Ireland Underground: Dave Burnell - 1983 Ford Capri 3L V6 Cosworth

If Dwayne Johnson was a car, I imagine he would look like this!

This grunt-worthy piece of dream machinery was built by Wicklow native, David Burnell. A bargain buy 6 years ago, David has devoted countless hours, and nearly €20,000 besides, to turning this machine into the awe-inspiring monster it is today. The attention to detail on this build is astonishing. It takes a man with passion bordering on obsession to create this, and passion is something David has by the bucketload.

A scruffy looking 2.8 when he bought it, the car was stripped down to it's skivvies and built back up again (I suspect with a dosing of protein powder along the way).
Of course, as anyone who has spent even a day working on a car will know, nothing comes easy. Once the car was stripped, David discovered rust, lots of it. Not to be deterred, he persevered.

With donations from another Capri or two, David managed to build his car from the ground up, literally. Every inch of this car complements the next. From the flush body panels to the chunky interior, this car oozes power even while stationary.

There is a seamless flow from the front lip to the exhaust pipes. The muscle rims and frowning front end give this car a very intimidating look.

So what about the man behind the beast? What drove him to put so much effort into this particular car. As he says himself, he'd always loved the Ford Capri since he was a young lad, and when this came up for sale he jumped at the chance to buy it.

"Some fellas love their football or soccer or whatever, but I've no interest really. All I talk about is cars, I love cars and Rally and all of that."

From speaking to David, it's clear that this car is like a child to him. After spending so much time and effort into it, I'm not at all surprised. In two years the car has only done 435 miles because, as David
says, the roads are just not suitable to drive it every day.

Some cars are just that, cars. Others take on a personality of their own and become like friends or family to us, this is the perfect example of that. At some stage or another, all of us car lovers have one that we just adore, and if we ever sell them, regret it. David, however, has no intention of selling his pride and joy, and why should he. After putting such a mammoth effort into creating this.

So you'd imagine that it's job done at this stage? Wrong. David still has more plans for his Capri. He plans on fitting an RX-8 6 speed gear box and retro door cards. He wants to get a more retro look to the interior. Just further proof that a build is never truly complete.

Have a look at the pictures below to get a sense of just what kind of effort has been put into this.