Anyone have or had a Caprice classic?
06-18-2018, 12:09 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
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Anyone have or had a Caprice classic?
I've been toying with the idea of ditching my Jeep and picking up some kind of family hauler that could also be my hot rod. Caprice classics, both sedan and wagon, caught my eye. I've got two kids in car seats, soon to be booster seats. How are these cars to drive daily? How is the leg room in back? Is there anything in specific I need to look at when buying? The guys on the Impala SS board didn't seem to be a lot of help, the thread turned into arguing about which engine came in what car.
Last edited by 64Scout; 06-18-2018 at 12:10 PM.
06-18-2018, 08:11 PM
#2
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I've been toying with the idea of ditching my Jeep and picking up some kind of family hauler that could also be my hot rod. Caprice classics, both sedan and wagon, caught my eye. I've got two kids in car seats, soon to be booster seats. How are these cars to drive daily? How is the leg room in back? Is there anything in specific I need to look at when buying? The guys on the Impala SS board didn't seem to be a lot of help, the thread turned into arguing about which engine came in what car.
06-19-2018, 08:58 AM
#3
Burning Brakes
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94-96 is what I like, the dogleg in the rear windows makes a big difference in the looks to me. I love the Impalas, but they are either too much money Imho or ragged out.
06-19-2018, 02:27 PM
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Good luck with your search, I can't remember the last time I saw a regular Caprice for sale.
06-19-2018, 02:36 PM
#6
Drifting
I had a '92 Caprice Wagon for a while that was used as a work hauler. It was a HUGE, float-y vehicle. You felt nothing on the road, but you for sure felt the float-y... uhh... -ness of the car traveling down the road. Super robust though. Didn't have the third row rear face seat but did have a tremendous amount of space in the rear. I used it to haul a lot of heavy diesel parts around town and it was always stuffed to the max.
The only thing about those bubble Caprices is values tend to be a bit all over the place. Like here in the South bubble Caprices of all models usually carry a "donk" premium and it's very difficult to find a real clean example. I don't think that's going to go away for a while, and if anything it's going to start really pushing very clean examples up in value.
The only thing about those bubble Caprices is values tend to be a bit all over the place. Like here in the South bubble Caprices of all models usually carry a "donk" premium and it's very difficult to find a real clean example. I don't think that's going to go away for a while, and if anything it's going to start really pushing very clean examples up in value.
06-19-2018, 06:56 PM
#7
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I have had 3 of them and loved them. 1 was a regular caprice w the smaller V8 which was fine and then 2 police package caprices. All very comfortable, reliable, easy to work on and did everything well. If you watch you can find some decent Impala SS still around for for a reasonable price. 
06-19-2018, 08:45 PM
#8
Burning Brakes
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I have had 3 of them and loved them. 1 was a regular caprice w the smaller V8 which was fine and then 2 police package caprices. All very comfortable, reliable, easy to work on and did everything well. If you watch you can find some decent Impala SS still around for for a reasonable price.
06-21-2018, 06:30 PM
#9
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Had a few 93-96's in our fleet. The 5.7 cars were bulletproof. Did everything well except pass a gas station. There's a good reason many were used as police cruisers and had second lives as cabs.....they are tough and well built. Parts are cheap, too. Only downside is fuel mileage. They ride great, handle well, are super comfortable, and quiet. Hard to go wrong with a 5.7 Caprice of these vintages, IMO.
06-22-2018, 06:38 PM
#10
Team Owner
From 1993-2000, my wife's DD and our "road trip cruiser" was a '93 Caprice Classic LTZ. The LTZ option basically added most of the HD "cop car" mechanical goods, and a throttle body injected 350 engine, combined with a leather upholstered interior. For some reason, it seems that every car I buy, arrives with the suspension at it's highest height, within production tolerance, and our Caprice was no exception.
To cure the 4x4 look, as well as cure any semblance of "floatiness", I swapped in a set of Eibach springs, a set of Monroe SensaTrack shocks, and replaced all of the OE rubber suspension bushings with Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings. I also relegated the OE 7" rims to winter use, with snow tires, and added a set of 8" wide, American Racing rims. I couldn't, however, find any HP summer tires, in the OE 235/70/15 size, so I had to settle for a set of all-season Michelins.
