Scuderia Red painted 1973 Ford Capri Mk1 3.1-litre GXL with RS style quarter bumpers
‘The Car You Always Promised Yourself’ read the infamous advertising slogan for the Mk1 Capri. As a teenager, Rav Dhuna added a 3-litre GXL to his bucket list, and to say he’s come good on his promise could be the understatement of the year.
Words Graham Leigh
Photos Adrian Brannan
MK1 CAPRI
RESTOMOD FORD CAPRI 3.1-LITRE GXL
Beautiful, show-winning Mk1 with all the right mods — and a few custom touches.
It’s funny how childhood memories can stay with you, and for a petrolhead like Rav Dhuna, they often involve cars. “I grew up in Southall, West London. There were so many Triumph Stags and Capris driving around. The sound of the 3-litre Capris thundering up the Broadway is something that left a huge impression on me. The style, the chrome and the V6 roar made it for me. There was one particular guy who drove a red one with cream leather interior. I thought to myself, one day.”
Rav’s first car was a Mk3 Escort Van at the tender age of 17. Being the 1990s, this was, of course, duly treated to RS Turbo wheels and bodykit. Rav then bought a Capri 280 Brooklands when he was 21. Power Engineering used the car for the first-ever stainless exhaust they made for the Cologne-powered coupe. He regrets selling this car but he kept the clipping from when it was featured in Max Power. Now 47, Rav has owned over 100 cars of all types, but it’s always the cars from his youth that he comes back to, and right now he owns both a 1976 and a 1978 Triumph Stag. The latter of the two examples is a 26,000-mile car and is due the same level of restoration as the stunning 1973 Capri GXL Mk1 Facelift you see on these very pages — and car-mad youngest son, Sean is chomping at the bit to help out with this build.
Winning bid
Rav finally realised his Mk1 Capri dream in 2012 after winning the car on eBay. “As ever, the car wasn’t as good as I first thought. I stripped the car in two days with the help of my eldest son, Steven. Everything was photographed, bagged and labelled. I hoped that a respray and some choice mods would make it a nice car. But I also knew I wanted to keep this one, so I decided to go belt and braces and do it properly once. After receiving the car back from the soda blasters it become apparent that I needed to make a shopping list for some new panels.”
This included a NOS front valance that was sourced through John at the Capri Club, a new floorpan that was cut for the requisite sections, new wings and arch repair panels and a good second-hand bonnet and pair of doors. Joel from Soda Blaster in Kent was kind enough to deliver the car to Steve at We Make Sparks who was entrusted with the welding and metalwork including rolling the arches to allow the car to sit low with the intended wheel choice. Rav has known painter, Jeet for years and knew he was the man to lay down the Ferrari Scuderia Red. The hue is very close to the Capri’s factory shade of Sunset Red — but with an Italian twist.
“I contacted the DVLA and asked if they had ever released the registration, GXL 31L. The lady on the phone explained that they hadn’t but agreed to put it up for auction in their next cherished ’plate event. I got lucky and got a bargain of a winning bid. My engine had already been sent to Tony at VTrade Engineering. I contacted him and said there was a change of plan with the capacity as it now had to be bored to 3.1 to match the numberplate! Luckily I caught him just in time.”
The engine was fitted with +0.60 thou’ pistons, unleaded heads and steel timing gear, while the bespoke ‘V6 3.1 ESSEX’ rocker covers were finished in Bilstein Blue. Tony also rebuilt the original four-speed gearbox and differential. A new Weber DGMS carburettor sits atop the powerplant with a Ford Racing pancake air filter. Electronic ignition and a chrome alternator have found a home on the coupe, too. Cooling is taken care of by a standard viscous fan with an additional electric SPAL thermostatic item with a 1650 CFM alongside the uprated polished aluminium radiator with a custom stainless steel cover. A fully refurbished power steering set up from a Mk2 3-litre was fitted to aid low-speed parking with the wide wheels and serious rubber.
R-Tec Auto Design then came up trumps with the custom stainless steel exhaust system that compliments the highly polished stainless-steel manifolds. An original GXL would normally have twin exhaust pipes exiting out on the left-hand side but Rav wanted this system to have a 3 inch pipe exit on each side of the car.
The suspension package has been completely overhauled and upgraded and Rav has opted for Spax adjustable dampers. “On the front, I’ve fitted 2.8i struts which have been completely refurbished and powdercoated in Bilstein Blue and fitted with uprated 2 inch lowering springs. After experimenting with a couple of different options, 1 inch lowering blocks gave me the stance I was after at the back.”
Stopping power comes courtesy of Hi- Spec callipers, braided hoses and vented and grooved discs. The rear was overhauled with new brake shoes, cylinders and fitting kit. Rav has chosen a staggered set of 13 inch JBW RS4 alloys. The 7.5 inch wide wheels were protruding a little too much on the rear, so he had 10 mm professionally machined from the back.
Full leather
The interior retrim was entrusted to Jake in Enfield. Champagne Napa leather is the material of choice for the seats, dash, door cards, centre console and parcel shelf. Red stitching and piping complement the red seatbelts and premium Kensington Wool carpet. An aluminium dash panel, chrome bezels and GT500 Mustang-style wooden steering wheel give the car a classic feel. All chrome on the car was refurbished including the rear ashtrays. Modern interior upgrades make the car more usable for longer jaunts. These include the windscreen washer foot pump that has been discretely converted internally with an electronic micro switch, electric front windows and LED dash bulbs.
