Allow me to introduce myself..
muddywaters
11-29-2004, 08:37 PM
Hello to all Caprice owners, Classic or otherwise. First of all, I just want to say that this is a great forum. I found it by mistake a couple of days ago in a google search for parts for my car. After lurking just two days I had to join and vibe with other Caprice owners. People who understand both my joy and pain when something goes right or wrong with the car that I love. And plus, yall seem to know what yall talking about. Just from me reading the topics, I've learned so much as far as very similar problems and "new to me" solutions. Thanx
You will find that I tend to be long winded because I'm detailed, but I can't type so it's annoying. Anyway, I fell in love with GM big bodies at a young age. My dad used to take me and my brother to his buddies hang out place which was an old junkyard back in the early eighties. Me and my bro would jump inside some of the big body shells and act like we were driving. I didn't know it then but it was always the GM cars that caught my eye. Buick Electras, Pontiac Bonnevilles, Olds ninety eights. But my favorite was the Caprice. I always knew I'd get one..or two..or three.
My first car was my younger brothers first car. 78 Caprice. Apparently he was thinking the same thing and beat me to it. He'd gotten it into an accident. Looked like he hit a tree way the front end and hood was looking. Bought it from him in 95 for $300. Probably had 10 previous owners. Odometer probably had rolled over 10 times. But I was happy as hell. I remember when I first drove it, the hood was dented so high I had to practically stand to see over it. It smoked so bad, you could see me coming a mile away. Actually, you thought I was a spy inducing a smoke screen for a getaway. But $600 dollars later, I had a junkyard hood and front end that matched up perfectly and a used radiator that didn't smoke. The windshield was cracked. The body was rusted away. The interior? Forget about it. No horn, no visors, cloth hanging off the seats, floor rusted away under the pedals. It was like Fred Flintstone, I kid you not. But I tell you what! The motor was still stong. I was 19 with rugged version of my dream car. You couldn't tell me nothin. Bought the car and fixed what I could in one weeks time and drove it from Michigan to the Seattle/Tacoma area where I was stationed. My family was like "it won't make it." To this day, that was my best trip ever. My first time drivin cross country, thru flatlands and the mountains in my Caprice. Took I-90 all the way and not one problem from the Caprice that could.
My battle buddies clowned me about grey with rust spots all over the place with mixed match blue parts hooptie, but that was my baby. That was my po pimp ride before "Pimp My Ride". One of my good friends, who was slowly restoring his dads International Scout, told me after about a year of teasing that I should look for a better body cause I was always talking about "restoring" my car. Together we found a 81 Caprice Classic body in perfect condition with an amazing interior. I paid I think $100 for it. Guy said the motor was kaput. After about a month of switching engines (we did it ourselves w/ no experience) I had a great body to go with my strong engine. It was great. All power options. A horn, nice plush interior. Guys I tell you, it couldn't get no better. Only problem was we switched both the motor and tranny cause it seemed easier, but 81 and 78 trannies were different and didn't match up quite right, so I had to put the car in between neutral and drive to drive and in between reverse and neutral to reverse or something like that. It was minor though. Even though 78 was my baby, that 81 body like my girlfriend. The bumper is more aggressive, and the rear lights!! The three separated deep squares on each side instead of the one rectangular solid piece on each side. That was pimpin.
So what happened? A girl I was seein at the time borrowed it for a week while I was on leave. When I went to pick up my car, on the drive back to the base the oil light came on and I threw a rod right on the highway. Shot up through the hood. I wanted to cry. My partner with the Scout towed it back to the barracks and was planning on finding a cheap engine but it never happened.
My third Caprice came about a year later. It was a 77 that a family no longer needed. Think I paid $200. At the time I had a 89 Pontiac Lemans 4 door. (Let me say that the Lemans was a alright car, but being that it was a "cousin" of the legendary GTO, I expected better. Speaking of the GTO, my friend got rid of the Scout, which he called "Sherman" because of the tank, and got a GTO, which he regretted.) I drove that Caprice for about 6 months before the same thing happen all over again. Almost in the same spot on I-5.
