Does anyone know what they are planning to do with the Caprice featured in the August 2006 issue? I have the same car and was wondering what direction they were heading with it. I couldn't believe they had a complete article on the EXACT thing I needed to do next on my car, but had no idea where to start on (weather stripping and door seals).

84 Caprice Classic coupe, stock so far. Soon to come: 540 Dart-head BB.

I've got a 1988 Caprice police package car with a 496 stroker and a 700R4 in it. Fairly mild engine, but upgrades will be forthcoming later this summer. I don't know what direction CC's Caprice will be taking, but I'm looking forward to it as well.    

Good deal! I hope CC finally brings a little favourable light to the boxy and bubbular caprices.. With the other older "established/typical" hot rod material priced WELL out of reach of most guys, the caprices are beginning to take hold. I've owned both types and they are indeed fun to mess around with. I even figured out how to put a mechanical clutch linkage in my '83 impala, using mostly stock parts. As I reserached the possibility of doing the swap, it appears to me the factory had a stick in mind during the design phase, but dropped it. Go out under your hood and look for the plug in the firewall below the brake booster.... if your car has cruise control, they may have put in a rubber pass-thru plug to run vacuum lines. (It was just a soft aluminium plug on my stripper-car..)This was the hole for the clutch pedal push rod to travel thru... it was a blast to drive the 4 door car with the 350 4 speed and 3.42 posi rear... snagging second was sweet!

Anyway... the upgrades for these cars is very good, with a bit of inginuity, you'd be surprised at what fits.. second gen. camaro z-28 front sway bar... 12" heavy duty police-spec rotors... HD 8.5" posi rears.. (disc brake rears from 95-96 police cars..).. the list goes on. Perhaps if I figure out how to create a web page, I'll post my car and the mods/history. Lots of info to post.. (just aced the ABS crap too... on my 91..)

Perhaps you could comment to the guy from belgium looking to put a BBC in an 86 wagon... Never did that particular swap.

Mike

Hi guys,

It's cool to see some B-body fans/owners here; I wasn't sure how the car would be recieved in the magazine.  That's my car, and I'm the guy in the pictures (I'm also the photo editor for CC and Hot Rod).  I'm a bit of a freak in that I have always loved full-sized Chevys- especially the boxy models.  The car in the pictures is an 86 coupe that I bought about a year ago for $1500.00.  It only has 74K miles on it, and it was a 1 owner car that got passed from the original owner to his grandson briefly, and ultimately to me.  It has some problems- TBI v6, 200c trans with no reverse, and a landau top and trim.  But all that can be fixed, right?  

I'm on a pretty tight budget, so work is progressing slowly, but I've been able to find a lot of good parts in the junkyard: 12" cop-car front spindles,a front sway bar from a 2nd Gen Trans Am, a rubber floor mat in surprisingly good condition from a square cop car, and the cop car gauge package.  I even found a NON-cracked dash pad and a headliner with no sags in it.  If you guys are familiar with these cars, you know how fast the dash pads crack!!

I'm currently working on filling the holes where the chrome trim was mounted and straightening out some dings in the doors to prep the car to be painted.  The paint is wasted, so I've been thinking of spraying it Hot Rod black (satin black) for now.  I prefer the sleeper look, so even if I don't go the matte black route, I may just paint it black or a dark silver/grey.  Cragar makes 17" steel wheels with "D" shaped holes- kinda like NASCAR wheels, so I'd like a set of those in powdercoated black- not chrome!!    

Anyway,  my plans are to keep it emissions compliant and swap in the entire drivetrain from a 94 9C1 cop car- LT1, 4L60E, and an 8.5" 3.08:1 limited-slip rear with disc brakes.  I've just managed to get all the parts necessary for that.  I've also got  Eibach springs, KYB shocks, and new suspension and body-mount bushings waiting to go in with the cop car parts.

I think these cars are cool and have a lot of potential.  The boxy models weigh less than 4000 lbs. Surprisingly, the curb weight for my coupe is around 3500 lbs- the same as a Chevelle, 57 Chevys, and less than most new cars.  And like  PA72CAMARO said, they are affordable and are usually in pretty good shape since they were mostly owned by old people!  If you want to see more of this car- please keep posting.  Let me know what you think of a mid-80's Caprice as a Car Craft project.

