(first posted 12/10/2012) Time for another B-body! Yes, it’s well-established that many of us here at CC love the 1977-90 B-body, so I will shamelessly appeal to those well-versed folks with this red beauty, shot this past September at the great Trains, Planes and Automobiles show in Geneseo, IL. The 1977 Caprice Classic and Impala, along with its corporate cousins, were perhaps the last great GM cars. Well hey, for the longest time, no one did full-size cars like the General…
The 1977 B-body’s development and history are well-known and worth a post of its own, but today, let’s just focus on the coupe, shall we? The ’77 full-size Chevy coupe was initially available in Caprice Classic and Impala flavors. Both coupe and sedan shared a 116″ wheelbase, a fact touted in ads like the one above. Yes, stretch-out room for rear seat passengers was not a problem. A far cry from personal-luxury coupes of just a couple years earlier; Mark IV and Thunderbird, I’m looking at you.
All in all, the ’77 Caprice coupe was a trim, fresh breath of air, when compared to the gunboat 1976 model. Sure, the ’71-’76 Chevys have their charms, but they were awfully big.
In 1977, the future was now. The 1977 Caprice Classics were just as cushy and roomy as the outgoing ’76s, but were now much more practical. Anyone who ever had to parallel-park a 1971-76 B-body would have found the 1977 model a revelation. It had a lot more get-up-and-go too, since it had shed an impressive amount of blubber: 611 lbs. for coupes, 637 lbs. for sedans, and an impressive 871 lbs. (!) for station wagons. All that, and they looked good too.
The most notable feature of two-door full-size Chevrolets was an attractive wraparound rear backlight. This rather space-age feature was accomplished by a single sheet of glass being bent via a hot wire method, much like the 1977-78 Toronado XS. Your Caprice (or Impala) coupe would have come standard with a 1BBL 250 CID Six, producing 110 hp. If that wasn’t stout enough for you, a 2 BBL 145-hp 305 V8 (standard in wagons) and 4BBL, 170-hp 350 V8 were available for bit extra.
Midway through the model year, a Caprice Classic Landau model was added. Primary features were the canopy vinyl roof, wire wheel discs and Landau badging. Sport mirrors and special pinstriping were also included. Finding one these days is a little more daunting than a regular ’77 Caprice Classic coupe, as only 9,607 Landaus were built for the year, compared to 62,366 “regular” Caprice coupes.
As a kid growing up in the Midwest in the 1980s, I saw lots–and I mean LOTS–of 1977-79 Caprices. Just across the street TWO neighbors had 1977 Caprice Estate Wagons; one in tobacco brown, one in cream. But the coupes? Not so much. I don’t recall ever seeing a Landau (or, indeed, any coupes!) back then, but that was rectified upon spotting this very red Landau at the show. That red interior looks quite inviting too, with its 50/50 divided front seats with individual armrests and passenger recliner. Looks to have power windows and door locks, too.
This car appeared to be an original, babied example, right down to its wider whitewall tires–do they even make them in that size anymore? I know they were quite popular during the mid-’70s to early ’80s. I have never seen a Caprice in this color, either. It appears to be Light Red, a 1977 factory color.
I would rather have the standard Caprice wheel covers, though–always liked that design. Maybe from riding my Knight Rider Big Wheel (I had a Knight Rider pedal car too–loved that thing!) past the neighbors’ ’77 Caprice wagons dozens, if not hundreds, of times. Both of them had these wheel discs.
The Landau continued for MY 1978 and 1979, as you would expect during the Great Brougham Epoch. 1978 Landaus were much more numrous, with 22,771 finding buyers, along with 37,301 standard Classic coupes.
As shown on this ’78 Impala coupe, a Power Sky Roof was also available. It must have been a rare option, as I don’t recall ever seeing one with it. An Impala Landau was introduced at the same time as the Caprice Landau, and featured the very same additional features, right down to the pinstripes and wire wheel covers.
image: cardomain.com
Even more scarce than the Caprice version, the 1977-79 Impala Landau coupe saw production of 2,749 in ’77, 4,652 in ’78, and 3,247 in swan-song 1979. Here’s a nice survivor I found online. This particular car’s story can be found here, and many more pics here. They were not shown in the brochure, and I’ve never seen one in the metal. Have you?
