After 25 years of roadworthy service and 6 months spent lingering at a body repair shop, my Caprice is finally glistening under a new coat of blue paint.

There was rust in several places the trunk, door bottoms and the ubiquitous under the rear window sheet metal (the part where the water drains down off the back window - it is not visible from outside the car. this was the worst part - it had spread to the point where one of the rear speakers fell out from the screw holes being rotten. I had a wet trunk since when I bought the car.

The trunk was rotten on the strip of metal above the tail lights (where the keyhole is) it caused the 'caprice classic' signia to fall off because of this!

4 doors and a trunk were sourced from a clean 1990 caprice in Florida - I was shocked to see that car in the scrap yard! No rust, no body damage, fresh paint and an interior you could eat out of. It looked no more than 2 years old - strange eh? BTW I kept my 1983 vintage mirrors. Also decided not to 'Euro style' my Chevy I am keeping the original front end, selaed beam 4 dual head lights and tail lights. The old style lights (front and back) have a more unique look IMO.

Sanding off the faded blue paint revealed a bright yellow paint scheme :eek:
This car had served as a Taxi at some point in its life. I had a hole in the trunk and roof that was filled in very poorly with putty. The interior certainly didn't look like a taxi - rear seat was clean and unworn, carpet was not really worn, no vinyl either? Anyway its a bit of a franken car now - about 3 or 4 different cars have given up parts to make this one whole again.

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk30/nassaumike/02-04-08_1826.jpg

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk30/nassaumike/02-04-08_1825.jpg

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk30/nassaumike/02-04-08_1824.jpg

Looking good, yeah the rust under the metal panel by the back window is almost guaranteed on these types of cars at this age, i had that issue too of course as well when i had my 1988 caprice. your's looks good, i put the euro tail lights on mine, but thats the only mod i did to mine, everything else is still original, with the exception of the new paint.

Sweet. You guys are really motivating me to paint my car up nice. I'm just wondering what color would match the dark brown interior. But yeah, very, very nice. Good choice in color too.

Unfortunately,
The wind shield got cracked in the process of re-installation. So, now I've got to get a new wind shield, a driver's door handle and gas struts for the trunk lid. This is all plenty $$$ on some old < and here is where my computer crashed !

All in all I am happy with the results and my next mission will be the drive train - particularly the leaky TH350 trans. To finish it, going to put some tint on the windows to keep it cooler and a little privacy. The interior needs a good scrubbing out.. Ive got 4 maroon door panels and a navy blue interior Yikes!
I should be thankful to everyone one else who maintains and preserves these dinosaurs and more specifically this forum for sooo much information.
Pete, if I had a brown interior, i would be happy to put an elegant coat of white or silver - if not you can paint it brown to match!