The Caprice was launched by Chevrolet in 1965 as a countermeasure to the successful Ford LTD. As the LTD was largely a fancy Galaxie 500, the same relationship existing between the Caprice and Impala. Both cars would be offered by Chevy for years to come, though the Impala would be the bigger seller. This 1969 Caprice Custom Coupe looks to be a nice survivor-quality car with the added plus of having a numbers-matching 427 big-block V8 engine. Located in Wichita, Kansas, this Chevy has recently been revived after a 13-year slumber. It’s available here on eBay for $26,999 Buy It Now or you can submit an offer. Another great tip from Barn Finder Larry D!
Body style options for the Caprice in 1969 would be the 2-door Custom Coupe (like the seller’s car), a 4-door hardtop sedan, and a station wagon labeled the Kingswood Estate. Production numbers seem to be available only at the model level, so for the Caprice, about 167,000 would be assembled in ‘69 out of 1,168,000 full-sized Chevrolets overall. We don’t know how many Caprices came with the 427 engine, but since there were fewer than 2,500 SS 427 Impalas built that year, the numbers aren’t likely large.
This ’69 Caprice shows 78,000 miles on the odometer and that could be an accurate number. The motor and automatic transmission are said to have been rebuilt around the turn of the century, but the car went into storage in 2008 and hasn’t emerged until recently, so we’re told. The seller comes across as a dealer who has gotten the car to run and drive great again, but a new accelerator pump may be in order due to some flat spots in the carburetion. There is also a fluid leak with the transmission that should be investigated.
The Chevy presents well although it appears to be sitting a little low in the rear. There is no mention of there ever being any rust and we’d guess that the car has been repainted at some point. The passenger side front fender looks a little wavy which may be a sign of filler, or it could just be the lighting. The seller describes the Caprice as a nice driver-quality car, and we’d be inclined to agree with that assessment. The interior appears to be in especially nice condition, much fancier than you’d find in an Impala even though the windows are still of the roll-up variety. Some boxes of parts will come with the car, along with new trim pieces for the front fender wells.
As a self-appointed expert on the 1969 Caprice, (roll your eyes now), let me give you a rundown. But first, the engine!
There were 18,308 RPO LS1 427s made for ’69. 335hp, and a better torque rating than the RPO L36 427. Thsy engine was rated at 390hp. I suspect this is an LS1 427, just because of the numbers.
Both quarters are reproductions. There is a bump down by the rocker on the right fender, like a fatty corpuscle that bugs the S#!t out of you! The only way it goes away is surgery…cut it out. They make afermarket patch panels, or fabricate your own. Left side isn’t as bad. You wouldn’t see these, except the wide Caprice rocker moldings are missing on both sides. If you want compete stock, you’ll have to find those. These full size models look best with all the wheel opening mouldings.
Power Disc brakes, A/C, Buckets/console, tilt/cruise, rear defog, remote mirror – nicely equipped. Semi rare dark bule interior looks in good shape, too.
Most 335 hp 427s came with – 2.56 rear gears! 2.73 was optional. 390 hp has 2.73′ with 3.07 optional, unless you special ordered a lower gear.
Bottom line – if you can get a better price, this would be a fine cruiser seldom seen Dusk Blue with matching bucket seat interior. Lots of torque and comfort!
Didn’t Caprices have hidden headlights in 1969?
@ Jeff51….yes, but they were a Caprice-only option @ $52.70 w/23,797 buyers.
Those gear ratios guarantee that these cars would struggle on the hills of Western Pennsylvania. No wonder they didn’t sell here. A 3.23 or 3.50 would have been more than reasonable.
Those gears are what my father called “flatland gears”.
how many 69’s had a 427 and a 4 speed?
@ Jay, that’s unobtainable info.
I agree w/ Big_Fun: the missing moldings stood out right away. The only way this one could be cooler, would be to have the concealed headlights!
GLWTA!! :-)
Two more options would make it cooler: A four-speed and power windows!
Bondo alert!
Back in the early 70’s, had a mechanic neighbor that picked up a similar one. Gold with a red interior, and it looked good to me. It also could plant you in the seat if the driver so desired. He said he loved the car but let it go when OPEC came into being and gas prices more than doubled in short order. Funny thing is I could live with those prices today but not the gas stations without gas. This one looks a little pricey to me, but that’s just my opinion.
Back in high school a friend had a 12 year old 69 impala ss black on black – of course it had a 427. He totaled it. Can remember our school auto shop teacher never forgave him for that.
My first “decent” car was a bondo-laden 4-door ’69. I think the engine was 396. After the crapcan I’d been driving, this Caprice was a dream. Got it in ’72 & when the gas prices doubled, my roundtrip 80 mile commute became problematic. The car guzzled gas.
When I was eight years old, my parents got a new 69 Impala. My mom would let me go out on cold mornings to start the car to warm up the interior. “Pump the gas pedal twice and turn the key”. What intrigued me was the bank of idiot lights on the dash. Why so many pods? Why were some flush? Not all lit up but some obviously had writing on the black lenses. It wasn’t until I was surfing the Barn Find pages years ago and saw an interior photo of a 69 for sale that reminded me of my childhood curiosity about the lights. A web search finally answered my 50 year old questions. They lenses were GEN, HOT, OIL on the left. BRAKE and BRIGHT were on the right. Our 1969 Impala did not have the optional warning lights of LOW FUEL, CHECK DOORS and SEAT BELTS.
As for it being an LS1…that is definitely NOT an LS1 air cleaner. In ’69, both the LS1 & L36 had single snorkel air cleaners, w/the LS1 snorkel being longer w/a small-opening & tapered in design. The L36 cleaner had a large-opening snout, was much shorter & not tapered. The L72 style was of open-element design. It appears to have a smaller diameter fuel line as well.
78K miles and a rebuilt engine AND trans, rotted out/repaired rear quarters!? More like 178, 000 miles. IMHO
I had nearly the identical car. Mine had a 396 in it…. Drove it home for $200…I drove it for a yr after I repainted it… It handled worse than a school bus and rode just about as bad. Pulled the motor and tranny and sold it for $250.
SOLD.
Someone hit the B.I.N. Button.