It isn’t every day that you come across a super clean, one family-owned, low mileage 40+ year old classic survivor, so when Reader Kevin J came across this Chevrolet Caprice, he just had to have it. Clearly, the previous owner and their family took great care of it, as it’s in amazing shape inside and out. Kevin has put about 3,500 miles and while he’s enjoyed it, he’s decided to let someone else enjoy it! You can find this survivor in McCallsburg, Iowa with 45k miles and a $6,000 asking price.
The Caprice was offered in a number of body styles and while this one is a 4-door, rather than the more popular 2-door. That’s alright in our book though, as these cars are really about comfortable cruising, so why not have space for the family or a few friends? The green on green color combo is a bit different but in a good way!
Under the massive hood is a 350 cui V8. It’s rated at 165 horsepower, but that’s the net rating rather than gross. As you can see, the engine bay looks to be clean and well sorted. Kevin states that it runs beautifully and a please to drive. While one of the optional engines would have more power than this 350, there are infinite upgrade options for it, if you are so inclined to mess with this survivor.
Talk about a lot of green vinyl and plastic! Chevrolets of this era have a tendency to not age particularly well, especially if they have been left out in the elements. As you can see, this one looks great! The upholstery is in nice shape, the vinyl and plastics don’t show any signs of color fade and I don’t see any of the sun damage you typically see in Chevys of this era.
This has to be one of the cleanest Caprice Classics we’ve seen in a while! The original owner worked as a mechanic at the Chevrolet dealership where it was sold, which probably explains why it was so well maintained. Kevin has done his best to keep it tip-top shape, so it’s ready to cruise! If you’d love to add some miles to this survivor, be sure to message Kevin via the form below.
- Asking Price: $6,000
- Location: McCallsburg, Iowa
- Mileage: 45,521
- Title Status: Clean
- VIN: 1N39R2J277754
List your car here on Barn Finds for only $50!
Wow, this looks like a great bargain on this car! This car was my driver’s Ed car, we drove this behemoth for 9 weeks after school. Kudos to Mr. Hill for his great instruction and cool head. Thanks to Mr. Hill, I am now the best driver on planet Earth, and that’s a fact.
(Not that I’ve been looking) but I haven’t seen one of these in over thirty years! Neighbor next door had a blue one when I was a teen. I’d forgotten the Capirce came in a four door hard top. Great find!
People forget the sheer number of these that were built. In 1972 alone, there were over one million full-sized Chevies unleashed on our roads.
http://www.paddockparts.com/resources/impala-full-size-production-numbers/
To put this into perspective, Ford sold 900,000 F-series truck in its peak recent year of 2018. So you pretty much saw one every time you turned a corner.
It would be interesting to know how many of the 1 million are still around. I’d guess less than 5,000.
Good note Superdessucke. It is hard to get one’s mind around the huge number of full size cars sold each model year in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Adding the other GM’s, Fords, and Mopars the total was at least 2 million each model year. And how few remain today.
To put further perspective on this, today a real big year for mass market Toyotas (Camry or Corolla or now RAV4) or Hondas (Accord or Civic or now CRV) is in the vicinity of 300,000 to 400,000.
This is a nice car.
My high school band director had an almost identical 1970 version. It was a boat but great to ride in. This one is tempting.
I think u mean a ’71 or ’73 or later. The ’70 was a completely different(i believe) smaller & narrower car from the ’67-70 familly.
The interior photo could pass for a brochure shot!! It’s spotless!! I’m not even a Chevy fan, and I’d go for this any day of the week! For $6K, just try to find another one cleaner. You won’t.
For 6 Grand it’s better than any new car selling for 50!
If something shoud go wrong you don’t need a PHD in electromechnical ENGINEERING and parts are everywhere and CHEAP. What’s not to like. So what if ii does’t get 30MPG.
Beautiful car there. My folks had a similar one (body looks the same so assume it was the same year): yellow body, black vinyl top and black and white herringbone interior. Beautiful car and drove like a dream, which I assume this one does also.
If I was in the market, I’d be checking this one out.
