1998 Chevrolet Caprice Classic

Its not an Impala, and never will be! I wont even put Impala badges on it to call it a clone! Its a Caprice, and it will stay a Caprice lol. BUT...all the go-fast parts you guys want, are the same that I want. Also, I will soon (very soon) have some really good access to some pretty cool people. Ever heard of Bob Hapiak? The Godfather of the 9c1 program? Well, I was trying to find a comprehensive parts list of what exactly Chevy did to the Caprice to make it a cop car, and SOMEHOW I was put into contact with Mr. Hapiak! Talk about a suprise...That man is a fount of knowledge. He was the guy in charge of the whole program, it was HIS idea to put the 'Vette motor in it, the HD suspension bits, etc. He is also getting me in touch with the Lead Engineer on the whole project as well! So, soon I will have not only a complete parts list, but I will have the Engineer who made it all work together seamlessly to call and bounce questions and ideas off of. Like, if the rear end of my wagon is 4" wider than a normal coupe or sedan, what rear end would work best for me? A pickup truck rear end maybe, and if so, would the rear sway bars available for that truck rear end be good on my wagon?

Anyways, we got this wagon about a year ago. I am the 3rd owner, and the 2nd owner only drove it from Central IL to Des Moines, IA one time. After that his daughter had their first grandbaby, and since the car was his toy, his wife forced him to sell it. It has 90k original miles, and only 30k on a brand new crate OE replacement Olds 307 (from 1988 on ALL GM wagons were assembled at the Olds plant, and ALL came with the 307...with the exception of the 1a2 Caprice's...). When I got it I sent it out for a "major" tune-up and all new brakes and tires etc. I have EVERY receipt for work ever done on this car since 1988. I even have the business card with a Smartie taped to it that was still in the ash tray. This thing is CHERRY.

Eventual plans for this car? I want to take as many 95 (the last run for the Caprices, AND Impalas, was supposed to be 95. But there were so many already backordered that it took into 96 to fill the orders) 9c1 parts, Impala SS parts, and F-car parts (front WS6 sway bars work just fine ) as I can and put them on this wagon. I also plan on using ALL GM certified parts as well. That way I can source replacements easier. There is always a NAPA or CarQuest around, but not always a Hotchkis, and GM parts are cheaper as well. So, anyone have any suggestions? I already have quite a start on the suspension pieces, and Mr. Hapiak and his Engineer are always available for me to ask questions of as well.

In the pics, you can see Im missing the Bumper Fill pieces, but I will be tucking and lifting the bumpers anyways. Other than that, the spots of rust in the pics are the ONLY spots of rust on this whole big beast. The dash has a nice crack right down the center of it, and the paint is sunfade 2tone, and it needs a new headliner. Those flaws are the only things stopping me from entering car shows in the stock class, and winning.

So, thanks for the time, check out my pics, and hit me up if you have any comments or questions for me to ask Mr. Hapiak!!!