Numbers-Matching 396! 1965 Chevrolet Caprice
1965 was a special time for Chevrolet, as this was the year the company began offering its Caprice. The debut car was introduced as a mid-year model in 1965 as a luxury trim package for the 4-door Impala, a name that had already been around since 1958. The largest engine you could get in the ’65 Caprice was a 396 cubic inch V8, which had an advertised 325 horsepower. Production records are said to indicate that at least a few Caprice cars were built in 1965 with the high-performance 396 V8, which produced 425 horses, but so far none are known to exist. If you’ve been looking for a first-year driver and like the idea of a 396 under the hood, you may want to check out this 1965 Chevrolet Caprice. It’s located in Missoula, Montana, and can be seen here on eBay with a current bid of $9,400.
Barn Finds wants to thank reader Larry D. for the great tip on this one! The seller has owned this Caprice since 2016, and he’s pretty sure the car has spent its whole life in the state of Montana. It’s still wearing the original Blue Mist paint, and while the finish has got some worn-away areas, that’s a cool patina for a mid-sixties 396-equipped 4-Door! Those 7-inch GM rally wheels and new Cooper white letter tires really add to the all-business look of the exterior, and the sale also includes the original steel wheels and correct wheel covers. The only mention of rust anywhere on the body is a possible pinhole area at one of the rear wheel openings.
That’s the original 396 under the hood, which is said to have less than a thousand miles on it since a complete rebuild. It’s currently running a set of rebuilt 802 cylinder heads from a ’67 Impala 396, but the original cylinder heads will be passed along to the next owner. That Holley you see on top is also the original and correct 4-Barrel, plus the Powerglide automatic is the original transmission. Outback, there’s a 12-bolt positraction rear end with 3.08:1 gears, which seems like a decent all-around ratio for performance and cruising. The car also has a new aluminum radiator, the correct 396 metal fan shroud, new shocks, new brakes, and the original single exhaust system with a new muffler.
Things inside are looking pretty good for a driver, with a tilt and telescopic steering column added, and the correct AM/FM radio still in place. A new repro padded dash sits on top, plus the car has the correct 6k tach, and SS gauges have also been added to the mix. Seat inserts have been replaced with the correct NOS fabric, including the rear seat bottom half, but the door panels and headliner are original.
The frame, floors, and trunk are all said to be solid, and from what we can see there’s nothing glaring down below that jumps out as a major cause for concern, although the seller mentions that the car’s performance would benefit from a dual exhaust system. What are your thoughts on this 1965 Chevrolet Caprice?
Auctions Ending Soon
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now2 days$333
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now2 days$4,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now2 days$2,000
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now4 days$10,500
1974 Datsun 260ZBid Now6 days$200
Comments
I’d buy this instead of the other one and tell people it used to be owned by the FBI not really.
Law enforcement drove real cars in those days, not single-exhaust slugs like this…and especially not Caprices with slushbox, 2-speed Powerglides, lol.
Hard to believe that a 396 four barrel came factory equipped with a single exhaust.
Our 67 Chevelle with a 275 HP 327 with a quad jet, four speed, buckets, and disc brakes, had only a SINGLE exhaust..Stock. Sold it for $800.
Growing up our family had a ’67 Impala wagon with 396/325 hp with single exhaust. This was a fully loaded car. It was fun to drive.
Someone has added the tilt and telescope steering wheel as this feature was offered as a one year only option for the 1966 full-size Chevrolets.
I was surprised about the tilt/ tele
Young family written all over it.
Neat
1 day left on the auction & bidding at 10 K. I suspect this will not be the final price & bidding will go wild the last hour of the auction. Yea, she still needs a bit of work, but still a steal @ 10-15K. Anyone else agree?
The only thing I agree with is that the $10K is probably a shill bid and that this car isn’t worth a third of that.
Get the duals on it with some magnaflows …. drive and surprise the the SUV driver with their phones and and screens distracting them.
Our family’s white Biscayne had slightly mismatched red dash trim. Perhaps that stripped-down ’65 didn’t get as much attention to detail? Still, one of Chevy’s best rear ends!
I had a 65 2 dr 4 speed that did have the 425 HP, engine started making knocking and I only had enough to put a 327 in it.
Granny’s 4-door Caprice…not sure why it’s any big deal. A 396 was just a passenger car engine. Not anything special and certainly not worth $10K, lol.
It appears the big block in this Caprice has been out for a rebuild at some time. It’s not just a spray job.
1/3 of 10K is couch money, you could maybe buy a beater civic for your kids to drive to school. Depending on inspection, I would buy this for 5K for a shop parts chaser in a heartbeat, more dinero is pushing it, a 2 door would definitely raise the I’m all in price.
@V12 mech
The Caprice was introduced in 1965 in this 4-door hardtop body style only. There were no 2-doors. So, the appeal of this car is mid-year introductory Caprice with the 396 which itself was also a 1965 mid-year introductory item.
A 2 door 65 full size body is the hot deal, doesn’t matter what the chrome name plate spells out, something about the 65 , even over the 66, and if it came 4 taillights, add 2 more!
SOLD for $10,300.
When I was 15 my Dad bought a new 1969 Cadillac Sedan de Ville with a 472 CID 4V engine. I was shocked when I realized that it only had single exhaust. However, it did seem to have great power though.