Had never heard of the town before but Google Maps shows I’m only a couple hours away! If I was in the market I’d be all over this one!! Wish I knew how many of these we cut up in the early 80’s, you could buy them all week long for under $500 cause nobody around here wanted them but those of us that wanted the small block Chevy for circle track racing!
Oh the demo derby crowd has almost brought these into non-existence. It’s nice to see one in this condition still survives. My father had a blue two door with a white vinyl top. Nice car.
I had the 2 door version back in the 90’s, same color combo too. Didn’t own for long since both rear body mounts rotted away. Paid $450 and sold for $300.
I had a 74 sport sedan in high school, in similar shape as this. Loved it, and love this one. Good price but too far away for me.
This is a real beauty. I had a two door hardtop in blue with a black vinyl top for 22 years. Still regret selling that car, but had too many at the time and needed the space. Sure would love to have this one. By the way, if I recall correctly, this is the 400 engine which I believe was standard in the Caprice.
What a beautiful barge! I want it bad & I wish I had the funds available for this. Sadly, I don’t.
I really need to dump the ’51 Pontiac convertible so I can get other toys lol. This here would be at the top of the list. And this is coming from someone that doesn’t like the color green! Very good deal, especially for the price.
Wow. I had an Impala Sport Sedan, so the body style was identical, just different trim (and no vinyl roof.) Same green interior but mine was the lighter shade of green from that year.
I remember cars like this from when I was a boy. My grandparents drove one, along with a 1971 Buick LeSabre 2 door. I’d buy one if I knew where there was a low mileage, well maintained car.
Rare 4 door Hardtop.
Nice shape.
Nice price
I grew up with one just like this. It was my dad’s car, we called it, “Old Green”. He called it the “Last Great American Car.” We were both right.
Like Rex, this was my high school driver Ed car. We had Mr Robert Smith and our Caprice was crud cream. Great cars. Easy to work on. Love this green beauty
According to the specs, Caprice came standard with a 400ci, 170h v-8 as the base motor.
Correct! ‘71 and’72 Caprice had small block 400 as standard equipment
I love the 4 door hardtop body style, they had the class of a 2 door with the practicality of a 4 door. I had a 73 caprice when I had small children and loved it. This seems like a good deal for a nice family cruiser.
This is my 4 door hard top restored in 1996 when people laughed about fixing up a 4 door , here it now a rare survivor.
https://youtu.be/OT7MatVrXB0
& in 1970 my friends laughed at me, a teenager for just DRIVING mom’s FOUR door falcon. & it wasn’t even green.
Started savin up & couldn’t wait to get my own 2 door – not falcon. lol
Today, there’s no such thing as a chick magnet car. Heck, many male teens don’t even have a license(or a job), let alone able to find a recent affordable TWO door car.
They smashed them all in the 80s and 90s at wrecking yards for scrap. People laughed when i took my restored 4 door hardtop to car shows back then.Istill have it.. now people are in aww! I drive her all the time. Her name is F.H.R.I.P. Heres my youtube video of recent engine rebuild of sb 400ci motor. Rest is untouched since i painted it myself. Correction a bb 396 was always a 402 ci motor even in the 60s.. typo sorry. My dad and restored a numbers matching 1971caprice sport coupe with red 400 eblems on kick panels of front fenders. The engine measured out at 402 and had factory gm solid lifters we also verified the unrebuilt status by viewing the timming chain.. it had 1.0in plus slack and the factory plastic cog teeth coating had worn away and was jammed down in bottom of timing chain cover. Typical indication of a stock untouched motor… my 1972 caprice 400sb was the same way when rebuilt the first time.
https://youtu.be/TDICXy4sYLw
https://youtu.be/OT7MatVrXB0
https://youtu.be/xE94O9wgvYE
What a great looking car and a great price as well. Don’t normally care for green but this car wears it very well.
I had a 1972, (back in the 70’s) in Brown with the ivory brocade interior. It was a Great car. I used it to tow-bar my Drag car to the tracks and it was our family hauler!
A couple clarifications: In ’72 the Caprice came standard with the two-barrel 400, not a 350. Also, it was not called “Caprice Classic” until the ’73 model year.