As in 1978, the 1979 full-size Chevys got minor trim tweaks, but remained largely the same. The Landau coupe returned, with the same new grille and tail lights as other ’79 Caprice Classics. Sadly, it would be the last year for the cool two-door roofline. 21,824 Landaus came off the assembly lines.
A coupe–including a Landau version–would return for 1980, but would receive a blockier “formal” roofline with a wide C-pillar and conventional backlight.
The Caprice coupe would go on for many more years, right up to 1987–and the sedan and wagon went even longer. The Landau lasted all the way to ’87 as well, though demand went down quite a bit in its last couple of model years. Handsome cars, all, but there was just something about those ’77-’79 coupes…
This coupe body style was the best expression of the entire B body line of this generation. I admit, when this gen B body was introduced, I wasn’t wowed. It took me some time to get my head wrapped around its charms. But from the start I knew that if I were to own a B body, it would be the Impala/Caprice coupe. At least until they did away with that fabulous backlight.
I have a 1977 caprice landau. white with burgandy roof insert and interior. gold ribbon in rear side window with statement- motor trend car of the year. 48000 original miles. perfect showroom condition. wire wheel hub caps with landau script in center. 350 ci. handles like a corvette of the day.
I have a 77 Impala 2dr. Landau. White blue interior and Half to the front vinyl top. I’m the 2nd owner. Odometer reads 91,00 now. I had it for 9 years. Everybody thinks that it’s a half Monte Carlo and half Impala. Got tired of trying to explain the rear glass, so I let them think what they want. LOL When I bought it, the paint was so thin the trunk had grey streaks from the factory primer. New paint and top in 2013. Rallys and white letters. Got the original spoke caps for it. I have a lot of fun with my ride!
whats the worth ? 77 caprice landau …yellow/brown landau/black cloth interior no rips, tears, or even wear marks! 305 is still in storage condition not known was replaced with a target 350 some time ago. this car tho having 98000 mi is in excellent condition no rust all chrome and badging, paint and top look like new. Car has been covered in heated storage for 15 to 20 yrs. Brother in laws estate ..losing storage Sis want to sell ? other things
Email details please..verlindale@hotmail.com
How much you want for car
I’m with you, Jim. There’s something about the other bodies that just looks too blocky and generic, like it was only ever drawn out in side, front and rear view separately, and nobody thought about the rear quarter view until it reached the production line. This coupe looks like it was done in 3D from the start.
Never could understand why they dropped the best-looking body Chevy had.
These were good looking cars, be they coupe, sedan, Impala, or Caprice. My grandparents, “Albert” and “Iris” purchased a new ’77 Impala sedan in tobacco brown with cream colored roof powered by the 250 straight six. There were a few issues, although they did keep it until 1985.
Tom, the CC effect struck again. I saw a ’77 Caprice coupe for sale two days ago; sadly, I had no camera at the time.
It happened to me too. Last Friday I saw a two-tone silver and gray non-Landau ’77 at an oil change place. Not pristine like our red example here, but a solid original example. And it had the standard full wheel covers that I love 🙂
I know this post is years after the fact, but I owned one exactly like that. Only options were power door locks and a rear window defogger.
Whoda thunk it that this was a Chevy? Not me, so I didn’t even venture a guess.
This is the car I lusted for in late 1976! Same color but no landau, EVER!
These were beautiful cars, at least in coupe form. The bent glass window was a superb feature that really set the car off, too.
FWIW, I did have fantasies of kit-bashing the back windows to somehow lower at least part of the way, too, if I ever bought one used! True-to-form, aren’t I? That really was a passion with me back then.
I’m happy someone decided this was worth restoring and I’m certain he or she enjoys the daylights out of it! I’m jealous…
Funny you mention the wider whites, Tom. You’ve confirmed that the “CC effect” works for tires. I shot this Caddy yesterday mostly because I liked its shoes!
Is it just me, or do the people in that brochure picture look like they’re about 3/4 scale?
Hunh. You’re right, they do.
Being a pre photoshop era photo I imagine the Art Director requested two good looking adult models that were about 5 feet tall.
LOL. Not to mention that the driver’s seat must have been pushed up even beyond the actual forwardmost position on the track.
They look like they’re on their way to see “The Lawrence Welk Show,” or something that was similarly wholesome.
I remember Erma Bombeck writing about “professional midgets” who worked in advertising to make cars and camping trailer houses look bigger.
Have you seen the 1st edition Mini brochure with 4 adults in comfort with leg room? Predates trading standards!..
