Ok, this is my last one from Montana, at least for a while. I can’t help it, there are so many good, unusual, and inexpensive vehicles here! This is a 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Classic and it’s in Polson, Montana. This is an unusual 2-door “sport coupe” model and the seller has it on Craigslist for $3,500. This is a great looking one-owner car and that 2-door coupe bodystyle would draw some looks, there’s no question about it.
This is probably the money shot for the somewhat rare 2-door sport coupe version of this car. That wacky, three-piece rear window is a work of art! God help you if you break it, I can’t imagine that it’s easy to find a replacement for that. Chevy also made a gorgeous (I think) “Landau Coupe” with a partial vinyl roof. 1977 was the first year for the totally redesigned and resized third-generation Chevy Caprice, along with its sister cars from the various GM brands, and the new Chevy was the best selling car in America that year. This new Caprice was shorter, narrower, and lighter than the 1976 Chevy Caprice was, but it had more head room, more legroom, and more luggage space. All that wasted steel for nothing. Well, style has a value, there’s no question about that. These Chevys weren’t exactly designed in the classic sense of GM’s design studio with a few hundred men in white, short-sleeved shirts, black ties, and black, horn-rimmed glasses, all smoking pipes and making with the swoopy-woopy lines. This one was done with a straight-edge and a block plane.
The original Buckskin vinyl interior looks great! This car even has a CB radio for a nice, period touch. I’m sure that it comes in handy in northern Montana where cell service, thankfully, (as in, not many cell towers blocking the unbelievable scenic beauty) is spotty at times. I can’t make out how many miles are shown on the odometer, can any of you see that? There is no mention of how many miles of Montana highway have traveled under this car. I don’t see any rust at all but this car has had to have traveled at least 100,000 miles by now, distances aren’t exactly east-coast-like out here.
This is GM’s generic 350 V8 (I believe this was actually an Oldsmobile 350) with 170 hp. Remember this era when GM started putting Olds engines in Cadillacs and everything else under the sun? That didn’t go over well at all, at least at first, but then things settled down and it became the status quo. And, there are those dang deer alerts! Those things do not work, but I guess if they make a person feel better about driving 79 mph in pitch blackness they’re worth something. This car has the Turbo Hydra-Matic 350 transmission and it was rebuilt less than 100 miles ago. That seems like quite the expense just to sell the car 100 miles later. What do you think of this generation of Chevy full-sized cars? How about Caprice Classic in this unusual 2-door sport coupe configuration?
I’ve liked these from the very beginning. Sign me up!
I fully agree! I’ve always loved these coupes from ’77 to ’79. High on my list of must-have 1970s and ’80s
geekmobiles, along with an ’85 to ’87 two-door Crown Vic!
I have a 1978 2 door Caprice classic I love it
I had a 1979 looked almost the same, but it had cluster style gauges.
I had a station wagon just like it!. Love it, brings back lot of memories! I paid $3k in 1983, this is a steal!
Chevy with olds engine ? I was thinking that some Oldsmobiles of that era had chevy engines ,causing somewhat of a stir. Anyone remember ?
Yes GM did alot of “Corporate Engine” mix and matching during the 1970’s-1980’s.. Chevrolet, you could get a SBC 267/305/350’s in these, as well as a 231 V6. Some were available with an Oldsmobile Diesel 350, for alternative fueling options, as well as Higher MPGs.. Buick/Oldsmobile/Pontiac/Cadillac, you had the Buick V6 option, you had an Oldsmobile or Pontiac 307 option, or you had a Chevy 305 or a 350 Option. 1978 was technically the last year for the Oldsmobile 350R’s, anything built after 78, had either an Olds 307 or a Pontiac 307. Only 350 option, was the GM Corporate 350. All Corporate engines were painted Black, that way you could get a Buick/Oldsmobile/Pontiac/Chevy/Cadillac, with a B/O/P/Chevy engine.
I don’t see the badging on the trunk saying it is a Caprice – Maybe it is the fancy leather back seats that makes it a caprice however, I owned a green Chevy Impala coupe that look very similar to this – and yes it had that funky back window and dog dish hub caps.
Its a caprice impala had a different grill . It is a waste to have such a big car with only 2 doors
I had one of each at different times. A 77 Impala 4door from 1981-85′ and a 1977 Ford LTD Landau from 1987-1991. Both very nice cars
I had a 4 door 79 Caprice. Had alot of trouble with it–heater core–radiator–motor–transmission and a few small things I had to re-build or replace. After all that work it was a good car. Put a 2 barrel carb on it.The 4 barrel was junk. Its run 85 in second gear. I always had fun on this one hill. I,d slow up and let a 4 banger get behind me.Then slip in down in second. Had a posi-traction and would go any where on slick road. Traded it off . To get the doors on my bronco painted. The frame started rusting out is why I traded. I,d like to have this one. It looks nice and the price is reasonable too.
I had a ’78 Impala 2dr about 20 years ago. It only had 60k on it, never saw winter, paid $1600 for it. And that included a new paint job. I had the vinyl top removed at the same time, it really made that back window stand out. With ‘vette style rally wheels and big tires in the back it was a sharp looking car. The a/c would freeze us out even when it was 100 degrees. But with a 305 2brl it couldn’t get out of its own way, I’m sure the 350 in this one is a big improvement.
