1973 Chevrolet Caprice Wagon

1973 Chevrolet Caprice classic 454 wagon

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...vrolet-Caprice-wagon-Wagon-W0QQAdIdZ470846852

 

Very nice wagon!

 

In my back year....and a dam woody!

 

I am all over it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So everyone else stay away LOL

 

This maybe the one for me! Not enough info though such as,
Is there a clear tital?
No roof rack?
Is there a third seat? (Just cant tell from the rear shot)
Power what?
etc.
I have sent him a message looking for more info, but is there anyone close that could look at this for me? Cheers Mike.

The
Premier

 

Not sure if anyone noticed, but the car also has no A/C. You can tell its a Canadian car. lol. Many of those cars in the 60s-70s lacked A/C, no matter how high the trim level was.

Nice car though and seems to be rare considering that it appears to be a low-optioned car with a 454 and power gate. Also appears to be a 2-seat model.

Premier - it does not appear have the 3rd seat option. Notice how the 2nd seat has a "one-piece" back? The 3-seaters had a split back seat to allow access to the forward facing 3rd seat.

You have to look close in the enlarged pic... I could be wrong, but it looks like a solid 2nd seat.

 

Thanks 72Kingswood I can see what you mean about the second seat. No A/C is that because you can't see the compressor and ancillaries in the engine bay? Also what level of trim did the Caprice actually go down to? In other words what was standard equipment only for a Caprice? I guess the BB was an option as well? Cheers for your help.

The
Premier

 

Yeah, it seems to lack all of that in the engine bay where A/C optioned cars have it. I have a '72 Caprice wagon and my A/C is easily visible, this car seems to lack all of that, the compressor, the A/C lines, etc. Most USA cars back then had A/C (especially the southern USA cars), but many up in the northern part of the USA didn't have A/C and especially didnt in Canada. Yeah, the 454 engine in this car was an option. I think a 400 was standard.

Not sure what your question is about the trim? The Caprice was the top-level model of Chevy wagons and as far as I know, not much was standard, as was the case on many 1960s-70s cars, but there was a big list of options to choose from. Most all trim models had options available, unlike todays cars where you have to get 20 options to get one certain option you may want. Back then, basically the difference in trim lines were not options, but rather things like additional chrome or trim, nicer seat materials, more woodgrain accents on the interior as you went up in trim levels, etc. I have seen low-optioned Caprices and loaded Bel-Airs. It just all depends. I have even seen early 70s Buick Electras with no A/C. I once seen a '72 Buick Estate Wagon with NO options, not even A/C and not even an radio, it was plain, plain, plain base model with NO options. The Caprice wagons (at least from 71-73) basically had the same seats as the Impala, but had more woodgrain on the inside, a standard clock on the dash and of course the woodgrain on the exterior. Other than that, everything else was even optional on Caprice. My wagon has A/C, tilt wheel and 3rd seat, but does not even have power windows, locks, seat, etc. My '73 Pontiac Grand Ville is a higher optioned car though with power windows and power locks, but I have seen some Grand Villes with no options. The 70s cars were really unique.

 

It is a six passenger wagon. Appears to have cruise control, and roof rack delete which is kinda rare. I love the color combo, hate the wheels

 

Wow, yeah, I didn't notice that it had cruise control. That car is very oddly optioned since cruise is a not so common option on these cars, but A/C is, which this car does not have, but since its a Canadian car I guess its not that ususual since it lacks that option. It just looks strange to miss an option we usually see lacking on this car. Would be interesting to see if it had tilt wheel or any power options.

 

Great looking Caprice, but the lack of a/c would rule it out for me. I understand that a/c would not be needed in Canada, but it definitely would be needed in Tennessee.

 

I agree. Even if it does not work, I still would want to have a car optioned with A/C. To me, A/C is the most important option and if it lacks that, well no other options seems to make up for it. lol.

Options to me are important in this order on an older car (wagon in this case). A/C, 3rd seat, tilt wheel, power windows/locks, luggage rack, cruise control, FM radio.

 

How can you tell it has cruise control?

Also, I noticed that the front and rear bumpers do not appear to match. The front bumper has the bumper rub strip and bumper guards. The rear bumper has neither. From the 1973 Chevrolet wagon brochure:

 

You have to look close, but in the pic of the engine bay on the driver side toward the back, you can see the equipment for the cruise control.

Not sure about the bumper guards unless someone removed the back ones, or the front/rear were available as individual options.

 

Thanks for that 72KingswoodEstate sorry if I confused you, by trim levels, I know it usually refers to door cards and seat patterns and extra chrome trimmings etc but sometimes here in Australia we add the non optioned factory extra items in with the trim as well although technically probably not correct, such as in the 80's, If you ordered an Executive model Commodore, you got A/C and steer built into the price and was sort of part of the executive "trim level" (basic car with and air and steer) although it has nothing to do with the actual fabric design, if that makes sense.

We also played the option game in the 70's here so we have a lot of different combo's as well that you across from time to time, but I don't think you could order a 71 model (HQ) 350 sb V8 Statesman "De Ville" as a column change for example as it would probably come as a T-bar shift only and this would have been part of its trim level, and I would be surprised if you could have got the 308 V8 "De Ville" as a column change either.

Yes I also agree that A/C is the most import option, that and steer in a car this big for me too but I definitely want a full electric tailgate as well, other wise for me there would be no point in getting a clamshell either imho.

The
Premier