Canadian Survivor: 1968 Caprice Estate Station Wagon
When I was growing up, cars were ordered the way you wanted them. My dad, who drove only station wagons, always had the dealer check off the box for what some people call “poverty caps” (dog dish hubcaps) to save a little money. That way, we could afford to get air conditioning. (Yes, youngsters, that used to be an optional accessory.) So had we ordered a car like the 1968 Caprice Estate wagon currently for sale in St. Joseph, MO, we would have been way outside our comfort zone. Lucky for the old car hobby, someone else did this, and the car has been preserved to the present. Barn Finds has TJ to thank for the tip on this one.
Just look at this monster, shining in its original paint and with the woodgrain vinyl the same as was put there by Chevrolet when the car was built. How did what is often a utility car survive so well to the present? There’s no way it was filled with display racks and boxes of various “merch” like my dad’s car was. That interior is too perfect. In fact, the seller details the various original bits on the car, and essentially he lists everything.
Even better, there’s a slew of paperwork going back to the original owner and dealership. You even get a picture with the original owner and the car, so the history is complete. It’s pasted here, but forgive the quality as you view it, please.
How will it drive? Like a bit of a freighter, probably, but you know you’re not buying a race car. It’s got a 327-CID V8 for motivating power, and an automatic. Enough gumption lives in this 67,000-mile power plant to get you anywhere you want to go. The seller, in his ad here on craigslist, suggests you cram the family into the car and head out on an excursion. The way that worked in my family was parents in the front, sister in the middle seat. And me in the “way in the back,” only we never ordered the extra seat back there (nor did this buyer, apparently). Remember, we were saving our money for air conditioning. You could never put a kid back there loose nowadays, since everyone needs to be restrained. Still, this is the perfect SUV alternative, for an ask of $35,000—way less than my friend just paid for a Toyota minivan. Check this Caprice Estate out for yourself. Just don’t blame me if you fall in love with this rare and super-preserved station wagon.
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Comments
I can’t believe Chevrolet had to have the guys from Ford come over to put the woodgrain on. I learned that today.
The article has been corrected, now my comment looks odd. It originally said the woodgrain was applied by Ford.
I had a 68 Caprice sedan, and the owners manual (which I still have) is Dark green with a drawing of the front of the car on the cover. I was wondering why this one is blue with no drawings until I read the article; I’m sure the Canadian market cars had slightly different manuals.
I dont think you’ll ever find a more pristine wagon than this one !
I am sure a lot of people think its too much money! I am not one of them.
I agree. It’s slightly overpriced.
It IS a lot of money but where are you going to find a better one? My parents bought a 1967 Caprice wagon with the same color interior. It also had the “L50 275 hp” motor and that huge car would fly! A friend’s mom’s wagon had the 396 in it which had enough torque to break the motor mounts loose – he got blamed for that until his dad saw the GM recall.
We seem to have universal agreement here that this elegant motorcar is far superior to the current crop of pseudo-‘sport’ utility vehicles. I’d like to have a closer look at the Corvette and Impala left in the garage.
The original dealer invoice states the rally wheels were a $12 dollar option (??!!)
(could that be a typo?) even if I was that cheap guy back in 1968, even I would have ponied up for that in a heartbeat!
Disc brakes, rally wheels and turbo 400 make the car. Very few wagons had any of those. Amazing no one has spray bombed under the hood, original untouched condition of this car is Indeed impressive. 35K is not cheap, but the owner is not going to have to come down much $$, If any at all, to get this one sold.
What a nice wagon. Always good to see a clean, unmolested, well-maintained vehicle like this, especially something not commonly seen.
$5000 in 1968 is about $45,000 in today’s dollars, which is slightly less than the current average price paid for a new vehicle in the US. But in its day, this wagon would have been a far above “average”.
For a change, a thorough craigslist ad.
Good job Brian K.
Imagine if this had the insanely rare – for ’68 – hidden headlight option.
A stripper ’68 Bel Air or Biscayne wagon WITH A/C might have cost less than this Caprice with no a/c.
Why isn’t the speedometer in kilometers/hour on this Canadian car?
Tailgate gap wider on right side – typical ’68 build quality?
JoeNYWF64 Canada was still using the Imperial System of Measurement when this car was built.