Shrink Wrap Chevrolet? 1967 Caprice Coupe
This 1967 Chevrolet Caprice is a nicely optioned and pretty original car. It’s similar to the Impala except that it has the Caprice formal, boxy roofline, not the fast or slope-back design possessed by the Impala, though the new-for-1968 Impala Custom would share the Caprice’s greenhouse. Anyway, it’s said to have twenty+ options but there’s one feature that caught my attention – more on that later. Hanging out in Rockford, Illinois, this sporty luxo-coupe is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $8,100 with twenty-five bids tendered as of this writing.
Chevrolet had the tiger by the tail in ’67 with a total output of 1.9 M vehicles putting them in first place in the domestic production race. As for the Caprice, it saw about 125K copies and that doesn’t include station wagons – a pretty robust number for just an upscale trim level. Of that total Caprice volume, it was split between two and four-door hardtops, no sedans or convertibles displayed the top trim level moniker.
The seller tells us, “Was stored indoors 20 plus years I have owned since 1998 according to title“. It’s a peculiarly worded statement as it sounds as if he looked at the title and was surprised to learn that he has owned the car for such a long period of time. Anyway, the listing claims “no rust” which is good news, rust being the nemesis of this generation of Chevrolet’s B-body. The finish and vinyl top look pretty good though the images are stilted and not very revealing. The only exterior detraction noted are dents in the driver’s side fender. Of note is the inclusion of correct-sized, first-year Chevy rally wheels.
Have you ever gone to a fulfillment center or worked in a packaging department where things like pallets are wrapped in shrink wrap? Well, it looks like one of those wrapping devices was used on this Caprice’s strato-bucket seats. Many of us are old enough to remember when thigh-searing, clear plastic seat covers were all the rage but this is an entirely different approach to upholstery protection. As near as one can tell, the vinyl does look to be in excellent condition. Other features include a factory 8-track player and Comfortron automatic A/C. A word on Comfortron, from experience, if it stops working, junk it and start over. It’s a basic R-12 system but the master switch, sun ambient sensor, in-car sensor, transistorized control head, and miles and miles of vacuum tubing make it a nightmare. The parts are unobtanium and were twenty years ago – the system knowledge is mostly lost too. Besides that, the belt’s off the compressor and that’s usually indicative of trouble.
The good news under the hood is the presence of the usually stout performing 275 gross HP, 327 CI “Turbo-Fire” V8 engine, and it’s connected to a Turbo-Hydramatic 400, three-speed automatic transmission. The bad news is that the motor doesn’t actually perform. It turns over but it sounds like this Chevy has some indigestion from old, bad gas. The seller suggests that some brake work should occur too.
All in all, this no-reserve Chevy could prove to be a good deal, it just depends on where the bidding tops out. It’s basically an Impala SS without the SS market cachet and badges. A fuel flush and pair of scissors to remove the Saran Wrap seat covers and this Caprice should be good to go, right?
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Comments
Drop in an SBC!!! Wait-it already has one; now what??
Nice looking car at a comparatively decent price, though the A/C will need replacement.
I know the seller. Bought many nice used and NOS parts from him. Just opened one from him today. He won’t misrepresent the car.
That formal roof was the best on the full size Chevy. Step up to 15×8 rally wheels and put a modern air conditioning compressor on there and drive.
This is a bucket-list car for me.
BUT, the listing seems kinda curious, (you don’t know how long you’ve owned a car?) and the photos are not particularly good.
I’ve started so many cars that have been sitting for decades, (cars that looked a lot worse than this car) and I find it odd that this car doesn’t run. Why not? Seems like you could almost just turn the crank, and if it spins OK, then change the oil and put some gas down the carb and the car would probably bark right off, and you’d be able to say that the car runs.
I’ve successfully bought a few cars on ebay, but I wouldn’t pay for this one without seeing it in person.
When you find an awkwardly-worded sales entry like this, and bizarre photos…PLUS photos like that dirty engine bay…that tells me it’s a scammer, either one who’s trying to screen out careful buyers/bidders (so as to only get the gulls) or who is posting from the Third World somewhere.
I could be wrong, but for a big-ticket item like this, I want confidence that the seller owns the goods, and is in a place where he can deliver or I can pick up.
But, were you interested in buying the car? Or, did you just want to dissuade anyone else from doing so? It seems another respectable reader above has already vouched for the seller being a well-known B-Body Chevrolet collector. It will never cease to amaze me how you guys always feel a need to throw in your two cents about how it “must be a scam, beware!” I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you guys that constantly question every listing don’t buy old cars regularly and, quite possibly, don’t even own one.