Wow, this one really brings back some memories for me. In October 1971, my mom bought the almost identical car to this one. It was the same beautiful green color combination with the green nylon fabric seats. My mom’s had a peppy 400 cubic inch engine, however, which was standard, at least at the beginning of the 1972 model year, and power windows. After my father died in 1974, my mom took my dad’s 1973 Buick LeSabre Custom (with its sluggish 350 4 barrel and much lower mileage) and gave the Caprice to my oldest sister (both cars pictured above). She drove it for several years to about 100,000 miles. I would love to have this car but Iowa is just too far away and I’m also limited on my garage space. Beautiful car!
Sure does look like the same car and that ’73 LeSabre Custom behind it caught my eye as well. Great cars. I have owned several early 70s GM cars over the years, a ’71 Caprice 4dr (green), a ’72 Buick Electra, etc. Now a ’72 Caprice Estate wagon with the 402 engine and a ’73 Pontiac Grand Ville with the 455. My wagon needs restored and I have people wanting to buy it. Tempted to sell it and buy this ’72 4dr hardtop. lol.
Tony, it sounds like you have had some nice ones. My aunt and uncle were great Pontiac fans, 70’s Pontiacs they had were a 70 & 72 Lemans, 72 Grand Ville, two 73 Grand Prix’s, 75 Catalina, and a 76 Grand Prix. My aunt’s (by marriage) brother ran a used car lot and about every year they were driving up in something about a year old at the time. Well, the cars from the ’70s may not have always had great quality, compared to today anyway, but the quality of the pictures is definitely much better now than in the ’70s, LOL.
you are correct the standard motor in 1972 caprice was a 2brl 400 ci small block. if the car had emblems with the red 400 insignia then it was a Big block optioned car 400 CI solid lifter cam.. same motor they used to market as a 396 CI 396 motors have always been 400 CI but in the 1960s 396 sounded cooler for marketing purposes. This is my caprice .. I added the red emblems cause they are rare and look cool.. https://youtu.be/OT7MatVrXB0
I believe the last solid lifter V8 motor was the boss 351 of ’71.
& in ’72, only the chrysler slant 6 had solid lifters.
Beautiful car. My mother’s twin brother owned a near twin. My uncle’s had the spoked wheel covers with crossed flag centers and power windows.
I agree with comments that this is probably an SBC 400 block 2bbl.
That was standard Caprice motor in 72.
I have not decoded VIN but think this is trrue.
Its interesting that owners of early 70 full size Chevs often confuse the 350 and the 400 engines
I’m pretty sure Dads Impala had the 350 4v. in the ’72; same hardtop body, white top paint, blue brocade and very nice fine sparkle, metallic med. blue lower 1/2.
Tint, power everything, first air car! A real cruiser/tow vehicle for sure back then!
I want the ’68 two dr. fastback he had before that one though, lol!
We brought home the first of several LBCs and other Euro’s with it.
One of his sisters had an all black Caprice, IIRC
Hard to believe this is still for sale.
Combination of it bein a 4 door & nobody on my block in the suburbs has a (1940’s) garage big enough for it! lol
Four door Hard tops are getting very rare and price here for the condition is reasonable if not an outright deal.
Someone should grab it.🎃🎃
I love it. I owned a ’71 Caprice 4dr hardtop almost identical to it many years ago, as well as a ’69 Caprice 4dr hardtop – both of which were also green! I now own a ’72 Caprice (Kingswood Estate) wagon undergoing a very slow restoration. Almost tempted to sell it and buy this Caprice! lol.
My baby https://youtu.be/OT7MatVrXB0
I was the first one to let him know I wanted his car. He said he was on vacation in Florida so we set a day when he was to be back. If the car was as advertised I’d happily pay him and take it home. Instead I got a call from the seller saying someone was offering him $1000.00 non refundable deposit to sell it to him. I would have sent a deposit to hold it if stated up front. Provided it was refundable. If it wasn’t as advertised. I’m not sure if this is scammer or not but his word doesn’t mean anything.