This is the first 1975 Chevrolet Caprice four-door hardtop sedan that we’ve shown here on Barn Finds, at least that I could find by doing a search. This blue beauty is listed here on craigslist in Farmington Hills, Michigan about 25 miles northwest of Detroit. The seller is asking $8,000. Thanks to Pat L. for sending in this tip!
I like four-door cars but I know that a lot of you will either not click on this one, or will click on it to say how much you hate four-door cars. That’s ok and although four-door cars are practical, I think it’s funny that a lot of people who comment that they have “too many doors” are the ones driving a four-door pickup because it’s practical. Fun fact: this is the last Caprice of this era to have round headlights.
At just under 19-feet in length and just shy of 2.5-tons, this Caprice is no shrinking violet and it’s certainly not a microcar. Since it probably gets 9 to 12 mpg, it may make you cringe at the gas pump but in this era that’s what a lot of vehicles got for mileage, we just lived with it unless you wanted a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. Or, a used King Midget or Subaru 360 which, most likely, not many Caprice buyers were cross-shopping for. This example looks like a really nice car and the seller says that it has 40,000 miles and is a one-owner all-original car.
The second-generation Chevy Caprice was slightly redesigned in 1975 for the ’75/’76 model years. The following year, they were redesigned and were shorter, narrower, and lighter but had more interior room and trunk space. This is the only interior photo of this car, unfortunately. It looks great and it’s always unusual for me, and probably only me, to see what was the top-of-the-line luxury car for a brand not having power windows. This car doesn’t appear to have air-conditioning either.
This is one clean engine compartment. The seller says that this car was rust-proofed when it was new and it sure looks solid and clean. The engine, as with almost everything else, is the base version available for this car in 1975, a 350 cubic-inch V8 with a 2-barrel carb and 145 horsepower. A 350 4-barrel, as well as a 400 V8 and 454 V8 would have also been available as options. The seller doesn’t say how it runs but I have to believe that it runs as well as the rest of the car looks. Have any of you owned a 1975 or ’76 Caprice?
It’s interesting to see a Caprice hardtop with literally no options..not even A/C. Possibly a car for the northern part of the state…up in the UP, perhaps?
Scotty concluded his article by asking if any have owned a ’75 Caprice…my foray into the classic car world was a ’75, back in ’98. It could do 13 to 15 mpg on the highway, with 2.73 gears. Tilt down the wheel, set the cruise control at 70, and smile…no regrets.
That’s cool, Big_Fun! It’s interesting that a 1975 car in 1998 would have been 23 years old and today, a 1998 car would be 23 years old. Interesting numerology there.
I had a 1973 Buick Electra 225 four-door hardtop that got 11 in the city and 17 on the highway with a 455 so my MPG numbers above may have been a bit low on the Caprice.
Scotty,
Here is a picture of the Caprice back in 2000. Fun times!
Hard for me to see an almost 20K swing in price compared to the 1969 Carice shown before.
People go crazy when they see a big block anything and overpay. Just put a de-smogged 500 cubic inch Cadillac engine in this Caprice and you will have more torque than you know what to do with.
Delightful to look at, but I don’t want to drive it. Bit of perspective… my current DD is an ’02 Silverado. It has literally 3/4 of this engine (the 4.3 V-6) but it puts out 35% more horsepower (200). It weighs about the same as this Caprice, maybe less, and it’s a total slug.
A very nice looking car, especially in that shade of blue. My grandmother had a 75/76 4 door in a butternut yellow. That car was great, it literally rode like a couch on the highway and could eat up the miles on the road in total comfort. I actually used it for my first driver’s test when I turned 16. My car the horn, like so many other things was sporadic at best. When my car failed the pre-test inspection, she let me borrow the Caprice to take the test. It went well till the parallel parking part. I was NOT ready for the length of that thing! Looks like the ad is already gone, so I’m guessing this car has found a new home.
The funny thing with the Caprice and Impala during these years. The 75 Impala shared the same front as the 74 Caprice and the 76 Impala looked like the 75 Caprice.
My Father-in law had one in red, with black top and interior. His had the 400 cu. engine in his. I remember putting air shocks on it so he could haul a camper with it.
Now that’s what I’m talking about! You
just can’t get anything than a 4-door if
you have a family. Oh sure, they were
slugs in the performance department,
but wasn’t every V-8 car back then? I
recall more than one motorhead beefing
about how sluggish ’70s car really were.
By ’75, all they could do is rave about
the Di Vinci sculptured door handles,
the plush pillow seats, the padded coach roofs, and how much the car had
been improved over last year’s model.
By that time, cars of this era were not
much more than a conveyance and
nothing more. Still a great find overall.
I’m surprised a Caprice doesn’t have the bumper strips, but then again, this boat is stripped.
When I was19 /20 I had one of these same color it was a nice riding car plenty fast enough to get me a few tickets. Engine sized up one night when I was on a date. Left us walking and calling her parents to come get us. And so began my dislike of Chevrolet. Today in my 50s I still don’t buy Chevrolet but I’m half tempted to get this one.
