After my experience with last week’s COAL, I was hooked. Except this time, I was searching for the ultimate Caprice. Starting in 1994, Caprices had two engine choices, both derived from the LT1 engine that powered the C4 Corvette from 1992-1996. That’s right…the Corvette. The two engines were the 4.3-liter L99 version, with 200 HP for fuel economy, found in standard Caprices; and the 5.7-liter LT1, with 260 HP for performance, found in station wagons and optional on sedans and the 9C1 police-package cars. Used Caprices were cheap back then, especially retired 9C1 police-package Caprices. So for less than $2,500, one could obtain a decent example with Corvette power. In my opinion this was the best kept secret of American car enthusiasts.
Needless to say, my requirements for the “ultimate Caprice” included an LT1-powered example with the 9C1 package (which included items such as four-wheel disc anti lock brakes, limited slip differential, motor and transmission oil coolers, heavy duty alternator, frame, and suspension, as well as a calibrated speedometer). I also preferred a ’95 model, since that was the year they got the large foldaway heated side mirrors vs. the smaller, “bullet style” units.
I found one for sale online. It was located about 3 miles from me, had 105,000 miles on the odometer and was priced at $2,000. I took it home for $1,800 cash. I was extremely pleased with my purchase, a white ex-Hanover, NJ police cruiser.
Thankfully, there were no police stickers that had to be removed. There were holes in the roof and trunk that had been plugged, as well as holes in the dashboard. It still had the extremely bright ticket writing light behind the rearview mirror, as well as the driver’s side spotlight. I found both extremely helpful at night. The ticket writing light was helpful when reading or filing out paperwork at night and the spotlight for illuminating our door when we came home late at night. There was also a “stealth button” on the dash that killed all illumination inside the car including the dash lighting. It is my understanding that this feature was used on stakeouts to prevent the dash lighting from reflecting on the driver’s face and betraying the fact that someone was in the vehicle watching the bad guys.
The car had a blue interior with cloth-covered front buckets (which had anti-stab metal built into the seatbacks to protect the driver and front passenger), a vinyl rear bench seat and rubber floor for easy cleaning. The AC and all power accessories worked. Unlike my civilian ’91 Caprice, the AC in this car was quite effective. Since the car was an in-town unit, it did not have cruise control. The austere interior appointments worked to our advantage the day after Thanksgiving, when my son was about six months old. We were coming back to Jersey from Maryland and, sure enough, there was a car fire and accident on the Delaware Memorial Bridge and a few accidents on I-95. This turned our usual four-hour trip into a nine-hour odyssey stuck in gridlocked traffic with no place to pull over. Thankfully, the heavy duty cooling system allowed for endless idling without fear of overheating. In addition, we had to do about four diaper changes (filled with the heavy stuff) and multiple Gerber feedings in the car while stuck in traffic. The vinyl rear seat and rubber floor made clean up simple after we finally got home. There was no stained upholstery to worry about.
The previous owner had tried to make an Impala SS clone out of it. He ordered and installed the leaping deer symbols on the side as well as an Impala SS grille. I prefer the stock look myself (especially since the Impala SS was never offered in white) and quickly replaced the grille with a stock ’95 Caprice grille. I did not remove the leaping deer emblems for fear of damaging the paint.
Actually, I prefer the 9C1 to the Impala SS because it has the same engine, but also has a higher ground clearance and indestructible green “lifetime” hoses in the engine compartment. I saw the 9C1 as a “ruggedized” Impala SS for daily use and abuse.
For 1993, Chevrolet opened up the rear wheel wells and revised the tail lights on the sedans in an attempt to improve the “bloated whale”look of the 91-92 cars. Model Year 1994 brought revised interiors with a passenger-side airbag, climate controls with rotary switches and a digital dash with Corvette styling cues.
As you can see from this pic, the previous owner, Matt, installed a custom air intake and air cleaner system which allowed the engine to breathe better–not that it needed it. The LT1 delivered as promised. The car was fast. Snap-your-neck fast. It started with an aggressive roar, and acceleration was simply amazing…one uninterrupted burst of power. It did not stop accelerating strongly…it was I who ended up letting off the gas for fear of going too fast. It lived for triple digit speeds. It was easily the fastest, best handling car that I have ever owned.
