Bisected Demonstrator: 1975 Chevrolet Caprice
The word “half” doesn’t necessarily conjure up negative connotations in most conversations, as asking for half a cup of coffee or buying a half-loaf of bread isn’t a bad thing. But when it comes to vehicles, a whole car is better than half more often than not, and unless you’ve got a really creative mind I’m really not sure how much audience this bisected 1975 Chevrolet Caprice here on eBay is going to attract. Back in the mid-seventies, these were not all that unusual to run across in dealer showrooms, serving the purpose of showing potential buyers the inner workings of a particular car, but nowadays, a nearly five-decade-old example seems to have limited use, and so far nobody has placed the opening bid of $1,500. If you must see it for yourself, the Chevy is down in Leesville, Louisiana.
The Caprice name was generally associated with higher-end offerings during its tenure at Chevrolet, with the car getting a restyled front end for ’75 and still having plenty of room inside, as the massive downsizing movement at GM was still a couple of years down the road. I can imagine this Chevy got plenty of attention back in the day at the dealer where this partial car sat, but unfortunately, it’s been outside recently and has now been exposed to the elements, probably not a wise decision and I’m guessing mold is a factor inside those half-seats.
The “whole” side isn’t looking all that great either, with some surface rust and paint peeling plus a pretty good-sized dent in the driver’s door. But if you’ve got a garage full of functional drivers and are seeking just a sure conversation starter, maybe this one’s worth picking up and refurbishing. In all fairness, whatever team performed the cut did a neat job, as I’m not seeing any jagged edges, not even in the glass. And it wouldn’t take all that much effort to prep the body and shoot a fresh half-gallon of dark red paint on it.
One of the more interesting features is the Caprice being mounted on a frame with electric motors that move the suspension up and down to demonstrate how it works, but there’s no word on whether or not this is still functioning. I do kind of like the engine compartment display, with the clear valve cover and chromed suspension components, and at least you’ll never have to worry about mechanical issues. While this half-car does have somewhat of a fun factor in its favor, I’m not going to be surprised if it doesn’t find a buyer, at least not for a while. Do you know of anybody who might be interested in this bisected novelty?
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Comments
Some years ago, General Motors was big on cutaways. You could hardly go to a car show or a new-car press preview without seeing beautifully finished cutaway engines, transmissions and, in some cases, whole cars. I used to love them. They were capital-A Art, as far as I was concerned.
I have no space for a whole (half) car, much less a ’75 Caprice, but would love to have one of their cutaway powerplants!
Definitely unusual to see one from so late in a model’s run. Usually cutaways were done of truly new designs.
GM is never wasteful
Yep it’s been stored outside! Hasn’t even been used for parts, might be collectable, I think not. GM probably scraped it and here it is all these years later.
Another example of why Barn Finds is so good at reeling us in: you never know what you might see featured. To me this is in the same category as “car show vehicles” i.e. cars made for the major car shows which teased of upcoming models or major styling changes. (I don’t think the manufacturers even do this now). Most of them were crushed after their car show duty… though several years ago I ran into a couple of them on the back lot of a large, influential Houston dealer. So, wonder how this Caprice even still exists?
Not to nit pick, but the rectangular headlights make it a ’76. Still pretty neat.
1975 caprices had square headlights the rest of the line up came with round
I’m half tempted to bid on this. Maybe later when I’m half in the bag.
Don’t make a half hearted bid.
Only a half wit would half tempted to make a half hearted bid while half in the bag….
I’m a high school shop teacher and this would be pretty cool to have in the shop. Either way it’s too expensive for my budget and 2000+ miles away!
You just can’t beat these half off sales
Half-assed effort 🐴 😃
Meyer Ranch….maybe if you were a shop teacher in the mid to late 70’s.Gen z’s could care less about the trades let alone a 48 year old cutaway car.Sad but true. The community college about a mile from where I lived where I donated engines for class had the Pretty in pink car with the roof cut off that was in the film.I think it was a 4dr. Early 80’s Cutlass.Oakton community college.GM donated it for the movie and then donated it to the community college.
They should donate it to a high school for auto class.
I don’t think schools have auto shop or any other shop classes anymore, probably why most kids are mechanically useless these days.
Most schools in rural areas still have shop class so that’s a pretty broad assumption.