I had a 77 Impala 2 door in the early 80’s, it was a great car. The Chevy and Olds engines were shared, never did understand why GM chose to go that route, I ordered a new olds 88 in 78 and the only way I could her an olds engine was to order the 403 ci. The rear window was not 3 pieces, it was hot wire bent, a unique and attractive feature and I liked it. I would like to build one of these as a what if ImpalaSS with buckets console and SS badging. I’ve seen these recently on eBay for well over $7k so I think this is a decent price. Too bad once again it’s too far away!
These are great and that is a Chevy 350 in there just needs some Rally wheels! It would be at least 6 grand on the east coast.
These are cool cars-but the ’76 is cooler. I know all about Montana cars. I have another one waiting for me over there thanks to a buddy I know in Missoula. Did you happen to see the 1976 Oldsmobile 98 Regency for 1,300.00 with 89,000 miles on it? Well-I can’t wait to drive it back here to Spokane. Always wanted one-finally scored it. I got my 1972 Imperial LeBaron from over there as well.
I took Driver’s Ed classes in one of these, 4 door model of course. What a great find at an equally great price!
Been wondering for the last 30+ years what had happened to the “deer alerts”….
Pep Boys still sells them if your interested.
I love these cars as my first car was a 77 Caprice coupe. I did everything to that car. Swapped parts, went mud running, hot rodded it, you name it. It finished life with a 70 Buick 455 in it and cop car suspension. To this day that was still one of the best handling cars I’ve owned. Been looking for another one. With the 350 engine you get the 8.5 rear end and TH350 trans which is kind of a big deal. I killed the stock 7.5 (my car came with the 305) with a mildly built 350 and the TH200 trans with the 305. Biggest downside to these cars is parts availability. Driveline and chassis parts are easy but sheet metal and interior parts are next to impossible to get. If you have 50/50 bench seats G-body buckets and consoles are a bolt in…:-) If you need anymore info on these cars drop me a line.
I own a 1977 Chevy Caprice, Sport Coupe that I found on craigslist in LA, I flew down with my wife and we bought the car and drove it all the way back to Oakland Ca. What a great memory. Here is a pic of the car now, mostly original with a new 350 crate motor. It’s my daily driver and it runs like a champ!
Beautiful car. How much did you pay for it? If you dont mind me asking. I’m looking at a 79 2 door caprice now. Very clean in and out, one owner, 33,000 original miles or so they say. What’s the most I should pay for it?
would you like to sell the car?
That is definitely a Chevy engine. There is no front oil filler which would tip off the Olds engine. They only offered the 250 inline six, or 305 and 350 Chevy in that vintage Caprice/Impala. The rear window is actually one piece; it was made with what they called “hot wire technology”, which they later used on the Monte Carlo SS and Pontiac 2+2.
it is a chevy engine swapping engines around started in 1978 and you are right about the rear glass
I own one, my very first car . My 79 caprice classic sport coupe . This one for sale appears to be a landau trim model, different head lights/tail lights reclining seats and a few other differences between the sport coupe and the landau. These are great cars to own and drive, awesome highway cars . Bit of a gas hog in town but definitely a head turner. Ours has been in the family since 1982 when my dad bought it used for $4,900 . It was always a weekend car while he drove it and remained covered otherwise. It sat for about ten yrs with little use until i came of driving age . Immediately I proceeded to fix her up . She started a 305 car which honestly wasn’t a bad platform with the 700r4 trans, dual cat back exhaust , new intake manifold and four barrel really made a noticeable power improvement. Eventually I burned the gears on the trans and swapped in a turbo 350 trans . This was another improvement and gave her more take off and downshifting power . At 55=60 mph the kickdown passing power will put u back in your seat and sounded so beastly. Around 100,000 miles myself and a friend built a summit racing block from the bare block up . Bored cylinders 60 over all new internals , comp racing cam with a Holley street demon carb and air gap manifold and custom headers . We dressed her up with all brushed aluminum dress up parts and pulleys , chrome bolts the works with Chevy orange to finish the beauty off . The performance increase was night and day . Taking my Chevy from a nice stock cruiser to a drag ready sleeper car . It was definitely built to go fast and hard ! Unfortunately so much so that i ruined my race cam with day to day cruising in town which wore out the lobes very quickly, Ended up replacing my cam with a less aggressive pro street cam which gave me more even performance in street and track driving . Many a tuner and dually show truck has fallen victim to my 79 . people don’t think an old boat can run so fast and contend against newer sports cars , but when people pull up on the side they hear that exhaust note and know shes no grandpa sunday special . once a tuner commented how when I switched gears my Chevy was blowing a burst of flames out the exhaust tips down the 1/4 mile . the only cars to really give my car a match are big block cars and higher end sport cars like vettes and such. all in all I’ve had plenty of fun and enjoyment owning my 79 . great platform for a muscle build , and cruiser as well. have had many offers , some that were crazy numbers but my 79 is a part of my family at this point , I’ve grown up with her in my life and came of age with her and as she gets older and more rare ( only roughly 39,000 sport coupes were produced through the 79 model year , compared to about 200,000 4 doors and wagons ) and as 70s classics are becoming more sought after it’s set in my mind to never part ways with this one . simply put , what an awesome ride !
I would like to purchase
The 350 was a Chevrolet engine
Is this car still available an for sale?
i had on with the 350 bucket seats f41 suspention, ralley wheels. was white with half red roof.had the ralley cluster dash in it.my cousin owned the dealerrship i paid 6,500 bucks new. loved that car.gave me 20 miles to the gallon going to fl.had 235 r 70 15s on it.