Despite the lack of cruise control, it was great on long trips. It was very roomy,and the engine and suspension made driving very entertaining. I remember once on a whim, we decided to drive from Northern NJ to Annapolis MD for dinner. It was a very easy, very fun, very relaxing sunset trip. On the way down I-95, we encountered a pack of at least 20 bikers on Harley Davidsons. They formed a cordon around the Caprice and “escorted ” us south at high speed, giving us thumbs up all the way.
I was so proud of the car that I didn’t want just anyone servicing it. After doing some research, I found a shop about ten minutes from where I lived that specialized in LT1 cars. To try them out I made an appointment for an oil change late in the day.
Photo from Google Image Search
The shop was quite impressive. It looked like the Hot Wheels service station playset I had as a kid. There were about four Corvettes there and two Buick Grand Nationals in the service bay.
The owner was very nice. He hoisted my car on the lift as his assistant drained the oil. He complimented my decision to buy the car saying that the Caprice/LT1 package was “absolutely bulletproof.” He gave the car a quick inspection and everything checked out. He did want to give the steering a closer look, but he said that could wait until next time. All that was left to to do was reset the “Change Oil” light on the dashboard. This was done by pumping the gas twice within four seconds with the ignition in the “run” position. The first few tries were unsuccessful and he was getting impatient so he jammed his steel-toed boots down as hard as he could several times until the light finally went off.
I thanked him for taking me so close to closing time and drove off. I was about a block away when all of a sudden, the gas pedal became unresponsive and the car could only creep forward very slowly. The 4L60E transmission was the Achilles heel of this platform so I was sure that this was the issue here. I felt sick knowing that there was no way I could afford a new transmission. I turned around and crept slowly back to the shop. Sure enough, it was closed and locked up tight. I banged hard on the door anyway and the assistant who helped change the oil appeared. Upon investigating the problem, it turned out that the accelerator cable had come loose and was no longer connected to the throttle. Five minutes later, I was back in business. I never did return to that shop.
Everything was great after that. I took the car everywhere and it was a reliable daily driver. I did notice an occasional creaking coming from the front end, but the car seemed to drive fine otherwise.
Photo from Google Image Search
One day as I was turning into my parking space at work, I heard a loud bang and the car was tilted at the left front. I slowly completed my turn into the space with loud grinding and scraping. At first I thought I got a flat tire but upon further inspection, I noticed the tire tilted at an odd angle. It was not a flat. The lower control arm, tie rod, and shock absorber had failed, causing the front wheel to become partially detached from the car! Great!
I had it repaired, but somehow it did not seem to be the same after that. I did not have as much fun driving it and began to look for a replacement. Sure enough, a few weeks later, I found something that would fulfill my car buying requirements for the next five years.
This Corvette powertrain was available in Holdens of the same era and at about 3,000lbs they get up an go, once modified the Corvette/Holden gearboxes and diffs were exported to GM Europe for fitting into the Lotus Carlton it was the only drive train GM had that could withstand the twin turbo 6 from Vauxhall/Lotus, so while the whale Chevy is quite rare out here we did see the best pieces.
Nice writeup on your Caprice, and too bad about the front end suspension.
After my current Tahoe, I think my next car will be a Caprice, preferably of this last generation. Hope I will find a good example, though, as Caprices are very rare here in Europe. And now I know I have to look at the LT1 package example – if I can find one…
Picture number five (side shot) just confirms what I’ve always thought – the newer rounded-wheel well opening rear fenders look weird, they definitely should have kept the skirted fenders.
I agree. On this car the character line goes from the upper border of the front bumper to the upper border of the rear bumper and the rounded wheel arch interrupts this line in a crude manner.
I’m not a fan of white cars, but this Caprice looks the business. I would have thought that a front suspension rebuild, on both sides, with new or recon parts would have improved the car.
Here in the UK you can also get ex-police cars on a budget, Volvos, BMWs, Range Rovers, and the occasional Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evo. High mileages, but they will be looked after, regularly serviced and meticulously maintained.