It’s very strange there no decent full panel pictures ofr either side, the front or back. What is does show are a lot of panel where the paint doesn’t match. This car appears to have been wrecked. And ifit’s just been in storage, why is there so much rust and dirt under the hood. Again, this car has been mistreated.
Was I interested in the car? No. Not as a buyer, anyway. The car as the car, yes.
Does that mean I can’t point to the state of undress of the Emperor?
The bidder can do his own due diligence. As a serial Craigslist buyer and seller, I have found patterns: Behind an awkwardly-worded ad, and photos with problems, there usually is something amiss going on.
The car presents so well in the photos, right up until you see the engine compartment.
Actually the bad presentation starts with the hood. Spacing on the left side different than the right and it also is uneven left t right. You’d think in that time they would have adjusted the stop bolt. Just sayin
Worked at a Montgomery Wards back in the mid-ninety’s and had an elderly woman who wanted her battery checked. I said sure, just pull it around to the side and I would help her. She was on the other side of the building and I heard this terrible screeching of torn metal and the scrapping of paint. Her car was a 67-68 Impala, and she had just ruined the entire side of the car. The look on her face was horrible, and I felt sick to my stomach. Her battery was fine, but the poor woman had just ruined a car she had owned for close to 30 years. I apologized profusely but she just said it was her fault and not to worry about it. That story still sticks with me to this day.
Just what I’m looking for , I emailed the guy days ago asking to give me a call as I had a few questions, no response so I Email again thinking maybe he didn’t get the first email. Finally got a response telling me he doesn’t call people until the car is sold. First Red Flag..
I’ve bought plenty of cars online and this was a first for me.
Anyway he’s not getting my money I’ll wait for a better example.
EBay will remove the listing and suspend your account if you exchange contact info with someone. Ask me how I know. This seller is legit. He’s got tons of good feedback. He’s already been vouched for by an upstanding member above…read the comments. Miss out on it, if you want, that’s your loss. Looks like a good car. Not at all my cup of tea but, nice old car. It would be way cooler if it was a 427/390 car. 1967 is, by far, the best year for the big Chevies.
Not Correct…E Bay allows you to put your phone number in the listing if you want someone to contact you.
Completely different from regular eBay listings.
E Bay already has the sellers money up front and could care less about contact between buyers and sellers, they actually encourage it.
Anyone who doesn’t want to contact a potential buyer is missing the boat not all contacts are scammers.
That’s stretch wrap not shrink wrap,I work at Lantec.
“DA BAM SCHNIZZLE !! DA schizzle BAM bizzle !!!”
Who doesn’t remember this inspirational phrase? It’s the first line of the Gettysburg Address. I had to memorize it in high school.
Bewitching. Looks like a car I saw on an old episode of Bewitched, Chevrolet was the sponsor and corporate tie-in for the show
My dad ordered a new one in 1967. It was Deepwater Blue with a black vinyl roof and blue vinyl interior. He got the buckets and console as well. I loved that car!
Looks like they should have “stretch wrapped” the ENGINE compartment, too.
Jim, the Comfortron was no more difficult to fix than any other A/C system. I’ve worked on plenty of them. Cadillac dealership people had a lot more experience, on these, than those at a Chevy deal. First, get a copy of the original factory service manual and then READ it. Then study it. A hand vacuum pump, a dvom, and a few other tools are all you need.
Been there, done that, and with the Chevrolet service manual that I read over and over again. In 2000, I couldn’t find most of the parts necessary to fix the setup in my ’66 Impala; can’t imagine what it’s like today. I had the Old Air guys in Tampa, people who specialize in older car systems, tied up in knots with it. I’d convert it to the standard Four Seasons system in a NY minute.
JO
When I got out of the Army (74) I bought a black 67 Caprice with buckets and 283 with a 3speed with overdrive. So surprised to see a Caprice optioned like that
Why is there so much rust and dirt under the hood? This car is in Illinois. It’s lucky the doors aren’t falling off at its age. Second worst State for body and frame rot next to Michigan.
A Rats is where it’s at! Leave the small cheese outside! Grew up watching the tractor pulls where if it didn’t have a Rat you went home early! Or a 426 hemi & better have 4 of each with blowers!
I drove a 67 Bel Air with 6-cyl and 3-speed in high school, same color. Even though it was down market, it was just as classy in my classmates eyes.