Older News

September 2007 - Ace Cafe, North London (Saturday 1st September)
This event organised by the Surrey Capri Club was blessed with good weather and seems to have had a good turn out of all capri marks and models. Southeast based Capri Mk1 enthusiast, Gary, supplied the following shots of just a few of the Mk1s on show.
August 2007 - Knebworth Classic Car Show, Knebworth Park, Herts. (Monday 27th August)
For those of us based in the southeast the finale to the outdoor season - at least as far as club stand representation is concerned - arrived with the Knebworth show. As on the previous day at Little Gransden, the weather was kind to us and we had a dry - if not always warm and sunny - day. The number of exhibitors overall and the number of visitors appeared to both be up on recent years. This may well have been a reflection on the generally miserable summer we've had - weatherwise - with people determined to enjoy the Bank Holiday. Five cars graced the Mk1 Register stand and I think I'm right in saying that everyone enjoyed their day. The general feeling was one of disappointment that the season was over. We finally managed to do a photo shoot on Karen's aquatic jade 1600GT auto and that will be added to the "Members Cars" area soon.
August 2007 - Little Gransden Air Show and Classic Car Day, Cambs. (Sunday 26th August)
Isn't it amazing how summer arrives just as it's ending! This show got the Bank Holiday off to a superb start. Although the club doesn't have an "official" stand, several members regularly attend an event which combines classic cars with a tremendous air display and all in aid of Children in Need. Five club members attended this year and were rewarded with a glorious day. Normally I restrict my pictures here to Mk1s but I make no apology for including a couple of shots of a wonderful Mustang. You thought I meant the car!
August 2007 - Classic Ford Show, Battlesbridge, Essex. (Sunday 19th August)
What happened to summer 2007? Yet again we were plagued by poor weather. Despite the miserable, wet, drive over to Essex, the show ground was actually dry when we arrived at 9.30 and the trip was definitely worthwhile given the number of exhibits in attendance - especially Mk1s. A light drizzle though turned to heavy rain around 11.30 and by half past midday, despite the fact the rain was easing, we decided it was time to go.
Check out the Battlesbridge 2007 pictures in the Picture Galleries area to see some of the great Mk1s on display - including TWO Broadspeed Turbo Bullits and three additions to The List.
August 2007 - Woburn Rally, Woburn Abbey, Beds. (Sunday 12th August)
After last year's rain affected event and the scare a week previous due to the latest foot and mouth outbreak, it was a relief to find this event not only on but blessed with sunshine. Set in the parkland adjacent to the abbey, whilst not the largest event on the calendar, it is a show which offers tremendous variety in an extremely picturesque setting. With perhaps 500 to 600 exhibits the event seemed fuller than in recent years and the Capri Mk1 Register added its contribution with a display of six cars - five pre-facelifts and one facelift. Green dominated the display - four out of six - with, amazingly, two aquatic jade cars on show. Hopefully Karen's 1600GT XLR auto will feature in the "Members Cars" in the near future. This cracker first appeared at Knebworth earlier in the season. The other jade example, belonging to Brian and Linda, is now featured in the "Members Cars" area - so you can check it out in closer detail. Meanwhile Eddie has added a period addition to his interior mirror - and in yellow too so they match the body colour - his car not his own!
August 2007 - Wroughton Classic Car Show, Wroughton Airfield, Wilts. (Saturday & Sunday 4th & 5th August)
After the recent rain and floods I was hoping that we would finally get to see some decent Summer weather for the weekend especially as we were camping for Friday and Saturday night - tents and rain don't seem to go together very well. In fact my wife thinks that camping and any weather don't go together very well and was telling me all along that she was going to book into a local B+B and we could do whatever we wanted. Luckily for us all we had a fantastic weekend.
Well Friday arrived - a bit windy but bright and clear. We arrived at the campsite at around 5.00pm - set up the tent - normally a once a year struggle that ends up with a few curses, and this year was no different! (sorry Tara) We settled in, had our tea and prepared for the 2 day show.
Saturday
Saturday morning started grey and cool. We could see it was raining in the distance but no rain fell at all on the show. We had just two cars on display during the day - my 1300XL and Kevin's RS3100 - I was quite disappointed about this as we had space for up to ten cars and, as I had advertised the show on various website forums and in the Club newsletter, I was hoping for many more vehicles from the South West to attend. If you are reading this and would like to join us in 2008 at any of the shows we attend please drop me a line at: geoffackling@yahoo.co.uk - I will be compiling a list over the next few months of shows we will be attending and can easily email it out to people. If the Club is to survive it needs support from the membership, without your help we may not be able to attend some of the larger shows in the future.
As Wroughton is part of the Science Museum one of the main hangars was open and we took time to look round the various exhibits, a Constellation dominated one end of the hangar and a DC3 the other. There were also several other aircraft and cars displayed as well as German WW11 engines in crates. For further details of the items displayed there have a look at: www.aeroflight.co.uk/mus/uk/u-z/wroughton.htm
There was also a Slot Car Racing track there which my youngest daughter was very interested in - she paid her £1 (my £1!) and entered into a race - amazingly she managed to beat three older boys which wasn't bad for a five year old. She even managed to get on the fastest lap board for the day - now where did all my old Scalextric stuff go.
By about 2.00pm the sun was out which, with the strong breeze, made the day quite pleasant. We watched the filming of Channel 4's 'Scrap Heap Challenge' which was interesting. Eight hours of filming for a 20 minute slot in a 45 minute show. It seemed very drawn out but I'm sure it will look very slick by the time it's all edited together.
Saturday night Kevin and Sally joined us on the camp site - we spent the evening listening to the 'Live' entertainment. Live was a bit of an overstatement as it was one man singing to a backing track - still it made it more enjoyable whilst eating our 'Burger and Chips' - our two girls loved this as there was no broccoli, cabbage or peas in sight.
Sunday
Sunday was a beautiful day - clear blue skies and quite a strong breeze. We ended up with five cars on the stand - my 1300XL, two RS3100s and two 3000Es - big thanks go to Kevin (Norris), Len, Terry and Mike for taking the time to come along and support us on the day. Thanks also to Kevin (Folds), Doreen and Michael for coming down and joining us on the stand. With all of us under the gazebo there was a lot of 'lively' debate and a good time was had by all.
It was all over too quickly really. Pictures were taken and goodbyes were said. We dismantled the tent at about 5.00pm and made the short trip back to Trowbridge. I can honestly say that we had a great time. Even my wife thought the camping wasn't too bad.

