1993 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Station Wagon Test Drive

Рет қаралды 24,977

12 жыл бұрын

Update (07/31/2012): the sofa has landed! It's all final now and I drove the car home tonight.
I saw this car sitting at a used car lot. From afar, it looked pristine. Up close, it has some rust issues on both rear sides. Yet it has been completely spared rotted out floor pans and the frame looks as though it were new. I suspect it lived indoors most of the time.
It's something of a "land barge", but I sure wish there was a modern car this roomy and comfortable! Notice the awesomely huge dash pad? While not much on handling, I don't really care. I'll bet it can outmaneuver the Heep if needed! (We're not going to try. This car is going to be treated very respectfully.)
Having very scientifically floorboarded the gas pedal, I can assure you that the 350 V8 gets the attached barge moving right along, impressively so.
The interior is immaculate. Even the headliner is still perfect. I know this belonged to an older person, as there was a retirement home parking permit sticker on the rear glass.
I want one of these GM B-bodies so badly, but the rust damage has kind of put me off of this one, especially since I can see the spare tire from outside! Other than an exhaust leak and maybe some slightly mushy brakes, this thing could have potential.
And what do you know, iMovie '09 is good for something after all! I knew there was a reason I hadn't deleted it from the hard disk.

Пікірлер: 134

@Thecarguy1254 12 жыл бұрын

Man William, I am glad you bought this car to fix and preserve it's magnificence. I am very relieved that at least one 90s B-Body will not be ruined with 24 inch rims.

@dynorhyl5977 9 жыл бұрын

I always liked the 90s' Caprices' they just look so cool

@benpinter1988 12 жыл бұрын

I love this generation of the Caprice, especially the early ones with the streamlined rear wheelwell skirts. There are only a very few sedans here, I'd love to have a wagon like this with the third row jumpseats. Too bad they don't really make cars like these anymore.

@TheSpazModic 12 жыл бұрын

I suspect that many of those that scoff at the big cars have never owned or driven one. I can't help but smile when I have the chance to drive a "new" one. They are so well suited to American roads, with long distances between destinations.

@michelinman8592 12 жыл бұрын

I've always wanted one of these! Well, I settled on a 2000 Buick LeSabre instead. :-)

@vwestlife 12 жыл бұрын

The curious thing about my VW is that not only are the rear window controls on the dashboard instead of on the driver's door panel, it also has a rear window *enable* switch instead of a rear window lockout switch -- it has to be pushed in, or else the rear window buttons won't work (the opposite of most cars). And when the rear window switches are disabled, the little green LEDs that illuminate them at night are turned off as well!

@TheRinkashi 12 жыл бұрын

nice video bill! I really like these old type of cars,they just look cool.

@nowherechannel5935 2 жыл бұрын

I have always wanted one of these cars just as a daily driver nothing special but extremely comfortable and simple

@gatrwrksMarshall 12 жыл бұрын

Congrats on getting it. Marshall

@vwestlife 12 жыл бұрын

No, but I rarely ever use the trunk, because the back seat area is so large -- it can fit a desktop PC flat on the floor behind the driver's seat!

@tswiftshipper 12 жыл бұрын

You should easily be able to load up all the cool gadgets you get in that station wagon. Love the old school GPS on your dash : )

@adobewanjerkobi 12 жыл бұрын

Blast from the past! My family had the 1993 Caprice in burgundy. :) Moment I saw the interior I had a severe case of nostaliga.

@strafe501 10 жыл бұрын

The 5.7 in this Caprice is the TBI LO5 350, basically the truck motor. 94-96 got the LT-1

@lisc11 6 жыл бұрын

"i can get it to go up , but ill have to sit and play with it " lol 8:11

@dogbyte555 12 жыл бұрын

That's a cool car, man.

