Last week, the road from Dallas delivered more than pavement. On my return trip along I-40, I found this 1967 Caprice hardtop in a McDonalds parking lot on the west side of Albuquerque. It’s a very complete, very straight example, but at the same time it lacked any features of great interest, allowing it to gently slide into senior life pretty much unmolested.
This rear view further defines the current state. You see the desirable hardtop lines, the triple tail lights, bumper mounted reverse lights and Caprice trim panel, but also a second door dedicated to the rear seats. While collectors prize hardtops over a sedan, four doors of any stripe fade into near invisibility.
The engine badge doesn’t help either. A 327 trumps a 283, and may even indicate the presence of a turbo-hydromatic, but B-body wisdom states “Small Block bad, Big Block good.” While this ’67 is more svelte than the upcoming generation, no one will mistake it for a middle weight, and it requires major displacement for motivation. I’m sure the 327 provides adequate performance, but under the hood Caprice fans have always embraced a bigger is better philosophy.
The nice interior should bring some attention, but when it’s all said and done, the finest interior can’t compete with a Big Block. Even with perfect upholstery, a car needs a smooth exterior and solid power to catch a buyer’s eye. It’s a shame the sunshine and reflections hide some of this detail, because it appears most of the Caprice trim pieces have survived the passage of time.
Unlike this vinyl top. While it may seem impossible to some of us, this Caprice is over fifty years old, and no vinyl top can survive that much western UV without a bad case of breakdown. Still, that’s probably a good thing- Without any cover to trap the moisture, the roof panels may avoid rust for another fifty years. Time will tell…
Speaking of corrosion, this black plate California car demonstrates that LA cars do rust. Unsightly, ragged and unpleasant, this credit card sized spot behind the right front wheel is most likely due to fifty years of leaves and dust building up at the base of the fender. While it rarely rains in LA, when it does a fender full of gook holds the moisture and eats the panel from the inside out. A sad and tragic story straight out of Lala-land.
Of course, I found it a long way from home and unless the owner heads back west, they’ll eventually replace those black plates with those of another state. Currently 52 years old, the odds for our Caprice’s continued survival drop lower every year, and a change of venue will do it no favors. I’m just glad to have caught it before it disappears into the mists of time.
While the 65 Impala is my favorite full-sized Chevy of all time, the 67 gives it a good run and gets 2nd place.
I do prefer the 2 door model, but that is because it had the roofline that came close to imitating Cadillac’s Eldorado. Did any other “B” body 2 door have that roofline?
I am also surprised to see that 327 badge on the front fender, I always thought the early Caprices had 396 engines standard for the 1st year or two.
Finally, I am not a huge fan of the gold color that this car wore when it left the factory, I believe it was a color available on pretty much every model of Chevrolet in 67. Yet, for the sake of originality I would re-paint it this gold, but only if the vinyl roof was left off.
The Caprice debuted in mid 1965 and I think any of the V8s were available with the 283 as standard.
You are correct, though it grew over time, 283 in ’65, ’66 & ’67; 307 in ’68; 327 in ’69; 350 in ’70; 400 in ’71-’74 and then back to 350 in ’75 & ’76.
This 327 is the 4 bbl. equipped L30, good for 275 HP. It will move the car quite well.
The 67 may be my favorite of this series. It is kind of amazing that nobody has tried to paint this one black to make it a clone of the car used in the Supernatural television series of a few years ago. That one was also a 4 door hardtop as I recall, only with tire and wheel modifications.
Also funny is that this one seems to be the same color as the 67 Caprice wagon I wrote up some time back ( https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1967-chevrolet-caprice-estate-nice-but-not-nice-enough/ ) That was a really, really popular color back then. But it often didn’t age that well, especially if the car saw a lot of sun.
A friend of my mother had a 68 Caprice which I spent a day waxing and detailing for her. I was really impressed with the interior materials on that car, it was genuinely luxurious for its day, every bit as nice as the base model 67 Cadillac Calais that an aunt and uncle had. But Chevrolet never seemed to sell as many Caprices as Ford sold LTDs.
Supernatural is ending it’s 17 year run this season. Yes, the Impala is still in it. I saw one of their Impalas at a Portland convention a couple of years ago.
“Supernatural is ending it’s 17 year run this season”
Good Grief! I watched a few shows early on and lost interest. Those guys sure wrung the life out of that 67 Chevy that was old to start with. Was there an episode where they fought evil demons in a transmission shop? 🙂
“Was there an episode where they fought evil demons in a transmission shop?”