I have already booked a stand for this event next year - so please keep a space in your diary for 2nd and 3rd August 2008.

Below are pictures of the club stand plus a 2000GT V4 facelift which was amongst the private entries.
July 2007 - Herts Capri Club's Sutton Run (Tuesday 17th July)
As a site dedicated to the Capri Mk1 the later marques don't often feature here. However, I had the opportunity to join the Herts Branch of the CCI on their run from Hooks Cross (near Stevenage) to Sutton (near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire) on Tuesday evening. It was an opportunity to enjoy driving the car, in company with eight other Capri enthusiasts, through many of the small and picturesque villages of North Herts and Mid Beds. We were fortunate enough to avoid the rain and even had some late evening sunshine. I'm not sure how far we drove but I would guess around 50 miles as we certainly didn't plot the straight A to B route. Along the way we had plenty of admiring glances and we finished up with a buffet and drink at a lovely country pub - now that's what I call a perfect English summers evening! I don't suppose you'll often see a scene like this in a pub car park these days either. Many thanks to Richard and the boys of the Herts CCI for their invitation and organisation.
July 2007 - Southwest Festival of Motoring, Taunton (Sunday 15th July)
As the alarm went off I was dreading looking out the window. When I did , and to my amazement, the roads were drying even though it had been raining over night. It was then a mad rush to get sandwiches made, the kids ready and the car packed. The Taunton Show was being held at Taunton Racecourse and was about 1 1/2 hours drive for us. The journey down was easy and even the M5 was deserted. We had several heavy storms on the way but this didn't stop us getting there on time.
The show itself was pretty quiet. There was a mixture of modern and old, modified and standard which made for an interesting mix to view. The Club stand, as always, drew a lot of attention. With my 1300XL, a 2.0GT Automatic (freshly restored) and an RS3100 on show there was a good variety for people to see. We had people recounting the days when they owned a Capri to people just asking general questions about the three cars on show. It's always a pleasure to share memories and experiences with people about the Capri and although the weather wasn't fantastic everybody seemed to make the most of the day. The show ended with a wing walking exhibition by the 'Guinot Skincare Wingwalking Team' which was pretty amazing considering how low they had to fly to keep under the cloud-cover.
The journey home was wet but uneventful. I ended up cleaning the car off when we got home and then running a fan under the car overnight to dry it out properly. Hopefully we will make it back again next year and maybe have a few more cars on show.
July 2007 - Hoddesdon Classic Car Show (Saturday 14th July)
Although this event is relatively small in classic car terms, it did attract a handful of capris including several of the Mk1 variety. Should anybody be in doubt as to the lasting attraction of the capri Mk1, I'm sure Simon Ellis' pictures will dispel your concern. When the cars were new in the late sixties and early seventies, Ford (along with other manufacturers) used glamorous girls to "sell" the cars to their red blooded male customers. Thirty-five plus years on and I'm sure you'll agree that pretty girls and capris still go together rather well.
July 2007 - Essex Motor Show at Barleylands, Billericay (Sunday 15th July)
A brand new show on the calendar set in the heart of capri country. The organisers were rather brave making it a two day show with Saturday being the opening day. Many people don't want to exhibit at or visit classic car shows on Saturdays and I recall one organisation near bankrupting itself by trying the two day format over a "standard" weekend.
I believe they did reasonably well on the Saturday but Sunday - our visit day - was very busy. Set in the outer grounds of a popular craft centre with a farm open to visitors the organisers must have been pleased by the turn out of both exhibitors and spectators. Despite the ominous weather forecast the whole day was dry with the sun even making occasional appearances.
As you would expect of a show in Essex there were large numbers of the Ford marque in evidence. Not so expected though was the absence of Mk2 and 3 capris - just one beautiful Brooklands arrived mid way through the day. As time went by we grew from four to a stand of six Mk1s and we even spotted another club member in amongst the private entries.
June 2007 - Knebworth Fathers Day Classic (Sunday 17th June)
This show is growing year by year at a great venue which has loads of space for the cars, good facilities and superb access - straight off the A1(M). Now in its third year, once again it was blessed with good weather prompting a good turnout of both exhibits and spectators. The two previous events had seen the club attempt to stage a "Southern National" with limited success. This time it was a case of turn up if you'd like to and I'm pleased to say that seven Mk1s did. Further cementing our good relationship in the area with the Capri Mk2 Register and the Herts branch of the CCI, we were joined by two Mk2s and four Mk3s to provide the public with the full history of the capri from 1969 to 1986. Indeed capris were probably the most plentiful model on display as another of the CCI branches were in attendance along with a couple of private exhibitors.
Mike from North London provided the surprise of the day arriving in an aquatic jade 1600GT XLR automatic with just two previous owners and 27,000 miles on the clock. Not only that but it was a car not on "The List".
The icing on the cake - although none was needed - was a Club Stand of the Show award from show organiser Andrew Greenwood. And I always thought he wasn't keen on capris!
June 2007 - Classic and Sportscar Action Day, Castle Combe Racetrack (Saturday 9 June)
Well what a day this turned out to be. After the last attempt at getting the Capri out for a washed out Gaydon I was praying for good weather for the first outdoor show for the South West area members this year, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. The day started warm and just got better and with a five car line-up including an RS3100 and a 3000GT on display there was certainly something for the crowds to drool over.
This event was a first for South West members with the option of track time for those who wanted it, although no Club members took up the option this year. We did all go out on track at lunch-time for a two-lap cruise which was certainly exciting for my five-year-old daughter who was convinced we were in a race. I'm sure the sight of five Mk1s touring around together must have looked pretty good to the crowds too. If anybody did attend this event and has any pictures of the cars on track I'd love to see them.
