CCNA Capris at Carlisle 2002
Author: Ted Szypulski
Photographers: Joe Bennardo, Ted Szypulski
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Carlisle 2002... This event was organized by Joe Bennardo, Capri List moderator and owner of a 1976 Capri II. Thanks to Joe for all his efforts that led to a very successful Capri show at the "All Fords National" in Carlisle, PA on May 31 - June 2. Joe had reserved a block of rooms at the Carlisle Days Inn, which everyone found to be quite nice. This hotel is relatively new and in a nice suburban setting next to the Interstate. We'll probably stay there next year too. Joe's already reserved another block of rooms for us. Prior to the trip, Joe was working feverishly on his 2.3L Turbo conversion and was troublshooting problems late into the evening before the trip. In the preceding days Joe, Ted Szypulski, Bart Manhard and David Wells were making arrangements to rendezvous for a caravan across Pennsylvania. Bart drove from New Hampshire to Connecticut and stayed Thursday night at Ted's house. They left with Ted's daughter, Laura, the next morning after breakfast. Thank goodness for cell phones! Ted and Bart attempted to meet up with Joe and Dave in New Jersey. However Joe, who was worn out from late night work on his car, got lost in the New York City area trying to "take a shortcut" to the rendezvous point! The cell phones kept everyone informed of Joe's plight while Bart and Ted met up with Dave in western New Jersey. Lee and Toni Shepherd had previously decided to take a more southern route, and were going to meet up with the gang at the hotel. While Ted, Laura, Bart and Dave had lunch, a decision was made by Joe for us to go on ahead. Joe nursed his car to Carlisle about 90 minutes behind the gang. Ted's room at the Days Inn became the defacto hangout as various parties arrived, perhaps because it was just inside from where the cars were parked. First, Lee and Toni joined the group, then Joe. Since by this point we had all pretty much blown away Friday, we decided to freshen up, take a short trip up to the field to find out where it was, and then have a nice dinner. However, it wasn't that simple. Ted's car decided to puff smoke on this short trip after a flawless five hour drive. The problem was due to a wire that had fallen off the electric choke heater, which shorted to ground on the exhaust manifold. Since this wire is unfused in the Capri, a large amount of Ted's engine bay wiring harness was damaged. Ted thanks Bart Manhard, Joe Bennardo, Lee and Toni Shepherd, and Dave Wells for their assistance and patience during this ordeal. Ted nursed his Capri into the YMCA parking lot where the pit crew performed surgery with wire cutters, knives and electrical tape. We were rolling again within an hour. We finally got to the fairgrounds and were ready for the trip over the next morning. Laura then called her friend in Connecticut on the cell phone. Her friend had just completed her freshman year at a college in Carlisle, and helped to select a restaurant for dinner, the Hanover House. To be on the safe side, Ted chose a parking spot across from the Carlisle Fire Department! Everyone enjoyed a nice dinner with the beer courtesy of Ted, as thanks for the "pit" help. We enjoyed watching all the waitresses drop dishes and pitchers of beer around us. Really, it seemed something was getting smashed every few minutes! The food was good and the company was great! We all returned to the hotel to rest up for the big day on Saturday. Back at the hotel, Ted heard a noise outside his room around 11:30 p.m. and looked out to see a middle aged man in a Team Blitz tee shirt checking out the line of Capris outside his window. Jeepers Norm, it was like seeing Santa Claus for the first time! Everyone was a bit slow moving on Saturday morning, but the group finally arrived at the fairgrounds mid-morning. We parked side by side in the Capri area, where Larry Wells and Kenny Heck joined the group. We all split up to take in the show. Dave, Laura and Ted went on a quest to find Norm's truck. They cruised the parts field where they saw thousands of new and used Ford parts. Eventually Norm was located and parked next to his truck was a beautiful 1977 red Capri with a 5.0L V8 modification. The Capri List group then met a new friend, Keith McClinton, from Pennsylvania. Keith described his project to the curious group. Joe spent part of the day with the Merkur guys, who know the 2.3 Turbo and EFI system well. He was looking for tips from them to eliminate the intermittent bucking he was experiencing with his conversion. Norm gave a presentation on 2.0L performance modifications and it was quite informative. Norm then showed the group the specially modified 2.0L engine he had picked up recently and was planning on "dropping" into one of his Capris. Capri's in attendance were:
Bart, Ted and Laura had to return home Saturday evening, so arrangements were made for the group to rendezvous at the Bonanza steakhouse in town, with these three leaving the fairgrounds early. Bart, Ted and Laura were just finishing dinner as the rest of the group arrived. While eating, voting took place for the three CCNA plaques to be awarded. After the later group finished their entrees, we told the waitresses that we would return from a break outside after a photo shoot and presentation of awards and prizes. Winner of best MKI were Lee and Toni Shepherd, best MKII went to Ted, and Best of Show went to Keith. All the names went into a hat, and Laura pulled the names of the winners of various gifts from CCNA. Thanks to CCNA for these plaques and prizes! Ted, Bart and Laura returned from the event very late Saturday evening. On the trip back they were both passed multiple times by a large tour bus on Interstate 84 in Connecticut. The second time Bart was passed he disappeared from Ted's rear view mirror for a while. Then the bus passed Ted a final time. Bart called on the radio to tell Ted that he was delayed because he was dodging a wheel and tire that broke free of the bus! He said it came off the bus when he was along side it, it rolled down the road ahead of him, he slowed to watch it drift across lanes and then finally careen into the guard rail! Ted didn't even notice it was missing a wheel the second time it passed him. Apparently neither did the driver, who was doing about 80 at the time. All the passengers were enjoying a video on the monitors. Scary! Sunday morning it was breakfast again at the hotel and then off to the fairgrounds. Sunday was kind of a wind down day. Joe basically went to let everybody in the Merkur Club know he was still ok and to thank them again. At around 2 p.m. David, Larry and Joe caravanned home. We got A LOT of respect from the Merkur Club for our cars. In fact Bart Manhard got a Celebrity pick from a higher up in the SVO Mustang Club. It's nice to see that all the Ford Orphans seem to get along so well. Joe's 250 mile trip home was near flawless. No more bucking, but Joe did find a few more concerns to be looked at before the July meet at Ted's house in Connecticut. The All Fords Nationals awards for Capri's were... Section G-8 MERCURY CAPRI
Congratulations to Lee for another fine showing! Ted Szypulski with input from Joe Bennardo |
Lee Shepherd and Bart Manhard examine Joe Bennardo's Turbo 
Bart Manhard and his '74 
David Wells and the "Blue Beast" 
Joe Bennardo and his 2.3 Turbo Mk II
Keith McClinton's V8 conversion 
Kenny Heck's Turbo Fox Capri 
Kenny Heck's '74 2.0 
Larry Wells' '71 2.0 H-stock Mk1 
Lee Shepherd's 2.1 RHD British import Mk1 
Ted Szypulski's Mk2, owned since new |
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