1978 Ford Capri 3.0 S

The history of this Capri is very extensive and substantiated in the huge media coverage that has surrounded the car all of its life. VHK 494S was one of a small batch of pre-production Mk3 Capris, believed to have been pulled from the Mk2 production line and modified to Mk3 spec in order to make cars available to the press in preparation for the roll-out of the Mk3. Notable siblings include VHK 495S - star of The Professionals!The car appeared in Autocar w/e 4 Mar 1978, when they road tested what they described as the 3000S. Three weeks later the car appeared on the front cover of Autocar with the number plate incongruously blacked out - the article inside was actually a comparison test of 2 litre cars but there were issues with availability of the 2.0S! By October of that year the car had joined the Autocar long term test fleet and starred in an extensive report in the w/e 21 Oct magazine. The car appeared again in an extensive article in Mar '79. On 23/5/79 Ford MoCo sold the car to John Miles - ex Lotus F1 driver and, at that time, writer for Autocar.John by this time had set up WD Developments (with Martin Murphy and Steve Whitmore), with the aim of using extensive R&D to challenge Ford's X-pack product through a process of 'optimisation'. Murphy described the set-up as 'what Ford would have done if they could build every engine by hand'. WMD's solution was quite elegant - a 60 thou' overbore and, more cleverly, a blank crank machined to give a just slightly longer stroke, and a resultant 3.2 litres. This was coupled to the same rear axle as the Gordon Spice Spa racing Capris - the relaxed cruise in 4th is still apparent today. Further modifications were made to the suspension and the team settled on multi-leaf springs (the set-up that the 2.8i would use), maintaining ride height and sacrificing just a little ride comfort for better axle location.In December 1979 the car featured in What Car? magazine, with the 3.0 X-pack'd COO 260T reviewed below. That same month Autocar ran 'A tale of two Capris', pitching VHK 494S and COO 260T in a head to head. No clear winner, but a nod to John Miles and his WMD team over fuel consumption. In October 1980 VHK 494S appeared in Cars and Car Conversions with a two page spread on the technicalities of their 3.2S. The following month VHK 494S was the star of a 3 page spread documenting John's exploits in trying to shift to low-profile tyres (60 profiles!) but preserve ride. By now a press release detailing the spec of the 3.2S was available. In March 1980 Autosport ran an article on VHK 494S under the title 'A super Capri?'. In November that year Thoroughbred and Classic Cars featured VHK 494S in an article entitled 'Hot Ford - 3.2 Litre Capri'. Brian Palmer said at the time he would have his 3.2 in something quieter than the paint on VHK494S (John Miles was informed that this was the only Capri produced in this colour): he also reported that he had been stopped for speeding in the car! April 1981 and Motor Sport feature VHK 494S in a tuning test of the capri 3.2. Jeremy Walton reported that "this Capri represents conversion work at its very best. Every important aspect is improved.' he also wrote that the engine "performed better than any production or modified carburettor Capri I have assessed since 1969.' It is around this time that correspondence starts between John Mles, Aston Martin and Ford, with the embryonic notion of a Ford 'super car' (copies included). In EVO magazine, Feb 2010 John, now titled a 'chassis development engineer', refers explicitly to VHK 494S, and the development work he did with it, as the precursor to the Tickford Capri. This is further documented on the Tickford Owners Club website: http://www.tickfordownersclub.com/2capri.php In 1982 VHK 494S featured in The Guardian newspaper's Motoring Review where they describe the WM-developed 3.2 Capri as 'really special'. In May 1982 the car is back in Autocar in an extensive spread documenting John's experiments with drag coefficients. Included in the history are several copies of test sheets from MIRA - see the photo of John manoeuvring the car into position in the wind tunnel - with handwritten notes added.Inevitably VHK 494S finally fell out of the limelight after a very intensive 3-4 years. Finally, in November '83 John sold the car. In 1987 Autocar ran a four page spread entitled 'Images of Capri', a somewhat nostalgic look back, where John Miles declares VHK 494S to be his favourite, noting 'it responded well to mods'.In August '87 VHK 494S appears on the front cover of the Capri Club International magazine looking just a little sorry for itself after a fuel pipe came off the carburettor. The car was allegedly a write-off but has no insurance loss marker recorded against it. The car was restored - including new Ford front wings, and apparently displayed that year.In 1997 the car is advertised in the small adds of `The Capri Magazine', described as needing 'some restoration'. For the next two years the car underwent a comprehensive restoration. Realising the importance of the car he went to great pains to preserve the shell and source genuine Ford parts for those things that needed replacing - hence the correct non-RS wheel centre caps, genuine Ford 'S' side stripes, genuine bumper blades etc. The rebuild is documented in a mass of photographs. Eventually John Miles (who was by then working as a chassis consultant for Lotus) and VHK 494S were reunited at Hethel, the restorer keen to get John's seal of approval for his efforts at preserving the car and, essentially, its character (Incidentally, John has credited his work on VHK 494S as what got him the job at Lotus!) Naturally the reappearance of the car caused a large stir and the first ever issue of Practical Classics, January 2000, has a picture of VHK 494S on the front cover and a five page spread on the restoration. That same month Classic Ford ran a four page story on the car. According to the articles the car's current engine was rebuilt using a reconditioned block and that WMD crank, incorporating a 60 thou overbore as per the WMD 3.2 spec ( purist might note that by 1981 the car was powered by a WMD 3.2 engine built around a V6 sourced from a scrap car!) The special diff can be identified by the finned alloy differential back plate and the relaxed cruising "gate'.Stardom called again in August 2002 when VHK 494S featured in The Sun with a scantily clad (but clad!) Page 3 model - Kelly Burgess - in the delightfully titled article 'Page 3 Kelly's kulcha guide to Essex'!!!! In August 2003 the car appeared briefly in Autocar as they anticipated the 'new' Capri. A vast amount of the original print (complete magazines) is included.In Otober 2015 Corgi are releasing a vanguard model of VHK 494S: http://www.corgi.co.uk/shop/pre-orders/ford-capri-mk3-3-0s-peppermint-sea-green-autocar-roadtest-car-rhd-uk.html Photocopies of reg docs show 7 owners - the first being Ford Motor Company and the second John Miles VHK 494S remains a stunning car. The restoration is approaching 20 years old and the car has covered around 5000 miles on the road so is by no means concourse. That said, the only faults are some micro blistering to the paint on the tailgate and the diff sings a little through 50 mph. Anecdotally, when the restorer commented to John that the diff was a little noisy, his reply was that "it had always been like that and was everything was perfectly in order!'