@benpinter1988 12 жыл бұрын

It's possible that someday classic full-size vehicles will be revived once again. Just like auto makers did with the modern muscle cars like the camaro or the mustang. I guess re-inventing classics in a modern form is a success story for the automotive industry so I definetly think there is hope. That rusty side quarter doesn't look that bad imho., I don't think you have to take the body off of the frame or anything drastic like that. A good welding practice. Good luck with your project!

@GarrardAT6 12 жыл бұрын

Is it David Bowie?...haha!!! :) That's a Beautiful looking road sofa! Looks like it came from a good home too! Shame the tin worm has chewed the rear end. I think its a little expensive considering the Hack N Pack it requires...Nice car at the right price though! Thanks for the ride Bill! That V8 made my desk rumble...haha!!! :)

@IamFat32 12 жыл бұрын

finally, antother car video! didn't you test drive an 84 caprice classic or somthing a few years ago?

@towrecker 12 жыл бұрын

Lo5 350 v8 , I loved those cars , if thats all the rust , it survived well !!

@randomrazr 12 жыл бұрын

I hope that rust was only on the body panel and not the frame under neath. but im sure yu would have thoroughly inspected that car before you bought it. how much did you end up getting it for if you dont mind me asking? Ive seen a maroon with wood paneling wagon in my home town. it looks like in great shape plus a nice red interior. every time i see it parked on the street, it looks like the biggest car, even compared to SUVs for the amount of space it takes up! lol

@xLuiKangx007 8 жыл бұрын

Awesome Car

@wastedpills 12 жыл бұрын

i have a 1991 chevy cavalier station wagon and i love it it's a nice car although it only has a 2.2 l4 engine but it's got awesome fuel economy but the A/C ain't much to write home about, it's an old r-12 system converted to r-134a but it works pretty well though in the 100 degree Arkansas heat and high humidity but not as good as an r-12 system running on r-12, but anyway, sometime in the near future do you think you could make a video about a chevy cavalier or toyota corolla?

@weasel2htm 12 жыл бұрын

I have nothing to say other than sweet ride! If you buy it you will have to race the Grand Marquis!!!

@MOTERHEAD69 12 жыл бұрын

good on ya, it shows that if you don't try you don't get, Meaning that you made an offer well under the asking price and they accepted. They obviously weren't expecting to get what they were asking. Im sure you are going to have fun with your new car

@jkltg60 12 жыл бұрын

Thumbs up enjoy the car.

@Tron1731 12 жыл бұрын

mine is a 1995 with lt1 that one is a tbi lt1 is tuned port with a roller cam i will post a vid soon on my wagon good job tint is cheap and pre cut on e bay now a cb and 8 people to fill it is the back seat rear faceing ? my wagon is

@moldymac 12 жыл бұрын

So you discovered compnine then I take it. Finding one with the police package is going to be hard as there weren't many made each year. I lucked out when I found my 1A2 Caprice wagon (1A2 is the wagon version of the 9C1 package for sedans). In my case only 157 were made that year. They never offered 4 wheel disc on those though.

@tyler2610 12 жыл бұрын

Wow, you guys have your own parking lot. Really though that is a great choice of automobile. I loved these back when I was a kid (always loved the big wagons for some reason), I would have to have the woodgrain though. Now I would love to have a Roadmaster sedan or wagon. I agree that it would be great if Detroit would get things together and build large cars with American styling again. Like many I dearly miss them.

@allthatstuff35 12 жыл бұрын

do you think you will ever acquire a HD video camcorder? Not that the current quality is bad

@MikeGuy993 12 жыл бұрын

Other than the rust it seems to be a very nice station wagon, I have the same problem on my custom cruiser, you can see the spare tire from the outside! I find it interesting that when gm went to that body style ( I believe 1991) it was most commonly the buick roadmaster that had the wood trim. I have not seen any chevrolets or oldsmobile with wood trim on those body styles. Maybe it was only an option for Buick?

@vwestlife 12 жыл бұрын

My VW Passat TDI gets 42 MPG and gives me plenty of joy and fun. And it has more rear leg room than this road whale, too!

