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‘Amazing’. ‘Jealous’. ‘Envious’. ‘Cool car’ ‘I remember those cars’. ‘Well done’. ‘Nice job’. ‘That's amazing’. ‘Great looking vehicle’ and ‘That's fantastic’. These are just some of the reaction’s to Paul Walsh’s ex GMP (Greater Manchester Police) Ford Capri Injection Special which entered service with 1986 and was based in Ashton-under-Lyne.

The former Manchester and Salford force began to use Capri 3000GTs in 1971 as a replacement for their Cortina GT Mk. IIs and when GMP commissioned 20 Injection Specials 15 years later, it really did mark the end of an era for the region’s traffic policing.

D 444 KVM came to Paul’s attention ‘last summer when I had a tip-off that the car was in the Midlands at the back of a lock-up. The long and the short of it was the owner was contacted, and arrangements made to go and see what was left’.

Mr. Walsh was under no illusions about the challenges in refurbishing such a historically important police car; ‘mine is not the only survivor - another three exist but at least two I think are on SORN.

The shell was in great shape and required very little attention, but the body was pretty much the only thing left’. In Paul’s words ‘an engine and running gear was begged, stolen or borrowed from either other Capris that I own or purchased new’.

The latter items included a fuel tank and pump, rear leaf springs and shock absorbers, a new exhaust, upgraded front disc brakes, coils, poly-bushes all round, radiator, battery, drive belts, headlining and a new front window. The other glass was ‘sourced from Capri spares retailers’.

The Injection Special also received a respray but there was the additional challenge of sourcing the GMP kit. When Paul acquired the Capri ‘all traces of it being an ex-Police car were long gone’ but he was determined that it would look as authentic as the days when it pursued errant XR3i owners ‘To be true to the original car I had to source the correct Revco communications aerial, a period blue light, the radio and the boot spoiler’.  

Paul joined several emergency groups, and the Hella blue light was ‘sourced on the internet from a trader in Germany. The rear spoiler’ came by chance when I noticed one in the background of a picture that was being shown on a Facebook page - I contacted the owner who was more than happy to sell’.

That distinctive Perspex “POLICE STOP” facia was made locally ‘using pictures of other known survivors for reference’, and as for the audible warning systems, the Capri ‘was originally fitted with the Wail/Yelp-style but being a traditionalist, I fitted the two-tone air horns’. Many patrol cars of this era had a “Police Special” ultra-Spartan cabin, but Paul’s Injection has a standard factory interior including the Recaro seats.

The process of rebuilding the Capri to the stage where it was MOTed took Paul approximately six months. He regards his Injection Special as ‘a nice runner but with room for improvement. At the end of the season, the gearbox oil seals will be replaced, the engine will come out for a full strip down overhaul and repaint and the  rear axle will come off and be and be blasted, powder-coated and new seals fitted.’

In the meantime, he is still researching the car’s history, including its call sign: ‘I don't exactly know when my particular car was retired, despite efforts but I can tell you GMP retired their last Capri in 1992 and replaced it with the Ford Sierra Cosworth.’ And, somewhat inevitably, Paul has already received the comment - ‘‘I remember being chased by them!’