Nice write up and great car. When your front suspension failed, was it by chance a lower ball joint? The circa 1995 Caprice’s had issues with lower ball-joints failing, and causing the problem you described. I believe it was an assembly line issue. I remember working at GM having some cruisers come in with that issue. We’d also replaced the lower control arm if it was damaged too. IIRC, GM upgraded to bigger ball-joints for the last 9C1 Caprices. This is also a common upgrade that B-body owners make.
I used to service a about 4-5 of these back in the 90s, yes they are nearly bullet proof. The cops never had any issues with the optispark like the vette guys do.
I remember an issue of C&D where the Chevy engineers took a 80s Caprice wagon and dropped a vette powertrain into it, it was also beefed up in the brakes & suspension too. They had good praise for that car & wished chevy would build it.
Went from needing a truck to needing a 4wd truck. Would love to have fit one of these into the mix somewhere but not to be. White with killer AC should be called the Gulf Coast edition.
I pondered a 9C1 sedan for quite a while but in my heart I’m a longroof fan. I was pleased to find the B-Body Buick wagons came standard with LT-1’s. I picked up a ’94 Roadmaster Estate and the love affair has remained strong these last few years. Even after a transmission rebuild, full A/C replacement, starter replacement, several body repairs and a broken brake line or two. I managed to do a full interior swap changing it from blue to tan to take away the pain of emergency repairs. I wound up dedicating my blog to it to enhance the fun and can’t imagine giving her up any time soon!
Love that color with the woodgrain, it looks great!
I enjoyed this COAL. my only experience with a Caprice was a ride in the rear of a taxi. I could get a hint of that acceleration you described.
A neighbor of mine has a Buick Roadmaster with the LT1 engine. My attempts at persuading him to give me a ride were not yet successful. Maybe he is not keen about cleaning up the junk he stores inside.
I don’t know about other police agencies, but these were highly regarded by the RCMP. Once the last ones wore out, they actually had several hundred rebuilt to as new condition and ran them a few more years as highway cars. Nothing else available at the time could do the job and offer the same performance.
We looked after RCMP vehicles for a short time while they secured a new long term supplier (one who was willing to endure the bureaucratic BS getting paid entailed), and these seemed to hold up very well considering the use they were put to. One of the younger members claimed the record at 220 kmh, which is about 140 mph. There was lots of moaning and complaining when the last couple were replaced by comparatively “gutless” Crown Vics.
One of the metro departments near my home used Crown Vics. I remember reading about how long it took them to catch a Grand AM or similar car on the interstate…it was pathetic. I had a Lincoln Continental with a 4.6; I’m not sure if it was a similar engine but was gutless as well. Buick 3800s for the next 15 years after that.
Continental’s 4.6 is a good upgrade comparing the engine on the town car and crown vic. It’s an aluminum DOHC Modular V8 from Mark VIII initially rated at 280hp/280lb ft but lower for early front wheel drive models.
Front suspension was in fact a bigger Achilles heel to these cars than the transmission. The components were marginal at best for the box cars, but for the Whales, it was simply overloaded, as the cars were a good 150 kg or more, heavier. Same goes for the brakes; on the box cars, they were okay, but nothing to write home about, but on the Whale cars, they were just overloaded.
The LT1 engine was sure nice, though!
These are actually some of the greatest POS’s that GM ever made. Hope you never had to replace the optical distributor in it.
That will be discussed in a future COAL…stay tuned.
The 1995 on up versions are sealed and last much longer. Replacing the cap and rotor isn’t the end of the world.
Another article that just reinforces how much better the B-bodies were than Panther’s
I love these things, though I do prefer the 91-92s for styling (sue me).
Maybe the fender skirts could be spliced in on a ’94 9c1….
When the 1991 was introduced I personally loved it and knew that that model would be a “low riding” classic in the future.
The later model opened-up rear wheel wells ruined the styling, in my opinion.