I had a quick look around the rest of the show to admire the beautifully turned out cars that were present. There seemed to be everything from Ferraris to Minis and most cars in between. The track time seemed popular as well although I did see a few cars returning to their parking areas with damage caused on track. The day ended all too quickly and with the car packed we finally headed for home at around 5.00pm.
I'd just like to say thanks to Kevin, John, Simon, and Russel (and their partners) for taking the time to come and support the Club on the day. Hopefully we will be allowed to go back next year and if we do it would be great to have a few more Mk1s on show.
June 2007 - Luton Festival of Transport (Sunday 10th June)
At last a Sunday with warm sunshine and a cool breeze. The club combined with the Mk2 Register and the Herts branch of the CCI to put on a display of seven capris nicely spanning the era and production range of the mark. A Mk1; a facelift; two Mk2s - including a JPS; and three Mk3s - including a 280 Brooklands gave the classic car enthusiasts of Luton and Bedfordshire a history lesson of the car from 1969 to 1986.
This show has to be one of the best in the southeast with free admission to exhibitors and at just £3 for the paying public it boasts around 1,000 exhibits including trucks, buses and military vehicles.
May 2007 - COMING SOON A CAPRI 3000E FOR SALE.
Well Mk1 fans, you don't very often these days get the opportunity to buy a near concours low mileage 3000E. Check out the For Sale and Wanted page to see pictures of one that is about to come up for sale from a club member.
May 2007 - Bedfordshire Classic Car Show at Old Warden near Biggleswade (Sunday 6th May)
Wouldn't you just believe it! After nearly a month of dry sunny weather, the Mayday Bank Holiday comes around and we get a forecast of cooler overcast days with the probability of rain. The Old Warden show is a two day event and I'm pleased to report that we picked the best day (Sunday) to attend. It was largely overcast and a bit cooler than we've been used to in the weeks leading up to it but mercifully it stayed dry. The Capri Mk1 Register stand sported five cars - including a newcomer. Henry, a member from Essex, drove his freshly restored evergreen 3 litre GXL to the show to give all us Mk1 nuts a fresh "fix". He still has a few small bits he'd like to change - anybody got some facelift rearlights they don't want? - but when you see the pictorial history of the cars restoration you realise the incredible amount of work that's gone into the car to bring it back to its original glory. Check out the "Members Cars" page for more pictures and words about the car.
Back to the show and it seemed a little down on exhibitor attendance, perhaps influenced by the weather forecast. Its a pleasant setting though with the Shuttleworth College as a backdrop and the Shuttleworth Aircraft Museum just around the corner. This year we were treated to a "free" airshow - as the collection have a flying day on the first Sunday of the month. The blustery wind somewhat reduced the number of pre WW2 aircraft that took to the air though.
March 2007 - "The List" Updated and pictures added
Finally got around to updating "The List" which can be found under the Register page. The cars which have come to the club's attention during 2006 have been added in alphabetical order in the list and now more that 250 pictures have been added.
If we have a photograph of a car listed, if you click on the registration number then a small picture of the vehicle will be shown.
March 2007 - The Ally Pally Classic Car Show (Report and pictures from Simon Ellis - Southeast based member.)
“What do you reckon Si? One more bag of sand?” I pondered the question raised by my partner-in-crime Mr. Eddie Hughes. It was 3:30pm on a Friday afternoon inside Alexander Palace in north London. Tomorrow would be the start of two exciting days exhibiting our Mark One’s to over ten thousand visitors to the London Classic Car Show. I was soaked in sweat, and starting to ache having lugged sixteen bags of sand and shingle from Eddy’s Astra estate to form part of our long-planned and ultimately well received ‘Capri’s at the seaside’ theme stand. We had been there since 08:00 that morning and I had not even given my car a polish as yet! It dawned on me that Isabel had not mentioned anything about these shows involving becoming a labourer when I joined the register a couple of years back! It was however a thoroughly enjoyable three days and I hope you enjoy reading my resume of it.
Eddie had first floated (no pun intended) to me the idea of a beach theme for the show late last year. I listened considerately to his outline of the display he had in mind and despite me wondering what drugs he’d been on, I accepted his invite to join him and with Isabel’s backing, we (well Eddie) threw himself into it. Four months later, we had a floor plan drawn up and had collected a varied assortment of props and were ready to go!
On the Friday set-up day, we left Eddie’s home in Hertfordshire, collected his car from its garage and made the relatively short journey to the Ally Pally in convoy. It was great to get the usual thumbs-up and toots from other drivers en route and we arrived nice and early to the historic venue. Each exhibitor was accorded an entry time, however we reckoned we could chance our arm and try to get in early. Those of you who know Eddie will know that he can talk for England and he wore the security guy on the gate sufficiently to let us in early. We were amongst the very first exhibitors to arrive. We found our position and began the construction of our stand. Inside the outer wooden frame, we used blue tarpaulin to create the sea, with rows of sand and then shingle leading up to the two cars. Isabel and Roy arrived shortly after us and Roy kindly provided us with their windbreaker, which was perfect for covering the rear of the stand. We positioned our cars diagonally and placed a small block under two wheels of each to give the effect of the cars coming in on the waves (picture probably shows this better than I am describing it!). Some of our accompanying props would have rivalled the set of a major BBC series. Amongst these were two authentic seaside deckchairs (colour coded to co-ordinate with the cars) fishing nets, lilo, beachballs and real shells and seaweed (courtesy of Clacton) and the obligatory bucket and spade. Eddie’s brother Peter had discovered an LP of seaside sounds at a recent record fair and had transferred this onto a continuous tape, which added a really great effect. Eddie had gone to town in creating two remarkably lifelike seagulls, a breakwater, plus sourcing driftwood and a pair of blue Speedo’s (clearly not his own judging by their modest waist size).
