As a Nissan fan, I've always been interested in the underdog or the unappreciated...the rare, the unexpected etc....And so it is with what catches my eye when trolling around Ebay Motors for a project vehicle to dream about...Coming across what looked kinda like an old Nissan Z from
its small gallery picture I paused and looked a little deeper...A Mercury Capri?? Weren't those the crappy little 3 cylinder cars of the early 90's?? Yes...they were...But Mercury (or Ford) Capri's were also little mid 70's 2 door coupes imported from Germany and really weren't Ford's or Mercury's as they were made at a Ford plant in Cologne and often had Ford stamped
engines but were sold at Mercury dealerships (here in the U.S.) and wore neither a Ford or a Mercury logo. This example has supposedly been in storage for 20 years (storage or outside in a carport or lean-to????). Brushing off the snow the car is in expectedly poor shape...typical body rust in the areas where salt and water like to collect--back of the rear hatch, running boards, mirror attachment locations, etc...the engine does not turn over (though that could simply be a dead battery and not enough juice in the portable jumper pack), and the interior is a disaster from top to bottom....On the positive side....the paint (in the non rusted areas) looks quite decent and the mechanicals on the underside of the car seem solid and the tires near new...Many of the the remaining Capri's on the road look to be dragsters or other engine swapped iterations though in their day the Capri was a fairly solid little sportscar...far more European in its performance than its Ford/Mercury birthright would indicate. Currently on Ebay with a no reserve auction and a +/- $250 bid right now, for someone with the time, skills and desire this could be a hot little project car...pics of the actual car (2.0 4cyl OHC) and
of some restored/original Capri's (with the last, red Capri being VERY similar to the model I came across today) follow as well as a link to Murray's Auto Recycling near me in Londonderry, NH who I now have my name on a list with for any older Nissan's that may come in...
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