1979 Ford Capri Grp 1 - Ex Gordon Spice

Helped by the success of his Motor Sport and Performance Car accessory business (run with his brother Derek), Gordon Spice became an established racing driver from the late 60s, through the 70s and 80s in saloons and Group C. A veteran of 14 Le Mans races and 4 FIA C2 World Championship titles, he raced over 70 different cars during his long career. From 1986 onwards he designed and built a range of Group C Spice Engineering cars that enjoyed unrivalled success internationally in endurance events, World Sportscar Racing and latterly IMSA GT.

However, he is probably best known in the UK amongst fans of British saloon car racing for his hugely successful Ford Capris during the late seventies and early eighties. These cars were race prepared by Dave Cook and Peter Clark of CC Racing Developments who were renowned for their high standards and immaculate presentation.

When our vendor purchased this Capri he was naturally curious about its history and his research lead to the understanding that this may have been the 'Autocar' Capri, chassis CC10. A letter on file confirms that Gordon Spice has inspected the car, and after a phone call to Dave Cook of CC Racing confirming some key identifying marks, our vendor is confident that this is their 1979 car, CC10, and the car now proudly displays a stamped chassis plate to this effect.

The regulations had changed slightly at the start of the '79 season and CC10 was built to Group 1 and a half spec and went well, with 6 overall wins and lots of places in the Tricentrol British Saloon Car Championship. Abroad it had good outings at Nivelles, the Le Mans 4 hours, a 5th place at the Spa 24 Hour and a 2nd place at the 24 Hours of Paul Ricard. Our vendor purchased this car for track days / BRDC Member's days and, at the time, it was in Group 2 form with the wide X-pack wings and other modifications. Although it went well and was a lot of fun, he is a purist and a former racing driver of some note, so decided he would like to return the car, as far as possible, to its 1979 specification. A lot of the original Group 1 parts (brakes, body panels, tailgate, windows and bumpers) were supplied from the previous vendor which made the task a little easier.

The interior was functional and just needed a tidy but under the bonnet it appeared that the engine bay had been modified in the past. Further investigation established that the car had apparently been a Mk.2 and the front end had been updated to a Mk. 3 with parts supplied to Capri runners in the Championship by Ford at the request, I imagine, of their Marketing Department. Believed to be original, the Neil Brown period engine had recently been rebuilt and all that was necessary was a change of rockers and guide plates back to the homologated ones, a correct inlet manifold with the larger Weber carb. and a new air box. A new oil cooler and radiator were also fitted.

The rear axle was changed back and period rear drums fitted along with the latest racing brake shoes.The front brakes were replaced to comply with the homologation papers and fitted with the correct calipers.

The vendor believes, that when the car was current, it was fitted with Bilstein front dampers but on recent track days it handled really well so it was decided to retain the existing ones.Externally CC10 was completely stripped, surprisingly finding the original standard rear arches still in place, completely resprayed in it's original colour and refinished in correct period livery. This is a famous example of a model that dominated saloon car racing for several years and now looks fabulous.Apart from being well known for its on-track success, CC10 has appeared in a number of DVDs, featured on the cover of Autosport and, we believe, is the car used by Corgi Models for their Corgi Vanguard "Gordon Spice " Capri (VA10804)

The car comes complete with a large quantity of Group 2 parts, spare rims, the appropriate Capri Homologation Papers, regs for the RAC British Saloon Car Championship 1979/1980 and, most generously, a number of Gordon Spice's trophies from the car's winning years. It also comes with professional set up sheets and data from back in the day, as well as period photographs and a spare engine.

A wonderful opportunity to own a racing Capri with great history that would be welcome at any Historic Motor Sport event (a potential entry for the Goodwood Members Meeting ) and will quickly gather a crowd in any paddock.