@rutter1ify 6 жыл бұрын

How does the underneath get that rusty with literally holes?

@ducklandwikeno 10 жыл бұрын

@uxwbill Your from Illinois . I from the chicagoland at least we have something in common . what area of Illinois you from . Just wondering .

@compactc9 12 жыл бұрын

I tend to have a preference for large and roomy vehicles, and I did make sure the truck I got has rear heat and A/C so if anyone rides back there the'll be comfortable. I've been burned by the actual metal tab on the seatbelt on newer cars actually, it HURTS! But what gets hotter are the "charcoal gray" leather seats!

@naterade21 12 жыл бұрын

good ole road sofa

@GS7093 8 жыл бұрын

Bill, What are your thoughts on the newer Buick Lucerne with the 3800?

@uxwbill 8 жыл бұрын

+GS7093 I never drove one. I'm just not a fan of the "new" Buick models even with the 3800 engine.

@N617A 10 жыл бұрын

that's the Lo5 engine. it's set for civilian standard (170 HP.) i have the same engine in mine but it puts out more horsepower because it's a police package. (and i don't want any BS. yes they had an Lo5 that put out more horsepower in the police package caprice, a certain model of corvette and a certain model/year of camero.)

@microwolf96 12 жыл бұрын

When you mentioned that a Taurus Stationwagon doesn't get any A/C in the back, you weren't joking. My mother has one from '96 and you sweat like a pig in the back seat if it's a hot day, even if the A/C is set to it's highest settings.

@TheTalman1 10 жыл бұрын

HA! love the boat compass, nice touch

@TheTalman1 10 жыл бұрын

lol my caprice has one in the rear view mirror

@GhettoWagon 12 жыл бұрын

Cool ride UXW! I have a Old 92 Olds Custom Cruiser. That's the L05, Throttle body injection 350, Its pretty much the same engine used in GM trucks but the caprice/ roadmaster custom cruiser and the fleetwood used a roller camshaft when the trucks were flat tappet. The Air sort of sucks on these wagons. You need to tint them dark and it helps with all the glass

@psalerno123 12 жыл бұрын

are you going to fix the exhaust leak?

@carabela125 12 жыл бұрын

Wanted to see the tailgate working. There was a great wagon in the 70's that had a tailgate which retracted into the floor by a motor.

@DanteFox 12 жыл бұрын

ya. but you would have it in the front fenders as well. that rust is more area focused.

@trr5291 6 жыл бұрын

Looks decent for the age though . In 2011 i bought a 1992 lesabre. The whole rocker panel was completely rusted off.

@corvette1568 11 жыл бұрын

Yes he did

@NJRoadfan 12 жыл бұрын

Did that car have any evidence of a trailer hitch? Something tells me that wagon saw some days at the boat ramp.

@lmull3 12 жыл бұрын

got yourself a wagon too did ya? i've noticed that that thing has a lot of space in the back. probably more than my Saab wagon does. that would be a good hauling machine.

@towrecker 12 жыл бұрын

rear windows will almost always be like that in those cars , there are 2 plastic slides in the track that were made of crappy plastic , they cost like $15 to get them all new , and not counting taking the door panels off , only take 10 min total both sides to install , if you ever plan on owning one of these cars , you might research the replacement , 99% of the time , they are broken ...

@2SUBURBANS 12 жыл бұрын

Very nice I have a 1996 Buick Roadmaster wagon.This is the second one I have had and I love it.My 96 wagon has 166K on it and still running great. My friend that has one te that has 280K and still running.Did you know.....that the 94,95 and 96 {96 was the last year they built this car} had the LT1 350 a quick way to tell if it has an LT1? It will have 2 exhaust pipes all others will have a single exhaust.

@firehawk400 12 жыл бұрын

The old B body wagons were really the best of all utility vehicles. They get much better fuel economy than trucks/SUVs, they have equally huge tailgates, they can tow 5,000 lbs, and you could seat 6 pretty well (8 in a pinch). It's too bad wagons get such a bad rap here.

