1991 - 94 Mercury Capri? Anyone had one?

[OceanRuns]

I may have a chance to pick one up very cheaply. It's an automatic, and is not the turbo version.

It does need some work. I know these cars don't have the best reputation, and aren't true sports cars. But, that said, are they really that bad?

One thing I did notice, is that the transmission seems to shift up at 4000 RPM. is that normal, given the small engine? Or, seem like an issue?

Thanks for any insight.

 

[eljefino]

For your first one of these, buy two.

You'll need the parts. They're a weird Ford Australia hodgepodge.

 

[Donald]

I never liked how they looked, but maybe it will work out for your.

 

[thr_wedge]

A Miata fighter based on a Mazda 323, that was as ugly as it was terrible. A friends mom had one in HS, we took it out a couple times but it was too embarrassing, it was a POS new, I am sure it has only gotten worse.

 

[bdcardinal]

Pass on the deal. Pretty much every part is obsolete.

 

[bepperb]

The reason all the cars I've ever owned have been Japanese is because my mom had a Mercury Capri when I was growing up.

I'm dead serious.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Rebodied 323...the base car is sporty looking but painfully slow, a bit like an old Paseo. The XR2 turbo car is a quick and nimble pocket rocket. My wifes friend got rid of hers at 280,000 miles...original turbo, head gasket, & clutch. The bad: a replacement top is something like 2 grand.

 

[meep]

yea I thought they were a fazda.... based on mazda. they were only "ok" by what I remember. More fun could be had from something else of that era.

 

[wings&wheels]

Had the XR2 Turbo, manual, fun little car, Lotus Elan M100 wannabe, but horrible quality... I wanted a convertible, but did not want a Miata and the M100 was out of my $ reach.

I did some conservative mods (Millen?), much better tires and the car was a blast.

In ~60k miles:
-top tears and other issues, covered by a recall
-weird electrical problems; failed bulbs like crazy, especially headlights, random fuses, especially for the cooling fans in hot weather(!)
-headlight motor seized at ~40K miles, ridiculous $ to replace, all the fasteners were corroded
-shift lever support failed causing the lever to fall a few inches...weirdly, it would shift but the knob was almost level w/ the console. This happened at ~36,300 (36k warranty) or so. I remember because I had to push quite a bit for a any consideration from the Dealer

At this point, unless you really, really want one I would pass or look for a lower mileage Turbo. There are much better alternatives.

w&w

 

[artificialist]

Parts are nearly impossible to find, and since you will need to replace many of them due to age, forget about driving that car for a while.

It is a car that will go into extinction and most people are not going to feel bad about that.