Isabel and Roy’s register stand was positioned alongside the beach and provided its own Hawaiian impact with an exotic floral display and cane frontage to the stand offering details about the club and merchandise.
The Mk One register stand was positioned on a popular corner of the main hall and benefited from being directly opposite a catering booth. This was hugely welcomed as not only did plenty of visitors mingle there viewing our stand, but also meant coffee and bacon rolls (despite the fact that four of each cost about the same as a weekend away to the coast itself) were only a seashell throw away. Our neighbouring stand was the Fiat 500 club, one of whose members parked so close to us that his best option for exiting his car was from the roof. Turned out he was Italian, which explained much about his parking ‘skills’. The shows’ organiser, Andrew Greenwood, visited us in the afternoon and welcomed us to the show and we also met up with our friends Kevin and Mike from the Surrey Capri Club who were also exhibiting. We finally packed up around 8:00pm weary but all very proud of how the stand looked.
The visitors arrived at a pace during Saturday and the day flew by. The seaside theme (especially the continuous sound tape) certainly caught the attention and it was poignant to see the smiles and look of imagination on some of the children looking at the stand. At the end of the day’s proceedings, Eddie, Roy, Isabel and I took ourselves off for a meal in Muswell Hill and enjoyed a wonderfully entertaining evening.
Sunday seemed even busier in visitor numbers and the stand again received much favourable comment from the public. Late in the afternoon, the judges announced their decisions on the best club stand at the show, with first prize going to the Chiltern Preservation Society for their well thought out 1957 garage design and focus on the petrol shortage crisis at that time.
I thought the Ally Pally did their usual splendid job in hosting the show, with the one criticism being that they didn’t open any side doors for ventilation when the vehicles were departing. You can imagine the fumes created by a whole host of vintage and classic cars that haven’t been started for three days! It didn’t help that I read the next day in Men’s Health magazine that soot particles from exhausts are the chief culprits in 9,000 fatal heart attacks a year!
The show over and the four of us disassembled our stand and said our goodbyes. It had been three fun-packed days and I know the next day we all felt slight jaded and flat now it was over. Was I disappointed to not win the Best Stand prize? Not really, the memories of visitors coming up to me during the show and saying “great stand, brilliant idea” and “lovely couple of cars you’ve got there” and three days of fun with friends meant far more than a trophy. I also remembered a little lad’s excited face looking at the seaside scene and pointing out features of it to his dad. That’ll do for me.
February 2007 - The 28th Footman James Bristol Classic Car Show (Report and pictures from Geoff Ackling - Southwest Rep.)
What a fantastic weekend this turned out to be and, even though I only had one weeks notice that we had a stand available to us, we managed to display two fantastic cars that drew a lot of attention over the two days of the show.
I had asked Stuart and Neil Reed from Yeovil if they would be interested in attending if we could get a space and, fortunately, they were still able to make it. Stuart has a Diamond White 1600GT Face-lift and Neil a Daytona Yellow 1600GT Face-lift (formerly owned by Stuart). Both cars are absolutely stunning and are a real credit to their owners.
I don't think any of us were prepared for the sheer amount of people that came through the doors on both of the days. There were a few grumbles about the length of the queues to get in but it obviously hadn't put people off. I think the general opinion from the people that I spoke to was that this was the best show so far since it moved from the Bristol Docklands. The show's organiser, Nigel Coulson-Stevens, had pulled out all the stops with promoting the event and had even provided extra heaters to keep us all warm. I believe for next year there are plans to make the show even bigger with a further temporary structure and space for 8 – 10 extra Club stands and an extra 100 autojumble stalls.
The weekend ended with Neil's Daytona Yellow car being awarded a 'Highly Recommended' ribbon - I certainly wouldn't have wanted to choose between these two particular Capris as they really are so good.
Let's hope that we get invited again next year and , with a bit more notice, have a bigger and better stand and enjoy an even better show than we did this year.
February 2007 NEWSFLASH!!!
The Club has just secured a stand space at the Footman James 28th Bristol Classic Car Show at the Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. The shows on Saturday and Sunday 17th and 18th February from 10am to 5.00pm each day. This is the first time our club has exhibited at the show and a first for us in the southwest. Geoff our South West Area Representative has lined up two wonderful locally based examples of our favourite mark so why not venture out and see them?
January 2007 A cure to wobbly pedals. After 30 plus years of use the plastic bearing bushes on which your cars clutch and brake pedals pivot will normally have badly worn if not disintegrated completely. This then allows sideways movement of the pedals which is annoying if not dangerous. Parts are not interchangeable with the Mk2 and Mk3 models and supplies of the original Ford bushes disappeared years ago. We've now found an alternative - made out of a similarly resilient material and fitting perfectly on the pedal rod. A supply is now in stock and available at £2 per bush (you'll need four to replace your old set) plus £1 postage and packing. More details on the "For Sale and Wanted" Page.
January 2007 A New Year underway and to go with it the Club has a new structure. After seven years of toiling away on her own - well with Roy's help of course - our Club Secretary, Isabel Fairbrother, has decided that its time to get more people "onboard" to relieve her of some of the burden and to carry the club forward. A meeting was held in the Midlands in late November - following our very successful appearance at the NEC Classic Motor Show a month earlier - where it was decided to appoint Regional Representatives to provide local points of contact and assistance to members and to officially carry the Club's "torch" at localised events.
The Representatives are as follows:-