I had a ’73 Olds 88. It got 9 or 10 in the city, and no more than 15 something on the highway. That 350 was so badly detuned, it was a wonder it ran at all. So the 9/15 on this Caprice may be right on.
No power windows shouldn’t surprise you Scotty. I am not sure how old you are and what you remember, but they were not commonly ordered by people on any car unless it was a Cadillac or a Lincoln. Only by the 90s were power windows much more common. People ordered each option individually back when this car was built, not in packages like now. Also, car prices were rapidly increasing in the mid 70s through mid 80s, which meant people picked some options and not others in an effort to keep the price lower. People then cared about the final price of the car, not just whether they could afford the monthly payment. My parents ordered a Buick in the early 80s. They got the top of the line trim, they got a/c and an automatic transmission, but they got the smaller engine, roll down windows, no power locks, and an AM radio with no rear speakers, all in an effort to get a nice car without paying a boatload. Still, it cost more than double the price of the 1975 model car they bought previously, and it was still a car in the same size and price class. So, there you go – that is why many of these nicer cars did not have all the options. People were money conscious. The buyers were also of the older generation who did not feel like they needed the creature comforts we all think we need today. Many of these buyers grew up during the depression and lived their lives more simply than we do today as a result of having been through that. Extra electrical items like power windows were also viewed as another thing that would break later on when the car got older, so people wanted to avoid that.
S, I think you’re onto something, those are all great points.
I was alive when President Kennedy was alive so I’m old but not as old as I feel sometimes, at least physically.
I have owned a 1975 Caprice Classic Convertible since I was 17 yrs old in 1989. It has been driven every summer since and currently has 78k original miles. These cars are so easy and comfortable to drive, even with the smallest engine option, the 2bbl 350, which mine has. It became my favorite family car when my children were born as I could put car seats in the back seat with the factory inertia seat belts. Non car people don’t know if its a ’55/’65/’75, just that it makes them smile, which I enjoy. I own 18 other collector cars and this is my (2nd or 3rd) favorite. I’ve done basic maintenance and a repaint/top replacement over the years. The one listed here looks great and will run forever!
I’ve driven one of those big era 70s cars to my high school prom. My Mom had a 76ish Ford LTD in four door brown color. She was hit by another driver, and bought another one. This time, it was a 77ish LTD in two door, white exterior, half-maroon vinyl top, rear fender skirts, and plush maroon interior that was good enough for me to go on a prom date with!
Had the 75’ 2-door with 400 4BBL loaded they are nice cars but once I got out of the caprice then jumped in my 76’ Olds 98 Regency and as nice as the caprice drives and rides you could feel the Olds was nicer. For affordable luxury the caprice was hard to beat.
When GM actually built cars, Good cars! Bad year for power by then the Feds stuck it to all of us.
This is a beautiful car. Take this anywhere and watch the smiles. Park it and watch crowds gather. I bet the phrase “they just don’t build them like this anymore” will be said many times. I love my Odyssey, but I’d drive this back and forth to Florida in heartbeat.
Listing update: someone grabbed this great looking Caprice already, was it one of you?
I’ve always loved these big 1975-76 Chevrolet Caprices. Especially the 454s.
That car loaded out w power everything and in dash 8 track would be a nice car, No A/C No Sale
I have a 78 Chrysler Newport 4 door love it. My wife’s car is an 86 5th Ave, 4 door. Don’t mind the extra doors at all. The Chevy looks good but to bad it’s not a Mopar or Ford.
The “Last Convertibles” were much-lamented as such in their day but these last of the 4 door hardtops – the ’76s which were almost identical to these ’75s were the last from GM but Mopar held on until ’78 – went out with a whimper. I’d much rather have this than the awkward thick-pillar coupe.
My 78 is a hard top, no Pilar. I just like Mopar over Chevy. If I’m going to have a GM from this time back, I’ll take a Pontiac that was a real Pontiac. That’s why there are choices.
Beautiful looking Caprice. I hope whoever buys it enjoys it and cares for it. Given its originality and one owner ownership, I would’ve paid around the $8000 asking price.
Beautiful Caprice! Owned a Burgundy 76 Caprice 350 4BBL, Duals. A 74 Impala 400 Fastback Coupe, drove “Big Duke” from new to 323,600 miles, a 74 Monte Carlo 454 4BBL, DUALS. Love those 74-76 Body Styles too. Not compared to my 53 Stude Commander Coupe 5.0 V8, 56 Sky Hawk Hardtop 4.7 V8 to 498k, 63 & 64 GT Hawk R1. The 63 pulled our 21ft DBL Axle Jayco Cardinal all up and down Pacific NW Coast to Canada. Now a 2000 Supercharged Bonneville. GREAT CAR!
Wow. My first car was a 73 Monte Carlo gifted to me, but with a 350. I saw a 74 Monte Carlo for sale a couple of years back with a 454 with an asking price of about 8-10K.