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  • It will come as no surprise to long-time community members that the beautiful white 1986 Mercury Capri 5.0L belonging to Jeff Cornell has won a Ride of the Month. The only surprising thing is that it hasn't happened earlier.


    Jeff, better known as Capriman86 here on FEP is a master at cleaning, refurbishing, and dressing up a car, leaving no detail unattended. His dedication to aesthetic improvements and super sanitary standards has inspired the phrase "JeffClean."

    A familiar theme among Capri owners, Jeff was a fan of 5.0L Fox cars but wanted something different, and that led him to his initial Capri ownership experience:

    My first fox was a silver 1986 Mercury Capri 5.0 back in the early 90’s, I really loved the 5.0 Foxes but didn’t want what everyone else had. I went by a small car dealer and he had 2 used Capri 5.0s to my surprise. After a quick test drive, it had to be mine and the love for Capri’s has been with me ever since.
    That car and other Foxes came and went over the years. But, after a while, it was time to get back in the driver's seat of Mercury's answer to the Mustang.

    ...Just before New Year of '07, I was on the hunt again for another Capri after selling my last white 86 during the buying of our first house.

    I started searching Craigslist and this local one came up at the right time for the right price which turned out to be a friend of a friend’s car who is currently a member of FEP. I went up to look at it, it was sitting on a few flat tires, running on 7 cylinders and needed some TLC inside and out but decided it had to be mine, I purchased it in mid-January 2007 and towed it home.




    While far from a basket case, the car was certainly in need attention.

    I went through 2 rounds of restoration: 1 mild/moderate to clean it up, bringing it from the condition it was in when purchased. From buffing, and scrubbing the interior, to repairing and repainting all the trim, new wheels, bead blasting and repainting the engine components, etc.




    If you pay close attention, you'll see that one thing Jeff has had a problem with is committing to a set of wheels. For a time he ran the wheels you see here after installation of 1" lowering springs:



    Then, the unthinkable happens; I was hit in the rear quarter attending the Long Island Fox-A-Que, which unfortunately totaled the car, but I wasn’t calling it “dead” just yet. Fortunately I had Hagerty agreed value insurance. It was deemed a total loss but I bought it back for salvage bid price, collected the insurance, went back to Long Island and towed it home. Thanks to my LI friends for storing it, making sure I was okay and Chris Varney (Varn82) for taking me down there to tow it back home with his truck and friends trailer.

    Was sad to see the frame shifted over 1.5 inches, enough to close the gap on the driver’s door to rear quarter, bent the wheel, axle, and most of all hurt my pride.


    So then the tear down begins, the quest for parts and off to the body shop. I can’t thank Rob and his brother Dave at Gene’s Autobody in Manville, RI enough, they did a great job.


    Caprman86's 1986 Mercury Capri specs:

    • Stock 2.73 gears swapped to FMS 3.73’s
    • After a few sets of wheels I have settled with ROH 17" Snyper Wheels on Kumho’s
    • 1" Suspension Techniques Drop Springs
    • ASC Mclaren wing
    • Added a factory Capri Bulge Hood Scoop
    • Hurst Comp Plus Short Throw Shifter
    • BBK 70mm BBK Throttle Body and EGR
    • 89 Mustang upper intake, sanded smooth and painted
    • TrickFlow .375 Plenum Phenolic Spacer
    • Underdrive Pullies
    • Flowmaster 40's w/ an offroad H-Pipe
    • BBK Upper and Lower Rear Control Arms
    • Energy Supsension Spring Isolaters
    • Energy Suspension Sway Bar bushings and end links
    • Aluminum Driveshaft
    Comments 25 Comments
    1. davben50's Avatar
      davben50 -
      Beautiful car and a great story behind it. Thanks for sharing!
    1. Her5.0's Avatar
      Her5.0 -
      Congrats Jeff...well deserved. Always been a Big Fan of your Capri....
    1. Capriman86's Avatar
      Capriman86 -
      Thanks again all, I really appreciate all the kind words. Hopefully its a good season and I can get the things I want done to help finish it off.
    1. dburdyshaw's Avatar
      dburdyshaw -
      Congrats Jeff! It IS a beautiful car.
    1. Turbopc's Avatar
      Turbopc -
      Awesome Capri. Always loved my two that I had back in the day. I owned a 79 RS 2.3 and a 83 RS 5.0. Both cars sadly gone now. The 83 was white like yours Jeff. It also got wrapped up in a accident and after the body shop straightened it out my little Capri was sold. At that time I was I the Air Force heading overseas and could not take her with me. Thanks for hanging in during your repair process. She looks better than new.
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