Note that the driver’s seat, as compared to the other pic, and the position of the passenger’s seat appears to be pushed forward to gain all that legroom.
Besides needing a tiny driver to achieve this effect, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the two in the back seat are like 5’8″ tall.
That is one cherry, cherry Caprice.
I can tell you the differences between every model year Cadillac from the 70s-80s, even down to grille design. But I’ve always struggled with the 77-79 Chevy Bs. I see in one of the ads 1 car has headlights with turn signals mounted at the corners and the other has turns mounted under the headlights. I always thought this was a model year trim change, but its looking like this was the difference between the Caprice and Impala instead?
Very confusing!
I know 77-79 Chevy B’s by quick glance. The 79 Caprice rear tails are Buick like.
However, the 1980-90 versions are very hard to tell apart, exepct for 1986, the last year for old square lights, but newer front face.
Yeah, the Impala and Caprice had their own different front end treatments. Even after 1980 and through the end of the Impala’s run in 1985.
Which one is which? Assuming side markers version=Caprice.
Jeez. After 35 years of car spotting, I can’t believe I missed that!
The Impala is the one with the parking lights under the headlights, the Caprice has them in the bumper.
Wow. I’ve never noticed that either until just now, and I also can’t believe I missed that. Looking at them one next to the other it’s extremely obvious but I guess I saw so many more of the Caprice version that the difference just flew past me.
By the time I became of “spotting age” in the mid 80’s, most of the ’77 to ’79 Impala police cruisers had also likely gone out of service. So that may have been a factor. And my city (Greensboro, NC) used Caprices in the late 80’s but I think they may have been an Crown Vic fleet in the early 80’s if my hazy memories are correct.
Maybe it was just because I wasn’t born until 1983, and never saw as many 77-79 coupes as I did 80+, but I was never a fan of that back window. It reminded me too much of the Monte Carlo/Grand Prix Aero coupes, and those always looked tacked on and awkward. I’ve always though a 80+ Caprice coupe was definitely the best looking B body, but the featured red coupe is gorgeous, the window works well with the two tone roof.
Agreed. I’m much more a sucker for the 80+ coupe rooflines. I’d ditch the wire caps for the equally hard-to-clean RPO PB2 fake magnesium wheelcovers though.
There was a deputy sherriff in the AL town I used to live in that had a silver/black Landau coupe with those wheelcovers & it was a nice looking vehicle.
Take those PB2 wheel covers and put them in the dishwasher with no heat dry cycle. Works perfectly!
Time to scrounge up an old dishwasher at the scrapyard then. I love tips like these. THANKS!
The good old dishwasher is an excellent degreaser. We kept one in our shop and cleaned parts with it all the time. Just make sure you hose off the chunks before you put whatever you want in it and just use regular dishwasher detergent. It works like a charm.
I like the 80+ formal roofline better as well. That 77-79 wraparound treatment in my eyes is the automotive equivalent of the mullet.
Even the despised mullet was stylish once.
I’d hazard a guess that this was an unrestored, ultra low mile specimen originally owned by some old lady. Tires do look very original and the interior has no fade. I bet it has under 40,000 miles on the odo. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to restore this vintage Chevy to this standard. Only exception would be the new paint job.
The wire wheel covers do not appear to be original, although they are period correct. The center caps should have Chevy bow ties…instead, they are black with silver swirlies. I know about these since my first car, a hand me down 79 Grand Prix, also had these covers after the original Pontiac set was stolen. I think we got them from a hub cap store. They were very similar to the factory ones except for the generic center caps……..
I noticed the center caps, too; just doesn’t look right. But if you look at the pictures of the other vehicles, it appears they have the same center caps. I wasn’t near alive then, so I don’t know; I’m sure someone else has lots of info though (love all the knowledge here)!!
Actually, those are correct. They have “Landau” script and were also standard on the Impala Landau too.
Interesting.
The wire caps on some Caprices have the Caprice specific “fleur d’lis” emblem instead of the bowtie, my 1980 Capice has the fleur instead of bowties.
Another fan of the 77-79 coupes. As we approached the end of law school, one of my roomies bought a 77 Impala coupe (not a Landau) from a secretary at the office where I was working. It had about 100K on it, as I recall, and had originally been a rental car. It was a pretty basic car, silver-blue, with a 305, automatic and air, but that was about it.
