My dad almost bought a car this cool once, but in the end, we found ourselves in a 1977 (I think it was) brown Chevrolet Impala wagon. That was followed by a Caprice Estate, which at least had the virtue of fake wood grain on the sides. But I (or you) can make up for that nerdy childhood by snagging this 1975 Caprice convertible. It’s available here on ebay at a current bid of $25 grand. More than thirty people have raised their paddles on this one so far. If you’re interested, better act fast. The buy-it-now price is just five thousand more than the current bid, at $30K. Where will you be going to collect your prize if you win? Hampshire, IL.
People grabbed up these full-sized drop-tops back in this era under the impression that they were never to return. Chevrolet stopped producing convertibles in 1975, Cadillac in 1976, as detailed here, and most thought they were gone forever, sacrificed to federal roll-over standards that deemed them unsafe. That accounts for the jump in volume for ragtops in that final model year, though they were still a small proportion of total Chevy vehicle sales that year.
The car in question is as red as they come, with a perfectly complementing white top and black-and-white interior. No noted problems exist except a few blemishes in the paint, because this baby is one-family-owned and shows just over 21,000 miles. In other words, this is the famous “go find another” situation that pops up too infrequently these days in the collector car world. There’s no mention of how the originality of the miles is documented via paperwork, if that is even possible, but that gives you a point of entry into conversation with the current holder of the title.
The Caprice is powered by the familiar 350-CID engine and an automatic transmission. It is said to run and drive and to have been used for car shows, where it has snagged lots of trophies. What does it need? Probably an AC conversion, and maybe some recommissioning due to sitting. Is the paint original? If so, you’re going to have to live with its few flaws. If not, you could think about a repaint at some point, but for now, just get ready for summer. Soon enough, the weather where you are will turn sunny and warm again, and you’ll be the king, or queen, of the Tuesday night burger cruise when you roll in in your new Caprice.
Once owned 72 Caprice four door. Was truly a less expensive Cadillac. Luxury on the GRAND scale. This and 76 were the last before 77 downsized GM line. The ❤ red convert is particularly rare and a true beauty. 👍. Hopefully someone will recognize it as far more than a BARN find!
This a 76 not 75. Also 76 was last year for the full size caprice
I believe this is a 75. If memory serves me, 76 (like many others) dropped round headlights in favor of rectangular. I do agree that Caprice lived on long after. Recall 76 convert bicentennial edition in white, red and blue. Not sure if it was a Caprice or Impala. 🤔
76 had square headlights.
75. 76 had rectangular headlights.
Too bad it doesn’t have black rubber bumper strips, which finished off the look of the car.
It is a 1975 it has the round headlights the 1976 had the square headlights and they didn’t make these convertibles in 76
Nope I had a 75 lights were round
’76 was last of the body style. Rectangle lamps and egg crate grille. ’75 was last convertible except Eldorado.
Because the only ’76 convertible was the Cadillac, all done up in Bicentennial splendor.
Sorry my friends, it’s not a 76 or a 75, it’s a 74, the 76 had square head lights and the 75 had a whole different grill.
This is a 75, 75 was the last year for the Caprice convertible and 72 the last year for the Impala convertible. They all had round lights until 76, except the 76 Caprice were square.
To Demetrius, the 74 Caprice and Impala did not have angle front corners, but were slightly revised versions of 71 through 73.
Rick, I think I mentioned in another car feature I also owned a ’72 triple black Caprice Cpe. 402 ci, 210 HP, according to new hp measuring stds. Mine also had those aluminum wire caps with the knurled center knob.
In my Alaskan pipeline days one day, I saw an earlier Caprice in Fairbanks with a ’75 or ’76 front clip on it! Must’ve been in a front end collision. Oh, for the days when you could swap parts between same and different makes.
Btw, this is most definitely a 1975 Caprice. 1976 went to rectangular headlights on Caprice only, Impalas were still round. Check out Wikipedia like I did to settle your minds. 👍😁
Always can depend on you Jon. FYI my Town Car grille (plastic with coating) was becoming blistered! 😔 But found new one on line. Remember when things were actually genuine CHROME? 🤔
All 76 Caprices have rectangular quad headlights. This is indeed a 75, with the beveled front end, but round lights. One person even claimed its a 74. The 74 “face” had no beveled ends. The 75 Caprice only did. (75 Impala fronts resembled 74 Caprices)
When Chevy moved the convertible from the Impala to Caprice Classic line in ’73, sadly, the cars kept the Impala seat and door trim inside. It wasn’t bad; it just wasn’t “Caprice”. I’ll never understand that.