@htfkid2000 12 жыл бұрын

GEEZ... ever since I started the "Walfas Station Wagon" group... I've been seeing a ton more station wagons in my life

@randomrazr 12 жыл бұрын

u bought this?!?!?

@weasel2htm 12 жыл бұрын

Big trunk = room for big sub-woofers! :D

@Jallge 12 жыл бұрын

After seeing a few videos on KZfaq of American cars, it would seem that automatics are more popular than manuals (stick shift). Is that really the case?

@58stevenb 12 жыл бұрын

That is to bad the rear is rotted through like that, it happens here also. Those 1993 wagons give a great ride and the fuel economy is quite good.

@ataristeve9753 12 жыл бұрын

Smart donkey comment of the day: He should blow up the Roach Palace (with any Technics receiver of his choice) and park this thing in it's place. Put a mattress in the back, use the 350 V8 for cooking. Have a mini fridge on one side in the back seat, aforementioned receiver on the other side of the seat for the entertainment. With the exhaust leak, you wouldn't have mosquitos to worry about.

@lt1caprice57l 12 жыл бұрын

I would have gone for a '94-'96, personally, but nice ride none the less!

@JakeTheSnakeProductions 12 жыл бұрын

it has an L05 V8

@gajda1984 12 жыл бұрын

It's an L05 TBI 350. Basically an old school 350 with central fuel injection.

@ataristeve9753 12 жыл бұрын

There aren't too many things that sound as nice as an American V8 with an exhaust leak! Those Buick Roadmasters of that era were one of the nicest looking GM wagons I think. I am more of a Country Squire guy myself though.

@Paulywint 12 жыл бұрын

Not a bad station wagon.

@Hiei2k7 12 жыл бұрын

An exhaust leak is easily fixable for $150 or less. The body panel, you might have to find a body shop to have it nicely welded, but one could weld a patch. The important part would be if the framerail is affected by 19 Illinois Winters with Illinois roadsalt.

@TheSpazModic 12 жыл бұрын

Nice car, uxwbill. I hope you can give it the respect that it deserves and give it a space in your garage. Also, it just occurred to me that you couldn't hardly buy a car that's more opposite than Furhead's.

@mestupkid689 11 жыл бұрын

Where at in Illinois are u i got an 82 sedan with those belts and even the steering wheel gets to be way too hot in the summer

@josh6715 5 жыл бұрын

Same here in the summer with seat belt buckle are an option but if one wants to get burnt touch them but if you don't want don't touch them

@jacobreed47 9 жыл бұрын

I would but that in a heartbeat for only 3k. Just take the spare out. Cut out the rust. Place a beam of steel in its place. Replace the spare. Then pay 25 bucks to patch the muffler or better yet, just have the muffler shop put a new aftermarket one on there for 175 bucks. Then you would have a very sought after v8 wagon that looks cool, gets good mpg and has low miles. I live in Seattle, those are popular here for hot ridding and lowering with a loud exhaust system. Flat black paint and some flowmasters turn this wagon into a bad ass beast. Is it still for sale?

@2dfx 12 жыл бұрын

Looks like it may need some suspension as well

@Hiei2k7 12 жыл бұрын

Basically, bill, if you don't get this car, I MIGHT. Or my dad in Chadwick would be interested in it.

@MOTERHEAD69 12 жыл бұрын

did they accept your offer?

@IamFat32 12 жыл бұрын

I forgot about the impala review, but I prefer this car over that one.... and this car is the one you had in the blogTV intro last night, the station wagon going around the corner!

@manualtrans257 12 жыл бұрын

wait for the 1994 with the LT-1. I personally like the touches they added to the 95 and 96 to make it look like the Impala SS

@garbage854 6 жыл бұрын

Nice :)

@clubcar98 12 жыл бұрын

For the right price it would be something to consider. Its a real shame about the rust on an otherwise mint car.

