Photos courtesy of Larry Chen @larry_chen_foto
About Project "My Generation"
The 1974 Ford Mk1 Capri, Remade in Canada, and retrimmed in the UK. This car has been a long-term project for the guys at JH Restorations, starting way back in 2023 when we first met the team at SEMA that year.
The Capri started out as a well-kept original example, with little corrosion, making for a perfect base for a project of this calibre. The team at JH Restorations knew from the start that the vehicle would be painted in Papaya Spark, a McLaren pearlescent paint. From there, the engine, wheels, and interior came after. This is where our part of the journey begins...
Photos courtesy of Larry Chen @larry_chen_foto
The biggest task was finding a way to be different, yet timeless.
Jesse, Glen, and the team entrusted us with the interior design and spec, so we set out to plan a unique interior. We wanted something uncommon to the states, as sometimes interiors can be overlooked in a world of wicked paint and engine swaps. As the Capri is a 70s car, and was known to being painted orange, we wanted something very retro, well executed, and new to the audiences of America. Bringing a little bit of UK charm to Las Vegas, we achieved this with orange Harris tweed and chocolate brown Buckingham leather.
Class of 2026
We started by creating paint samples of the McLaren Papaya Spark that JH Restorations had selected, which allowed us to explore our existing stock of materials and select any additional materials we needed to order.
After a few samples, we arrived at what you see above: a warm, tactile Harris Tweed featuring subtle elements of brown and beige throughout. Using this as our starting point, we knew the direction we wanted to take with the leather, settling on a chocolate brown, grained Buckingham leather with a beautiful sheen. We liked this combination as it had a distinctly retro feel that suited the project perfectly.
The headliner material appeared to be an identical style of tweed, but was actually a soft, lightweight cloth featuring orange and brown speckles throughout. It was meant to be!
Once everything had been selected, we created some photo renders to preview what we had in mind, then a sample pack was put together and sent it to the team at JH Restorations out in Canada for their feedback.
The most noticeable part of the retrim was most certainly the seats. Scheel-Mann kindly sponsored the Capri project with JH Restorations, meaning the seats were sent directly to us for retrimming. Scheel-Mann is an old-school name in the Ford world as they were once offered as optional factory extras in the 70s and 80s.
We modified these seats to give extra room on the bases, making you feel more snug and lower down into the seat. The rear seats in the Capri were uninspiring, so JH Restorations tasked us with finding a GT rear bench here in Europe. The style and shape are a lot more desirable compared to North American versions.
We retrimmed these seats to match one another, both with orange Harris tweed centres and chocolate box stitching. The bolsters and headrests were trimmed in a warm brown Buckingham grained leather. We carried the chocolate box stitching through onto the inner bolsters to create something different that flows, tying the seat all together.
d:class on tour 🍁
It wouldn't be an international build without visiting your friends from overseas. During the retrim, David and Martyn flew out to Canada to install the headliner and carpet into the Capri. These items were the only ones that had to be fitted to the car, and couldn't be shipped with the rest of the retrim. So after a few days work, many beers, a few car meets, pancakes, hockey games, and any other cliche Canadian things to experience, the guys flew back to the UK to carry on with the retrim.
So nice, David visited twice!
The Canadian crew were so welcoming that David had to visit a second time, only two weeks before the SEMA show began. Apparently, it was to fix a damaged dashboard that happened during transit, but we aren't convinced. But in all seriousness, it wouldn't be a SEMA build without some last-minute drama. But it was a blessing in disguise, as it meant David could fit up the rest of the interior, taking a load off the JH Restorations guys who had just days to finish the car.
Larry Chen Photoshoot
After all of the last-minute touches were complete, the Capri was collected in a transporter from Ontario, Canada and delivered to Las Vegas, Nevada. When the car arrived, we were surprised to learn that JH Restorations had managed to arrange a photoshoot with Larry Chen. This took place outside SEMA before the car was taken into the Toyo Treadpass that evening.
The final result on the Toyo Tires Treadpass, at SEMA in Las Vegas. A long journey, but very much worthwhile. The team at Toyo Tires featured the car and produced these amazing images. The car looked fantastic on the Treadpass for the first 2 days before being moved into the show by the main stage.
The Capri was announced as being in the Top 40, then then the Top 3 of it's class. Unfortunately no silverware this time, but still an incredible achievement. We have been to SEMA a few times now as a business, and we have to say that this year especially, the standard of cars has increased.
We look forward to what lies ahead for 2027, more on that later....
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