1986 Mercury ASC Mclaren Capri Eurocoupe 1 of 11 rare Foxbodies 5.0L EFI 5 speed

1986 Mercury Capri Description:

You are looking at a 1986 ASC Mclaren Eurocoupe Capri. This vehicle was shipped from Ford directly to ASC for modifications. All ASC equipment was installed by ASC including the headlight and taillight covers, 1/4 glass covers, Hella Foglights, Whistler Spectrum remote radar detector, 140 mph speedometer, Alpine stereo, Kenwood speakers, ASC specific horn pad and leather wrapped shift knob, front and rear air dams and side ground effects, ASC spoiler, and ASC specific OZ wheels painted orange. This is one of the most original ASCs or 86 Capris I have ever seen down to the air intake silencer and stock mufflers from 1986. I have the 4 orange wheels which need to be redone, the previous owner swapped them out for the 10 hole wheels with Mercury center caps. All maintenance records are impeccably documented. The car had a repaint, not the original color back in 2002, its actually a nicer color than the original. The car was Ziebarted when new and under hood has undercoating which is difficult to remove and it really has done its job protecting the metal.It was never driven in winter and was always garaged which has led to very little if any rust on the car. The bottom of the doors are spotless, door jambs, under the hatch all good. The underneath of the car is dirty but no rust. The front air dam has had a couple repairs and there are a couple dings on the driver side that would be good candidates for paintless dent removal. Also the rear ground effects behind the driver tire have a slight angle to them, I do not see any damage and they are very solid so I cant really say why they look that way. The interior is spotless, no rips, everything works, even the radar detector and radio. It could use a new carpet to be perfect although this one may be able to be cleaned. The cargo cover is functional and tight and the spare, jack and lug wrench are intact and have never been used. There are no engine modifications besides a new alternator, water pump, valve cover gaskets and some hose clamps. Everything else is exactly as it left the factory. The headlight and taillight covers are showing their age and could be replaced if desired. I drove this car home over 300 miles on one tank of gas and it runs perfect. I just changed the oil and filter and replaced the clutch cable. It doesnt need anything besides a good detailing and the previously mentioned dings repaired. This is a perfect car for the ASC enthusiast, the documentation alone is incredible to find let alone a car in this condition that is 32 years old! You dont see these every day, there were 47 Eurocoupes produced in 1986 and only 11 of them were smoke charcoal gray metallic and of those generally half were automatic and half were standard which makes this one of 5 cars! I cant bring myself to modify this car to make it the way I want it so I am looking for a purist to give it a good home and preserve the heritage that ASC gave it. Below is an excerpt from the ASCMclaren.org website that outlines the premise of the Eurocoupes and explains how they were optioned.
86 EuroCoupes (Gathered from Sandy Block's Postings)
Purpose:
Dealers had reported some sales resistance to the Coupes because of
the "gaudy" striping, and dealers also reported PRICE RESISTANCE to
the $4,212.00 MSRLP of the Full ascMcLaren Package on the Hatchback.
In introducing the EuroCoupe, they trimmed down the amount of
Popsicle Orange to just the wheels and a couple of logo decals. They
also trimmed down the MSRLP to $3,380.00 - or a $832.00 reduction.
Production Figures:
47 EuroCoupes
14 Oxford White
21 Raven Black
12 Smoke Charcoal Grey Metallic
(Midnight Navy Blue Metallic & Platinum Silver Metallic
were NOT available on the EuroCoupes).
All had Popsicle Orange Wheels.
EuroCoupes went into production at the very end of 1986
production after the 257 SC 2-Seat Roadsters and after
the 150 Hatchbacks.
EuroCoupes received:
Orange Wheels with ascMcLaren Caps
Full Package ground effects.
Rear hatch wing.
Headlight and tailight covers.
Sail panel inserts.
A single pencil thin orange pinstripe running thru the
center indentation of the bodyside moulding,
front & rear bumper rub strips in place of the
full package stripe kit.
An orange ascMcLaren decal on the tailgate hatch door
just as a full packaged coupe would have.
A very small decal (ascMcLaren) on the outside of the
1/4 window.
EuroCoupe seats were "supposed" to have the red piping,
but a few fell into assembly-error and got the
grey piping, reserved for the Full Packaged units!
EuroCoupes did not receive (as compared to the FP):
No Full Package stripe kit.
No Leather Wrapped Steering Wheel.
No Leather Wrapped Shift Knob.
No asc/McLaren Floor mats.
No B-303 Hi Po Cam.
No Italian Fiam Air Horns.
No numbered dash plaque. EuroCoupes were NOT numbered.
They did not enjoy a tire change, and came with the
standard tires - 60 Series P225x15 usually Goodyear Eagle
VR & ZR series tires......but not 100% of the time!