Compared to his 75 Mustang II, it was like a Cadillac. The car drove very nicely, and felt very tight and solid. After 2 or 3 years, he sold it to a friend who stiffed him on the payment, but the car kept going. That coupe roofline with the wraparound rear glass was my favorite of these B body coupes.
Would that be considered a hoffmeister kink? If so thats what sells me on the earlier body style hoffmeister or not. where the 77-79 avaliable with sunroof if so thats how.I would have ordered mine without the landau and with blue velour inside and that blue misty color outside. Next on the list would be a set of 10″ wide rally wheels off of a chev or gm truck of the same year with the matching center caps. sold now if only I could go back in time.
About a month back an eighty caprice coupe came up for sale with a fresh semi restored look. new motor and 700r4 replacing the old three speed and new silver paint and leather interior with buckets from a late 90’s buick. Oh and it also had the sunroof. I think the owner was asking 6800, which I thought very reasonable for the work done I shoulda jumped on it. Oh well just a memory.
Sunroofs are raaaarre, with a capital R. I have an 80 Caprice Classic that had been a curbside classic here, it has the power sunroof, along with every other option available in 1980 on a Caprice.
I think that I learned something new. Did not think they made a caprice in 77. Had a 77 Impala wagon. Thought the caprice was introduced in 78. What do I know anyway.
Well I know that when I would replace parts on that wagon I would always be asked if I wanted regular or heavy duty. Without exception, it was always HD on that wagon. It could have been described as a pickup with a wagon body I suppose.
The HEI ignition eventually failed and could have been fixed easily enough but the compression was so far down in two cylingers that it had effectively become a six. Was still trucking but I started doing my 100 mile daily commute in a Datsun pickup. Lots less gas. That thing had long legs and it would run.
I love these cars!
I owned a used 1978 Caprice Classic coupe for 4 years and it was one of the best cars Iever owned.
Mine had the 305V8, 2 tone blue over silver paint, F41 suspension and wire wheel covers!
What a stunning car! Huge trunk! Great ride! Huge interior and quiet as a church!
Unfortunately 1/2 way thru my 3rd year of ownership I was side-wiped by an errant Oldsmobile on a slippery road and after the car was repaired it really wasnt the same car.
I started to really ramp up my savings and traded in the car, for $350, for a 1987 Chevy Beretta GT! Also a fine car!
Thanks for the memories!
bit random question but i remember around this time in 1978/79 seeing a special edition ford thunderbird that had a similar bent glass rear window and i’ve never been able to find anything online about it. the only cars that come up on searches is this caprice model and the olds tornado that had one around that time. any info appreciated.
Never seen that, maybe it was some sort of show car concept?
You might be thinking of the Toronado XS!
I should have read the question a little closer (duhhh).
No one else asked this question, so I will. I’ve always wondered why Chevy, the bottom of the GM barrel, got this fancy, expensive roof treatment, while the higher-line Pontiac and especially Buick and Oldsmobile, got traditional flat glass rear backlights? Seems like it would have made since on the Delta 88, since its sister Toronado XS had a similar treatment. (I really like the looks of the ’77-79 Delta 88 coupes, though). Any thoughts?
No but it reminds me of another oddity: these cars got color-coordinated shift knobs, turn signal sticks, and tilt levers. Very nice! Certain color cruise control stalks are probably impossible to find & I don’t believe other GM products (except Cadillac) got anything but black-trimmed units.
Yes. They also seemed to be searching for ways to differentiate the Impala from the Caprice, so the Impala didn’t get most of the fake-wood dash trim that the Caprice got. The resulting expanse of colored plastic surrounding the radio, a/c controls etc., was actually kind of cool-looking! My folks had a ’78 Caprice, and our elderly neighbors had a ’78 Impala, so I noticed these things (their Impala had replaced a ’64 — I’m sure the gentleman figured the Impala was enough for him, and thanks, but no need for a fancy Caprice!)
I had a 10 year old ’78 Impala in 1988, going to school. Had same dash as above, but no clock,
My dad’s 1979 Impala had EXACTLY the same baby blue dash, even the radio and “digital” clock are the same! Wow, a trip down memory lane!
Well from what I remember the higher end turn signals and shift levers are not color coordinated, but they do have more chrome-ey levers with a ribbed edge around the top, they also were thicker than the color coordinated ones in the Chevrolets.
