The Chevy Caprice started out in 1965 as a mid-year upscale option on the Impala. This was no doubt in response to the success that Ford was having with its new Galaxie 500 derivative, the LTD. For 1966, the Caprice would become a series of its own and a GM mainstay for decades to come. This 1972 edition is a 4-door pillared sedan that’s said to be a barn find, but we see no barn in sight, and it looks darn nice. It’s available north of Traverse City, Michigan, and here on craigslist for $9,500 OBO.
Chevrolet redesigned its full-size cars in 1971, so the Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala, and Caprice all got major facelifts. Sales were suppressed a bit due to a labor strike in the Fall of 1970, so the changes in 1972 would end up being minimal. GM lowered the compression ratios on its engines in 1971 so its cars could run on unleaded fuel. The next change came in 1972 with a shift to stating horsepower in net rather than gross terms. The seller says this Caprice has a 400 cubic inch V8 which we believe is the small-block Turbo-Fire that produced 170 hp with a 2-barrel carburetor.
We’re told this 51-year-old Chevrolet has been in the same family since new. The barn find reference may suggest it’s been off the road for a while as the odometer shows “just” 89,000 miles. The seller also says it’s an original vehicle, so the paint and interior could be from the factory. For a luxury auto, it’s interesting to see this machine was ordered with power-assisted seats but roll-down windows. Most of the photos provided show the Caprice with open doors and everything seems to be in order.
The seller also comments that the car runs, drives, and stops but doesn’t go into any detail as to how well it performs those things. The only new part or component that’s referenced is a new battery, so if this Chevrolet was off the road, not much was needed to put it on the market. But is it going to need anything else, like a refresh of the fuel delivery system or new tires? This one could be a keeper if we knew more.
We called the 400 small block bored to the water. Never overheat one of these. Engine will be cooked. A total POS engine if you ask me.
I’ve heard those same sentiments from many experienced mechanics. Junker.
Beautiful car, and not outrageously priced, I hope it finds a good home.
This was the first year for a Caprice post sedan, previously they had all been hardtops whether 2- or 4-door and the Big Chevrolet post sedan topped out as an Impala.
(replying to myself, no edit function) Ford had offered an LTD 4-door post sedan since 1967.
Ford had frameless door glass on the sedan that made the pillar less pronounced.
Beautiful car! Absolutely stunning for a 51yr old car! I love the color scheme and the interior – the whole thing. It’s definitely a keeper and the next owner will probably have a “turn key “ cars and coffee show piece, especially for a reasonable price. I won’t complain about anything but if I had my choice I would either choose a 350ci engine or a 454ci. The 400’s were great engines and I don’t have anything bad to say other than they didn’t put out to much more horsepower over the 350ci but the fuel economy difference between the 400ci vs 454ci was virtually the same. Might as well get the 454ci or the 350ci for the fuel efficiency. EITHER WAY – after 51 years I better not get picky because I can’t go down the street and buy a different one…. Nice article!
The 72 Chevrolet was always my favorite of this generation. Love the golden color with neutral interior. 400 sb would be fine around town and on the open road. Parents owned an Impala Custom with a 454 that had belonged to my older brother. Rarely seen dark gray with black top and interior. Corvette finned wheel covers made for a real sharp looking ride.
It’s looks right for what it is.
About those rollup windows… Even in’72 there were folks (like my dad) who were afraid of them becoming a maintenance issue and wouldn’t buy a car with power windows. Perhaps the buyer of this Caprice felt the same way. My dad would not even use the power door locks because he thought they would have problems.
I had a ’72 Caprice 2dr hardtop, light yellow, no vinyl top, blue interior. I loved that big boat. It was a great highway cruiser and the only problem was that it had the old “point and condenser” style distributor and they would require periodic replacement.
I took it to a swap meet and a guy from Belgium bought it. He said the Europeans loved those big Detroit cars.
My parents bought a 72 Impala w/400 new to haul 5 of us kids around (I got my drivers license 6 months later & bought my own, so then there were 4). But they used it to tow a tandem axle Corsair travel trailer as well. It did just fine. Great car. They had it for years.
Lucky it missed the demo derby where so many of these ended up.
I cut lawns in high school with a 72 just like this – you could put a lawnmower and an edger in the trunk with room to spare! It also would start immediately in the coldest weather. Great car!
I had a dark blue 4 door 72 Caprice that had a 402 Big Block in it marketed as a 400. I was a teenager then and thought it had to be a 454 since it was a BB and tried racing it against the other “Big Chevy’s” of the day and it was the race of the rags with a win some loose some average. Then I got a 71 Impala that really had a 454 in it! On the test drive I got it going around 30 mph grabbed the shifter and slammed it in Low gear and dented the floor pan, that Impala slammed me in the seat HARD and launched forward so fast that I almost rear ended the car that was about 8 car lengths ahead of me! Scared the Poo Poo out of me and gave me a feeling that I could whoop anything on the road, for the most part I did and never lost a 30 roll race with it. Dead dig it burned rubber too bad to race it, since I was scared I’d wreck it I stuck to 30 roll races and had a blast whooping everything I could find.
This was my driver’s Ed car (Impala version) back in 1974. Shout out to Mr. Hill, who taught me how to be the best driver on this planet! That’s a fact Jack!