Always loved aspirational names like Caprice (whim or quick decision), Imperial, Ambassador, Brougham deElegance, GRAND anything, Fifth Avenue, et al. Now we are faced with bland letter and number combinations on bland and boring SUVS and crossovers masquerading as Luxury vehicles, when really glorified trucks 🚚. Beam me up, Scottie! Not much intelligence left here. Present company excepted. 😉
Typical bean counters in charge!
Nice car! I remember borrowing my father’s 75 caprice, which I loved because it felt fast compared to my 71 lesabre. Was messing around and managed to wreck a rear tire. Thankfully us kids had some life skills back then so I put on the spare and went home with a fish story of some kind. I wonder if he actually believed me.
Great looking Caprice. Red/white is an easy choice. Even with air and power windows it’s a little light on options. The cruise was added as could have been the bumper guards and wires. I always loved these and their corporate cousins and can hardly believe how low the production figures are for the last generation. Sweet Sunday driver and parade car.
& i can’t believe i saw only ONE ’68 caprice 2 door coupe with hidden headlites ever in the flesh – & i still remember where i was when i saw that futuristic looking thing in ’69, being so striking also with its hidden wipers & lack of front door vent windows, yet impala coupes still had the latter for ’68!
Joe, I’ve seen a few. The first was a new one that was so loaded it had 2 window stickers. Strato buckets, console auto., can’t remember the engine size, mist green with a white vinyl roof and those hideaways, etc., etc.
At a car show during Street Rod Nationals, a car club from Canada was here and there was a ’68 Caprice coupe and wagon both with hideaways. That wagon had a 427, tilt & tele wheel, really loaded up. Wood grain sides of course.
A member of the same club had an ’86 Regal with the rare digital climate control for Regals, reading in metric for Canada.
Always liked the Chevrolet Caprice model.
NICE CAR! But no way. I know – new cars cost at least $25,000.00 or more. BUT – I can’t see myself spending MORE THAN $20,000.00 on a 1975 Chevy Caprice Classic – even though the top goes down. I love these cars but you know – no. I will buy another classic car in not the too distant future. This car is beautiful, for sure. Love it and ANY ENGINE will work, can’t be too picky these days. Good luck though with this one – maybe, just maybe, this beautiful cruiser IS WORTH more than $25,000.00. Ouch – that’s a lot of money. Great article.
Convertible worth little more
Is this the same car as in the movie Blue Velvet?
I’ve owned a bunch of them and just seen a 76 landau sell for $47k. This price for this car is pretty good, even though it’s a low option car.
By the way, good luck getting R134a to work worth a damn with VIR. Another thing this doesn’t have a 350, none of the convertibles came with a 350, the 400 was base in the convertible. Almost bought a triple black 75 with the 454, but it was stolen before I could put money down on it.
According to Automobile Catalog, both 2 and 4 barrel versions of the 350 were in fact available in the Caprice convertible in 1975.
Nice car! Remember the 1975 Chevy Convertibles. Smooth land cruisers with the top down. 30g plus it will go for way above that. A car that will continue to turn heads. 49 years ago
could be had for a total cost that is a fifth of this bidding war.
Nothing like them and it is hard to believe how much they have appreciated. It wasn’t too long ago when these were considered junk. by the late 80s and on into the early 2000s few if any cared and they were a bargain. I know, 71 to 76 Chevrolets were my daily beaters. I still drive daily a 72 convertible that came off a lot for 500.00 bucks in 1989. A white over black with a few more accessories than the one featured here. Nice open car when the weather is good, dependable, and stupid easy to maintain. Like all cars, rust is the enemy. I didn’t notice if this one has the hard boot. That is a really nice accessory on these big GMs but takes a big part of the trunk space up when not in use. The tops were and are quite expensive to have done and are somewhat of a pain and wear out after 4 to 5 years if used frequently like I do mine. lubrication of the mechanism is a must but these are some of the cleanest most elegant looking convertible styles ever with the top folded. This is a nice one here. I wasn’t crazy about the big bumpers then. 71 was my year and still have several followed by 72 but time changes many things.
Elegance at its finest….
I wish that red was a shade deeper. The color looks a little faded or it be a bad photo shot.
I believe 74 was the last year Chevrolet offered the 454 big block in the Corvette,Caprice , and Chevelle.
Corvette yes. Chevelle and Monte Carlo til ’75 and full size ’76.
I seriously doubt that the “red” on this ragtop is a stock Chevy color. It has too much of a tomato flavor, which makes it rather unusual, a kind of tinge that I’ve always believed that the car companies avoided for that very reason. Trust me…I’m 86, and I’ve always had an eye for such things… ;-)
Your eye is lying to you, that is paint color “red” the number is 75. That’s a factory color. I own an Impala in that color with buckskin vinyl top and black interior.
Thanks, John…I stand corrected…
;-)