Northern Area - Michael Webster - e-mail Michael@doberman.freeserve.co.uk

Southeast Area - Kevin Folds - e-mail CapriMk1South@aol.com

Southwest Area - Geoff Ackling - e-mail Geoffackling@yahoo.co.uk

Northern Ireland Area - Alan Gourley - e-mail Alan.gourley@aero.bombardier.com

The Midlands Area will be covered by Isabel (e-mail emailus@fordcapriclub.freeserve.co.uk ) who remains, of course, our Club Secretary.

As well as regional events, it is hoped to develop a policy for the generation of spares and to get more "silent" members involved and feeling a part of our Club.
Any of the above may be contacted for help and advise and we hope that the network of knowledge within the Club will be useful to everyone as they attempt to keep our Mark running over thirty-three years after production ceased.

This site will be used by Geoff and Kevin to keep those based in the south informed of events and happenings within the Club and in particular within our geographic area.

Happy New Year to everyone as we look forward to an exciting year ahead and meeting many of you around and about over the coming months.
November 2006 The Classic Motor Show at the NEC Birmingham once again provided the club with a show case to a wide audience. With the Club Secretary providing her car for a special feature in Hall 1 charting the "Icons of their Era" presented by Mike Brewer and Mark Evans, the club stand in Hall 3A featured two beauties - as you can see.