I currently own a 92 Caprice Classic. And I'm stationed in Germany. But thats a topic for a different day. If you've read all this then I am grateful to know that all my bad typing was for something. I also want to thank you in advance for welcoming me to the board. Hopefully I can be as helpful to some as some of you have already been to me. Or at the very least, provide some sort of entertaining story.
dirt & water
You will find that I tend to be long winded because I'm detailed, but I can't type so it's annoying. Anyway, I fell in love with GM big bodies at a young age. My dad used to take me and my brother to his buddies hang out place which was an old junkyard back in the early eighties. Me and my bro would jump inside some of the big body shells and act like we were driving. I didn't know it then but it was always the GM cars that caught my eye. Buick Electras, Pontiac Bonnevilles, Olds ninety eights. But my favorite was the Caprice. I always knew I'd get one..or two..or three.
My first car was my younger brothers first car. 78 Caprice. Apparently he was thinking the same thing and beat me to it. He'd gotten it into an accident. Looked like he hit a tree way the front end and hood was looking. Bought it from him in 95 for $300. Probably had 10 previous owners. Odometer probably had rolled over 10 times. But I was happy as hell. I remember when I first drove it, the hood was dented so high I had to practically stand to see over it. It smoked so bad, you could see me coming a mile away. Actually, you thought I was a spy inducing a smoke screen for a getaway. But $600 dollars later, I had a junkyard hood and front end that matched up perfectly and a used radiator that didn't smoke. The windshield was cracked. The body was rusted away. The interior? Forget about it. No horn, no visors, cloth hanging off the seats, floor rusted away under the pedals. It was like Fred Flintstone, I kid you not. But I tell you what! The motor was still stong. I was 19 with rugged version of my dream car. You couldn't tell me nothin. Bought the car and fixed what I could in one weeks time and drove it from Michigan to the Seattle/Tacoma area where I was stationed. My family was like "it won't make it." To this day, that was my best trip ever. My first time drivin cross country, thru flatlands and the mountains in my Caprice. Took I-90 all the way and not one problem from the Caprice that could.
My battle buddies clowned me about grey with rust spots all over the place with mixed match blue parts hooptie, but that was my baby. That was my po pimp ride before "Pimp My Ride". One of my good friends, who was slowly restoring his dads International Scout, told me after about a year of teasing that I should look for a better body cause I was always talking about "restoring" my car. Together we found a 81 Caprice Classic body in perfect condition with an amazing interior. I paid I think $100 for it. Guy said the motor was kaput. After about a month of switching engines (we did it ourselves w/ no experience) I had a great body to go with my strong engine. It was great. All power options. A horn, nice plush interior. Guys I tell you, it couldn't get no better. Only problem was we switched both the motor and tranny cause it seemed easier, but 81 and 78 trannies were different and didn't match up quite right, so I had to put the car in between neutral and drive to drive and in between reverse and neutral to reverse or something like that. It was minor though. Even though 78 was my baby, that 81 body like my girlfriend. The bumper is more aggressive, and the rear lights!! The three separated deep squares on each side instead of the one rectangular solid piece on each side. That was pimpin.
So what happened? A girl I was seein at the time borrowed it for a week while I was on leave. When I went to pick up my car, on the drive back to the base the oil light came on and I threw a rod right on the highway. Shot up through the hood. I wanted to cry. My partner with the Scout towed it back to the barracks and was planning on finding a cheap engine but it never happened.
My third Caprice came about a year later. It was a 77 that a family no longer needed. Think I paid $200. At the time I had a 89 Pontiac Lemans 4 door. (Let me say that the Lemans was a alright car, but being that it was a "cousin" of the legendary GTO, I expected better. Speaking of the GTO, my friend got rid of the Scout, which he called "Sherman" because of the tank, and got a GTO, which he regretted.) I drove that Caprice for about 6 months before the same thing happen all over again. Almost in the same spot on I-5.
