#1968 caprice

[lovetheirloves]

Tomorrow, Adam the ‘68 Caprice is going to a new home. I’m still deeply sad I didn’t get to rebuild him with my dad, but the new owner is buying the car to rebuild with HIS son. They watched Supernatural together and, like me, quickly realized the price of ‘67s is so inflated and the ‘68 is a great alternative. They plan to do exactly what my dad and I were going to do: a SPN tribute car. Baby, but as a ‘68. They’re going to send me pics of the project, too!

This is hard, but I have other great memories with my dad, I have my dad’s beloved car for my daily drive, and Adam will get the remodel we dreamed of for him. I’m giving them my chrome bullet keychain and show accurate key blanks.

[lovetheirloves]

Death of a dream, man. I listed my ‘68 on FB Marketplace and Craig’s List. Had to admit to myself that without my dad’s help and connections, I couldn’t possibly restore the car in a reasonable time for a reasonable price. I should have listed it months ago, tbh, but I wanted to get past the first anniversary of my dad’s death before doing it. I’m sad and kind of adrift about it. Yes, I inherited my dad’s car (the Scottcar) and it’s a pretty great balm for the wound, but it’s still not the same as actually getting to rebuild my dream car with my father. 

Still, if you’re in the Southeastern US and are interested in a ‘68 Caprice/Impala, hit me up, I guess? I’m even including the instrument cluster bezel that would convert the ‘68 dash to a ‘67 style with round gauges. *sniffle*

[lovetheirloves]

This beautiful boy is Adam, my ‘68 four door hardtop I was meant to rebuild with my dad (who passed away in December). Technically, Adam is a Caprice I am downgrading to an Impala. The trim is a dead giveaway. The Impala trim is narrower and in a different location. He started life Grecian Green and rolled off the line the third week of July 1968 at the LA plant. I know this from cowl tag research.

Some of his notable traits include truly disgusting interior, your choice between a lap belt OR a shoulder belt (the thing up against the roof), a surprisingly decent home paint job, genuinely good chrome bumpers on both ends, factory air that still works, original wheels, a 327 emblem but a 350 engine, cranks for both the window and the triangular vent window, an honest to god kill switch that bypasses the starter (I bought this car in VERY rural Tennessee), a lot of rust on the floor pans, dash, and rear deck but a largely rust-free body, and now deeply ingrained sadness. My husband (light colored hoodie, far left) is 6’3” for scale. Dorky bullet keychain is all me, baby.

[lovetheirloves]

The interior is a hot goddamn mess, but this car has SO much good chrome on it, still. I was worried I’d have to get most of the chrome refinished or straight up replace the parts, but the chrome is by and large the best feature on this car! 

First steps will be minor electrical (speedometer, left turn signal, fuel gauge all need to be repaired, and the weird kill switch the previous owner juryrigged to bypass the ignition coil needs to be pulled the fuck out so my car can actually START again) and replacement seatbelts, because the driver’s belt is rusted stuck at a size that’s about an inch too tight to be comfortable for me. This is all to get it street-worthy. Tag & insurance. Woot. 

Next step will be rust removal, treating existing rust patches to prevent additional damage, and replacement of any pans, lids, etc. with too much rust damage. I know I need a new trunk lid, probably rear driver’s side floor pan, new package tray/rear deck - they all have huge holes from rust. Hopefully NOT the trunk pan, once I get under the rust there. Then new seals and stripping on everything. Mine’s all dry-rotted and won’t prevent water from getting in and messing up the good work I’ll have done by that point. 

This is all before we start getting into major cosmetic stuff like carpet, door panels, dash, seats (oh god the seats) of which there are so many. Like, literally anything that is fabric, carpet, or vinyl has to come out. Padding has to be replaced. Arm rests. The cost of the new headliner alone is enough to make a grown man weep, but again, that’s pretty far down the line. 

Then cosmetic stuff. Swap out the trim, side mirrors, rearview mirrors. Whole new dash configuration. Fiddly bits like door locks. Replace the parts where the chrome is janked.

Then, finally, probably like 32 years from now, the paint will go on. By then I will be old and weary and y’all will never want to hear about my Caprice-turned-Impala again. The End. 

I also now know this ‘68 Caprice was originally green with a white vinyl top and grey-green interior, and rolled off the line in the third week of July of that year, thanks to a diligent researcher in the Metallicars community on FB. 

[lovetheirloves]

This beautiful ‘68 got me safely home from Cartwright, TN, a good 2+ hour drive through mountains and down a whole lot of Interstate. My first time driving a V8 was a little harrowing, but now the project can begin. I can’t believe I’m the owner of a real live Caprice-turning-Impala!

Rosie shown for scale. ;)

[lovetheirloves]

It’s rusty af on the inside, but the body’s in great condition and the engine’s a 350 that looks pretty good. It’s a no post car (the windows open into one big empty space, no divider between them, which is true to Baby). I’ll probably start with cleaning up the interior rust, then start replacing the front bench seat and the rear passenger side floor pan (has a small rust hole), window seals, then move on to the rear bench, door panels, carpeting. Then rear decking, dash pad, then start moving on to stuff like the instrument panel, sound system, etc. Doing as much work my (our) self as possible. 

[lovetheirloves]

Tomorrow begins the first step of my classic car journey and a whole new way of engaging with a fandom that I’ve really come to enjoy. Bringing home my ‘68 Caprice and begin the process of converting it to an Impala. Considering doing it up as ‘68 version of a Baby tribute car, a sort of Little Brother to Baby. Never thought I’d do anything of a fandomy nature on this scale, but the prospect of restoring this badass V8 small block engine to its full glory with the help of my dad, my grandfather, my kids, and one enthusiastic car-buddy neighbor (father of one of Rosie’s best friends) is really exciting. 

At the beginning, someone asked me, “Why an Impala?” and I said “Because I can’t get a Cylon Raider or the Rocinante, so I’m going with my next favorite genre tv vehicle.”