My 1969 Ford Capri Mk1 1300 XL was manufactured in 1968 in the Halewood car manufacturing plant near Liverpool
It was sold by Bristol Street Motors for the huge sum of £890! It was registered the day after man first set foot on the moon, on 21st July 1969.
The colour is Blue Mink which was one of Ford’s first metallic paint finishes.
It still has the original 1300cc Kent engine punching a massive 48 BHP with a top speed of around 70 mph with a fuel return of approx 23 miles per gallon, 0-60 in around 15 seconds. The car is still running the original Fomaco carburetter with the charging system still powered by dynamo. I am very reluctant to modernise any part of the car which I believe would detract from the driving experience!
This Capri has had 7 previous owners, the last being a gentleman called Roy from Staffordshire.
Sadly Roy and his wife passed away and I went along to buy some parts his family had advertised, but my wife and I ended up purchasing not one but two Capris that Roy and his wife owned.. plus a number of parts!
My wife, Karen, drives the 1973 Mk 1 Sebring Red 1600XL face lift while I drive Roy’s Blue Mink Capri.
We promised to try and keep the Capris together and we show them together as Roy and his wife always used to do.
Roy’s Capri also appeared in the 2010 film Soul Boy which tells the story of the birth of Northern soul music in the late 60s and early 70s around Wigan Pier area.
In one scene the Capri is seen wheel spinning away, Roy told people that they had to put some gravel under the rear wheels to achieve this.
In November 2022, we were at the classic car show at the NEC Birmingham where Roy’s Capri was on show with the Capri International club .
I think he would be so proud that his car was on display to so many people, it’s because of people like Roy that these classics live on for future generations.
Submitted by: George Holder