@billybonewhacker 11 жыл бұрын

i see your future....you bought it.

@mrRhwalden 12 жыл бұрын

those were and are great cars.... and you can have a seven course meal on the dash.. :D

@compactc9 12 жыл бұрын

72 was the year the Suburban got rear A/C. We had a 91 Lumina minivan with a rear blower setup that consisted of a set of defrost vent like openings near all the windows in the back. I was probably the most useless thing I've ever seen, it didn't blow much air and made no noticeable difference in temp. on hot or cold days.

@nikyjim 12 жыл бұрын

nice uxwbill "i can get it to go up but ive got to sit and play with it" i laughed

@imdafarmergamerboy1650 8 жыл бұрын

is one of these good to look for? Im looking into a used car

@uxwbill 8 жыл бұрын

+imdafarmer gamerboy A lot really depends upon your driving experience and what you expect from a car, as well as how much you enjoy working on cars. Powertrain parts are readily available and cheap, but the youngest of these cars are fast approaching twenty years of age and that's well into the territory of things wearing out from the effects of time and use. I wouldn't recommend one of these for a first car, and they're nowhere near as common as they once were. They are, however, about as simple and mature as any automotive platform could ever be. And they've got some modern safety features, like ABS and airbags. (The same is true of Ford's Panther cars, of which there are still a LOT around.)

@imdafarmergamerboy1650 8 жыл бұрын

***** Well, if you think about it, its my 3rd car. My first im keeping. o dont want it to get trashed going to the farm as it belonged to my grandfather. Thats why I want a used car. so i can drive it wherever i want without worrying. I love to work on cars. Im not sure of something else to consider. i like wagons, vans, and trucks

@MrDodge49 8 жыл бұрын

+uxwbill I have a 93 Caprice wagon too. I have a mechanic that can fix it even if he has to make the parts. I have a leak in the a/c that has to be topped off with very expensive freon every 2 years. I have had this car for 18 years and love it.

@schomminater 12 жыл бұрын

I was just looking at a 1993 myself at a used car dealer. This one was the sedan and not the wagon. It has the 305 V8 not the 350 like this one. But the body on this one was perfect. The inside is not real clean like this one is. Too bad I dont have space or finances to make a move. By the way, the 350 in yours is not the LT1. It is just an ordinary 350 but dont feel like you were cheated. You wont have to worry about the OptiSpark distributer like on an LT1. Best of luck to you.

@form109 11 жыл бұрын

Not sure how the LT1's in the 94-96 Models Accelerate...but the Regular 5.7 in the Pre 94 Models definetly has good pickup...off the line & at highway speeds. i prefer the Dashboard of the Pre 94 Models as well.

@james42519 12 жыл бұрын

station wagons always have the biggest engine. they still make them now but they call them crossover i think it is or something.

@compactc9 12 жыл бұрын

I don't even know how to drive a manual. I don't have the urge to drive one either, in th city traffic I drive in regularly it would be a pain in the butt. Lots of cars here don't have the option of a manual trans. anymore either.

@frankie2234 12 жыл бұрын

nice old boat.

@emeryclarkscarsanimatronic6999 9 жыл бұрын

Was that Tom Jones i heard on 6:08?

@Corvette1658 7 жыл бұрын

Nope that is Marvin Gaye lets get it on.

@schomminater 12 жыл бұрын

I believe in 1992 the option came for the 350. So for 1992-1993 one could get the 305 or the 350. Horsepower wasnt that different between the 2 engines but the torque is what seperates the 2 engine. Given the choice I would be excited to get one with a 350 too. Find somebody with a welder and the knowledge to use it and one could fix the hole where the spare tire is showing. You got something really nice here. And as I may have said somewhere else, this car should have lots of life left.Goodluck

@randomrazr 12 жыл бұрын

second video on this car or it didnt happen :D

@ab.3800 8 жыл бұрын

Looks like it might be TBi?