Probably – I’d have liked to see them take on Christine 😛
And same for losing interest. I tried to watch it but it’s just not my thing. My tastes tend to run more to things like Fringe, Farscape and Trek. The only thing I’ve liked so far this year that’s new is Batwoman. Of course Fox cancelled The Orville after 2 seasons. Remind me to never get invested in anything they have again. I’m still smarting from their Firefly cancellation.
My sister loves Supernatural and watches it every chance she gets.
It makes me wonder if the usual Four-Door Discount still applies to a ’67 Chevy Impala (or Caprice) 4dr HT.
I could see fresh gold looking good, or my favorite ’60s Chevy color Artesian Turquoise. Sorry, Sam and Dean, black just isn’t this car’s color.
Nope…the prices for 67 B-bodys are pretty high right now. I love the 67 and have been looking for one, and I haven’t seen anything recently at a price one would expect, especially the 4-door hardtops. I’m certain Supernatural has a lot to do with that. Also, for the record, the SN car is said to have a 327 with a four-barrel within the show.
Built for a very different world and very different Americans.
I’m sitting here trying to decide if this car has side mouldings. Now having decided that it does not, I’m left to wonder how a Caprice made it onto the roads without side mouldings, unless it did at one time, and they were removed for a repaint.
I used to love to visit ABQ (for work meetings). I’d sometimes stay at the Pyramid hotel, which was interesting architecture, and go to eat at either El Pinto, or an Italian restaurant whose name escapes me, near there. Pasquale’s maybe? Anyway due to the altitude by about the third day I’d have a migraine due to the thinner air. Didn’t detract from my enjoyment, it was a nice place to visit, and the sunsets were gorgeous.
When you say side mouldings, do mean in the area of the stripe that runs midway up the sides? I recall that the Caprice had the stainless or aluminum mouldings slightly above the rockers and around the wheel lips (which are here), but no others.
My 67 Ford Galaxie had a stainless moulding there that was optional equipment – many did not have it but some (like mine) did. I wonder if Chevy offered something similar. I do not recall the ones with the vinyl centers coming along before 1968 or 69.
Great find, and the embodiment of a Curbside Classic–the proverbial “nice” car that managed to quietly survive for decades. The “fancy” trim is likely what sold this one when new, not the motor. It was simply a plusher Impala.
So who originally bought it, and how did it survive for so long, avoiding:
1) the classic downward spiral of average used cars, with a “cradle to grave” life expectancy of ~10 years at that time.
2) the “inheritance curse” where Grandma/Grandpa’s car goes to a young relative who winds up destroying it.
3) avoiding becoming demolition derby fodder, or, given the car’s apparent CA origins, being trashed in some low-budget Hollywood production.
Fun to ponder, and I hope the car can somehow hang on for another 52 years, though sadly I rather doubt it….
The ’65 and ’67 were my favorite years of this era of Chevys. The ’68s and up were bloated, to me, styling wise.
These cars did not survive as well as the earlier “X” frame cars in the salt belt. The frames would rust where the rear trailing arm attached. The trailing arm would actually pop up through the rear floor board, just underneath the rear seat cushion. Seen many a Chevy scrapped for this issue.
Salty, damp or foggy air in California locations near the Pacific accelerated rust…still does.
That gold color was very popular in 1967. The very first Camaro built on the assembly line, a test of the build process with VIN 000001, was painted in this color and has been restored from junk status in it.
One of my Dad’s brothers had a blue-green 1967 Caprice, 396/TurboHydramatic. It was about fifteen years old when he and his wife drove it from San Francisco to Reno…where it broke down. He left it at the repair shop and took a train home. Mailed the title to the repair shop.
It’s easier to say which is the ‘worst’ of the ’65-’69 full-size Chevy, and that’s the 1966.
The LTD might have sold more than the Caprice, but I’m pretty sure the lower trim Chevys handily trounced the big Fords. In fact, wasn’t the full-size Chevrolet the best selling car through many of those years? It was truly a different time.
Great catch you have there and I really enjoy looking at these photos. Impressive patina this car has and nice to see it has beaten the odds by surviving over fifty years. Perhaps the current owner is making a trip to New Mexico before heading back to the Golden State.
