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Mercury Capri Ii 1976 Rare Survivor Unmodified Hatchback V-6 4 Speed on 2040-cars

Year:1976 Mileage:60000
Location:

Trabuco Canyon, California, United States

Trabuco Canyon, California, United States
Advertising:

It is with a heavy heart that I list this item.  My first car was a brand-new, 1976 Mercury Capri II (identical to this one, only a different color) that was purchased by my family in late 1975.  It was the first new My family purchased since I was born.  Ten years later the car was passed to me and was the first car I ever owned.  Being young, naive etc, the car was destroyed within a few years and sent to a scrap yard.

Since 1990, I began looking for another Capri, just like the one I had, and in 2005, located this one.  It was a one-owner car, being sold by the elderly owner as he was not longer able to drive a manual, non-power steering vehicle.  The car needed a paint job, tires etc. The body was straight, the car hadn't been modified nor altered.  I had the Capri shipped to me in California and have owned it since.  The car had 50,000 original miles and I've put 10,000 on it since.  It's been used to commute to my work for the last 8 years.

Having another Capri ended my grieving over my first one, and driving it has brought me countless hours of enjoyment.  Unfortunately, due to the naive, blind, foolish, envious and malicious elements of society, my health-insurance is in jeopardy.  Because my family comes first, the car must be sacrificed to ensure our health-coverage continues.  

This car means a lot to me, however I believe it's time to "bequeath" it to another owner who can appreciate this car and its engineering prowess.  I do not want to sell it to someone who is indirectly responsible for my healthcare jeopardies, and the ruination of this great nation.  I do not want it to go to a foolish "hot rodder" type who wants to modify, alter, "upgrade" or otherwise ruin a perfectly good car.  If you are either of these two, please do not bid.

That having been said, here's a primer on the Capri;  In the mid to late 1960s, Ford of Europe wanted a European-market Mustang.  The phenomenal sales of the Ford Mustang in the U.S. sparked interest in a similar car that would appeal to Europeans.  The Capri debuted in 1969 and enjoyed similar success on the other side of the Atlantic.  Small number of Capris were imported to the U.S, however since Ford didn't want Pinto sales to suffer, badged the Capris as Mercury, so they would be shown in Lincoln-Mercury showrooms, and not parked next to the dowdy and homely Pinto.  The cars were a sales success on both continents.  Most Capris were made at the historic Ford plant in Cologne Germany.  Those Capris destined for the U.K. market were produced in England.  The German-made Capris were made of better materials and thus have survived longer.

In 1974, a new version of the Capri was designed, the "Capri II."  Unlike the original sedan, this was a larger, better-engineered hatchback, with a superior engine (2.8 Liter, 60 Degree "Cologne V-6).  There was no 1975 model year Capri and 1976 was the first year for the Capri II.  Sales of the car were high and the vehicle was well-received by the automobile press.  In early 1977, a naive, national leader was sworn in and like today, the country began an economic, social and moral decline.  As a result, the U.S. dollar lost value against the Deutsche Mark and the cost to import the car became prohibitively high.  Also, a naive simpleton formed the EPA and the automotive emission scheme led to the near-downfall of American-made car performance.  These wrong-headed and malicious moves imposed unreasonable conditions on cars imported to the U.S.  As a result, 1977 was the last year Capris were imported to the U.S.  The Capri continued to thrive in Europe until 1987.

It is estimated that only 20,000 Capris were brought tot the United States.  This Capri is probably one of only several-thousand Capris still in existence.

This car has to be driven to be appreciated.  It will available for inspection, weeknights after 6 and weekends between 10 and 6.  I will answer all inquiries as best I can.  My work schedule is hectic and I have limited internet access during work.

I've been on ebay for over fifteen years and am familiar with how things work.  I've have many great  experiences and made a few friends as a result, unfortunately, I've dealt with many fraudsters, deadbeats and game-players.  As a result, I require that you contact me first if you've never bought from me.  If you bid before contacting me, the bid will be cancelled.


On Jan-23-14 at 13:47:11 PST, seller added the following information:

I HAVE ALL SERVICE RECORDS SINCE I PURCHASED IT.  IT WAS REPAINTED ABOUT 2006 IN THE ORIGINAL COLOR.  WILL POST MORE PHOTOS THIS WEEKEND.

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Junkyard Gem: 1981 Mercury Cougar XR-7