Now that got your attention didn't it!
These gorgeous models are brunette, Geraldine Neale and blonde, Sarah Bull who were working on one of the many trade stands at the show and kindly agreed to pose with our car display.
The cars we had on show were a cherry red 3000E with less than 13,000 miles on the clock and a white 1300XL which has covered around 22,000 miles from new. Both attracted much attention - but never more so than when the girls were posing with them!
Click the link below to see more pictures of the cars and Sarah and Geraldine.
NEC Classic Car Show 2006. Thanks to Geoff for the pictures - and keeping his camera steady!
October 2006 Great news for the Capri Mk1 Register - we've been approved for a stand again at the country's leading indoor classic car event, the Classic Motor Show at the NEC Birmingham from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th October inclusive.
There'll be one "Southerner", one car from the Midlands and one from the Northwest for members and the general public to drool over. Its an expensive event but certainly worth a visit if you can spare a day.
We've even got a fourth car playing its part as an icon of its era so do try and visit.
September 2006 Sunday 24th September and the All Ford Rally at Abingdon. One of the last outdoor shows of the season, the All Ford Rally caters for pre 1965 Ford vehicles. As its staged on the airfield at Dalton Barracks just outside Abingdon it doesn't matter whether the weather is good or bad since all the exhibits are on hard-standing. This year the weather was good although the number of vehicles and auto-jumblers seemed reduced - but then that's nothing new. Although there's nothing as modern as a Mk1 Capri on show, the auto-jumblers will often have odd parts for our cars. Sadly this year little was available - a few minor parts, a sill, a few bumpers, second hand rear lights etc Nothing to get excited about. One item did catch the eye though. It was reported to have been a 1600GT MK1 of 1972 vintage and was listed as "a possible donor car", with an asking price of £165. I could not see much to salvage but take a look for yourself! I was amazed that it had made it in one piece on its trailer since a close look at the underside revealed it to be considerably worse than top side! All that was missing was the "Easy Restoration Project" sign.
August 2006 Monday 28th August and the Knebworth Classic Car Show. The end of the outdoor season for us soft southerners as the weather starts to deteriorate! And it certainly deteriorated at Knebworth. Showers early on gave way to gale force gusting winds which by mid afternoon did for our heavy duty gazebo. Thanks to Gary, Eddie and co. for helping to dismantle it fully before it could damage the cars. Let's hope that next years Knebworth Bank Holiday show is blessed with better weather as it seemed well down on cars, auto-jumblers and visitors compared to its heyday a few years back.
On a positive note, my thanks to Sun-Leisure Limited of Cheshire - makers of the gazebo. Their friendly and efficient service ensured that the gazebo is fully repaired and ready for summer 2007 - and at a very reasonable cost!
August 2006 Sunday 27th August and the Little Gransden Air & Classic Car Show at Little Gransden, Cambridgeshire. This "small local event" is always a superb day out - especially for those with an interest in aircraft. Exhibitors get in free but are asked to contribute towards the Children in Need charity which the event is in aid of. Four Mk1 capris attended the event - two expected and two unexpected. Good to see midlands based club members Margaret and Dave with their evergreen 1600L. Also good to spot an aquatic jade 3000GT with tan interior and just 21,000 miles on the clock!
August 2006 Sunday 20th August and the Classic Ford Show at Battlesbridge, Essex. For those who love Fords from the fifties, sixties and seventies, this is a show you need to add to your calendar. Year by year it seems to be growing (having started in just one field behind the museum and craft centre and now spread to two). As usual for the Capri Mk1 lover there were ten or twelve on display. In addition to the usual suspects, a couple caught my eye as first time visitors. A sebring red 3000GT of the facelift variety was making its show debut having only passed its MOT the day before! Also in attendance - although not on the show field itself - was a white barn find 3000E. The owner again just getting it back onto the road in time for the show. Finally, it was good to see local member James bring his tawny 1600GT XLR out - this hasn't been seen at shows for a couple of years. Watch out in coming weeks for James' cars being added to the Members Cars section.
August 2006 Sunday 13th August and the Woburn Rally at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire. Unfortunately all that dry weather came to an abrupt end. A pity as it's a nice venue and on a sunny day a lovely "old-fashioned" show with a large contingent of trucks, buses and tractors in addition to the cars. It was pouring with rain when we set off though and got heavier as we arrived at the venue around 9.00am. It took us until 10.30 to decide to stay and we did get a few sunny intervals and a surprising number of vehicles turned up. Although on a field, the grass held up well. As you can see though - we certainly did have that strangest of phenomenon this summer - rain!