I live about three hundred miles away from California so usually the cars is I see from there are newer and in good shape. It is odd to see older and/or beat up cars with California plates around here. When I was down in southern Oregon recently I saw a few California cars that you would not see up in Tualatin such as a twenty five year old Accord and this rough around the edges Mercury.
I can’t imagine driving something that old and tired from California to Albuquerque. Heck, I can’t even imagine driving one of these things from Santa Fe to here. I’ve been told you don’t really drive cars like these so much as herd them down the road.
Well, here’s hoping it stays and doesn’t get stolen. Albuquerque needs more variety.
In my recollection, this car represents how about 80% of the ’65-’70 “big Chevys” were actually sold, and visible on the streets. Sure, pikers and cabbies could buy a straight-6 Biscayne or Bel Air, and you could buy an SS or a big-block wagon, but most of the ones that *I* remember seeing were equipped just about exactly like this.
I would love to know the maintenance history of this car. Wonder how many batteries, oil changes, belts and hoses, etc as well as major stuff likes radiators, transmissions and the like it has received over the years. I feel certain that the total maintenance is more than the original purchase price.
If we call the original MSRP $3,200, and calculate the overall maintenance costs at three times the purchase price ($9,600), the yearly ownership cost calculates out to $246, or $20.50 a month*. Sign me up!
*Independent of fuel costs.
That registration doesn’t expire until June 2020, so someone probably did drive it to ABQ from California this year (seeing as how no one registers a car in CA if they could register it anywhere else). I would suspect a college student, maybe one who wanted something a little different.
It’s really an attractive car, wherever it’s been lately.
A great find Dave.
I watched many episodes of the 70s TV series ‘CHiPs’ as a kid, and take it from me, the appearance of a Caprice of this vintage and condition would have assured viewers that a spectacular multi-vehicle freeway collision was about to occur. 🙂
A friend owned a ’67 Impala 2-door hardtop in the late 70’s. It wasn’t an SS, but had been ordered from the factory with a 4-speed mounted behind the 327. I’ve been a fan of that year ever since.
In fact, I consider 1967 a high-water mark for GM styling. I can’t think of a single line from them whose styling I don’t like.
Considering my avatar is the cover of the ’67 Chevy owner’s manual that came from my Grandfather’s Caprice, I might have some affinity for this car.
Any ’65 – ’70 Chevy full-size was good looking, the Mitchell era was going full-steam. I’d give the nod to the ’67 as having among the better details.
The rust in the fenders of the subject car is exactly where just about any GM B-body of the era showed rust by about 1971 in the snow-belt. California is definitely car friendly.
I want to take this car home, compound it, treat it to a set of correct wheel-covers, whitewalls, fix the fender rust and put a new vinyl top on it. It would look quite amazing without even a repaint.
Most likely, it is dead original. The paint stripe on the car was likely standard on the Caprice from what I recall. Pretty amazing the stripe is still intact on this car 50 years out.
This is definitely a car I’ve changed my opinion about. I long favored the ’68s over the ’67s, perhaps because my childhood neighbors had a ’68 Impala wagon in this same gold color, but there’s something quite elegant about the front and rear clips on these. All in all, I’d say Chevy weathered the Coke bottle storm better than anybody, and this was one of the high points of that era.
This one will need some work, though, including the interior – that looks like a split driver’s seat cushion – but those are relatively easy to fix. It hope it gets the attention it deserves.
That’s what color the Land Ark was originally. It never had a vinyl top, it was two tone gold and white from the factory.
It’s an Impala and I had briefly considered using the Caprice rear trim but ultimately decided to keep it stock.
It came from the factory with a 327 mated to a 2 speed Powerglide. The Powerglide is still there but the 327 is long gone and a badly running non-driving 350 is currently keeping the front suspension compressed.
Here’s a shot of the interior. The Caprice has faux wood trim in place of the stainless steel looking parts along the bottom of the dash.
And, of course, the car as it sits (and that’s basically all it’s done for the last 3 years) today.
It was restored by my uncle and his friends and me in 1993 and it was my first car which I drove throughout high school.
For me, this my dream Chevy and a perfect compromise between new and old. First year for dual-circuit master cylinder, first for collapsible steering column, quirky styling, and the last year for the non-Rubbermaid interior. Make mine a 327/pg with a Posi. (I’d swap the pg for a built TH350 and H.O. the Mouse.)