Older Caprice wagons... anyone here own one?

[72KingswoodEstate]

Hello.. I am new here and noticed in a older thread that alot of folks here have older Caprices.

I am wondering if anyone here on the boards has a older Caprice wagon.... (or sedan), say, 1976 or older and if so, do you have any photos of the car?

I have a 1972 Kingswood Estate wagon (Caprice) that I am currently restoring. From 1969-72, the Caprice wagons were called Kingswood Estate. I had tried to buy this car for many years, but the older lady that owned it would not sell it. She finally called me up a couple of months ago and said she would sell. It cost me much more than I wanted to pay, but I wanted it badly, so I shelled out the cash for it. The car is dirty in the photos and the new tires were not installed here.... I am currently in the process of having to redo the brake system, then it should be ready for the road. Setting has really taken a toll on this old car, despite being stored in a garage. The car is optioned, with A/C, AM radio, 3rd seat (9-passenger), tilt wheel, deluxe wheel covers, towing package, as well as the fairly rare 402 4bbl turbo-jet engine.

I used to also have a 1971 Caprice 4dr, as well as most recently a 1969 Caprice 4dr, with a factory 396 and hideaway headlights.

I hope photos are OK here.... if not, let me know.
Here are photos I took shortly after I bought the car....










Thanks for any other photos of older Caprices.

[silicon212]

Actually, the Kingswood is closer to Impala in trim level. That being said, it wasn't a wagon, but my first real car was a 1972 Impala Custom coupe.

Your car is very clean. Looks great.

[72KingswoodEstate]

Thanks for the compliment...

True, the inside of the Caprice wagon (Kingswood Estate) was almost like that of the Impala wagon (which was called simply Kingswood), except the Caprice wagon had more woodgrain on the driverside part of the dash and it had the Caprice emblem on the door panel, rather than the Impala emblem.
In 72' there were 4 trim lines... the Biscayne (wagon was called Brookwood), the Bel-Air (wagon was called Townsman), the Impala (wagon was called Kingswood) and the Caprice (wagon called Kingswood Estate).

One thing I recently learned in my 72' Chevy wagon sales brochure is that in 1972 ONLY, that you could get a more luxurious brocade cloth interior as an option on the Kingswood Estate wagons. I personally have never seen this option on one of these. Its a shame that Chevy back then did not "automatically" spruce up the interior more than they did beyond the Impala wagon. Like I said the only differences (on the inside) that I (and other fans/owners of these cars) have came up with is that woodgrain on the driverside of the dash and the Caprice emblem - the outside of course has the woodgrain trim and the Caprice grille.

I love the way the older cars (especially GM cars of the late 60s and early 70s) are so oddly optioned... some has this, some have that, etc. I have actually been involved in pretty long threads on other forums discussing the oddness of some of these cars.

I bet that 72' Impala Custom coupe was a nice car! I really like those... they have high collector appeal now.

Thanks again!

Originally Posted by silicon212

Actually, the Kingswood is closer to Impala in trim level. That being said, it wasn't a wagon, but my first real car was a 1972 Impala Custom coupe.

Your car is very clean. Looks great.

[deesandvees]

That wagon looks clean, that's "woodgrain grippin" for real right there. Are you doing any mods to the car or restoring it stock?

[72KingswoodEstate]

Thanks. No, its going to stay all-stock. I do have a little body work to do, but for the most part, even most of the paint will be original.

[mike561]

looks mint, nice to see a good old clean car where people wont be doing ridiculous things to them, thats what im doing with mine, i want to keep it mostly original but make it a sleeper. you got any under hood pics?

[Blue Bowtie]

It's a '72 (pre-Smogger, pre-unleaded, pre-lower compression) 402 BBC. Since it came with the QujadraJet, it likely has the better gearing and wouldn't take a lot to make into a real sleeper. Other than the fact that it probably weighs more than all the cars Honda assembled in the 2007 model year put together, it should be able to get out of its own way very nicely.

Good luck finding a gate glass. They are out there, but may not be easy to find in the tint level matching the rest of the car.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by Blue Bowtie

Good luck finding a gate glass. They are out there, but may not be easy to find in the tint level matching the rest of the car.

That's why there's Hemmings Motor News I'm sure given enough time one may pop up in that publication. It's a mater of being in the right place at the right time, sorts like eBay, another place to check out. You also can also "network" with members of old car clubs, including the National Impala Association. Even though their membership is limited to 1958 to 1970, that doesn't stop members from owning or having parts / knowledge about other years.

[72KingswoodEstate]

Yeah, here is a photo of the engine... it was not cleaned here and I have not done much to it. I did wash the dust off the fenderwells (after I took this photo) and they shined like new. I really need to detail this....

Originally Posted by mike561

looks mint, nice to see a good old clean car where people wont be doing ridiculous things to them, thats what im doing with mine, i want to keep it mostly original but make it a sleeper. you got any under hood pics?

[72KingswoodEstate]

Hi... I actually should have explained that plastic over the rear window.... actually, the window is not broken, but it is stuck in the "open" position. I think the switch is bad. I can hear it click when I turn to "open" -which it is, but no sound when I try to close. The old lady I bought it from said that she knows she should not have done that... she would try to open it a little more and more, hoping it would close when she turned the key the other way. Before she knew it, the window was all the way up (on these cars, up is open).

There are actually alot of parts out there for these if you look in the right places. I know of a derby website where there are several of parts listed for these cars- or whole cars (beyond restoration) for that matter. All of the 71-76 FS GM wagons used the same tailgate glass.

For example, here is a 1972 Pontiac Grand Safari wagon and as you can see- the windows are the same.... I think the only differences is that the Buick and Olds wagons have different shaped windows on the rear doors- toward the bottom rear... which you can see in the photos below the Pontiac wagon.


Thanks again!


(yeah, this Olds is rough!)

Originally Posted by Blue Bowtie

Good luck finding a gate glass. They are out there, but may not be easy to find in the tint level matching the rest of the car.

[mike561]

looking good, yeah i have to clean under my hood as well.