Post
by Firenza GT » Mon 07 Jan 2008, 13:52
Sorry about this, the previous post was not that well explained after I read my own stuff for a change. Tiaan best you delete that previous one or direct to this reworked script. Never mind how long this is it’s important discussion I think. It will also be interesting to hear other opinion regarding anything I have said that I think is correct and may not be.
Chev-man here on Fords. This issue about factual information can be frustrating. With the Chev's the Can Am’s in particular I have sorted that out to an extent where I have many times heard, “believe me this is it, no other, this is so real it's unbelievable and all that and NEVER touched totally original†and so on. Wrong, the real Can Am's for example on the Chev side of things I have seen that I know for sure are all consistent in detail bar some minor things which I won’t go into too much detail now. Inconsistencies from things that could have been changed as a result of cars taken back to the dealers as they had flaws from overheating and such. But there is detail there NON-negotiable. It is either correct or modified. If modified then no longer as per authentic to detail in that department, no in-between. With reference to original Can Am’s as I have said before, take time to look at pictures or in real of any two Can Am’s there is hardly a single pair today that match exactly and you will probably end up hearing various opinions as to who is right. Unfortunately this detracts into a personal debate at times as generally one does not like to be found out as incorrect which is a human thing.
The Capri's which I haven’t had that much experience in I can say the following. As with the picture of a Can Am in the main Can Am advert where you see, ("You and 99 Others") that car is not like the cars sold to the public. There is no Can Am decal, the black is not as the finished product and various other little things. The Capri's COULD be the same to an extent where I have seen various adverts of the Perana’s I think also without a blacked out boot. But if I remember correctly that was not a photo of the Perana but like a sketch of the car in that advert. There was one that had a stripe down the side and so on. The Capri Perana model went on for a few years so there is more chance of diversity and detail model changes as with the early and later bonnets for example as the car evolved as a 3 litre on which the Perana is based.
We did’nt have our Perana from new so I cannot confirm certain facts which I have noticed different on other originals I have seen. I can confirm that the boot had been resprayed when I got it and I think I resprayed it once too. So that disqualifies me immediately from saying our car is FACT in that department. When this is the case then the only other option is to investigate the issue as best you can yourself with sandpaper and patience. As we did with the Can Am's that have been resprayed we carefully traced under coats of paint in layers that confirm authentic for one and correct in what I thought was right.
Seeing we on the topic of Capri detail, wiring and things under the bonnet for example. Ours still has what must be it’s 37 year old plug leads which even look like they run like the image in the road test engine compartment pic routed down over the covers to the plugs. They have gone hard so old they are. They work fine because they are copper so there’s hardly a chance of a short unless there is a break between ends. They just disturb the neighbors TV’s and all that. If I change them I don’t throw them away, I firstly go look for more copper black insulated, wire them up the same and keep the originals as reference proof with the car. The new expensive rubber look stuff is probably superior and look fancy but 37 years ago I don’t think they were invented or on these old cars here at least.
The V8 Capri Perana electrical wires under the bonnet. Ours seem as if they have never been loosened with a rebuild and run exactly as I can imagine they did 37 years ago. So anything else as many of the ones I have seen seem to be different to ours generally under the engine compartment. Either later owners owner’s did not know or not too concerned by such detail. Or prefer to improved the car with more modern material/components. Mostly as a result of complete strip downs and rebuilds. If you don’t know for sure rather not force your boot down another mans throat. Rather say I think, not sure as it looks like the car was redone or whatever so as rather not to confuse the thing of authentic. If it’s changed for whatever reason or modified that is fine it’s a personal choice.
With regards owner-opinion on original car detail our Perana’s fuel pump for example the diaphragm stopped working and I had to buy another which is this Chinese stuff you throw away. I kept the old which I think is rebuild able as it belonged to the car 37 years ago when new. So if somebody asks me I can go fetch the old pump and say here this was the real one, it looked like this but packed up and now I have a disposable rubbish one on in the meantime. The one on the car now is not as it was it was changed due to old-age.
The battery position thing, same. Those I have seen in Can Am’s or Perana’s that are not like ours have had their battery tray’s moved or modified. I suspect that. Our Can Am’s for example have exactly the same pressed shape tray welded to the boot floor in the exact same position, not one looking different to the other. Maybe if they ran out of 100 trays that shape and a car has one that looks different say to ours which I imagine is unmodified or moved, then best to have an honest and close look at it before saying “mine never been touched that is how it is !â€
Our Can Am’s battery cables for example also run the same and are of the same old fashioned type cable with same route to the front. Most I have seen if not just about every one I got to has been changed to “better†cable or something else mostly happening in the process of a car being rebuilt. If you look closely at a suspect moved battery tray like in the Can Am’s either they are too well done compared to the rest of the cars modifications or they are obvious modifications you can see. Check the near perfect modern weld or style of weld compared to other welds where these conversion to Perana or Can Am mods were welded 30 odd years ago. That can be one way of inspecting.