Buick got fancier knobs and levers than Olds — I think Olds got black plastic. At least that’s what my ’79 Toronado has (same period, different platform but very similar design themes to the B- and C-bodies). My ’76 Monte with lime green and white interior also has a black shift knob, darn it! Green would have been super cool!
Aquired my 79 Caprice from my Uncle in the early 90’s after I got my license. Drove it daily for over a decade after putting in a 300hp 350 and improved the suspension. I regularly suprised quite a few Camaro and Mustang owners by being able to keep up with them down the highway. Not much off the line (4000lbs), but once she got moving she flew!
I still own the car to this day although I retired it from daily duty after 26 years. Iowa’s salty winters have made the Tin Worm a permanent resident. I still take it out on occasion to drag race at the track.
Burnouts are fun and easy with 400+ hp on tap!
All of the Impala and Caprice coupes were dropped for 1983, and then the Caprice alone returned for 1984. As mentioned in the article, it continued through 1987 and then was dropped for good.
This era Impala-Caprice as well as the recent Malibou (2008-2012) were of such timeless design that I have often wondered whether the same designer might have penned both. They are and well be enduring classics.
I’m really into the Epsilon Malibu, but I’ve rarely ever heard anything other than “meh” regarding them – except for a slight amount of enthusiasm right when they came out, just before the bailout(s) and death of GM. I rented one a few years ago and loved it… if they made them with a manual transmission I’d strongly consider buying one.
Oh wow Tom, what a beautiful car!!!
I’m actually at a loss to describe how lovely this car is. I mean, it brings out feelings that usually only Oldsmobiles can!
It reminds me of the Summer of 1984. My parents had a Dodge Aries that they put in the shop for a week’s evaluation, and the dealer gave us a 1978 Impala sedan for a loaner. Carmine Red with red cloth interior, 305 and auto. AM/FM non-stereo, AC, Tilt and Cruise. I was in L-O-V-E with that car! I read the owners manual every day! It was so roomy and smooth, and mom burned rubber every time she pulled out from a stop sign! It cemented my B-Body love then and there. Alas, I will probably never have one, but I will always admire them. I hope this one gets to continue to have a wonderful life.
The B body coupes were very elegant designs…Almost as nice was the 1978 Buick LeSabre Turbo coupe. A nicely raked backlight…unlike those from 1980 onward….black out trim and those legendary Buick chrome plated “road wheels”
Another hard to find car I’ve always had a thing for, the LeSabre Sport Coupe, we had a 79 LeSabre Limited Coupe and I remember seeing a blue Sport Coupe that used to go to the same church, and I remember how much cooler theirs seemed compared to our Limted, the blacked out trim and the bigger road wheels. I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for a clean one.
Beautiful Car. In 1980 they never crossed my mind when I, fresh out of college, cross shopped a 1980 Buick Skylark Limited Coupe, 1979 Bonneville Coupe, 1980 Dodge Mirada and a 1979 Mercury Marquis Brougham Coupe. I ended up with the Mercury which was close to identical to the one in the brochure that year. Beautiful car with power everything but over the long haul I would have probably been happier with the Chevy Coupe of 77-79.
That is in ridiculously amazing condition and the color combination is great – looks like it would belong to a small town fire department chief.
Now this would be the daily driver of my dreams ! All the big ’77-’79 GM coupes were good looking cars, they lost some personality with their later, post 1980 version…
I’ve read in a 1994 or 1995 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine that these 2-door models with the wraparound backlight had attained the collectible status since that particular feature set them apart of the rest of GM cars of that era. They certainly were fashionable and good looking vehicles in their time, and had a ride equal to a Cadillac. My father had a 1979 Caprice Classic sedan, which he got new from the dealer in January 1980. He went too late to the showroom to catch a 2-door, a thing he regreted a lot until the day he passed away 3 years later.
1977 caprice classic Bad Ass………………
just bought this same car tonight. looks identical exept not quite as nice. 77 landau coupe in the same red, same wheel covers, except not power locks or windows. Might get pics up soon, but found it out of pure luck, wasn’t looking 4 one but couldn’t resist the temptation….VERY CLEAN TOO
hi i am from iran and my car is chevy capric classic ls 1989 and i have qustion from amrican people : when you made best cars in the world like to chevy or cadilac or other why you use another cars? thanks.
I guess we didn’t know what we had until it was gone 🙂
I wish we still made cars like this!
my father had a 77 Impala, 305-2v, orange. Not a coupe, but I’m proud to say my family has owned B-Bodies.
