The front windshield does leak in the lower right corner. I will be including a “new” seal and lock strip that I purchased for the car a couple of years ago, but have not gotten around to installing it. The seal is in good condition and is still soft and pliable. The sunroof does not leak; it opens in both selections (pop-up rear or slide). I think everything on the car works except the heater. It is not hooked up. It was bypassed when I bought the car. I don’t drive it in the winter or when it gets to cold so I’ve never fooled with it. I don’t know what the condition it is in. I’ll just state that it probably leaks. It has a pioneer FM-CD player. Nothing fancy, but it’ll make music. Additional options are rear defrost and wiper. The car has the Ghia package, which is the upgraded interior. The driver seat vinyl is split, the other seats are good. The dash pad has the typical cracks. The headliner is ok, and the interior plastic is complete. It doesn’t have the Ghia steering wheel trim at this time. I replaced the ignition switch (key slot was bad) the easy way and installed a complete steering wheel and shaft assembly with one from a parts car that my brother bought. I may still have the original cover and button, it will be included if I find it. I do have a set of the original magnesium wheels. They are included in the auction if wanted. I don’t have center caps and I may not have a complete set of wheel lug nuts or studs. I will also include the car cover, a set of aftermarket seat covers, the paper work showing the past two owners, a Chilton’s manual, and sheets from a body repair book. I will not set up, make arrangements or ship this car. That will be the responsibility of the winning bidder. I will help load or assist if you bring your own trailer. I have tried to make an honest representation of the car. I’ve lost interest in the car over the years and I don’t see myself taking it any further in restoration or to the next level in preserving it. I’m offering it at an opening bid that I think is fair, hundreds less than I have in it. I can take additional pictures or if you have any questions contact me. I’m willing to show the car if you would like to come see it before you bid. I’m not offering any warranties. Car is sold as is, so ask questions. Check out the pictures I’ve posted or request the views you’d like to see. Your winning bid is to own the car, not come kick the tires. I would like $200 down via pay-pal at the end of the auction within 24 hrs. I would be willing to accept pay-pal for the entire amount, but I would prefer the remaining balance be paid with cash at pickup. Money order is acceptable. Absolutely no personal checks. I would like to have the final transaction completed within 30 days from end of auction. If paid in full at end of auction I’m willing to “store” the car for a reasonable amount of time, just where it sits until pick up can be made. It is kept indoors. Vintage Capri’s are becoming scarce if not rare and you won’t find many of these in the mid-west in this condition.On Jun-14-10 at 18:41:44 PDT, seller added the following information:I have added a few videos of the car on youtube. I cannot post the links here. You can search for them under "1976 Mercury Capri" or by my nickname "1976MercuryCapri". There are 4 parts.On Jun-16-10 at 19:53:56 PDT, seller added the following information:I've added two more video's to youtube. They can be searched the same as the other 4. They are the underside of the car. I also have about 125 images here: http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj237/Rexalot/Capri/?albumview=slideshow The car is roadworthy. I haven't done any more than local driving, but if your adventurous and want to take for an extended freeway drive home, the car has never given me any reason to think that it wouldn't go any distance. If you would rather play things safe then bring your trailer.