Sun, May 24 2020

The story of the Mercury Cougar involves more plot twists and unexpected digressions than that of just about any other Detroit car, with successive Cougar generations based on the Ford Mustang (1967-1973), the Ford Torino and/or Thunderbird (1974-1979), various Fox Fords including the Thunderbird (1980-1988), the MN12 Thunderbird/Lincoln Mark VIII (1989-1997), and the Ford Mondeo (1999-2002). There were wagon and sedan Cougars for brief periods, just to confuse everybody, and the rakish XR-7 Cougars sometimes lived on different platforms from their ordinary non-XR-7 counterparts. I think the Late Malaise Era Fox XR-7s are among the most interesting of the bunch, so I was quite excited to spot this tan-over-gold '81 in a Denver yard. I tried to count the number of screaming-cat badges on and in this car and gave up once I hit a dozen. The steering wheel, door panels, C pillars, center console, and — of course — the hood ornament all boast snarling felines. Earlier Cougars had emblems showing full side views of stalking catamounts, but the Cougar logo for the 1980s showed just the head. This car got the optional center console, which I hear is quite a rarity. You had to pay $174 extra (that's around $513 in 2020 dollars) for an AM/FM/cassette audio system in the '81 Cougar, but at least the air conditioning was standard equipment. Believe it or not, thieves used to steal these radios. Kumpf Lincoln-Mercury still exists in Englewood (as Landmark Lincoln), and the yard that now houses this car can be found just 15 miles up Broadway on the north side of Denver.  The padded landau roof hasn't fared so well beneath the fierce Colorado sun, but overall this car seems very solid. Sadly, only the Mustangs and (once in a long while) Fairmonts get much love from the Fox Ford crowd these days. Three Mercury "wire wheel" hubcaps and one from a Lincoln. The base engine in the 1981 XR-7 was the "Thriftmaster" 200-cubic-inch (3.3-liter) straight-six, but very few XR-7 buyers would have refrained from checking the box for one of the two optional Windsor V8s. I can't tell if we're looking at the 255-cubic-inch (4.2-liter) version or the 302-cubic-inch (5.0-liter) one here, but real-world drivers might not have noticed the difference between the 120-horse 255 and the 130-horse 302, anyway. The non-XR-7 Fox Cougars had five-speed manual transmissions as base equipment (which nobody wanted), but all 1981 XR-7s had automatics.

NHTSA upgrades Ford floor mat unintended acceleration probe

Mon, 17 Dec 2012

According to a Bloomberg report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has upgraded an investigation into complaints of unintended acceleration lodged against Ford vehicles. The investigation began in June of 2010 when just three complaints had been received and it only concerned the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan, but this was at a time when the phrase "unintended acceleration" made grown men go pale. With 49 additional complaints received since then, the investigation has been reclassified as an engineering analysis - the last phase before a recall - and it has been expanded to include the Lincoln MKZ, making for a total of "around 480,000" units affected between the three sedans from the 2008 to 2010 model years.
The ostensible cause is that floor mats are trapping the accelerator pedal, but according to a Ford statement at the time, the entrapment is due to owners placing the optional all-weather floor mats, or aftermarket floor mats, on top of the car's standard floor mats. NHTSA has backed up that assessment, pinning the blame on "unsecured or double stacked floor mats."
On the face of it, it would appear that NHTSA has upgraded the status not because of Ford's error, but owner error, and Ford has stated publicly that it is "disappointed" in NHTSA's move. On top of NHTSA still being skittish after that other unintended acceleration debacle, it could be seen to be taking its time investigating all of the variables: it's reported that Ford changed its accelerator pedal design in 2010, a "heel blocker" in the floorpan has been considered a potential culprit in how the floor mats could be trapping the pedal, some drivers have said the floor mats weren't anywhere near the pedal, and according to a report in the LA Times, in "a letter sent by Ford to NHTSA in August 2010, the automaker said it found three injuries and one fatality that 'may have resulted from the alleged defect.'"

NHTSA investigating 500k Ford and Mercury cars for lighting failures

Mon, Apr 6 2015

The Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis might be long gone as new models in showrooms, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration might check them out yet again for a potential problem. At the urging of North Carolina Consumers Council, the agency may open another investigation into the front lighting control module on vehicles from the 2003-2005 model years, and NHTSA estimates the issue could affect 517,945 vehicles. If the module stops working, it can cause a complete failure of all forward lighting, including the headlights. NHTSA previously investigated the issue in 2008 and 2009 but found no need for a recall, according to Bloomberg. Ford also extended the warranty on the part to 15 years or 250,000 miles. To prompt this new request, the North Carolina Consumers Council received a letter from a woman experiencing the module's failure. Upon further investigation, the council found 604 complaints of this problem on NHTSA's website, including seven crashes. Furthermore, the group has alleged that dealers told customers that the parts to perform the replacement weren't available, despite the extended warranty. According to the government agency, "A defect petition has been opened to evaluate the issue and make a grant or deny decision." Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker tells Autoblog via email, "We will cooperate with NHTSA, as we always do." You can read the council's complete letter to the Feds in PDF format, here. INVESTIGATION Subject : Loss of headlamp/exterior lighting Date Investigation Opened: APR 01, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: DP15002 Component(s): EXTERIOR LIGHTING All Products Associated with this Investigation Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) FORD CROWN VICTORIA 2003-2005 MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS 2003-2005 Details Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company SUMMARY: The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received a petition from the North Carolina Consumers Council, Inc. requesting a defect investigation of an alleged defect condition resulting in headlight and/or exterior lighting failure on 2003-2005 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles. The petition letter is attached for review. The petitioner alleges a defect in the lighting control module that powers the headlights which can result in the loss of vehicle headlights and/or all exterior lighting while driving. ODI has previously investigated this issue under PE08-066 which was closed without a defect finding.