The Chevrolet Caprice was one of those cars that continued to hang on with full-size wagon availability long after the minivan took the world by storm in 1984, and surprisingly it lasted another five model years after this 1991 Caprice Station Wagon here on Craigslist rolled off the assembly line. This one doesn’t have that fun faux wood adorning the sides, but it does fall into the category of survivor status and might be worth a look if you’ve been in the market for one of the last large wagons from the bygone era. This one’s located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and with only 40k miles on the ticker is probably ready to make the drive to wherever you call home, just don’t forget to pack around $10,900 in your suitcase if your heart’s set on making the purchase.
We’d like to thank Barn Finds reader Rocco B. for his excellent tip here! It would have been nice to have gotten more history about the Chevy and why after more than three decades the mileage is so low, but what the seller does offer in terms of details is that the silver paint is showing only minimal cosmetic blemishes. I can’t remember if GM had improved the quality of their silver paint by ’91 or if that came later, but for its age, the exterior appearance is rather pleasing overall with some primer showing through on the hood and a bit of fading on the front bumper seeming to be the biggest offenders outside. For those not enjoying the American Racing rollers, a photo is shown of the factory wheels in the back cargo area, so I’m assuming they are also included in the sale.
The interior is stated as being in flawless condition, and other than a bit of wear on the door panel armrests it appears fairly close, with no dash cracks or seat splits that I could spot. This one’s also got the rear-facing third seat so the last two occupants can wave to and annoy every other vehicle the Caprice happens to pass, and if there’s not enough room for all the luggage inside there’s a good-size roof rack on top for additional hauling.
In 1991, the 305 was only making about 170 horsepower, but fuel injection had been incorporated by this time so no more carburetor adjustments were required. The only specific information we get regarding the motor is that it got a recent oil change and that the auto is very reliable, which is easy to believe considering how little this one’s been driven over the years. But what interests me more is the black Impala which appears to be an SS that’s also sitting in the driveway, which I couldn’t find on the Fayetteville, NC Craigslist so the Super Sport’s not for sale as far as I can tell. What are your thoughts on this 1991 Caprice Station Wagon, and its asking price of $10,900?
Two Gorgeous Chevys and Mustink in the garage. Not cool !!!!
My first thought is what finish I would put on those factory rims when I have them stripped and dipped. The next thought is how much of the refinishing cost I can recoup by selling those torque thruster rims.
The factory rims are steel wheels with plastic covers. You may be able to clean some of the brake dust stains off them, but if you dip them, they’ll dissolve.
Factory wheels are so lame, as is the 305. Having said that, I had plenty of extra curricular fun in a full size chevy wagon. Plus I could just throw my skis in the back and go. Often laughed when folks would question why I had a wagon as a 20 something.
Rather humorous you mentioned “Xtra curricular fun” and your user is T-bone. LMAO!
You crack me up. I was given Tbone as a nickname after being involved in two Tbone accidents a few months apart when I was a new driver. I was not faulted in either accident, but that didn’t stop friends from telling me “hell no, I’m not going anywhere in a car with you.” Name stuck and at the time it was annoying. Now it doesn’t bother me, partly because nobody I talk to currently know the story or the nickname
Paint it white and call it “Moby Dick”, LOL! It needs paint anyway, the early 1990’s color coat/clear coat paints were in their infancy in the 1990’s, and the clear coat often failed and peeled. Without the protective clear coat to protect it, the color coat often oxidized and/or peeled and exposed the primer coat underneath, or worse, flaked off completely and exposed bare metal underneath the paint. In addition the painted plastic pieces also peeled, as the additive used to keep the paint flexible on the plastic parts also wasn’t up to the drill, and caused the paint on the painted plastic parts (bumper covers) to peel in huge chunks, because the paint wouldn’t properly bond to the plastic. My brother’s 1994 Mustang Cobra had the same problem, so the problem wasn’t unique to GM.
Come on down… You the next fool on The Price Gone Wild .
I have never seen such over inflated prices like on here.
From people paying over 15k for a rust bucket VIN because it says Chevelle to 11k for a basick use wagon.
Obviously you have never looked at Bring a Trailer, the innovators of over inflated prices.
