1966 Caprice

[evildragon]

My father had an old 1966 Caprice he lost in a flood years ago (WAY before I was even born). He remembers it vividly. Black, 350 LT-1 engine, and bucket seats, cherry bombs...

I want to get him one for Christmas, as he has memories of it, but no longer has it (it's a reef somewhere in the ocean now).

Can someone help me find one cheap? In the Orlando FL area would be nice. I tried auto trader and found ZERO results.

[silicon212]

Sorry, you're not likely to find one cheap. If there's any that survive, they're going to command a pretty sum. Even ones that aren't in the best condition are probably going to be in the 5-digit territory.

[Blue Bowtie]

Best I can do is '67 Impala 2 door coupe (hardtop, not sedan doors) which needs an engine, trans, and paint. The body and chassis are complete.

[evildragon]

it'd have to be running.. the time and money invested from my caprice is already too great, i couldn't afford to fix one up (or find the space.. it'd need to be a running car so we can immediately sell a crown vic)

[bobss396]

I see them on evilBay quite often, of course when you WANT one there won't be any to be had.

Bob

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by bobss396

I see them on evilBay quite often, of course when you WANT one there won't be any to be had.

Bob

That was the first place I checked yesterday when I first read this post. There were something like 5 up for auction. Two had reserves over $20,000 , one was a parts car , and the others probably might fetch a price higher than evildragon would be willing to pay. You could always check Hemmings Motor News to see what they have for sale.

[bobss396]

I saw some a couple of weeks back and they were not that high priced. So keep looking and happy hunting. You might try Buzztrader, they have loads of vintage cars too.

Bob

[PeteA216]

My father had an old 1966 Caprice he lost in a flood years ago (WAY before I was even born). He remembers it vividly. Black, 350 LT-1 engine, and bucket seats, cherry bombs...

You must be pretty young if he had an LT1 in that thing. I didn't think the the LT series engines were available until 1992.

Actually I saw one here locally for sale on CraigsList a week or so ago. They were asking only $5,500 for it. Faded greenish color. Black vinyl top, some rust holes though in the lower front and rear quarters near the wheel wells. Rusty, but solid chassis. Interior was okay. Not horrible, but FAR from cherry. 2bbl 350 with a TH-350 transmission. Ran and drove fine. I just checked now. Gone. Sorry. good luck in the search though, I'll do a little hunting around the internet for yah.

Heres one I found here locally, I don't know how far you wanna travel.
1966 Caprice w/original 327sbc

[evildragon]

Originally Posted by PeteA216

You must be pretty young if he had an LT1 in that thing. I didn't think the the LT series engines were available until 1992.

Actually I saw one here locally for sale on CraigsList a week or so ago. They were asking only $5,500 for it. Faded greenish color. Black vinyl top, some rust holes though in the lower front and rear quarters near the wheel wells. Rusty, but solid chassis. Interior was okay. Not horrible, but FAR from cherry. 2bbl 350 with a TH-350 transmission. Ran and drove fine. I just checked now. Gone. Sorry. good luck in the search though, I'll do a little hunting around the internet for yah.

Heres one I found here locally, I don't know how far you wanna travel.
1966 Caprice w/original 327sbc

LT-1, not LT1..

The LT-1 was the original that our LT1's of today are based off of.

My fathers Caprice had his LT-1 from a 72 corvette. He did the motor swap himself.

[Blue Bowtie]

Factory RPO codes have always been 3 alphanumeric characters, with no hyphenation. The marketing department and advertising advisors are the reason that some of them got hyphenated, as in the Z-28 model conversion RPO, Z-71 suspension package on some trucks, Z-24 conversion on Cavaliers, ZR1 conversion of some Y-bodies, and various famous or infamous powerplant RPO codes, such as the early LS7, LS9, L88, LT1, LT5, etcetera.

Further, the original LT1 was available in the 1970-up model year cars:



Notice the LACK of a hyphen in the "Z28" badge, just as it should be.

That early version engine designated "LT1" by the factory production control staff was not substantially different from the original SBC of 1955. It was no more and no less a basis for the later LT1 than the original 265" SBC of 1955. The only thing they share other than dimensions is a resurrected RPO code designation. The most significant difference in the later LT1s was the cooling passages cast at the front of the block and all the supporting bolted-on parts. Even the rods on the 1992-93 LT1s were not special.

A more period correct engine for the '66 Impala or Caprice would be a 230/250" inline six, SBC 283, 327, or in rare cases, a BBC 396. The car could have probably had a Saginaw 3-speed on the column, PowerGlide/ST300, M21, or TH400. My father had a turquoise '66 Caprice, white convertible, 283/PowerGlide. I had an uncle with a black '66 BelAir 250/3-on-the-tree.

[silicon212]

" The only thing they share other than dimensions is a resurrected RPO code designation"

Thanks Blue, you saved me from having to say that myself!