Perana - V8 Capri

The word "Perana" won't mean much to most people, but to many Capri fans it would consider it the ultimate version of the Mk1 Capri. 

In the late 60's, South African racer and Ford dealer, Basil Green, shoe-horned bigger engines into various Fords and went racing. Arguably, the most successful of these was the Capri Perana which featured a Mustang V8 in a Mk 1 V6 Capri shell. It was so successful, it was eventually banned from racing.

In a recent blog, I wrote about Kevin and his 1600 daily driver Capri. After his passing, I discovered his project Capri which turned out to be a "Perana" replica. From what I can work out from conversations with his family, he intended to build the car for the road. However, when I took possession of the car the road laws had changed considerably and my only option was to complete the build as a race/track car.   

I purchased the Capri as you see it above, a genuine barn find in amongst years of hoarded Capri and motorbike parts. The parts were mostly sold off and I kept the few I believe were ear-marked for the Perana Project.

Generally, the Capri was in a solid state but it was obvious the car had lived a full life before work had begun. There was damage in some area and evidence of repairs to the floors, front end and beneath the huge rear arches. These had been grafted on based on Escort Forest arches. The moulds I would later discover from a contact at the Cortina club who had connections with the Sports Sedan Association.

The Capri Project which I dubbed the Z181 after one of Basil Green's race cars. A lot of the modifications were similar to what was shown on a Perana dedicated website (www.perana.org) included highly modified, if not dangerous changes to the strut towers that lowered the suspension, considerably. The engine crossmember was so low, just 75mm above the ground, that it would have been totally illegal for road use.

The project remained this way for quite a while after I first bought the car. There wasn't much on the car that could be used. The automatic transmission was sold on. The engine was seized and removed before being binned. The carburettor was missing and a mouse had made its home in the inlet manifold. When the car was stripped of its running gear, I had a friend repair the strut tops. Welding in fresh metal and returning to the factory specification, I was able to source good quality front suspension and bigger brakes for a future V8 powerplant.

This project was very much a sideline one. Work progressed when the funds and opportunities arised. As previously mentioned in another blog post, I was able to get the car painted through a club contact in 2009. This was the enthusiastic push I needed to get on with the job and the next task became sourcing and engine, gearbox and more modern diff, as the one that was in the car at the time was almost as old as the car itself. It was still fitted with drum brakes and these were not only inadequate for the job, it looked as though that had been dangerously modified to fit the axle. They just wouldn't cut it.

…..To Be Continued.