Raj at Car Audio and Security is to thank for the installation of the impressive premium music system. This is headed up by a chrome effect Pioneer DEH-P88RS head unit and features custom door pods that house Audison APK163 three-way component speakers, Audison SR4.300 four-channel amplifier and a Kenwood KSC-PSW8 compact 8 inch subwoofer.
From start to finish, the complete project was completed within 40 months and Rav has been blown away by the response. It received a Top 10 rosette at our very own Classic Ford Show on its first ever show outing in 2022. The Capri was a Lancaster Insurance Pride of Ownership finalist and then featured on their stand at the 2023 NEC Classic Car & Restoration Show. It’s just won Best Interior in the Top 60 at this year’s Classic Ford Show too.
“The reaction this car gets is like nothing I’ve ever witnessed before including the supercars I’ve been lucky enough to own,” reckons Rav. “I frequently get cars slowing down on the M25 trying to have a look as we drive down the motorway. Everyone always seems pleased to see a Capri.”
We’re certainly glad that Rav came good on his promise.
DETAILS, DETAILS GOING THE EXTRA MILE
Teenage Dream is a glam-tinged T.Rex record that, ironically enough, was written and recorded by the late great Mark Bolan and his band of merry men back in 1973, the same year that Rav’s GXL rolled off the production line. Bolan cited the soul-searching lyrics as his finest work and to many, the Capri peaked with the twin headlights and facelifted rump on the GXL of the same vintage, too. “I always had a vision of what I would like my GXL to look like from seeing them around my area as a teenager,” says Rav, who took the red and cream colour scheme from the aforementioned inspiration car from his youth and added his own high-end twist. The brilliant shade that adorns the Capri’s flanks is Ferrari Scuderia Red and the Champagne Napa leather and chrome bezels inside the car also give more than a nod to Maranello. The car boasts a couple of touches that are more commonplace in the American and custom scene such as the airhorn and those hard-as-nails BF Goodrich Radial Tyres. This is entirely intentional and, again, pay tribute to the Southall bruiser of yore. Rav phoned the BF Goodridge Head Office in the States and persuaded the operative to check the stockist holdings for the discontinued 205/60R13 models. There were two sets left globally. Rav arranged for a stateside relative to collect the set that were at a Californian dealership and had them shipped back to the UK. Talk about going the extra mile!
Rav’s owned a lot of cars over the years, but the GXL is definitely for keeps.
Seats were retrimmed in sumptuous Champagne Napa leather...
Rav went to town on the interior with custom touches everywhere you look.
“AFTER EXPERIMENTING WITH A COUPLE OF OPTIONS, I GOT THE STANCE I WAS AFTER”
Right: GT500-style wheel completes the interior.
Tech Spec
- Body 1973 Ford Capri Mk1 3.1-litre GXL, RS style quarter bumpers
- Paint Ferrari Scuderia Red
- Engine 3100cc Essex V6 rebuilt by VTrade Engineering using +0.60 thou’ pistons, unleaded heads and steel timing gear, electronic ignition, chrome alternator, highly polished stainless steel manifolds and custom stainless steel sports exhaust with exit pipes on either side by R-Tec Auto Design, Ford Racing pancake air filter, new 38 DGMS Weber carb
- Transmission Rebuilt original four-speed manual
- Suspension Front: 2.8i struts powdered coated in Bilstein Blue fitted with uprated 2 inch lowering springs, adjustable Spax inserts. Rear: Spax dampers, 1 inch lowering blocks. Fully polybushed
- Brakes Front: vented and grooved discs with Hi-Spec four-pot callipers. Rear: rebuilt drums. Kunifer copper nickel brake lines with Goodridge braided hoses throughout
- Wheels and tyres Staggered set of 13 inch JBW RS4 alloys (7.5 rear and 7 front), BF Goodridge Radial Tyres with raised white font in 205/60R13 Tyres
- Interior Red seatbelts, premium red Kensington Wool carpet, Aluminium dash inlay with chrome bezels, wooden steering wheel, Champagne Napa leather interior with red stitching and piping, custom stereo install by Car Audio and Security comprising of chrome effect Pioneer DEH-P88RS head unit, custom door pods that house Audison APK163 three-way component speakers, Audison SR4.300 four-channel amplifier and a Kenwood KSC-PSW8 compact 8 inch subwoofer
- Thanks My wife, Joti for her patience, Mike, a mechanic that was introduced to me by my late friend, Mr Bainsey, John from Capri Club, Clive and Gus from Tickover, R-Tec Auto Design for making the custom stainless-steel exhaust system, Tony from VTrade Engineering for the mechanical rebuild, Joel from Soda Blaster in Kent, Steve from We Make Sparks for the welding, Raj from Car Audio and Security for the custom speaker pods and new music set-up, Jeet for doing such a fantastic paintjob, and last but not least, Jake for the fantastic job he did on the interior
The Ferrari red was a great choice and still looks completely in-period.
Worked Essex is now a 3.1 to match the numberplate
Rear valence was modified to accept tailpipes either side.
“THE REACTION THIS CAR GETS IS LIKE NOTHING I’VE WITNESSED BEFORE EVERYONE IS PLEASED TO SEE THE CAPRI”