Here's pictures and details of the cars I currently own.
This is my 1980 Ford Capri 3 Litre S. It is the only Essex powered Mk3 Capri I know of in the States. I know of only one other genuine Mk3 Capri in the USA, and it is in CT. I imported my Right Hand Drive Mk3 from England in January of 2006. See my Mk3 Capri page for details on how I got it and was able to get it into the States. It has an Essex 3.0 Litre V6 engine with a 4 speed manual gearbox. The Essex engine is a true British design used in many British Ford products. The suspension, brakes and wheels have been upgraded with later model 2.8 injection items. It has factory fishnet Recaro seats. This is by far my favorite car.
This is my 1974 Lotus Europa Special. I bought this car in 2004 with 16800 documented miles on it. It still wears it's original paint and interior. It has it's original Ford/Lotus 1558cc twin cam engine, and 5 speed gearbox. I designed a direct bolt on replacement intake manifold for it to replace the troublesome twin Stromberg carbs with a single Weber DGV 32/36. It also has electronic ignition, header, and Superlite wheels. Because the car is a survivor, all modifications are bolt on and 100% reversible. This car was the October feature car in the 2006 Lotus-Europa Calendar!!!
Here's a few pictures of my Subaru... (I know, it's not related to a European Ford in any way, shape or form.) It is a 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. I bought it new from Mastro Subaru in Tampa, Florida on Saturday September 23rd 2006. It is a genuine STI, 2.5 litre turbo/intercooled boxer, 6 speed manual. 0-60 in the mid 4 second range, 60-0 in 111 feet thanks to huge Brembo brakes. Since taking the pictures, it's had an SPT intake and heatshield fitted, a Prodrive Exhaust and the ECU has been flashed with Cobb Access Port stage 2 software. It's currently making around 385BHP and 380LB/FT of torque.... Not bad for fried rice.
Purchased in December 2007. Again, not a Ford product, but still one of my well loved collection. This is my new daily driver. It is a 2000 Honda Insight. These are a couple of dealer pictures. I will post my own pictures of it once I take some. This little car is capable of some amazing fuel mileage. Having recently moved to SC and purchasing a house in the country I am 35 miles from work. So, I have a 70 mile daily round trip. This car can do that entire trip on one gallon of gasoline! Basic specs are: 995cc three cylinder gasoline engine and a 144 volt electric motor. Honda made these from 1999 to 2006, and lost money on every one of them. They are a real tour-de-force in technology.
I bought this Capri on December 31 2007. Our history is quite unique. I first saw this car in Hendersonville NC way back in 1992, having just moved over from England. I followed the owner and asked if he would be interested in selling it, he declined. The owner was an English fellow who owned a painting business. Years went by and I forgot about it. I thought I found it in a junk yard in 1996 when I bought a complete parts car, but was obviously mistaken. Skip forward to 2007. A few days after Christmas 2007, my Father tells me that he saw a Capri for sale not far from his office in Hendersonville NC. The only details I get are it's white with black interior, has a 2.3 litre 4 cylinder and a manual transmission. After thinking about it for a couple of days, the Family and I plan a trip to my Parents for new years (and to see the car). Before heading to NC to see the car, I get the name and number of the dealer selling it and have a very nice chat with him. He directs me to his website to see a picture of the car (below). The AA badge on the front tips me off that this might be the Capri that I chased down some 15 years ago. So, long story short, it is indeed the car I tried to buy years ago, and I strike up a deal for it's purchase and promptly drive it to my Parents house to await my collection at a later date. It is a 1976 Capri 2 with the 2.3 Litre engine. It runs and drives and the seller claims the A/C still works, although it was too cold at the time to really tell. It has a few rust spots, but it is basically a complete Capri ready for a rebirth.... Stay tuned!
Here's a picture of my old daily driver, now religated to use as the shop truck, and trailer towing duties. It's a 1991 Ford Escort GT-W. Bet you've never seen a GT wagon before? This is a Mexican built Escort. It has some neat Escort GT features not usually found on standard Escort Wagons. It has GT 10.25" front brakes, GT suspension, GT instrument cluster. Aftermarket upgrades include: MB 15x6.5" wheels with Falken 205/50/15 tires, high back racing seats and Sony head unit with Kenwood speakers and Bazooka subwoofer. Engine upgrades include, ported and decked cylinder head, tri-y header, no cat or egr, de-silenced airbox, adjustable fuel pressure regulator.