Or Barrett Jackson, where fiscal sanity goes to die.
You mean Bring a Checkbook? Bring a Trust Fund? That site used to be fun before all the deep pockets ruined it.
Leave the Torque Thrust wheels. Those wheels look great and improve the appearance of anything. Maybe not a Yugo.
Agree on the Torq Thrust ,flat center caps look good on them also.
I really like this wagon if I bought it I wouldn’t change a thing. I’d take this wagon any day over a minivan. Now that said NBTS (never believe the seller) I see so many very low mileage cars on here. I can not believe that some one bought this wagon new and only put such a low amount of miles on it. IMO people bought wagons to use not to park and let sit. If nothing else they were used as grocery getters. So before I would pay the asking price I would have to look it over real good and drive it. Although the wheels and window tint look good it says maybe younger driver that might have been hot rodding it. GLWTS
IMO when Chevy come out with this body style Caprice and Buick the Roadmaster, I thought the were the ugliest beasts ever produced. My grandparents owned a couple square body Caprice ‘s & I really like those. Especially if you had a 2 door. They could make a pretty decent hot rod. Like on the movie Black Sheep. The potrol car Chris Farley drove. That was SHARP! IMO. Now as I’ve gotten older I can still see potential in this body style as well. Install a cowl induction hood. Which I don’t know that they offer for. A good stainless steel dual flow master exhaust system and really dark window tint. Drive the wheels off it for another 20 years
In the 80’s and early 90’s GM actually had factory recalls on most of their autos for paint peals. I believe it had to do with the type of metal the body panels were made of and a combination of metal prep. The type of primer used, and sealer that allowed the paint to peal. Fortunately they got it corrected but made for a lot of early rust problems
The major paint suppliers to the Big Three, Dupont, PPG and Dietzler all had issues with their early two-stage paint formulas in the early 1990’s. Some people blamed the introduction of two-sided galvanized steel at the same time as part of the issue, but whatever the cause, it caused lots of warranty headaches for all of the automakers before the paint suppliers got their act together and fixed the issues. Fortunately, they did finally solve the problems, and now modern water-based latex enamel paints are both far less toxic and far longer lasting than the traditional lacquer paints used for decades previously.
Again, GM wasn’t the only one with issues, these problems afflicted Ford and Chrysler as well.
I’d love to have this old wagon, I think it looks great with the torque thrust wheels and the body and interior are in excellent condition considering how used up most of these were. But I’m a power monger, so I’d yank the boat anchor 305 and automatic and install something with about three times the horsepower and a 5 or 6 speed manual, everything else would stay exactly as is. I’m surprised how little these classic wagons are still selling for, I would’ve thought they’d be climbing in price by now. But hey, that just means us non-rich folks can still afford to buy a classic and make it our own!
Id leave it as is. I think the Torque Thrusts really make this wagon look great. Id love to have a nicely built 350 in it, but, if the 305 runs good just leave it alone. They run well and keep up with traffic and once you get them moving actually get pretty decent gas mileage.
I loved these cars. I had a ’91 and we retrofitted it with a 350 warmed over with dual exhaust and a scalloped paint job. To me it was a 2 wheel drive SUV and it hauled whatever I wanted. I also had the sister version in a Buick Roadmaster wagon. It was kept mostly stock except it had a 454 and a 4 speed trans. It was the ultimate sleeper wagon… in more ways than one. Now I’m older and not inclined to do engine swaps anymore.
I attended a PPG peeler certification in early ’90’s. Basically, politicians dictating paint standards they knew nothing about to paint manufacturers that hadn’t evolved the technology for product compliance. Typical BS political intrusion to business.
In pic #18, what are the silver objects on each side panel next to the glass and in front of the rear speakers? Thanks, Jim.
It’s actually uniprime where the primer surfacer was done in one step. Some colors were affected more than other but it’s pre clear coat era. There’s another issue on this car, but no big deal as I see it. The cars old, but a beauty.
I’d love it as a “drive as it is car” and would do nothing to it other than making it reliable with whatever parts swapping is required.
When I lived in Charlotte years ago there were several of these running around with SS trim, lowered, and a lot more than a 305 under the hood.