August 2006 Sunday 6th August and the Ford Capri Mk1 Day, organised by Giles Ford-Crush - who staged a similar event at Popham Airfield in 2003 - took place at Langford near Maldon in Essex. A total of 28 Mk1s turned up beating the number present in 2003. The venue was straightforward to find and provided a lawn like field with toilet facilities and - for those needing more entertainment than just the cars - a Museum of Power. The capris on show were of a high standard and most of the range available was represented along with a few modified variants. Check out the Langford 2006 gallery to see shots of the cars present not previously featured on this site.
August 2006 Back in late April / early May - Michael and Ina (whom we visited Essen with) ventured into Europe again. This time their destination was the Ford Capri Club of Holland's get together just a few miles from the Hook of Holland sea port. If you've ever considered making the trip to one of the European club shows then the Holland 2006 and Holland 2006 Part 2 galleries should give you a pictorial idea of what cars you can expect to see. If you'd like more details - or have any specific questions about the cars shown - then drop us an e-mail and we'll forward your correspondence on to Michael.
July 2006 A show often supported by southern area members is the British Airways Classic Vehicle Show staged at their sports and social club in Cranford, Middlesex. Sadly this year's event on the 2nd of the month looks like being the last as the Vehicle Club appear to have lost the support of both the company and main club. They are having to dispose of five classic BA vehicles due to a lack of dry storage and despite the success of their annual car show cannot derive much needed funds from it.
June 2006 Capri Mk1 Register "National" at Knebworth Park - Sunday 18th June.
Ideal weather saw unlucky 13 Capri Mk1s gather at Knebworth Park for the Capri Mk1 Register's unofficial "National" for 2006. The furthest travelled was from St Helens Lancashire whilst Gary from Essex brought over three examples from his "collection". The unlucky 13th to arrive was at the end of a tow rope having shredded not one but two distributors en-route from the Heathrow area of Middlesex. To see all the cars on display go to the Picture Galleries page and click on the Knebworth 2006 icon.
June 2006 Luton Festival of Transport at Stockwood Park - Sunday 11th June.
A complete turnabout from the weather in May. We managed a display of five Mk1s and were joined by two Capri Mk2 Register cars plus two Hertfordshire based Mk3s. A good day out although the counter attractions nearby coupled with the World Cup and the extremely hot weather saw the spectator attendance somewhat down on normal. Nevertheless this is a good local show with free admission to exhibitors and a huge array of cars, bikes, commercials and buses on display.
May 2006 What a dreadful month weather-wise!
The rain did manage to stay away for the Bedfordshire Classic Car Show at Old Walden near Biggleswade at the beginning of the month. This is quite a large show - I would guess around 1,000 exhibits - in a lovely setting. The "bonus" - although not available this year - is that those attending on the Sunday are treated to a "free" vintage air display from the Shuttleworth collection which adjoins the show field. So for the aircraft enthusiasts amongst you, one to consider for next year.
May 2006 Bet you didn't know Mk1 Capris can still be seen on the race tracks of the UK.
The car pictured below is a 3000E raced by Nigel Barnett and was spotted at Brands Hatch earlier this month in the British Classic Car series.
May 2006 The Enfield Pageant - one of the larger shows in the London area - was badly affected by the wet weather. Three of us made the trek as visitors rather than exhibitors to a show which traditionally has an excellent autojumble content. True to form there was quite a lot available - although its clear that parts for our mark are diminishing. The car content though was severely reduced by the conditions both under foot and over head. That said one member did make a significant purchase! More news of this hopefully in a few weeks.

April 2006   I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the Classic Car Show at the NEC Birmingham in the Autumn. If you have then you’ll know that it’s a pretty big event in the classic car calendar and the biggest indoor event by far in the UK.
Those of you a little more adventurous may have travelled further a-field and may have visited a show called the Techno Classica staged in Essen, Germany in early April each year.

When Ina and Michael from Wigan invited Doreen, Michael and myself to join then on a trip to the show in April this year we decided to take up the opportunity of having a look.

