The Chevrolet Caprice enjoyed its first full model year in 1966, and in doing so, it was upgraded to its own series that was slotted directly above the Impala. If that weren’t enough fanfare for the line-topping full-size Chevy, buyers could now order an attractive Custom Coupe with a unique formal roofline. This Caprice, which the current owner bought from the original owner almost 60 years ago, is up for auction on Hagerty Marketplace in Denver, Pennsylvania.
Here’s how the VIN on this Caprice breaks down:
- 1: Chevrolet
- 66: Caprice (with a V8 engine, which was standard)
- 47: Caprice Coupe
- 6: 1966 model year
- Y: Wilmington, Delaware, assembly plant (the sales ad misidentifies this as Willow Run, Michigan, but that plant used the letter W)
- 223954: The sequence number
Although the 195-horsepower 283 was standard in the Caprice, a popular option (at just $93) was the L30 327, which produced 275 horsepower with a four-barrel carburetor and a 10.25:1 compression ratio. The L30 originally came with a “large-diameter single exhaust system with resonator,” but the owner has upgraded this one with headers and dual exhausts, in addition to an aluminum intake manifold. It’s hard to see on a ’66 Caprice, but this car does appear to have a power steering pump; they were mounted low beneath the alternator in 1966. It does not have power brakes (not too uncommon back then), but the master cylinder has been upgraded to a dual-circuit unit.
Some of you may have noticed the Frantz oil filter, which almost immediately elicits this response when mentioned: “Is that one of those toilet paper oil filters?” It might not be quite that simple, as a Frantz filter can use its own media, but according to their website, it can filter oil “up to 10 times finer than an OEM filter.” This one has, however, been disconnected, and the 327 is currently using an off-the-shelf oil filter.
Note to new owner: Immediately get rid of that clear fuel filter, please. Also, the ad mentions that the upper A-arm bushings need replacement, so a general front-end rebuild may be in order as well.
The Caprice’s interior is where the real money was spent; after all, buyers needed to get something out of the extra $211 they’d spend over an Impala Coupe. As many of us know, the Caprice (and Ford LTD) really began to blur the lines between GM brands, and many asked why they’d spend more for an Oldsmobile or Buick when they could get a well-furnished Chevy for less. This car has the sporty Strato bucket seat interior with woodgrain center console and floor shift for the optional ($184) Powerglide automatic. The Turbo Hydra-Matic was available on big-block cars, but not yet with a 327. The interior in this example looks pretty good.
The console, buckets, and special instrumentation shown here were a part of the “special sport interior, and while the gauges were not in an ideal location, they showed charging system output, intake manifold vacuum, engine temperature, and oil pressure. Unfortunately, this car has a few tasks for the to-do list, as the fuel gauge, radio, and clock do not work. As a side note, does the clock ever work on these old cars? None of mine do, and I’d rather not have a constant electrical drain on my 60-year-old electrical system.
Although the car is being sold in Pennsylvania, you may notice that some of the pictures show Virginia license plates, so I have to assume that the car came from that area fairly recently. Still, it’s not completely rust-free, and I wish the seller would show more undercarriage pictures from better angles. Even so, it’s obvious that this is not a rust bucket by any means, although the paint job is showing some age (it’s 30 years old). In other words, it’s a driver, the kind of car many of us around here appreciate.
The Torq-Thrust wheels actually look surprisingly nice on the swanky Caprice, but the seller will include the original wheels and wheel covers. I’ve always been a ’65 Chevy guy myself, but the special Caprice Custom Coupe roofline puts this specific ’66 right up next to it on the list, and besides, who doesn’t like Aztec Bronze (please don’t tell me if you don’t)? In addition to its luxurious interior and extra styling flair, this one has one of the most reliable drivetrains ever and big Chevy parts availability. I can see why 181,000 people decided to spend the extra money in 1966.
Related Reading
Vintage Road Test Review: 1966 Chevrolet Caprice – What’ll She Do At Trade-In Time? (by Aaron Severson)
Curbside Classic: 1966 Chevrolet Caprice – Chevy Joins The Great Brougham Epoch (by Tom Klockau)
Our family doctor owned an identical ’66 Caprice Custom Coupe with the black vinyl top, except the color was Marina Blue. It was a stunning car, and looked even better with all four windows lowered. Unfortunately, not one of those 66 photos in the link show this one with all four windows open.
Looks like a nice car that has had a pretty good life…hope it goes to a good home and gets driven regularly…
For a moment, I thought I might know this car.
A family a block from us had a 1966 Caprice coupe in the same color, and a second gen white Corvair coupe as well. What was notable, the cars did not change as the ’70s moved into the 1980s. In our corner of rust country, cars were usually traded off at the 5-7 year mark.
The oldest daughter turned out to be a school mate of sorts. We may have never been in the same class K-12, but eventually became friends and attended a Homecoming together.
As a car geek, I am surprised I never asked her, or her parents, about the cars. It was apparent they probably really liked the cars as, dispite the odds, they were in immaculate condition and didn’t seem to be held due to economic woes. A question like “why do your folks drive 20 year old cars” probably would have sounded bad. As noted, I was a geek, and conversational prose was not my specialty.
Her dad’s car was a slick top, and the mag style wheels wouldn’t have been his bag. But, the title noting 1966 Caprice coupe with one owner for 58 years brought back some memories from long ago!
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Can’t wait to see the end as, right now, it is severely underpriced by the current bid, Could be a steal or the market is at a level the experts can’t see.
“…the 327 is currently using an off-the-shelf oil filter.”
The Frantz filter is not used “instead” of the regular full-flow filter, it’s used in addition to the regular filter. I had one on my ’66 Biscayne; and currently have one on my boat 454, my ’88 K1500 5.7L, and–occasionally–on my solvent tank. Any engine I build gets one connected at least temporarily for “break-in”; any new engine I keep gets one permanently mounted. All of my Frantz filter units were made by the SKY Corporation in Stockton, CA., most were purchased from sellers on eBay although I had a couple courtesy of Dear Old Dad. Current Frantz units are made elsewhere.
The ad says that the Frantz filter isn’t hooked up right now, so maybe my wording wasn’t quite right, but that’s what I meant.
If you wanted a copper-bronze car, 1966 was your year! This, Ford’s Emberglow and Mopar’s Turbine Bronze made sure you had choices. An uncle had a 66 Impala 4 door hardtop in this color combo, and I loved its looks! This would be one of my top color choices for a mid-60s car.
A *very* pretty and solid looking survivor that needs the usual neglected items serviced / repaired, ‘d enjoy this car if I could afford to feed it .
I find the manifold vacuum gauge to be the best gauge as it allows extremely economical fuel economy when used properly .
-Nate