@uxwbill 8 жыл бұрын

+Aaron Blakely Certainly, but at the time this video was shot, I didn't know exactly what engine GM was using. Upon doing some research, I learned the L05 350 was an option for these cars. I had expected to see a TBI 305 underhood.

@ab.3800 8 жыл бұрын

+uxwbill yea the TBI 5.7 was probably the more common engine among this generation of B-body cars. Though the LT1 was an option. I've been wanting to get a LT1 Roadmaster for a while.

@uxwbill 8 жыл бұрын

+Aaron Blakely For 91-93 models, there were only the L03 and L05 engines available, both TBI. A lot of those cars have the L03 305; 350s are much rarer especially on non tow-pack equipped cars like mine. The LT1 didn't appear until the 94-96 model years, and I think it was standard issue for all wagons at that point.

@Jakeman21642 12 жыл бұрын

Saabkyle04 would probably fight you for this car!

@ncrdisabled 12 жыл бұрын

I gotta ask how much did you pay for it???

@moldymac 12 жыл бұрын

Cnograts on your new purchase! That looks like a pretty well optioned wagon for a Caprice. Not many had the 350 in them, the 305 was standard and it's nice to see one with the far more superior engine in it. Did the seller mention if it has a tow package? You can find out yourself by checking the sticker in the rear gate area on the passenger side, check for V92 and or G80. Now if you would please join the rest of us nuts at longroof.info, I'm sure this won't be your only B-body purchase :)

@Markworth 12 жыл бұрын

Unfortunately, yes. There's plenty of cars that you're not going to find with a manual transmission, particularly these sorts of luxury-ish vehicles.

@DanteFox 12 жыл бұрын

Ya thats way to much for something that the spare tire is falling out of. Other then that it is in nice shape and miles are right. When it was parked out side it must of bin with the rear over a puddle. Also the dash compass really adds to the era of the car lol.

@weasel2htm 12 жыл бұрын

Within five years, you will have a supercharger bolted to that thing in hopes of beating the pants off the Naughtiac!

@TheCatMilton 12 жыл бұрын

Come to dallas tx to get one!! No rust! No paint!

@Blazer2533 12 жыл бұрын

for those wondering what I meant I was referring to blog tv being a complete waste of time and had seen this car there but uxwbills show is alright over there but blogtv itself is suck-orama!!

@dexterro6010 12 жыл бұрын

Just got rid of my red 1995 Caprice wagon recently. LT1 engine finally blew. It will be missed.....

@Blazer2533 12 жыл бұрын

anywho 82,000 on the clock and some minor although common rust in the rear wheel well is apparantly the only flaws and asking price of 3 grand is one hell of a deal for a car with that low of miles..you would expect to pay 5 grand for these cars easy so 3 grand is cheap!! it's a beautiful car and if I had 3 grand I would give them 2500 because it will only cost around 500 to fix the rust...good luck good video

@MarshallRA 12 жыл бұрын

i call the spedometers and stuff the clocks lol

@towrecker 12 жыл бұрын

the car is worth about 2k if that is all the rust in the body , but if I seen the mileage right 82k ?? if thats fact , it is actually worth the asking price as much as I hate to say it ;(

@ncrdisabled 12 жыл бұрын

Man this makes me sad as I lay in the hospital and after my poor 1991 toyota camry with 100k miles and r12 a/c was working great . We loved that car toughs my son how to drive and was going to teach my daughter. how to drive / Wife does not want another 1991 camry. I found one laying here that has 89k miles perfect condition 3250.00 . I am sure the person who hit me insurance will low ball us on my car. The spare tire in in the back seat and its oval I seen pictures . I would love to buy yourcar

@Markworth 12 жыл бұрын

I'm sure you've run into good ones because you've got so much driving experience, but I've yet to run into an automatic that didn't constantly make regrettable decisions. Granted, I don't even like the uselessly tight 5 speed on the 98 Accord I'm stuck with, so maybe I'm hard to amuse.