a very good rare-ity question

stupid trivia of the day, my boss is selling a old caprice... body is rusty, needs paint, and frame work, no title. for 750. good project car, that i want. here is where it gets twisted. the caprice is a '65, i thought he was joking.... i was wrong. the taillights, say 65, the vin indicates a 65, there is a sticker under the hood, 65, heres my problem.... i have lots of car books, lots of good reference material, ive even checked online for a number of how many were made... and i cant find one. hell NONE of my books say there ever was a 65 caprice, online i found there was but no specific #.

The Chevrolet Caprice history began in 1965 as an equipment option (RPO Z18) for the Chevrolet Impala, called Caprice Custom Sedan.
It featured an improved suspension, a heavy duty frame, a more luxurious interior, a special grille and the known Caprice-crest emblems.

Engines available in ´65 were a 283ci Small Block with 195hp, the 396ci Big Block called "Turbo-Jet" ) (RPO L35) with 325hp and the most powerful Chevy Engine of this year, the 427ci Big Block (RPO L72) with 425hp!(data compiled from http://www.chevroletcaprice.com/ (http://www.chevroletcaprice.com/) and http://allchevyparts.net/caprice.html (http://allchevyparts.net/caprice.html) , and http://www.nswchevclub.com/impala/index.htm
1965 Total Impala's sold in 1965, regular models 803,400 / (SS available)243,114.Doesnt seem all that collectable if the numbers were that high. But what the car actually is, is a performance option Impala, kinda like the GTO was a tempest option in 65' with similar upgrades. really its down to the build sheet, what its actual value is. If a 2dr, 4dr, cloth interior original ect. will start changing its value, due to what came on the build sheet. Like my Catalina, everybody who bought a 2dr wanted a convertable that year so my car only has less than 1500 twins by build sheet. Good luck and if you buy it you can join it in a club and probably find all sorts of delicious information on it.

T

i suppose that could bring me to my next problem. the frame is pretty well rotted out. to the extent that the trans crossmember is held up by wire and 2x4... ive done body work, and im good with tools... but for some reason i dont like the thought of patching the frame... any ideas?

Ideas? A good body shop that specializes in that type of work. Denver, NC has one called Klassic Ridz (or something like that). Sounds like a lot of cutting, grinding welding etc.

But just think of how rare that car is. What if you are able to bring it up to mint? WOW! To have a car this IS rare. My only request as a classic Chevy fan...well 2 requests...if you take on this project:
1) keep it as close to original as possible, but things like modern bushings vs stock rubber etc is understandible
2) picture updates of the project!

Good luck and I hope you have the funds, I've seen a Chevy II in similar shape run around $14,000 for a complete restoration. But the guy was able to sell it for around $31,000...not bad for a 3yrs return!

Careful... The data listed on that Chevy site may or may not be accurate. All of our engine parts books (including Melling, the "bible") list 396 for '65, sure enough, but '66 was the first year for the Mark IV 427. There was the Mark III 427 (a "spinoff" from 409) in '63, but not in production cars. VERY rare engine, indeed. It's known in folklore as the "Mystery" engine. I also recall clearly, '65 'vette had available 425 HP 396. '66 had either the 390, 400 or 435 HP 427.

I have also seen multitudes of '65 SS Impalas, including a handful of 409-powered '65s, but can't recall ever seeing a '65 Caprice. I DO remember (my age is showing...) TV ads for the '66 Caprice. I also remember how disappointed people were with the style "change" between '65 and '66. It has been used in automotive classes as a classic example of how to take a winner (looks-wise) and turn it into a loser. The only real variances in the body style are on the front and rear, where '65 was "angular" and '66 "straight". If the car has rectangular tail lights, it's a '66. If it has 3 individual round lights on each side, it's a '65.

Last clue, if it has PowerGlide (2-speed auto) AND a BBC, it's a '65. '66s had TH400. This last statement is a matter of observation, not production data. I've never seen a big block in a '66 that wasn't TH400 (if an automatic, that is...). This is NOT the case with Chevelle.

FWIW

Jim

This is off of Wikipedia...

The Chevrolet Caprice (later called Caprice Classic) was a series name of automobile produced by Chevrolet, a division of General Motors, in the United States from the 1965 through 1996 model years.

Throughout its life, the Caprice designated the most-expensive (and most luxurious) model of the Chevrolet full-size car range, which during its lifetime also included the Biscayne, Bel Air and Impala.

Engines for United States models
Generation I
Years Engine
I 1965-1967 283 in³ Small-Block V8
1965-1969 327 in³ Small-Block V8
1965-1969 396 in³ Big-Block V8
1966-1969 427 in³ Big-Block V8
1968 307 in³ Small-Block V8
1969-1970 350 in³ Small-Block V8
1970 400 in³ Small-Block V8
II 1971-1976 350 in³ Small-Block V8
1971-1976 400 in³ Small-Block V8
1971-1972 400 in³ Big-Block V8
1970-1976 454 in³ Big-Block V8
1976 305 in³ Small-Block V8
III 1977-1980
1981-1985 (police) 350 in³ Small-Block V8