I currently own a 92 Caprice Classic. And I'm stationed in Germany. But thats a topic for a different day. If you've read all this then I am grateful to know that all my bad typing was for something. I also want to thank you in advance for welcoming me to the board. Hopefully I can be as helpful to some as some of you have already been to me. Or at the very least, provide some sort of entertaining story.
dirt & water
PeteA216
11-29-2004, 10:47 PM
Wow, what a great story... You sure have had a lot of experience and mishaps with Caprice Classics. I've got an '84 myself, and whoo. This thing will run forever, never has given me a problem yet (besides a few minor things to be expected from sitting for 6 years). Great cars. I've been lookin into doing some inexpensive things to give me a little more power however, not that I want to turn the thing into a muscle car, but I would like it to be a little quicker on the pedal. But its to be expected seeing how big and heavy the car is. Comfortable as hell too. Its good to see someone so appreciative of all the other Caprice lovers out there. Thanks for your post, and I look forward to possibly discussing more with you in the future.
HLandin
11-30-2004, 02:33 PM
Interesting story. Since you've already started the topic, let me tell my story about my Chevy Caprice.
My dad bought the retired patrol car in early 90's. Its a '90 Caprice with the police package. I'm sure well all know the details by now, L05 350 pushrod V-8 with TBI (that magic VIN code 7). It has the holes on the front bumper where the pushbar probably was, the small holes below the front center console where the radio package was, the inside cutouts on the B-pillars where the cage was, and the hole on the roof where police antenna used to be (it also had holes on the trunk, but my dad filled those in a few years ago). Ever since I started driving it about a year and a half ago, I have fallen in love with it. Smooth ride, good acceleration (especially next to Mustangs, but don't get me started on those), people think I'm a cop with the CB and scanner antennas on the back, and its probably a lot safer than the smaller cars out on the highway. I've been fixing small things with it, but overall I'm still in love.
My dad bought the retired patrol car in early 90's. Its a '90 Caprice with the police package. I'm sure well all know the details by now, L05 350 pushrod V-8 with TBI (that magic VIN code 7). It has the holes on the front bumper where the pushbar probably was, the small holes below the front center console where the radio package was, the inside cutouts on the B-pillars where the cage was, and the hole on the roof where police antenna used to be (it also had holes on the trunk, but my dad filled those in a few years ago). Ever since I started driving it about a year and a half ago, I have fallen in love with it. Smooth ride, good acceleration (especially next to Mustangs, but don't get me started on those), people think I'm a cop with the CB and scanner antennas on the back, and its probably a lot safer than the smaller cars out on the highway. I've been fixing small things with it, but overall I'm still in love.
HLandin
11-30-2004, 02:47 PM
Interesting story. Since you've already started the topic, let me tell my story about my Chevy Caprice.
My dad bought the retired patrol car in early 90's. Its a '90 Caprice with the police package. I'm sure well all know the details by now, L05 350 pushrod V-8 with TBI (that magic VIN code 7). It has the holes on the front bumper where the pushbar probably was, the small holes below the front center console where the radio package was, the inside cutouts on the B-pillars where the cage was, and the hole on the roof where police antenna used to be (it also had holes on the trunk, but my dad filled those in a few years ago). Ever since I started driving it about a year and a half ago, I have fallen in love with it. Smooth ride, good acceleration (especially next to Mustangs, but don't get me started on those), people think I'm a cop with the CB and scanner antennas on the back, and its probably a lot safer than the smaller cars out on the highway. I've been fixing small things with it, but overall I'm still in love.
My dad bought the retired patrol car in early 90's. Its a '90 Caprice with the police package. I'm sure well all know the details by now, L05 350 pushrod V-8 with TBI (that magic VIN code 7). It has the holes on the front bumper where the pushbar probably was, the small holes below the front center console where the radio package was, the inside cutouts on the B-pillars where the cage was, and the hole on the roof where police antenna used to be (it also had holes on the trunk, but my dad filled those in a few years ago). Ever since I started driving it about a year and a half ago, I have fallen in love with it. Smooth ride, good acceleration (especially next to Mustangs, but don't get me started on those), people think I'm a cop with the CB and scanner antennas on the back, and its probably a lot safer than the smaller cars out on the highway. I've been fixing small things with it, but overall I'm still in love.