The Alpine 7272 was * NOT * an option. All EuroCoupes
came into the dealer with a HOLE in the dash,
therefore all have a different one! (Depended
upon what the selling dealer installed)
The suspension was FoMoCo stock so therefore:
NO Carerra 50/50 Shocks
No Thunderbird Turbo Coupe Tie-Rod Tips
No Ford Motorsport SUPER Sport Springs.
Options:
Whistler Spectrum-II Superhetrodyne Integral Remote Radar
Detector; $238.95
asc/McLaren Floor Mats; $33
asc/McLaren 140 MPH Calibrated Speedometer replacing the
standard Capri 85 MPH unit;
$79.00 later raised to $85.00
4-Speed Automatic Transmission $575.00
T-Top or Pop Up Sun Roof
Power Door Locks/Hatch Release
Air Conditioning
Pricing:
Full Packaged Hatchback $4,212.00
EuroCoupe's MSRLP - $3,380.00
--------------
Difference $832.00
VIN 619744 was the final, of the 47 EuroCoupes. Of the 47, I have
located & documented 1/2 - or 24 of them. The rarest is the Smoke
Charcoal Grey Metallic, with a T-Top and Automatic Transmission.
I can tell you that VERY, VERY few of the 47 EuroCoupes had the
Power Door Locks/Remote Hatch Release, and that Appox. 9 were automatic transmission cars.
SOME EuroCoupes had that hatch decal deleted and instead had the
chromed plastic (Larger Size) from the Roadster affixed there.
The why & wherefore of this remains a mystery.
I have also found that of the 47 EuroCoupes, 24 went to a single
dealer, NorthTowne L~M of Kansas City, Mo. The other 23 were
scattered.
By the way, 1986 EuroCoupes were made under a 58Y code, "Radio
Delete" and arrived at the ordering dealer with a hole in the dash
for a "something" installation. They didn't even have radio delete
plugs. They came with the "Stereo Prep Pkg." which was a fender
installed antenna, dash mounted speakers, and rear speakers and full
wiring as needed. The dealer installed whatever stereo they wanted.
Rear spoilers on EuroCoupes were painted (body color) on the Smoke
Charcoal Grey Metallic AND the Oxford White cars. They were left
in their "Gel-Coat" finish on Raven Black. (Euros in Oxford White
had the rear spoiler painted, BUT BUT BUT on Full Packagesed (F.P.)
units, the rear spoiler was gel coat UNpainted???)
The location of the decal on the quarter windows was at the lowest
edge and close to the "B" pillar. THAT is/was the same decal that
had been used on the dash panel of the 1984 coupes. asc was not
really sure WHERE to stick them!!
They (usually) lacked the decal on the hood, too.
The Leather Shift Lever and the Leather Steering Wheel Rim wrap were NOT
available (according to all paperwork) on the EuroCoupes. Not standard
nor an option. However, what we all fail to realize is that these were not
assembly line cars, nor were they directed by CAM (Computer aided manufacture)
~ but rather done by oft times out of work workers gathered from the Detroit
unemployment lines and even after school High School Kids!!!! Frequently,
there was no strict adhesion to "format" ~ they could not tell F.P cars from
EuroCoupes, thusly many "errors" on EuroCoupes.
I need to point out one other small detail. I stated that on the EuroCoupes the side rear windows were normal. Meaning they did not get the supplemental aluminum frame to hold the smoked black plexiglass covers over the real underneath factory glass. This is correct. However, EuroCoupes DID get at ascMcLaren the matching smoked black plexiglass little triangular covers over the faux vents, just rearward of the side rear windows, between them & the opening of the hatch. These "plugs" were installed at ascMcLaren. You will see (percentage-wise) more EuroCoupes equipped WITH the T-Top option than you will see T-Topped Full Packaged cars. This is (was) becuse initially the T-Top was going to be standard equipment on the Euros. Remember, they came at or near the end of production, (or Summertime into early Autumn). Ford & ascMcLaren also thought it was a good way to increase T-Top sales, and also to perhaps make up for the lower content of the Euro. THEREFORE more (in percents) Euros were made with T-Tops. However, initial dealer responce was negitive to the added $1,100 added to the price of a suppossed "cheaper" version, so after a bunch of T-Top Euros were made, they returned to a "buy order only" attitude. Remeber, only 21 of the 47 Euros were ascMcLaren made, The remaining 26 were Northtown L-M made. Of the original 21 my quesstimated number with T-Tops would be around 15 or so, based upon the number I have located, or 70% installation rate. I have no clue on the OTHER 26 units. Remember, the other 26 units NEVER stopped off at ascMcLaren, but went from Dearborn Assembly Plant directly to Northtown Lincoln-Mercury, followed by boxed parts.
A note on colors and painting:
A EuroCoupe in Oxford White will have orange wheels & painted spoiler.
A Full-Packaged Oxford White coupe will have matching white wheels and UNpainted spoiler.
ALL Black coupes have UNpainted spoilers. ALL Smoke Grey coupes HAVE painted spoilers. Euro or not.
ALL Dark Blue coupes have UNpainted Spoilers. Hope this makes it clearer.