Merriam-Webster defines ‘gamble’ as: an act having an element of risk: something chancy, and one as to wonder if GM considered the down-sizing of their full-size B-body cars in ’77 as a gamble. Regardless, they came up smelling like roses as their ditching, on average, 700 lbs. of bulk and removing about a foot in overall length from the ’76 models proved to be a smashing success. An excellent example of this weight reduction plan is this 1979 Chevrolet Caprice station wagon. Having experienced 114K miles, it’s well-traveled but still presents very nicely. And if this Parhump, Nevada, long roof piques your interest, you can find it here on eBay, where it’s available for a current no-reserve bid of $4,050 with fifteen bids tendered so far.
This generation of Chevrolet’s top drawer Caprice was in production for fourteen model years (’77-’90) and remained largely unchanged, appearance-wise anyway. Total Caprice production numbers for this generation touched 2.8 M with 56K station wagons rolling off one of four different assembly lines. Built in St. Louis and located in Nevada, the seller tells us that this ” Rust Free California Survivor” still has its clear CA title. This wagon is well photographed, and it looks great from any angle. The Carmine Metallic finish, faux wood paneling, and chrome components belie this car’s 47 years of existence. Some of the aluminum trim looks a bit dowdy, but it’s very minor in the scheme of things. While it’s not stated, this Caprice has likely been well stored.
The interior, however, is another matter. Subjectively speaking, it’s nice to find a GM interior from this era that’s not finished off in red velour – their go-to getup it seems. Nope, the cloth upholstery’s hue in this case is known as Oyster, and it’s in poor shape. At the same time, the dash, door panels, and carpet appear to be “camel” in color, so that’s confusing, and the carpet and door panels have seen better days. There are no included images of the wayback, but I imagine its conditon probably mirrors that of the passenger compartment.
Power is provided by a tried-and-true, 165 net HP, 350 CI V8 engine, one of untold millions produced over a very long, distinguished career. Pared with a Turbo-Hydramatic three-speed automatic transmission, the powertrain is about as traditional, and common an arrangement as you’ll ever encounter. The seller sums up this car’s running and driving characteristics by stating, “Runs and Drives Good.”
We’ve covered full-size station wagons here on BF for some time now, and there’s no denying the popularity of old Ford Country Squires and Chevrolet Impalas. While this generation of GM’s suburban staple isn’t encountered as often, there’s no reason to suspect that these won’t follow suit in popularity. And, trending at a reasonable, no-reserve bid, this Caprice station wagon could be a buy, wouldn’t you agree?
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