Years ago, I received a “request” not to purchase any more vehicles. I then became aware of an empty shell that was the same as one of my cars. I could use the front clip and some other sheet metal. So…I bought it and had the seller cut off the roof and the center section of floor prior to delivery. Now I merely had two “parts” for a car, as opposed to an additional vehicle. At least that’s how I tried to explain it to my wife when she saw it sitting in the driveway…
It isn’t worth diddly squat unless someone needs a frame.
Guaranteed a greater fool is required.
Bob
Not half bad .
Today’s price – half off.
So it has half the parts I might need? Is the engine even whole? Not a ton of people restoring 76 Chevy’s to make any money back. Chrome is good since it was inside for so long.
Well it probably has low miles.
I think that is a good price if you have any use for it.
What I’m most curious about is how it somehow, someway managed to get a dent on the driver’s side door. I guess it wouldn’t be vintage mid-1970s GM full-size without one.
Wouldn’t it be funny if it could be made road-worthy, and actually drive it places? I’d never heard of these before, but I think it’s a good idea.
Find another half, but weld the two exterior sides together.
Somewhere there’s another one of these. Find the passenger side half for sale somewhere else and voila!🥴
yeah another driver’s side wouldn’t do much good..
The seller will accept half-down.
Anyone with half a brain would try to drive this
1975 Chevy Caprices gave you a “choice” of either “round or rectangle” head lamps. The 1976 was “rectangular head lamps only “ AND BY THE WAY – I’m PRETTY SURE that the FRAMES of the 1976 Caprices were the SAME AS the frames used on the NEW 1977 downsized Cadillac models – 121.5 inches. Great article and – LOTS OF LAUGHS! Good luck.
Right on about the headlamps. The only 75 Chevy to have rectangulars was the Monza 2+2.
The 77 Cadillac may have had the same wheelbase but I don’t think the frame carried over from the previous cars.
They couldn’t have had the same frames – in demo derbies, the 73-76 full size Chevies were car killers ; the 77 and up Caddys frames would drop down in the back after only a couple hits – 77 up Caddys definitely had weaker frames
The El Dorado, which was still big, used the big Caprice frames through 1978, then it too got downsized. The other Caddies had been downsized in 1977 like the other full size GMs.
Are we out of half puns, or this dead horse still need beating?
You could save some money as you would only have to buy half a tank of ⛽️ gas!
Running when parked?
Ran when sliced!
You would have thought the owners would have at least covered it with a tarp. Sitting outside, not worth much now.
If the engine and transmission are real and not empty cases, it could be worth it , especially if you’re restoring a mid 70s full size Chevy ; you’d also have all new suspension parts, a rust free rear diff , even an original radiator !
I agree with Jon. As a former auto shop teacher that would be a super addition and visual aid to any class even if it were for home garage mechanics to actually see things before ripping stuff apart.
I wonder if the engine is complete and not just a shell. Even if it is, there is clearly $1500 worth of parts there. The front grill and bumper, the driver side doors and glass, the rear panel and bumper, the frame, the four wheels and wheel covers, and suspension parts. Not too many folks restoring a 1975 Caprice but there probably is someone somewhere doing it, so maybe this half vehicle will wind up in their shop. Good luck to them.
I put a 1950 Buick 2dr hrtp on one of these frames with engine trans included. We adjusted for wb and by coincidence the body mounts were really close to matching. I used a 700r trans and had a 50 Buick that would cruise, and stop, easily on the freeway. When I sold it it went to Japan, where it probably has a pampered life now.
For Sale: 1975 Chevrolet Caprice. Half off!
Does it run? Would be funny to drive it around town
Ziebart had a similarly cut away new ’66 Dodge Monaco making the exhibit rounds back in the day(I saw it at the Home Show in Batavia N.Y) to show all the nooks and crannies their rustproofing process could reach.
You could call her “Humpty Dumpty”.
This is likely a genuine GM factory cut-away show vehicle. I know the Lane Automobile Museum likes cut-aways, so I let them know this is available.
In early 1980, I had Ford Motor Company donate a 1979 Mustang front clip that was a 2.3 turbo/5 speed to my high school, Wayne Valley HS in Wayne, NJ. I figured a modern turbocharged overhead cam 4 cylinder was a modern style power plant despite being fed by a carburetor. My dad was in the automotive business and had “connections”…
Not much corrosion for being outside. Up here in the Northeast, that thing would look very nasty.
A little late for an April Fool’s Joke.
Ended with no bids, and relisted at the same price.
It’s a 76 they had square head lights