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From the Impalas you have listed, I would go for a 71 or 72, in 73 they got the big ugly bumpers and considerably worse under the hood. I have a 71 and it's been a good car, has the 400 small block, this engine is capable of better MPG (slightly) than the 350. These are almost all automatic equipped.
To me the best looking one is the 71 2-door with the short vinyl roof and concave rear glass - maybe they called it a coupe - but good luck finding one. The 1970 year model is the same body as the 71-77 car IIRC, no reason to think it would be any less desirable than the rest of the herd.
I would most likely rebuild the engine and bring it's power levels back up if it were a mid 70s car. Since you mentioned it being the same car, I will include the 1970 model year in my search.
I would most likely rebuild the engine and bring it's power levels back up if it were a mid 70s car. Since you mentioned it being the same car, I will include the 1970 model year in my search.
The 71 and later GM engines have induction-hardened valve seats in the heads for unleaded gas, the 1970 does not.
You can build up the 73 and later engines but you will have to change more stuff, for example the cams in the earlier cars are fine for normal street use of a big car like this, provided you don't have a rounded-off lobe, which is fairly common in really old SB engines, but the mid-70's stuff had a cam you probably want to replace with an earlier cam or aftermarket. Likewise the carb and distributor on the 72 and earlier can stay stock, the Quadrajet of these years is a really excellent carb, don't be talked into replacing it with a Holley, just for the Holley name. An aluminum intake, I have always liked Edelbrocks, gets some weight off the nose of the car, typically gives only improvements in running, and does not cost much. Small-tube headers are great too, but usually involve more hammering and cussing than intakes. You will find the distributors on these cars frequently get worn and are real sloppy, you can rebuild or replace, or put in a Unilite pointless ignition, or get a 75-on HEI. But you will find most "performance" aftermarket distributors are way too aggressive in cranking in advance for an engine in a big heavy car like this, particularly the 400. The combustion chamber in the 400 is damn near 4" in diameter, and does not have any "squish" so it's prone to detonation unless you are running very high octane gas, which gets into money if you want to use the car for transportation.
Hell, go for it, these are excellent and under-appreciated cars, IMHO.
74 and later cars have the big heavy ugly bumpers. And did I mention that they are just fugly, and heavy?
These cars are under underappreciated and many of these cars have been destroyed in demo derbys unfortunately and many were perfectly good cars. I actually like the curved front end styling of the 1975 and 1976 Caprice Classics the most myself.
Comes from the lyrics of a song. Donk "Donk" (song), by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em;
how about "No it doesn't" come from that song. He's talking about a woman's a$$- Donk is the a$$ of a vehicle. Same concept I guess, but the term was used in the south wayyy before young Soulja Boy
I too for a long time wondered what "donk" meant and later found out it was those huge wheels. I would not do that to mine.
As an owner of several late 60s/early 70s Caprices, let me advise you against the 396 or 402 big block engines unless 1) you get a good deal or 2), make sure the cam has been replaced and the car has plenty of power. I am not sure, but I have been told that the 396 engines used in the big Chevys were somehow different than the ones used in the cars like the Malibu/Camaro, but I dont know. Two of the three Caprices I have owned were 396/402 cars (1969 and 1972) have had engine problems (worn out camshafts). The '69 had to have a new cam and I had to have a new cam and lifters put in the '72 and its still not right. It runs really good, but the power is not up to par for a 5000 lb. station wagon. It wont even pull up a steep hill under its own power. It has the towing package option and I could not imagine it pulling a trailer or boat! I am going to have to have it professionally checked. I have just had better luck with the 400 small blocks (that my '71 Caprice had). I have had nothing but excellence out of the big block Pontiacs, Cadillacs and Buicks I have owned during those years.
I have considered trading my wagon for another 71-73 GM wagon, or a 1971-73 Cadillac if I cant get my cars engine where I want it to be. I have a fortune sunk into it now.
Good luck with your search... there are still many 69-76 Impalas and Caprices around, as well as Cadillacs, but more Chevys since so many more were manufactured. The nice ones are commanding high prices these days. The Cadillacs have rocketed in value lately, especially the 71-76 models. About 5-10 years ago, people were practically giving these cars away.
Thats a nice Pontiac wagon in the above photo, but I dont think I could ever to that to my wagon. Here is a recent pic of my '72 Kingswood (Caprice) Estate wagon.... under restoration.
I had rather enjoyed my lunch today, and now that its been spewed all over my floor, Im quite upset.
That whole bling bling donk CRAP is quite possibly the WORST thing to happen to automobiles, especially the "theme" donks.
I'd tend to agree. It's pretty idiotic. On the other hand, since they're wasting their money to ruin their cars, I guess that's their choice.
Like I said earlier, I see a LOT of those DONK cars here in North Omaha. What I have yet to see is anybody taking a hard corner in one. Something tells me that might not work so well for them.
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Back to the roots I'd say