John

Hi John,

     Nice car you have there.. those 2 doors are rather tough to find. Great deals can be had on those kind of cars due to the "geriatric factor" most people associate with them. That's good for guys like us anyway.. **LOL**! .. keeps things affordable.

     Sounds like you are discovering the sweet parts for it at the junkyard too... All the HD/Police parts bolt right on... If you want gauges.. look for the police gauge package in the boxy type cars.. a smaller rectangle 3-in-1 gauge set (temp., oil press., and volts..) that was typically installed on the lower right hand part of the instrument panel, next to the radio. This solves the problem of cutting up the dash to find a spot for extra gauges... you will have to relocate the cig. lighter to the small area next to the glove box.. (you will be able to see this new location in the car you snag the gauges from...) I got one for 15 bucks at the yard.. just remember to change the sensors to suit the gauges.

     The motor you want, trans and rear all drop in... With the motor though, you will need the entire wring harness/brain box to run it... I never went for something that new, but I'm sure it can be done if you get all the associated bits. The rear should be easy to get.. and rears from the bubbular 91 to 96 models fit. I found a 3.42 posi from a 91 9C1 (police car) with a 350... fit right into my "civilian" Caprice.. no problem. Just avoid the wagon rears, as I think they are a tad wider... You could even step up to the disc brake rear from a 95 - 96.. just get it all including the e-brake cables. (I'm not sure if you need to change the prop. valve in the brake system.. )

     For some ideas for mods, as well as good information on police items.. check out this site... http://impala.homeip.net/impala/faq/faq_index.cgi It's impala SS stuff, but there is lots of other goodies thare as well. I think these cars will eventually become more popular, especially as the cost of the old cars will just simply be too high for the average joe to afford.

Good luck with your project!  Cheers! Mike

OHHH yea   we need more fullsize  action the the mag  thats for sure , you guys kept teasing us with that 96 you guys bought ,when are you guys gonna do the OBD1 conversion on that thing and hit the dyno  to prove the worth of that MOD   ,i have a 94 caprice  gre y  unmarked unit  that was a game wardens car ,so  its clean , and i had a 87 2 door like yours i bought for 600 bucks  with a worn out 305 and 2004r tranny , swapped out the civi suspention for the cop stuff  but never got around to swapping the rear and brakes but the springs and cop swaybars really woke it up  and then i slapped on some  255/60/15 tires to some monte ss wheels i had  and it was a decent ride ,still needed a engine rebuild though ..lol  if i where you i would do a LT1 and t56 conversion  with a 94-96 cop  8.5 rear with a set of 4.10's   as for dual exhaust the  94-96 cat backs fit  with slight mods  and dan at clear image automotive  can get you a nice tubuler crossmemeber for the tranny to be able to run duals with out haking up a nasty  stock crossmember . vistit my caprice section of  my photobucket album so see  more stuff. 87 coupes are the rarest of all ,they didn't make many that last year.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v189/ironroad9c1/caprices/?start=40

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v189/ironroad9c1/caprices/P1000328.jpg

Hey guys, thanks for your replies.  I know the coupes are rare- just over 3000 were made in 87, the last year of the 2-door cars.  It took me a while to find one in the condition/price range I wanted, but I'm happy with the car.  

Mike, thanks for the info.  I'm in the process of buying a complete 94 9C1 as a donor for the drivetrain swap.  Hopefully, I will be able to start transferring parts within a few weeks.  Thanks for the link to the Impala SS FAQ site.  I frequently lurk on the various Impala forums cause I know most of the mechanical bits will also work on my car.  

Fullsize Fun, thanks for the photo link.  Are you in the military?  The pics of your 87 look like they were taken at Camp Lajeune- my sister's husband was stationed there a couple of years ago.  

Anyway, I'll keep posting to let you know where I'm at with the car.