Lots of times I felt the same after some parts has been fixed/replaced. Maybe it’s only an “optical illusion”… New parts must be better than the worn out parts…
The LT1 C4 Corvette was never really that fast. The turbo 4.3L GMC Typhoon and Syclone both outran the Corvette, and they were V6 trucks. the V6 powered Buick Grand National also outran the ‘Vette. Put the LT1 into something as heavy as the Caprice, and I don’t see how it could be all that fast. Plus, the Caprice got a detuned version of the LT1.
But the Caprice was not the only large car with a lack of power issue. The Ford Crown Vic and Mercury Marquis were seriously underpowered with a 4.6L V8. I have driven the P71 version of the Crown Vic, and it was definitely not fast. I don’t know why the police used them.
I am a fan of the 1977-1990 Caprice. I just can’t get past the looks of the ’91 and up model.
These are all my personal opinions. They are not meant as a statement of absolute fact.
According to the Annual Michigan State Police test:
The 1994 LT1 Caprice actually had a higher top speed (141.2 mph) than the 1992 Special Service Mustang 5.0 (136.1 mph). The Caprice also beat the Mustang to 100 mph (21.6 vs. 21.9 seconds). The only police car faster than the Caprice at the time was the B4C Camaro. I would disagree that the LT1 Caprice had a “lack of power issue.” I could see that maybe against today’s cars but not back then. The LO3 and maybe even the LO5 Caprice was underpowered but not the LT1 cars.
While it is true that the Typhoon and Cyclone were fast, they were also relatively rare and not as reliable.
Also according to the MSP tests, the fastest the boxy Caprice (1977-1990) ever went was 122.1 MPH when they offered fuel injection for the LO5 V8 in 1989.
The one thing these cars did not lack was power. Anyone who says an LT-1 isn’t fast has never driven one. Great motor.
I have to agree with you on the ’77 to ’90 Caprice. They still look good today, especially compared to all the ” me too” designs of present day cars. I am no fan of the ’91 and up Caprice, but I am one who thinks the open wheel wells on the later ones were a big improvement. Of course that may partially be because I never have liked skirted wheels.
As to performance, I have never discussed that with anyone who has driven one of these. I do know that a couple of years ago when our local police department started replacing the Crown Vic fleet they had with new Chargers I was told by the chief and one officers that the new cars were very fast. They may have been comparing the Chargers to the Crown Vics. It had been several years since they had any of the RWD Caprice cruisers.
In 1992 when the LT1 replaced the old L98 in the C4,it ran low 14’s high 13’s out of the box. In the early ’90s this very good performance. Even 5.0 Mustangs running low 15’s high 14’s were one of the quickest street cars back then (that you saw on a regular basis unlike the Typhoon). The LT1 was a big improvement on the top end power over the old L98 TPI 350. Like today, the C4 Vettes had great performance for the dollar, especially from the LT1 cars. In fact, the LT1 is often credited for killing the ZR1, because the performance of the LT1 was good enough not to justify spending the extra cash on an ZR1.
Here is an Old R/T article showing the car ran 14.1 in the 1/4 mile:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/reviews/a9820/1992-chevrolet-corvette-lt1/
This time has been bettered with stock LT1 Vettes if you start looking.
As for the Caprices with LT1’s, they had excellent performance for a fullsize car. Sure they were no Mustang killer, but C/D did run 15.0 with an Impala SS. Not bad for 260 hp and over 4000 lbs. It was quick enough to beat a lot of muscle cars with large engines from the 60’s and 70’s. Compared to the Crown Vics, especially the older ones, these LT1 Caprices were much faster. In fact, I’d argue that until recent times, the LT1 Caprices were probably one of the fastest all round police cars ever. Today a Hemi Charger or Eco-Boost Taurus would blow the doors off a LT1 Caprice, but we are talking 20 years ago when these cars came out.
That said, most police departments are not buying police cars for speed anymore, but low operating costs and reliability. This is why the CVPI was such a great cop car even though a 4-cyl Accord could blow it’s doors off. I know where I am, the Provincial police are buying Tauruses with the base V6 engine, and this is for Highway patrol work.
