Caprice engine swap?

[bill25]

I think you see your Caprice with blinders. From the pictures, this seems like it is in light-years better condition and you can't bring yourself to think it is worth even $1,800? What should a no rust 20 year old car go for that runs well? $800? I think that you have slightly unreasonable expectations of a car that has been used for 20 years. You should seriously look at what total garbage still sells for 2 grand.

I will submit examples.

[Adam]

Like I said, I have some seats.

[Adam]

I think you see your Caprice with blinders. From the pictures, this seems like it is in light-years better condition and you can't bring yourself to think it is worth even $1,800? What should a no rust 20 year old car go for that runs well? $800? I think that you have slightly unreasonable expectations of a car that has been used for 20 years. You should seriously look at what total garbage still sells for 2 grand.

I will submit examples.

I agree with this.

[bill25]

Sure it has low miles but really?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Lumin ... 1457843282

Almost 1100!!!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Lumin ... 1459311336

1400, the Caprice isn’t 400 better than this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Oldsmobile-Othe ... 1735526472

What the WHAT!!! THIS CAR DOES NOT DRIVE. IT MUST BE FLAT-BEDDED TO NEW LOCATION.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Monte ... 1919839360

In Primer and rust:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Monte ... 1830155588

Sweet Grand Am!
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Ch ... sacat=6001

Almost 1500 for a 99 z24!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Caval ... 1836806137

[bill25]

Just to be clear, these are the actual sale prices. Not what the seller was asking, what actually got paid for the cars on ebay.

[bill25]

Some Camrys…
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Camry-LE ... 1731892494

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Camry-LE ... 1848026603

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Camry-LE ... 1821848030

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Camry-LE ... 1775375064

[Adam]

This is turning into the best thread ever.

[Adam]

This 1996 Taurus wagon is clearly more valuable than that (or any) Caprice.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Taurus-/141797074482

[Bob]

Here's a mint 11,600 mile example of a 95 Impala SS.

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5271599331.html

The resale on these has seemingly not change at all. In fact, resale probably hasn't gone down on any, only that more higher mileage and used examples exist which drive down the average transaction price. But the price of very well kept examples is still high. Unlike the G-bodies, these didn't drop and come back - they never dropped.

Getting this would be the equivalent of my Type R purchase. Outrageously overpriced to many, but the resale is stable so the TCO isn't bad.

[kevm14]

I think you see your Caprice with blinders.

In some ways, yes. But the same goes for you and everyone else who doesn't understand why these cars had such a strong niche. And I think a lot of that is because you weren't around when I first got the car. It was extremely clean. Paint, interior, body, frame, etc. All clean. Of course it was only 8 years old with 113k. But it provided a fun platform for me (aside from never having the valve covers off which at this point, is a claim to fame), was actually usable as a real car, and more importantly, has been very reliable. Nothing drives like a B-body, and there is a niche of folks, including myself, who like that.

I will remind you again that I test drove a then-new 2007 Chrysler 300C, expecting to love everything but the engine (because the SRT8 is what I really was interested in). And yet, during the drive, and especially after getting back into my Caprice, my thoughts were "wow, the engine is the only thing I actually like about this car." I could see out of my Caprice better and it felt much more attached to the road. Fit like a glove and I could throw it around at will - in the 300C, not so much. It felt huge and tall and everything was too soft.

From the pictures, this seems like it is in light-years better condition and you can't bring yourself to think it is worth even $1,800? What should a no rust 20 year old car go for that runs well? $800? I think that you have slightly unreasonable expectations of a car that has been used for 20 years. You should seriously look at what total garbage still sells for 2 grand.

I will submit examples.

I think the issue is I'm not sure I have the patience to slowly bring the car back into the kind of condition I expect when I replace a car, at any price. I made my $1300 Fleetwood into something that actually looked like I DIDN'T rescue it from a random driveway in Lynn. Even my brother in law when we picked the car up was like...uhh, this car looks like junk. But it wasn't. I'm no stranger to the TLC process and I rather enjoy it. Yet with this Caprice, I feel like I am trading corrosion for having to really go on a wild goose chase to fix stuff that is circumstantial and probably doesn't even change the price (not to mention, stuff that ISN'T wrong with my Caprice). With the Fleetwood, I got a clear discount. It was a diamond in the rough. This car, I'm not sure. For $1500, maybe. For $2500, no. For $2000, eh, probably not.

So with the Caprice, I've already been there, and done that, and MUCH like my current house situation, I don't know if I have the time/money to do it all over again quickly. I say quickly because I need no time to figure things out - I know what it needs. With the first Caprice, much of it was a discovery, participating with the community, going to various events. It was fun. I've done all that stuff and I know the cars. That's why the Fleetwood was so fun, because I wanted one for a while and finally had my own (just like the 9C1/SS thing). But with the Caprice, I'm afraid it won't be as fun the second time around, ESPECIALLY because most of the cars have already been crushed at junkyards and I can't even find a fucking seat for this car on car-part.com. Not one.

Remember, I'm not looking for some random set of wheels that is "tolerable to drive." I'm looking for an enthusiast experience in a car that I like and can afford, but I also need the time and budget for it. I know my current Caprice has largely faded into being transportation to and from work (it always was a daily but lately, that's about all it is, even if it retains most of the B-body characteristics that I like - which is why I am still driving it). But buying another one pushes the reset button, and maybe I'm not up for that. I dunno, so many feels.

And no, the P71 is not the answer.