“I PUT MY HEART AND SOUL INTO THIS BUILD
— IT WAS DONE ON A VERY TIGHT BUDGET”42 August 2019
OMEBUILT HERO
a
HOMEBUILT HERO
We all expect a new project to need a fair bit of bodywork but just occasionally you stumble across
a gem — just like Darren with this early Mk3 that was being used for dump runs!Three-stage paint was applied true Homebuilt Hero-
style: in a tent in the garden with help from a neighbour.The fi nal detail was to change the four-spokes for some
bigger ones — and JBW’s 8x15s fi tted the bill nicely.When Darren heard this unmessed-with, early Mk3 2.0S
could be up for grabs, he was straight onto it.The body was in great shape, with Darren just needing
to do localised repairs including to the rear quarters.into the old Fords and the peer pressure become
too much. So much so that I decided to sell the
Porsche and buy another Capri.”
That was three years ago, and the Capri in
question is the one you now see before you —
though as you can guess, it’s undergone quite a
transformation to get to the point where it’s
looking as good as it does.
“Though my mate, Danny Thorne, I found
out that Aaron Tucker of HT Racing was using
the car for runs to the tip! It was completely
standard and original, and looked a state with the
underneath up to the bumpers covered in
underseal. It needed a lot of love, but I could tell
it was sound, and it was a genuine, early Mk3
2.0S too, so I begged Aaron to sell it to me.”
With a deal done, and the Capri parked on
Darren’s drive, he didn’t waste time starting on a
stripdown and rebuild. “I was determined to get
it done and back on the road as soon as possible,”
he admits. “I knew that if I stalled, there was the
risk that it would never get fi nished.”
To this end, Darren spent at least 4 hours
every day for the next three months
comprehensively going through the car.