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You make too many generalizations, 96capricemgr, especially about 9c1. As far as being desirable for daily driver, I loved it as a daily driver (depends on what you define as being the usage of a daily driver). I drove my old white boxy 1990 9c1 up and down the interstate to school (70 miles each way), 5 days a week, for two years to community college. It loved the interstate and it probably was designed more for the open interstate as opposed to someone who drives through commuter traffic or short, slow roads to work (downtown for example).
Things I loved about my 1990 9c1 over civilian Caprice of that model year, or other cars for that matter:
-Larger motor (350 was not available in civilian Caprice that year)
-Fair gas milage (not as good as LT1 or a Honda Civic, but people probably won't buy a 9c1 for gas milage; milage still probably better than some trucks or SUVs)
-Parts fairly cheap $$ (cheaper than later model years)
-Rubber floor matting (good if a friend spills a drink, that happend to me once)
-Cloth front of seat/vinyl rear of seat
-45/45 bucket seats with 10" between (option with 9c1); good for aftermarket center console
-Larger radiator, oil cooler (standard with 9c1), transmission cooler (optional with 9c1), power steering cooler (optional with 9c1)
-Calibrated speedometer from factory that goes to 120mph (as opposed to civilian that goes only to 85mph)
-Heavy duty frame with reinforcement of certain frame members (I have two accidents to atone to that; I walked away from both)
-Heavy duty front and rear brakes (front disc, rear drum) with semi-metallic lining with stop very, very well (my last accident; I didn't hit the dogs)
-Heavy duty suspension (90 and earlier boxy suspension I've heard was more firm than later models)
As far as suspension being loose, I image any old car's suspension might loosen up, 9c1 or not. The 9c1 suspension should actually be firmer than the civilian because the 1994 to 1996 civilian models/Impala SS had several body bushings MISSING from the factory, resulting in a looser suspension.
One more note as far as brake stopping power, '90 models and earlier models did not have anti-lock brakes which might affect braking under dry road conditions.
As far as L05 to LT1, my reading thus far has suggested to me that the L05 was not a big HP producer (190 to 205 depending on model year); however, it was a good torque producer (285 to 300 depending on model year). The LT1, on the other hand, was a strong HP producer (260, up 55 to 70 HP from L05) and a good torque producer (330, up only 45 to 30 TQ from L05).
In the end, it depends upon people's preferences. A 9c1 might not have the comforts of a Buick Roadmaster, but that only if those features are what you want. For some (me included), the ruggid yet reliable (tried and true) features of the 9c1 draw a them because those are exactly what they are looking for.
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