I spotted this mid-70’s B Body in traffic in my town last week, and was able to squeeze off a few shots through my windshield. What do do you think? A Curbside Classic, or just a neglected beater?
Here’s a closeup. I assume it’s a Chevy; were they all Caprice by then or could it be an Impala or Biscayne? It’s still getting use after 40 years though, so I say it’s a true CC. And by the way, I think this may answer any questions readers have about the existence of vehicle roadworthiness inspections in California. Interestingly, if it’s a ’76, it would require a biennial “smog” (tailpipe emissions and visual check) inspection.
Looking at it, reminds me of my favorite pair of flannel boxers. Has a few little holes in it, missing a seam, discolored and sewn up a couple of times with whatever color thread was on the needle. I wear them on days I hang around the house. They aren’t a classic, but I do enjoy the fact that they have been customized over the years to fit no one else.
Like this car, but I bet this one leaks more than I do.
I’d want a tetanus shot before I climbed inside.
And a respirator.
Stone Cold Curbside Classic.
“And was there anything of value in the car?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, uh… a tape deck, some Creedence tapes, and there was a, uh… uh, my briefcase.”
This is a ’75 or ’76 Chevy Impala – I can’t pin it down further without seeing the front. For now, I’d call it a marginal CC but who knows what it’ll be in a few years (probably scrap metal headed for China).
It looks like what’s left of a ’76 Impala going by the taillights. The horizontal bar across the rectangle gives it away.
A coworker a long time ago when I worked a Black & Decker in Towson Maryland had one of these in, and I don’t know if it was assembled this way, or he bought the wrong replacement lenses and bezels to repair it (the year was 1978 or so when I worked there), but he had taillights with the bars on the left, and without the bars on the right. It was even the same color as this one, although in considerably better condition!
(comment edited to remove “Caprice” after a Google Image Review – although that can’t always be trusted. A search of ’76 Caprice showed what was clearly a ’71 in one of the images… We Curbivores know better ;o) It’s definitely an Impala.
Definitely a neglected beater.
Bel Air was available through the 1975 model year, then gone. Hard to tell if this is an Impala or Caprice…pretty sure it’s not a Bel Air, though.
Saw a similar year Impala Spirit of 76 model on a Craigslist in my area, if these weren’t such boats I would have been tempted to at least go look at it.
For me, these 71-76 Impala-Caprices are the lowest point in the post war Chevy history.
Beater for sure Chevy lost me in 1974. I thought 71-73 were fine except 5 mph bumper on the 73 was terrible.
The ’75-’76 Caprice had wraparound taillights. The rear doors with the fixed panes indicate that this isn’t earlier than a ’75. Bel Airs had two taillights on each side, not three. It wasn’t easy to find a decent picture of the rear of the ’75 Bel Air.
Here are the Caprice taillights.
Howard, I’d agree. There’s just something fundamentally dishonest about their engineering. Say what you will about the W bodies, but at least underneath once GM sorted everything out with the Impala it was a decent car.
Is that a massive expanse of duct tape across the rear deck? Being used to stop water leaks I presume?
This car makes me realize that your salt-free environment is not always a blessing. That thing would have been mercifully removed from the road years ago here.
Patina? No. I would call this a parts car, except that all of its parts are probably too worn out to be of any use.
“Is that a massive expanse of duct tape across the rear deck? “
To my eye, it looks like the rear window has been replaced with a flat piece of plexiglass, and the tape extends up and around the window frame to help hold things together.
A possible candidate for a “There, I fixed it” meme.
Fantastic car!
This post reminded me of the classic SNL commercial for the Chameleon. RIP Phil Hartman.
https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/chameleon/2859849
Nice! Never seen that clip before. My first thought was it even more embarrassing than Uncle Buck’s Mercury.
Nice reference! I love that skit.
Maybe it really is a modern luxury car underneath…
The steel ball thing was a parody of the then-current Lexus commercials that used a rolling ball to demonstrate how narrow and straight the cut lines were, or something like that.
I can smell that picture from 3,000 miles away.
That is well past patina
Calling this “patina” is like calling leprosy a skin blemish.
You got that right! Sure got that right!
Uh, I’d call that abuse AND neglect, but if that’s the only way the owner can get around and it’s doing the job then so be it..
At least it’s not an aircooled beetle that the owner trashed because patina is currently cool 🙁
Pretty far gone. You could park it in a barn for 50 years, “find” it again, and sell it for $75,000, I suppose. “Unrestored Classic!”
Rolling junk. It would be amusing to see the reactions of people in nearby cars as this heap rolls by–I imagine it would elicit double-takes of the worst kind.
And the annual premiums for even the most basic liability insurance (a requirement for vehicle registration in virtually all U.S. states including California) would cost more than the value of the car.
“Hello, Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance? I have a potential entry for you….”
No doubt in the “Survivor” class!
What’s doubly amazing is that it was re-titled (thus presumably purchased) relatively recently judging by the plates. I doubt it was driven in from out of state by the same owner.