The LT1 Caprice/Impala SS may not be all that fast by today’s standards, but its reputation was made 20 years ago, when performance standards were much lower, especially for 4 door sedan type cars. Compared to police packages since the 70’s, it was a quantum leap. The speed of the Mustang 5.0 in a full size cruiser, with handling almost as good. Today, most sedans and even some minivans and SUV’s are as fast, but it still has great low end V8 grunt, a wide, smooth power band and the charisma of a RWD, body on frame, take all prisoners, curb hopping, kickass cop car.
This is old post but you really should check your numbers, the grand national or the typhoon would not out run a LT1 vette, they were close but a 6 speed vette would have it’s way with both of them.
I am somewhat surprised by the top speed of the LT1 Caprice, mostly because of it’s weight. The P71 Crown Vic topped out in the mid 130s, but with a much smaller engine. I never drove a ’91 up Caprice, nor have I driven a P71 at top speed. But their acceleration from 60 mph when the pedal was floored definitely left something to be desired. I don’t know why Ford didn’t put a bigger engine in these. They must have sold a million of them to police departments across the country.
The new Charger Pursuit cars top out at around 150, but the big difference between them and the Crown Vic is tire squealing acceleration. The Charger is a real muscle car.
For some reason, the police around here are using mostly SUVs these days, despite the availability of the Charger.
In my reading what I have found is although the Charger is fast, it’s interior was found to be cramped and not ergonomically pleasing for folks who spend most of the day in it. This is one of the strengths of the new Caprice PPV. The interior was specifically designed for law enforcement.
http://www.gmfleet.com/police/chevy-caprice-ppv-patrol-car.html
In terms of acceleration I agree with what you about that with my LO3 Caprice. Flooring it past 60 was futile…it ran out of breath quickly. However, the opposite was true about my LT1 Caprice. Stepping on the gas caused the engine to make a satisfying roar and plant your head back in the seat like a fighter pilot being catapulted off the deck of an aircraft carrier.
RWD? They should sell that to the public. We need a RWD car. For a sedan, the Charger is about it. The failed Chevy SS was just way too expensive. But a police car with a V6? If I were a fleet buyer I would definitely get the optional V8.
I think that is a concession to the times and concern about fuel economy. When it was first released, the Caprice PPV came only with the 6 liter V8. At 154 MPH it was faster than the Charger when it first debuted at the Michigan State Police tests
From what I understand the P71 was governed at 130 mph because many of Ford’s big LE fleet customers told them they didn’t want to incur the constant expense of replacing V-rated (150 mph) tires. H-rated tires (130 mph) typically have a longer tread life than Vs and are cheaper. (the price difference isn’t as great as it once was)
Not sure about the round Vics but the aero Vic did hit 135 MPH in the 1996 Michigan State Police Tests. The early round Vics were not as fast but they improved greatly after 2002 or so.
that is a good point, esp. if you are buying dozens (literally) of Panthers.
My guess re SUVs is that they prefer BOF construction so they can be more easily mended after collisions, & sedans are now all unibody since the demise of the Crown Vic. Don’t know how much roadholding/agility they’re giving up, though.
Most of what I see in the Inland Empire (CA) are Explorers which I think are unibody. So I doubt that’s the reason. I see some Tahoes from the previous generation, which are BOF.
Wonder if they’ll use the new Tahoes for police service. I feel like GM tried hard to upscale them so they might not want to.
I love these cars and have owned two 9C1’s. The first was a 94 Texas DPS cruiser with the cheap blue repaint TX gave it before they sold it. The second was a 95 out of Hayward, CA with the same black and white scheme as CHP (my favorite color setup), tan interior, LT1, black center cap wheels, no rust at all. I rebuilt the front suspension (because of wear, not failure). The transmission was rebuilt before I bought it. I never had a problem with those in either car, and in fact had very few problems at all. I think the Achilles heel of these is mainly the interior. The seats where pretty tough and would only get significantly worn under the hardest use (a good measure for how hard a life the car led), but the door panels and steering wheels didn’t hold up well at all. I loved the digital speedo, but they could have used a tach. Overall, a great car. I miss the days of being able to buy these at auction. Thanks for the memories!