I think everyone who has owned and driven a Ford Capri has had a 'Moment' where the car has failed somehow due to poor design, bad repair or simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
 
So I thought I'd start this thread for us all to share stories and maybe increase our collective knowledge of the quirks in our beloved Capri, for some fun and entertainment. :-)
 
Don't assume this is a negative discussion; it's just a great way to share wonderful and maybe endearing memories of your Capri!

One of my moments was in my 1969 1600 GT, around 1982 near Narbethong in Victoria.  I was coming home from a weekend waterskiing with mates on Lake Eildon.  I was happily coasting down a long hill on the highway when the rear wheels locked up and the engine stalled!  I kept the car straight despite the camber and managed to pull up safely on the side of the road.  Had to be the diff.  I could move the car backwards and forwards just a few inches.  After a long walk to the Black Spur pub and a long wait for a tow got the car back home.
 
I pulled the diff centre out, easy to do on 1600s, to find that one of the crown wheel bolts had wound out enough for the bolt head to catch the edge of the diff housing.  Closer inspection revealed that other bolts were winding out too! Fortunately no damage done other than the expensive Sunday evening tow from near Narbethong to East Kew.  Some loctite on ALL the other threads and the correct torque applied saw another 50,000 Kms from the (almost) trusty 1600GT.
 
1600 Diff Centre pic.  Note the bolt heads on the right of the crown wheel gear plate.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/dzJostmWtJQRtkuq1

Sorry it’s a negative subject. Will take time to write my replies. I’ve had a few.

i dont have any pics - too traumatised ..
 
Lent my RS3100 to the missus to drive. She called me up 1/2 an hour later to say that it had broken down and she couldn't start it
When I got there - there it is, sitting in the middle of 3 lanes at traffic lights, cars banked up trying to get past it. And where's she, across the road in a coffee shop, having a sip .... OMG
I jumped in it, it started straight up - could have killed her...
(she hasn't driven it since)

Took the Perana for a drive to Wisemans Ferry. The road down is very steep with 15mk/h hairpins about 3kms worth. At the top I tried to change gear and had no pedal. I tried to brake and no brakes. I slammed on brakes and clutch and turned across the road to a small drive on the side of the road. After wife and daughter settled myself as well I found the spring clip holding the brake and clutch peddle bar had fallen off and the bar came out of its mount on one side eliminating the fulcrum point and all peddle travel.
Would have been a crazy drive down but at least was in gear so would have just turned it off and hand brakes maybe.
So just check those spring clips are tight on your next service or now if your driving.

My forst car was a 1970 1600 Deluxe.  On the way back from Seymour it bagan to overheat and then stemed its head off.  The alternators bottom bolt lost its nut and shot forward, but the radiator stopped it falling out.  as I was driving the forward backward motion punched the head of the bolt through the core.  a tin of Bars Leak and the cap just clicked on allowed ne to nurse it home.  

Overtook someone going up a hill just out of town using that awesome V6 torque and an extra few revs.
A couple of kms later everything went quiet up front.
Electrics - yes.
Fuel - yes.
Tacho - oh oh, zero.
Coasted to a halt and got the in-law to tow me to his place . Next weekend, a quick check on site revealed dizzy not rotating. Not good.
After a very slow tow home, more strip down ensued. Cause of no-go was quickly found.  The crankshaft timing gear had lost a tooth, thereby munching the fibre camshaft gear, which stopped the camshaft rotating,  and that's why the dizzy was no longer rotating to fire the engine.
But wait there's more to the story.....
No camshaft rotating means no valves moving, even when the pistons are still being pushed upwards by the cars in-gear forward motion.  I now understand the definition of an ínterference engine'.  That engine is still in the back shed with 5+ bent pushrods in my then-recently reconditioned heads.  Haven't been brave enough to remove the heads.
That was 24yrs ago.......
Damage was done in seconds, and it wasn't the dreaded fibre timing gear's fault.

My worst really was moving in with my girlfriend of two years. Had one of my three Capris on a tow truck with others following the same day. Got to the house to sort out space only to be told “if they all come here I’m going”. Well one made it the other two a V6 and a 69gt went to scrap that day. I kept the V8 for only another year 20 or so years ago.
Where still together now the Girlfriend with kids and now she allows me to buy a Capri part or two or maybe I miss heard and bought another 7 in the last 4 years. And umpteen parts. Still wonder about those cars. Win win for me.

My first V6 (a lime Glaze October 72-first reg in 73)  scooting own the road full noise just stops like a switch off.  hard pull left into a side street and it starts again.  Take off in a straight line it dies just stops again.  next left, it starts, then no more.  cranks but no spark.  turns out the return wire for the coil swinging with the G force contacts an extractor pipe and sticks-plastic sheath melts through and it shorts out cutting the power to the engine

wow, I mustn't have driven mine enough compared to the experiences you guys have.
But this one time, at bandcamp... I was always nervous of the Capri driving it during peak hour etc, mainly because I expected it would die at the least convenient time, or it would get shunted by a numpty checking his facebook. Back in the nightclub era, I used to take out the rotor from my 1600 whenever I thought it was parked in a risky spot. So the next morning after a Friday night out, at one of the local major intersections, I just could not get the Capri across this intersection. I was the first car stopped at the lights, and it would just stall, buggered if I could get it to take of.
After the 3rd change of lights went though,and the cars still stalling each time,I was getting a few drivers pretty annoyed. Finally with an excessive amount of revs and clutch slip, I slinked off around the corner much to the delight of everyone else. You know what was wrong i'm sure, yes you can put a rotor on arse about when it's 1.30 in the morning and pitch dark, somehow in such a way that you can drive it home 5km and only see the problem the next day.
Refitted the rotor on, timing went back to normal, and happy days.