Over the years, we made several trips back and forth, between western NY and South Carolina, and the car was a very capable and comfortable cruiser, routinely giving us 25 MPG, even at the 70-75 MPH, that is pretty much routine on I95. Combined with the 25 gallon gas tank, that gave us a cruising range of a little over 600 miles, per tank of gas.
We really liked the car, but as is the case with any car that's driven in the winter, the corrosion that occurs from the road salt is always a consideration. Although we really liked the car, we traded it off in 2000, while it still looked decent, and was still worth some money. If we could have gotten another new one, in 2000, we would have bought one.
To cure the 4x4 look, as well as cure any semblance of "floatiness", I swapped in a set of Eibach springs, a set of Monroe SensaTrack shocks, and replaced all of the OE rubber suspension bushings with Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings. I also relegated the OE 7" rims to winter use, with snow tires, and added a set of 8" wide, American Racing rims. I couldn't, however, find any HP summer tires, in the OE 235/70/15 size, so I had to settle for a set of all-season Michelins.
Over the years, we made several trips back and forth, between western NY and South Carolina, and the car was a very capable and comfortable cruiser, routinely giving us 25 MPG, even at the 70-75 MPH, that is pretty much routine on I95. Combined with the 25 gallon gas tank, that gave us a cruising range of a little over 600 miles, per tank of gas.
We really liked the car, but as is the case with any car that's driven in the winter, the corrosion that occurs from the road salt is always a consideration. Although we really liked the car, we traded it off in 2000, while it still looked decent, and was still worth some money. If we could have gotten another new one, in 2000, we would have bought one.
Last edited by leadfoot4; 06-22-2018 at 06:41 PM.
07-05-2018, 07:01 PM
#11
Racer
Buick roadmaster is a better all around car
07-06-2018, 08:28 AM
#12
Team Owner
Please be more specific, about how it's "better all around".....the Roadmaster is a Caprice with a "spiffier" interior, no more, no less. For that matter, the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham from that era, is also a "B body" derivative, too. It's a Caprice with another 2-3" added to the wheelbase...
07-06-2018, 08:45 AM
#13
Please be more specific, about how it's "better all around".....the Roadmaster is a Caprice with a "spiffier" interior, no more, no less. For that matter, the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham from that era, is also a "B body" derivative, too. It's a Caprice with another 2-3" added to the wheelbase...
07-06-2018, 09:26 AM
#15
Team Owner
07-06-2018, 02:57 PM
#16
Racer
Please be more specific, about how it's "better all around".....the Roadmaster is a Caprice with a "spiffier" interior, no more, no less. For that matter, the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham from that era, is also a "B body" derivative, too. It's a Caprice with another 2-3" added to the wheelbase...
07-06-2018, 05:36 PM
#17
Team Owner
07-06-2018, 05:58 PM
#18
Racer
Didnt seem to me,Im here to add to the OP question.
starting from the front, the buick v8 was developed after the corvette engineers time was up for foundry schedule, the buick heads were continued to be developed, later to become the vortec heads .
the suspension is firmer with much less body roll, I have 3 women in our family of seven that get “sea sick in the Caprice boat. Sways probaly larger . Skylight n eye brow windows are great in the canyons n nights. Leather seats, some heated fully adjustable. Ac/heat set by temp not a slide, bose 6-7 speaker sound system, firmer seats not pillows with furniture covers. Nice cast wire looking wheels , dual exhaust, full power electrically. Oil monitoring system that comes on about 2580 MILES.
real headlights that light up the night for those 1000 mile days. Others Im sure to have forgotten as it has been years since we owned it.
starting from the front, the buick v8 was developed after the corvette engineers time was up for foundry schedule, the buick heads were continued to be developed, later to become the vortec heads .
the suspension is firmer with much less body roll, I have 3 women in our family of seven that get “sea sick in the Caprice boat. Sways probaly larger . Skylight n eye brow windows are great in the canyons n nights. Leather seats, some heated fully adjustable. Ac/heat set by temp not a slide, bose 6-7 speaker sound system, firmer seats not pillows with furniture covers. Nice cast wire looking wheels , dual exhaust, full power electrically. Oil monitoring system that comes on about 2580 MILES.
real headlights that light up the night for those 1000 mile days. Others Im sure to have forgotten as it has been years since we owned it.