Back to the V8 Capri Perana’s battery location I don’t think that is an issue as far as I know they were all in front passenger side.
With regards the V8 Capri Perana’s battery shape or type it is either Zepher six or Zodiac can't remember for sure now. I have had three made or bought through the years by SABAT who were the only people that were still stocking or making them as a replacement Zepher or Zodiac item which was used by the Perana’s as listed in the SABAT salesman’s counter reference book. That was some time ago last I asked they say no longer in production. I kept mine as a sample even though it no longer works. They are longer and narrower than others which helps a bit with clearance y the tappet cover.
The passenger side forward spark plug removal thing on the V8 Capri Perana’s because of the battery obstruction best not even argue with the battery. You just take it out and feel what it is like to own a real Perana as a classic car of note. It’s different to a conventional V6 Capri or modified or cloned original that has been changed. For example like with the Can Am’s to remove the original starter in ours that have not been modified, prepare to loosen the rack and pinion so as to get the steering coupler out the way to be able to pull the starter unit out from it’s place. That is just something you live with owning such a classic. Or you modify it and then it’s not authentic in that specific department and a personal choice.
At the same time going through the pains of removing a Can Am’s starter for example it is a time to look at anything else that needs attention while you’re under the car. The Capri however seems to be more user friendly the plug thing being about the only thing I can think of as a pain but not really a pain compared to taking a Can Am’s starter out. When I refer to the Can Am’s pains I am referring to one that does not have say a tiny aftermarket Tilton starter ot the motor moved or remounted in the middle of the engine bay as most seem to become when reworked or rebuilt.
The V8 Capri Perana bonnets. I have seen earlier models to ours that have the different shape at the back of the buldge. The earlier models as ours built 1970 as I understand has a separate little item there at the back of the hump that looks like a vent from behind while the others are tapered and part of the bonnet not a removable piece. Jacques’ Perana also a low number pre 1971 I see is the same as ours.
I think this is a good way to find out ourselves between us because as you have seen some controversy on these threads where points were FORCED upon us to believe as fact. To contact BG about Perana detail, well who knows, you hear all sorts of stories or theories of no information and all that. Check that V6 Capri Perana thing. It was posted by a forum member “no such thing, never built or sold to public, personally asked BG†yet there were adverts for them. That issue again we are following up with I think three confirmed V6’s that still exist today. The thing is now to rather go this route even if it means stripping some bodywork of a resprayed car or car to be restored to “scientifically†try find the facts as close possible. And discussing it amongst those of us that have an interest in this.
The V8 Capri Perana tail lights I understand the plastic ones as ours has are also earlier model however I see VERY few still like that and some have told me swear by it that's how the car was always. I don't think so. Ours seem like they belong to the car with clear signs of age. The reason why there are probably early models with the later metal frame is because these old ones are fragile plastic in entirety. Unlike the later ones which have a chrome metal frame with lens inserts.
Anything that looks suspect on our cars most of the time we can investigate it to the extent it can be seen as a modification or change of sorts. Most is obvious if you do some basic research which does not seem to be obvious to many people that have been in disagreement. The finer detail is normally confirmed when discussed in depth and checked with another person with an open mind regarding this. Not the approach “no mine is never not originalâ€. That shouldn’t be the way a car is confirmed original or not. Unless one has a production blue-print documented factual information to check with the cars.
The vague-information thing can also be a poor excuse now with this electronic communication medium of the Internet and forums. That was proved on the Classic Race Car thread. This is what makes this obsession with classics so special, the pains of “owning†them in good and bad times.
It has got to the point now that without saying a person is not right, at least a good check for any sort of respray is necessary first. If this has happened then it throws the actual fact from new-untouched car into something that can be anything until you physically dig deeper like sanding off layers at a time like I have done with some of our vehicles. The normal spray paint shop will hardly do that they employ people to make a living. This then has to rest of the hands on restorer/owner normally to go to that extreme to check actual fact in this case about paintwork.
In conclusion regarding absolute detail and special limited edition classics, in my opinion I would rather customize/improve/modify a clone or replica rather than an original especially if found intact now many years later. Finding an already severely abused one or parts of one such as a shell is another story as components have become difficult to source these days. But that’s a personal choice. My choice like with the Can Am’s where the V8 copies by fnow probably even exceed the amount of total Firenza even 4 cylinders left is to try my utmost to go the authentic route with the upcoming restorations of ours. It is easier, cheaper and of more value as such. Plus when you get to customizing or modifying such a car you hardly can win as the options are limitless depending on your budget. With regards detailed authentic restorations it raises this hobby to another level where the budget is not necessarily what dictates who “winsâ€.
Don’t quote me on Capri stuff I have said, I still need to study that properly Can Am stuff too. I wrote this all out of my head from what I recall seeing in real.
Lino