77 Impala, orange, I remember this in preschool in ’88-89. We got it in August ’88 I do know. I was 4.
80 Olds 98 *D-Body, green (I was a baby and do not remember this one)
83 Caprice Classic, maroon
91 Caprice LTZ whale grey, but only 305
95 Caprice Classic, gold
hola alguien tiene los asientos traseros de para el caprice 88 station wagon????
favor contactarse soy de chile
The lady who lived next door to me while I was in my last year of college and first couple working years (2002-2004) had a Caprice Classic coupe, I think ’78 or ’79. No vinyl roof, so it wasn’t a Landau, but it did of course have the fabulous bent glass backlight. Silver over a red interior and in pretty impressive shape for a 25 year old car. She didn’t drive it often–she had a ’90 or ’91 Accord DX coupe for daily duties–but it had current registration and occasionally got driven. She was an older lady, so I wonder if perhaps it might have been her late husband’s car, or if maybe she liked it so much she kept it around after getting the Honda.
I regret never asking her about the car’s story, or even perhaps making her an offer on it, as even then the coupes were pretty rare and I quite liked it. After moving I still drove by frequently, and sometime in 2006 the Caprice wasn’t there anymore, though the Honda remained. I can only hope it went to a good home.
Very nice power full car.
Restoring a 1977 caprice classic need help findind seats an seat brackets!
Is it for sale?
Of the 1977-90 full sized Chevy’s I’ve thought the 1977-79 were the most stylish and the best looking of the bunch, the only car I’ve thought pulled off the 1980 restyle better than the original style was the full sized Pontiac sedan.
I have a almost twin to this car. Mine does not have the power windows or arm rests. Going by the first picture I had to blow up the picture and look at the license plate to make sure it wasn’t mine. Awesome cars. My 10 year old son and I love going to car shows with it. Never had the nads to enter it but I know it’s alot nicer than a bunch of them that had entered
I had the 77 Caprice Classic Landau. Great car for a kid in high school. Added sunroof, Alpine stereo. wrecked it quite a few times and put on 250,000 miles before it died.
In 1977, my dad drove this home as his new company car. Company cars had been Malibu wagons since ’72, so I thought it was a nice step up and a show of appreciation that he now had this full-size, more formal sedan. It was a beautiful metallic blue, shown here, still wet from it’s daily wash. (Both mom and dad’s car received a daily wash).
It had a lite blue cloth interior, power windows, power door locks, tilt wheel, AM/FM radio and, the 350 V8 engine. I thought it rode every bit as comfy as our neighbor’s 77 Cadillac Sedan de Ville. Transmission went out around 5K and was rebuilt but never quite right. It would whine…. sounding like a turbine winding-up as it went through the gears during acceleration. He drove it to over 120K.
His next one was a ’82 Caprice Classic, two-tone silver & black with red interior with a diesel engine. Sweet! That one was his favorite. I was off to college by then so rode in it less and it didn’t get my daily TLC. Those were two very nice 4 door GM cars and served my dad well.
These are nice cars and I prefer the ’77-79 versions the most. The problem with GM is that this is all they knew how to make well: full-size, body-on-frame and V-8 powered. Once the market and gov’t regulations changed they were completely lost.
Oohgeeze, that is a sweet example in a very dapper colour combination.
The bent backglass was made by an interesting method: two Chromalox heatwires (resistance wire, the kind you find in a space heater or electric oven, etc) were embedded in the glass during its manufacture. Final steps: apply electric current to the heatwires, they heated up, the glass was bent, then the ends were chopped off and the heatwires—never again to heat up—were abandoned in situ.
The quarter glass and C-pillar have a lot in common with those of the ’63-’66 Dodge Dart 2-door.
I’m always fascinated at the insights you bring to the discussion, Daniel. Keep up the good work!
This car has been posted here before next to a curb appeal sign on avenue of the cities in Moline. It’s classic looks took a major step backwards this past summer as the owner now has gangsta’d the poor thing with 22″ rims and very narrow tube like tires. Looks really stupid now.
Oh dear. 🙁
That’s a shame that this treatment was done to that car. Hopefully what ever was done to the car can undone with relative easy. Some of those “donk” projects hack and weld up the chassis suspension points and basically do some work that is very hard to undo.