It was to be a motoring trip with ferry crossing from Dover to Calais. For Ina and Michael it was a very early start on Friday morning – up and 4.00am and arriving in Stevenage to pick us up before 9.00am. Traffic was kind and we arrived early at Dover and hence were able to catch the 11.45am ferry. At this point fate intervened. We were not the only vehicle to get to Dover early and to catch an earlier ferry. On our arrival we had spotted a newly painted London Transport red double-decker routemaster bus. This managed to get in at the back of the deck we were on and, in the process of trying to disembark, managed to remove our drivers door mirror. With names and addresses plus insurance details exchanged we both set off on our European adventures. The bus was to become a mobile fish and chip shop in the south of France with the driver setting out on a “new life”. We, on the other hand, had a 250 mile journey across France, Belgium, Holland and final Germany ahead of us. This we negotiated without further mishap, arriving at our hotel at 7.30pm local time.

The following morning we were all up moderately bright and fairly early keenly, anticipating the first of two busy days looking around the show. The first impression was of the ease of entry. Once parked, which took a few minutes, we walked the short distance to one of three entrances and didn’t have to wait even a minute to pay our 20 Euro entry fee and start looking around the first of seventeen halls housing the exhibits and jumble. The second impression – as you may have guessed – was the sheer size of the show. Seventeen halls which I would estimate must cover two or three times the floor space used at the NEC. Whilst the autojumble and memorabilia stands were similarly spaced to those in the UK, the car displays had much more space and an open and bright feel. Another big difference was the support of the car manufacturers. In the hall where all the Ford cars were we were told that the company had invested 18,000 Euros in the stand and display. This stand covered all the company’s models on display and typically only one vehicle of each model was on display. The Capri Club of Germany chose a Capri Café backdrop with a Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3 “parked” in the car park outside. Although the café was only a façade, they had got tables and chairs positioned outside and were serving soft drinks and ice creams to visitors. Sadly, despite Ford’s cash injection, not all the Ford clubs had made the same amount of effort to theme their displays.

The overall feel of the show was of a very polished – no pun intended – and professional show run with the expected Germany efficiency. For me, I think both the UK and German organisers have lessons to learn from each other. The UK indoor events are very “home spun” and lack the cash required to put together a really professional event. They are also very cramped with the clubs and organisers cramming as much as they possibly can into the available space. However, on the positive side, the stands are run by the enthusiasts who are always ready and able to discuss the finer points of their particular marks and models. In Germany this did not appear to be the case with many of the stands largely populated by manufacturers’ personnel – the Capri stand being an exception. Not unreasonably, with the injection of their cash the companies want to make sure they are professionally represented. However, this gives the show a modern motor show feel with little in-depth knowledge available just “perfect” cars perfectly displayed to the eye. Overall I enjoyed the experience – despite being very leg weary after all that walking around – and would recommend car enthusiast to visit the show. It’s not – for me at least – the kind of show I’d visit year after year but maybe I will go back one day. The disappointments – again for me – were that only one Mk1 was on display, but I hadn’t expected many more, and that there was virtually no autojumble available to fit a Mk1 – but then again I should be used to that from the UK. We did discover a pair of pattern front wings which we were told we could have for 550 Euros (around £390) – not a bargain, but then again at least they were there.

We set off for home at 4.00pm on Sunday and apart from one road works hold up had a smooth journey back to the ferry port at Calais in pleasant spring sunshine. Imagine our surprise when within 30 minutes of leaving Dover we found ourselves driving through a snow storm with slush on the road and signs indicating that “gritting” was in progress. Yes, we were definitely back in England!     Kevin
March 2006 Not only did the club have a two car stand at the London Classic Car & Bike Show at the Alexandra Palace but a North London based member was given a space to show his daytona yellow 1600GT XLR which has been used in a TV advertisement for Nobby's Nuts, a brand of snacks being promoted using 70s glam rock band Slade's front man, Noddy Holder.

March 2006 The Capri Mk1 Register's Quarterly Newsletter has been revamped under the title "Capri Style".

November 2005 The Capri Mk1 Register are back at the NEC Birmingham's three day Classic Motor Show extravaganza after a three year absence.
The club's stand featured a former Ford works spec. rally car of 1969 vintage and a standard spec. 1972 facelift 1600XL.

August 2005 A busy month in the south east with a club stand at Woburn (Sunday 14th) and Knebworth (Monday 29th). In addition members from Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex met up at Battlesbridge (Sunday 21st) to provide the very rare site these days of six Mk1s in line - captured on for the cover of the club's March 2006 magazine.
On Sunday 28th two members attended the Charity Car Show and Air Display at Little Gransden, Cambridgeshire.

Last Updated: 03 April 2008