My '79 Caprice (Bought New, Been in the Family Ever Since)

One of GM's last all-new line of full-size cars, the '79 Caprice and Impala 2-doors, with their infamous "bent" window glass, were in the last year of a body style that was introduced for the 1977 model year.

These "downsized" full-size cars were almost a foot shorter and 700 pounds lighter than the '76's they replaced. But, trunk space and interior room stayed the same. In one year, the 350 V8 went from being the smallest engine you could get in a big Chevy to being the largest.

As big Chevys had been for years, they were traditional body-on-frame construction, but they were the first cars to be partially designed and engineered using CAD-CAM (Computer aided design-computer aided manufacturing).

GM's other B-body cars, the Pontiac Catalina and Bonneville, Olds 88, and Buick LeSabre, and larger C-bodies, the Buick Electra, Olds 98 and Cadillac DeVille/Fleetwood, also got the downsizing treatment in '77.

Almost a million-and-a-half full-size Chevy sedans, coupes and wagons were sold in those three years, unfortunately not enough to take back the number-one sales spot from the mid-size Olds Cutlass.

The universal complaint back then was that GM had made the Chevy full-size cars TOO small. (In '77, they were only slightly longer than a "mid-size" Chevy Malibu. How times change;-)

For the 1980 model year, they were mildly restyled, and that basic body lasted 11 years, until the "pregnant whale" '91-'96 models, which, along with the Buick Roadmaster, Olds Custom Cruiser and Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham (all based on the same '77-vintage chassis), were the last body-on-frame big cars GM would ever build.

This one was bought new by my mom in September of 1979 for (take your heart medicine now) $7,500.

Thanks to an oil shortage and subsequent doubling in the price per gallon of gas that summer, sales of full-size cars had fallen off a cliff, so she had her pick of in-stock colors and options. If you've tried to find a clean '77-79 Caprice or Impala 2-door, you know it's next to impossible. So imagine visiting City Chevrolet, a Chicago dealer that was located in a series of old multi-story warehouses, and riding the freight elevator with the salesman to one of the enclosed upper-floor new-car storage areas. There, parked nose-to-tail and mirror-to-mirror, were at least 40 Caprice and Impala 2-doors, including the rare Landau models. Too bad City routinely undercoated all its cars. (A side note: City Chevrolet supplied the City of Chicago with its Impala and Caprice cop cars until the day GM ended production.)

This one was bought at the now-vanished Circle Chevrolet at 82nd and Racine. It has very few options: the 305 V8, A/C, a rear window defogger and AM/FM stereo with 8-track player and rear speakers. Mom had it Ziebarted a month after she bought it, which partially accounts for the shape it's in now.

It replaced a green '68 Impala 4-door hardtop with 78,000 miles, a 307 V8, Powerglide, drum brakes all around and no A/C, bought new by my dad.

In her care, this one's led a pretty sedate existence. Except for a road trip to Washington D.C. in 1980 and a period of about six months where I commuted in it to Argonne National Laboratory, no long drives. Pretty much to the grocery store, to her friends' homes, and to church.

The locking wire wheel covers became necessary in 1983 after the original wheel covers kept getting stolen.

Also that year, a Metra road crew dropped a load of track ballast on it as she sat under a viaduct at a stoplight. Allstate (bless them) paid for all the repairs to the body and the pitted glass and litigated with Metra for the next seven years.

When she passed on a few years ago, I inherited it. I'm basically keeping it the way it is. No Corvette motor. No 22's. No thumping stereo. It needs a little body work (after 28 Chicago winters, what did you expect?), and as soon as a little more money comes in, I've got to take care of the windshield wiper motor and find a set of the original wheel covers.

It just got a new brake master cylinder and fuel pump (ouch!), and winter's coming, so converting the A/C from R12 to R134 will have to wait.

But other than that, it runs like a top, and the interior's in almost perfect shape. And on sunny days, it's great to pull off the cover, back it out of the garage, and drive one of the last of GM's big cars. After zipping around in my Fiero, it's like driving a Cadillac (I used to drive my uncle's '79 Coupe de Ville, and the ride wasn't much smoother than this one).

As with the Fiero, master GM mechanic Dave Armstrong keeps it running right. If you're in the Chicago area, get in touch with him at (773)282-1444. He'll keep your car on the road or get it back on the road if it isn't.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Chevrolet
• Chevy
• 1979
• 79
• Caprice
• Classic
• Impala
• V8
• V-8
• 305
• 350
• 5.0
• 5.7
• liter
• engine
• motor
• tire
• car
• full
• size
• big
• B-body

[artistmac]

Kelley Blue Book lists the current value for the '79 Caprice Landau Coupe at $100 to $300 above the regular coupe, depending on condition. It doesn't break out a value for the '80 Landau, but you can figure it'll probably be about the same difference over the '80 coupe. For the '80 regular Caprice Coupe, the values are: $2025 in Fair condition, $3950 in Good condition, $7400 Excellent. For all conditions, deduct 10% if it has the 3.8 V6. Hope this helps.

[NikeBoy39]

DID U SELL IT YET



[artistmac]

@NikeBoy39 Not for sale. Never will be, as long as I'm alive and kicking.

[6025176]

النعل امه الكابرس ماشائالله ياحلو الكابرس واااااااااااااااو

I own a Model 79 Come to my private and will see him there are two sections

[artistmac]

@6025176 You've got a beautiful, clean Caprice! I always thought that Caprice sedans looked great in black. It looks like there's a lot of Caprice owners in Kuwait!

[artistmac]

@darealgreaseball You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. And even after I'm gone, I'll haunt the new owner so bad Stephen King will have to write a sequel to "Christine" ;)

[2468bloob]

Beautiful, love the fastback glass they offered in 79 take care of it , its a future classic !

[0skurr]

My family owns a 1980 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Landau Coupe does anybody know how much that model/car is worth? ive been dying to know but no research that i have done has told me how much its worth.......please help

[glallday]

@cansmakit that story hurts my feelings lol real talk i got a 77 caprice 4 door had it since 16 n i hope it never ends up in ur hands lmfao

[SteelCity1981]

@ 5:08 It's a ghost car lol.

[SteelCity1981]

@artistmac if this thing was a rusted out pos then yes i would say sell it to him to crachs up in the derby, but that car is great looking. you don't see too many of these cars around in that condition anymore.

[1969pontiac1]

@beast6228 I would too, you are right this is when they made real cars, now you barely bump something, it does 2,000.00 in damage, the 5 mph bumpers stuck out but saved me a couple of time in a slow bump.I love the rear window on this Caprice, wish GM would go back to making them like this again. my dad was a salesman and I bought the Impala from him 83, and drove it 7 more years. It had a 183,000 miles on it and someone T- boned me... on my side and I walked away. changed the oil every 3,000