The Classic Chevy Caprice (80's Era) (fuel, brake, best, exhaust)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think I may save up some cash soon for a second car and thinking either the Lincoln Town Car or a Chevy Caprice. Probably make it my roadtrip car.
I used to have a '78 Caprice about 9 years ago but unfortunately had so many problems that I ended up having to scrap it. However, these cars do ride quite nice and have pretty sturdy motors in them. I'm pretty handy mechanically and am not afraid to do whatever work needs to be done to make it the best it can be.
Though I am only 34 years of age I appreciate the older big cars like these (the infamous gas-guzzlers) because not only do they ride quite well, they are also bulletproof as far as the body is concerned (rust issues aside). My dad used to own the big Chevy Impala when I was a child and sure was nice to ride in that car, even if I didn't realize it much back then. My grandmother owned a Caprice for a couple of years before she traded hers in for a truck.
And yes with me living here in 'rust country' I'm aware of the rust problem...I did read about a company called Krown Rust that applies a coating on the undercarriage and on the body to help prevent rust from even forming. However the only place where one could get that done is in Canada since there isn't anything like that here in the states.
I am mostly interested in the 1980's era of the Caprice and wanted to get some feedback from those who have had owned one of these cars from that era, and their reliability. I still see a few of these cars in my area on occasion and if I can locate one somewhere at the right price and is in good condition, I may either spring for one of those or a TC.
My mother-in-law has one, I think it's an '88. It's fully loaded and rides like a dream. I had a 1980 2-door years ago, I liked the car for the most part but the kid who had it before me did some really stupid things to it like replacing the bench seat with buckets that couldn't be adjusted so I didn't keep it long.
They are old, so things are going to wear out, but other than that they are very reliable. The nice thing about these cars is that you don't have to have a bunch of diagnostic equipment and specialty tools to work on them. I'd probably look for a 1989 or 1990 as they will have the throttle body injection rather than a carburetor.
I've never had a TC, but I had a 1994 Grand Marquis and a 1995 Crown Vic and those were both roomy, comfortable cars that rode great and got surprisingly good gas mileage.
IF I were looking for something that would be easy to work on, and the parts were readily available and cheap to purchase, i'd probably look for an old carb'd model. Quick changes to the Carburetor and intake manifold, along with exhaust modifications should net some horsepower increases, however the low compression cylinder heads on (283?) ci v8's isn't going to yield any exceptional power. The beautiful thing is that if the motor dies, essentially in stock small block v8 should swap in without any hassles and off you go.
POR 15 is known as a rust inhibitor and does a pretty good job of stopping the progression of rust that's began as well. It's proclaimed on many older automotive restoration boards, and should be doable if you're trying to protect the undercarriage of the car. Combine that with a top coat of the bedliner of your choice and you should have a pretty well protected daily driver.
Things to definitely look at would be steering components, rubber hoses (Breaks/Power Steering/Fuel/etc), wiring, brake components, and HVAC components. Least that would be much of my short list for a reliable road trip vehicle. The extra room to spread out would be great, the fuel consumption wouldn't be overly fun though. Winter starts on the carb'd model wouldn't be a lot of fun either, but the reliability of TBI and performance as well would make me go that way, unless I was planning on swapping in an LS1
IF I were looking for something that would be easy to work on, and the parts were readily available and cheap to purchase, i'd probably look for an old carb'd model. Quick changes to the Carburetor and intake manifold, along with exhaust modifications should net some horsepower increases, however the low compression cylinder heads on (283?) ci v8's isn't going to yield any exceptional power. The beautiful thing is that if the motor dies, essentially in stock small block v8 should swap in without any hassles and off you go.
The OP was asking about the 1980's box Caprices. Chevy quit building the 283 in 1967. Pretty much all, the box caprices were fitted with the 305. Some had the 350. Others had the 267 which is the engine you want to stay away from unless the car is selling for cheap. There's literally no performance mods for a 267 and they are an odd ball engine. They haven't built them since 1982.
My only experience with an 80's Caprice was when a friend of mine bought a 1986 model. It was painted rosewood with a medium red crushed velour interior. It was a nice car, rode good too. I was actually jealous.
One thing I have noticed is the box style Caprices have usually sold for less as opposed to another Chevy car built at the same time.
Here in SE MI, good GM boxes don't come cheap. They're in demand once again by the 26" wheel crowd. I saw an '84 Park Avenue the other day for $5000.
-I've heard the starters aren't always long lived and are hard to get to.
-Engine bays get tight with anything bigger than a 305 (some had 400, 401, and 403 engines depending on the brand).
-Turbo 200 transmission wasn't big enough to handle V8 power. I don't know how many would be left on the road now, though.
-V6 wasn't bad on gas, but was very slow with a carburetor. 4.3 with FI from 85-88 might not be so bad.
-Supposedly very easy to steal, weak steering column. I've seen some with metal collars of some sort which help.
-'90 models had door mounted seat belts if you care. The police were pretty unhappy with these.
Actually the mid-80's Caprice/Impala is not that bad on gas, my parents had one, it was a V-8, 305 I think, and with the lock-up overdrive R700 trans, IIRC. Anyway it would get in the mid 20's, which for a car this size is not bad.
The rust thing - and you knew I would be here rattling my chains like Marley in a nightmare - the bottom line is that rust never sleeps, and the good old cars back before OBD-II and all that rot are long out of print. If you want to be an old car guy, set your sails for the South or West. If you have family there in rust country - you are not responsible for their error in picking out a place to live. Otherwise you are stuck with having your cars rust out from under you, or else you store your "good" cars for the winter, and drive a completely crap "winter rat" car for several months out of the year - both of these options suck.
The OP was asking about the 1980's box Caprices. Chevy quit building the 283 in 1967. Pretty much all, the box caprices were fitted with the 305. Some had the 350. Others had the 267 which is the engine you want to stay away from unless the car is selling for cheap. There's literally no performance mods for a 267 and they are an odd ball engine. They haven't built them since 1982.
They also offered the the 4.3L V6. I know for sure in the latter years... I've never owned a Caprice, but have the 4.3L motor in my S-10 and its been a very reliable and powerful engine.
I remember when the Caprice was redesigned in '91. That took time to get used to!!
I haven't seen one of these around for ages. I know a lot of them were bought up in the 1990's and shipped to the middle east as big rear wheel drive cars are popular there.
The rest were beat to hell as taxis and police cars and used up in other ways. I'd say there are few survivors left.
I looked on ebay and there are a few nice ones for sale.
On thing I have noticed in recent years, how many 80's cars have come off the road and they are becoming rare sights. I remember it wasn't that long ago you'd see 80's Camaros and Mustangs around all over and now it's pretty rare.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