This Caprice coupe has to be one of the nicest ones I have ever seen. I didn’t think I would like one of these cars in red, but seeing this one it looks pretty sharp. If this has the F41 suspension, a LM1 350, it be my ultimate 77-90 B-body, sans the god awful vinyl top. I always really liked these 77-79 two doors, even the Impala looked really sharp. While I generally prefer the 4-door sedan roofline from 1980-90 (the 86-90’s are my favourite sedans), there is no question the 77-79 coupes were by far the nicest two door 77-90 Chev’s.
That’s a shame. I’m not against folks personalizing their cars, and the big rimz look has kept a lot of RWD iron on the streets, but it seems wrong to do it to one this original otherwise.
I guess as long as it didn’t require a suspension lift, then no permanent harm done.
I enjoy that I can still buy these B bodies for peanuts here in Canada. So many colours and flavours to choose.
B bodies were never that beautiful too me, but they were such good drivers. They defined the best of GM for me.
I’ll take a 84 Park Avenue Sedan , fully loaded , in Navy.
Where in Canada can you still buy these B-bodies for peanuts…in condition worth having?
I am in Canada and I have noticed the prices on these old B-bodies have shot up in the last few years. To the point where I think many are overpriced considering the lack of demand. There are actually quiet a few nice original one owner cars that have popped in the last few years. Despite what many think about Northern Cars, lots of Canadians who look after their cars don’t drive them in winter and can keep them just as nice as cars from the south.
There was a beautiful black 1984 Caprice that was owned by an Elderly couple since new. I always noticed the car, because it was so well looked after. A few years ago, it was sold to some new owner and I expected it to got downhill quickly. Surprisingly it’s stayed just as nice as when the original owners had it, but it was for sale again. He was asking some ridiculous price for the car and it sat and sat, not sure if it ever sold. It seemed like he was getting desperate before winter, and I would have considered low balling him, but the car was a V6 car with a TH200. So I’d basically have to get it for next to nothing to be worth my time. I’d probably have to swap a period SBC, a TH700-R4 and upgrade the suspension to F41 specs to make it a car I’d actually enjoy. Original is nice, but no way would I want a 110hp Caprice with soggy suspension.
That’s a great looking survivor. It’s too bad somebody has since given it the “donk” treatment. 🙁
That interior is hideous. Who actually thought bordello-crimson seats looked GOOD?
Frank Cannon.
And a bunch of other people.
Were they the same people who thought plaid leisure suits, pink ties, matador boots, iridescent socks, and pompadours looked good?
might have been
The velour interior of my ’78 Fairmont is bordello crimson and I LOVE it! M ost Fairmonts had taxi-cab bland interiors, mine’s the pimp-est ‘Mont I’ve ever seen!
Color keyed seat belts FTW!
I’ve always loved this body style. It was given a contemporary, sharper look, and–to me, anyways–was the best Impala/ Caprice body style since the mid 60’s, where it had a degree of sportiness to the look (moreso in the coupe). I don’t see many around any more–even fixed up or customized–which is a shame.
One of the few cars I regret selling.
Wow! A red interior. Sure beats today`s black, tan or grey insides.
Agreed! And yet… I remember seeing red, blue and other coloured interiors painted over black when I was looking for parts for my old Cortina. Hard to think that once upon a time colours like this weren’t cool with the car guys.
I don’t understand how the rear leg room in the coupe was supposed to be a selling point. With all Caprice wheelbases being identical you’d expect the leg room to be identical in all Caprices, only with the doors and greenhouse changed, as was common on most American cars at the time.
I’m guessing it was a selling point against other coupes that might be considered. B-bodies did have longer wheelbases than the Panther Fords, so there’s that. Kind of a “have your coupe and leg room too” reminder.
I have a 77 2 dr. Caprice landau yellow w/brown landau black cloth inside 98000 mi. been in storage 10 + yrs. losing heated storage looking for a home?
Late to the party, but in love with that car. I owned a ’77 Landau Coupe, same color combo but with the White Vinyl 50/50 split seat interior. I remember picking my folks up at the airport right before Christmas of ’77 in that car. My dad looked at it and said “my god, it looks like Santa’s sleigh!” The Caprice was scooped as a Chevy Zone Mgr’s company car, so it was ordered with “Options? Why yes, I’ll take them all.” Sold it the next year to a retired doctor and bought a ’78 Cutlass Supreme (same color combo). Cutlass wasn’t a bad car, but not even close to as nice as the Caprice.