PeteA216
11-30-2004, 08:16 PM
Beautiful, and your very right, they are a lot safer because of thier large size.
burnM
11-30-2004, 11:59 PM
Hey man! Welcome to the boards...
It's real nice to see other people who have such a love for these cars. I've had a few B-bodies over the years, but I'll spare the details of that. Right now I own this little beaute... 1991 9C1. I spent most of my summer going over it and freshening things up a bit. This was actually my first paint job.
I'm curious to see more photos of everyone's rides. Feel free to check my gallery to see some of mine.
It's real nice to see other people who have such a love for these cars. I've had a few B-bodies over the years, but I'll spare the details of that. Right now I own this little beaute... 1991 9C1. I spent most of my summer going over it and freshening things up a bit. This was actually my first paint job.
I'm curious to see more photos of everyone's rides. Feel free to check my gallery to see some of mine.
HLandin
12-01-2004, 01:52 PM
Beautiful, and your very right, they are a lot safer because of thier large size.
Now that you mentioned that, another story last year:
I was stopped at a light. There was a gas station behind me on my right side, and a pickup truck with New York tags and a camper pulled out of the station behind me. He pulled up so close that there was only about 1 foot between my rear bumber and his front. As I'm waiting for the light, this guy must have rolled into me because I felt a bumb and he was at my back bumper. He even claimed that I had rolled back into him (but my Caprice is automatic!), but he agreed to work it out with his insurance. He had crumpled his plastic bumber, but the only thing it did to the Caprice was take the dust off my STEEL rear bumper.
God bless the old boxies :smile:
Now that you mentioned that, another story last year:
I was stopped at a light. There was a gas station behind me on my right side, and a pickup truck with New York tags and a camper pulled out of the station behind me. He pulled up so close that there was only about 1 foot between my rear bumber and his front. As I'm waiting for the light, this guy must have rolled into me because I felt a bumb and he was at my back bumper. He even claimed that I had rolled back into him (but my Caprice is automatic!), but he agreed to work it out with his insurance. He had crumpled his plastic bumber, but the only thing it did to the Caprice was take the dust off my STEEL rear bumper.
God bless the old boxies :smile:
muddywaters
12-01-2004, 06:45 PM
You guys want me want to get another box. My dream is to have a Caprice in every year. All of them having a different color, kind of like a candy store. I could go outside and say "I feel like driving the 71 today. I'll probably drive the 84 tomorrow." All of them would be 4 doors. The 76 would be the baby cause that's the year I was born. I had a chance to get one when my 81's engine locked up. Guy wanted $2000 for it. Very good condition. But I was just young and reckless with my money at the time and didn't have a penny saved. I think after that model is when they started making the box type ones, right?
I've never seen a model of Caprice I didn't like. Really. And I'm glad they stopped in 96 because that current model of the Impala, to me, is a disgrace to the Impala line as far as looks is concerned. Imagine the Caprice looking like that!
I think my dream is very possible since most year models don't cost that much to buy, find parts for and maintain, if your not trying do anything thing special with it as far as mods.
Anyway, even though I have my 92 (with all it's problems), I do miss my 78 & 81.
dirt & water
I've never seen a model of Caprice I didn't like. Really. And I'm glad they stopped in 96 because that current model of the Impala, to me, is a disgrace to the Impala line as far as looks is concerned. Imagine the Caprice looking like that!
I think my dream is very possible since most year models don't cost that much to buy, find parts for and maintain, if your not trying do anything thing special with it as far as mods.
Anyway, even though I have my 92 (with all it's problems), I do miss my 78 & 81.
dirt & water
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