FYI if you are interested in a more permanent flat black, PCL recently came to the market with a new flat black that urethane that is meant to be used as a permanent topcoat. being a urethane product, it is no different than another single stage paint with regards to protection or durability. it is just a flat black and it wont be any different than painting over any other single stage should you decide to make it shiny again in the future.

also, as a place near where i work, a gentleman came in and said that if you spray the new weatherstripping with some silicone spray (wet type, similar to 3M #08877) then close the door for about a day or so, it helps it to soften and conform to the jambs so you dont get the good old misalignment that often comes with the reproduction stuff out there. i believe he works at a place called Bowtie Connection here in Artesia. they do resto style jobs there and other things. he buys probably 4 or 5 cans of that spray a month from my work.  

its pretty cool to see it in the mag though. you dont happen to have a picture of those Cragars do you? my Galaxie is destined for steelies, and a 17 might be cool if i can find one with a decent sidewall. (seeing as my first option of using the 17inch Mustang Cobra spare fell through... damn ALUMINUM 17x4 rims!)

 I just got out of the navy about a year ago ,i was in for 8 years ,thos pics where taken at norfolk naval station here in Va.

Sixt9coug,

Thanks for the info.  The weatherstripping actually fits really well.  That's the stuff I bought from Soffseal.  It fits perfectly and it is really soft-- no need to slam the door like I've heard from other people who've replaced their weatherstrips with aftermarket stuff.  

BTW, I think we met at the photo shoot in Gardena for your car and the guy with the fox Mustang.  It's cool to see that you're active on the message board.  

Anyway, here's a pic of the wheels I am thinking of using on the Caprice.  Even though I'm not a huge fan, I like the NASCAR look and the fact that they are available in 17".  I'm still a ways away from paint, but I'll look into that stuff when the time comes.  

John

I don't have pics but me and my friend put a 454 and a turbo 400 in a 86 wagon. the hardest part was pulling the 307 and swapping the frame mounts,but it can be done without pulling the lower control arms! We found a wrench by SK I think that was open ended on one side and had a socket that pivoted on the other end. it fit right through the holes in the crossmember that the fuel lines run through,it takes patince but it can be done.the crossmember for the trans didn't need any mods because it was for a 200r4 just had to cut the driveshaft down and add a new yoke.unfortinatly no track times yet as my friend that owns her is deploying to Iraq in a week!  

the wheels are bitchen man. at least i think so, and in a 17 i think theyll sit on a big car like that well. the 9C1 brake package would look sick behind them. cmon... you know you wanna do it ha ha.

if you want a color besides black, but still want a flat finish, the same company makes a flattened clearcoat as well. im not sure if thats quite your taste, but hey, its worth a shot. when it comes to my Galaxie im leaning toward painting it a flat color. im sick of it being a neverending project and i just want to enjoy the damn thing already. lack of interior be damned.

yeah, i remember you from the shoot in Gardena as well. its always cool to see the guys from the mag associate with us commoners on the boards ha ha. of course, still digg'in the car. honestly, i didnt know they made a 2 door Caprice. i guess you learn something new every day. err... month.

Wow so many b-bodys nuts out there it is nice to see i am not the only one.  i gotta talk to some of you guys about the details of puting a bbc into my wagon.  i got a 307 dyno'd at 310hp right now with 130k on it and to still runs very strong but you know what they say the morer the better.  i would like to retire the 307  at about 200-210k(she'd last longer) and drop in a 383 or a 496 depending on finances and commute to work.  

Sweet! More B-body nuts out there. We should create our own forum, or does anyone know of a Impala/Caprice forum?

I own a 1989 Caprice, and it will be receiving a 355 (370hp and 390 lbft), a TH350, and an 8.5" w/3.73s. Hoping for some good numbers, like low 13's... but we'll see... So far people think anywhere from high 12's to high 13's. I weighed the car, w/a full tank of gas, and me in it, and it weighs about 4000lbs. W/out me, it weighs 3800lbs...I think thats light for a big ole 4 dr!

Hope to hear more from you guys!  

I currently own a 65 and a 70. I also owned two 69's, 71 sedan, 72, and a 73 over the years.

I don't like cars where you have to rub shoulders with your passenger. I like having to pull over and take the seatbelt off in order to reach the passenger window crank.