Perhaps the front looks better. Judge not, lest thy be judged… It still beats (waiting for and) taking the bus in most places in the US.
There are decals on the doors. Taxi? Police car?
Patina is actually a good word. A coat of tarnish tends to be self-protective.
This car shouts I’M UNINSURED AND I DON’T CARE so loudly that nobody will dare to get close. It’s not going to acquire any more dents, at least from external causes.
Did this car leave a trail of smoke a mile long behind it? It’d be interesting to find out the condition of the engine and interior – the body’s definitely done for.
Hmmm. brown sedan with badging on side doors removed.. former fleet car for either a local sheriff or possibly forest service? Not that it would have been in recent use by either, but if it came from a small, out of the way area, it might just have.
Regardless, it is providing transportation to someone, so it is doing someone good.
I vote for forest service – it looks like a tree fell on the back of it.
The shot of this car reminds me of the parody that Road & Track did of its own “After the New Wears Off” series years ago. It was titled “After the Paint Wears Off.” Surely this poor old Chevrolet deserves a decent burial?
She’s on her way to Darnell’s for some self re-construction. It was a tough night…
A few updates and questions:
– The car pulled away smoothly and quietly when the light changed. No holey muffler or smoke.
– While Jim Klein observantly noted that the plates are much newer than the car, that doesn’t mean it was re-titled. I’ve had plates go missing (fell off, stolen??) twice in the last few years and California issues new plates with new numbers, not replacements. Judging by the rear end that’s a real possibility with this Chevy.
– So it seems the consensus is that it’s a ‘75 or ‘76, and not a Caprice, but is it an Impala or Bel Air? I guess if it’s a ‘76, that makes it a highly coveted “Final Edition” (pre-downsizing).
– My first reaction to seeing this car was not favorable, but over the past week I’ve warmed to it. It was in use and seemed to be well enough maintained mechanically. We have a few other rolling wrecks around town that I’m less fond of.
What part of California did you find this in? Thank you for sharing the photos. This car sure looks neglected.
EDIT: the lack of brake lights is disconcerting and I hope all of the lights work properly.
It’s in the Monterey Bay Area. Honestly, seeing cars in this condition on the roads here isn’t that unusual; but typically they are a little newer and less interesting than this Impala. I recently avoided a Honda Odyssey that rolled through a stop sign while the driver stared straight at me – or perhaps a million miles beyond me. The Odyssey looked worse than this Impala, and had no windshield at all.
I remember Click and Clack used to talk sometimes about the loss of jalopies. Used to be you’d see really derelict cars driving around regularly while in more recent years you really don’t. Many cars are neglected or abused, but the older ones don’t look all that bad compared to the past.
It is in fact a ’76 Impala, and it passed smog just six days ago (see attached picture). I guess it must be in better condition underneath that crumbling exterior.
Wow, I never you could find that by license plate number. So it passed smog on the 13th, and I took the picture on the 14th. As I commented, there was no visible smoke from the tailpipe.
Cop bait here that heap would have been put off the road long ago.
I nearly photographed a similar Chevrolet up here held together by Duct tape and binder twine. Driven by some old guy who could barely see over the dashboard/
It looks like Hell, but since its not in rust country its probably structurally still very solid. If tires, brakes, lights and suspension are in decent condition (we know it runs OK and passed smog inspection), its good to go. Just not to look at!
I’d love to be driving this car just so I could pull next to the BMW and kindly inform the driver their taillight is out
“…and do you have any Grey Poupon, perchance?”
A few years ago there was a Dodge Dart driving around Brooklyn in similar condition. Besides the appearance, that car also had some serious suspension issues as one side was much higher than the other and it looked like it was going sideways, weaving from one lane to another. Quite scary. But I’ll bet the Slant Six was still just fine and so the crazy middle-aged guy must have just kept driving it until something else failed.
It seems like it would take more time, money, and effort to keep this thing road-legal than it would to just buy something like a ’93 Camry with 200K miles on it. Or a C/H-body, if the driver is import-averse.
Note the license plates starting with 7U. That plate was issued no more than 2 1/2 years ago as plates starting with 8 are showing up now. Either that was brought into the state to get such a plate like my father’s 2004 Buick from AZ. Or it has been out of the system for so long that it was required to get new plates. Now when I got CA plates for the Buick, at CSAA, the customer service person came out to look at the car and check the VIN and that was it.
I see someone also knows how to check Vehicle Test History for CA cars from 1976 and onward.
Nice line of cars for US 1 on the coast. Ugh! Glad I drove it many times in the ’80s and ’90s because now it has got to be a solid line of cars all summer. Especially since the road has now been repaired.
Neglected beater. Or does that just add to the ambiance and MAKE it a CC classic…..?
Those panel gaps are tight, brah…
One careful owner.
Unfortunately the other 12 were hopeless.
Nothing runs bad better than malaise era Detroit iron. This Chevy looks like it has been to Hell and back but could probably repeat the trip. Ha!
Looks like it’s been derby tested.
Beater!!! Without a doubt a beater..But you could call it a classic beater.