Here we go for another dive into the ocean of oddities that is GM’s Japanese market offerings. Today, we are faced with one of the few mid-‘80s Chevrolets that would be worth collecting (in my opinion) and certainly would make a great daily drive in any place but the narrow streets of the Japanese capital. But hey, there are a few folks who drive Hummers around here, so why not a Caprice Classic wagon?
Right off the bat, there are a couple of details that may seem a bit off to the eagle-eyed Capricophile. I cannot guarantee that this is a 1986, but I think it could be one. The smaller grille and quad headlight combo is definitely an ’86 thing…
But then, those are clearly big blocky pre-1986 chrome mirrors, not the snazzy body-coloured aerodynamic ones they had by MY 1986.
“Ah ha!” I hear you say, “What is this hood ornament we see before us? Are we not looking at a 1987 car with 1986 headlights and 1985 mirrors?” Could be, could be. Incidentally, I found a very similar 1988 car for sale online – only the mirrors were different, in that they were black plastic, but still of the Lego brick design.
The rear lights won’t be much help: the rear end of the car was not all that accessible, but also these are not the items you’d have seen on a US-registered car anyway.
Aftermarket steering wheel aside, this is as nice a Caprice interior as you’re likely to find anywhere. But somehow, it seems all the nice ones live in japan. How do they do it?
Quick show of hands: anyone else dig blue (or red, green or brown) interiors and wonder when they will make a comeback? Tired of the black / gray world we have had to sit through/in over the past couple of decades.
Anybody know why Chevy picked the fleur-de-lys for this model? There is something Art Deco about this emblem’s design, too. A bit strange, but very cool. GM certainly wouldn’t be caught dead badging their cars like this in the 2020s. Nor would anyone else! And then, of course, it’s called Caprice Classic. Talk about a moniker tailor-made for CC, albeit in XXXL.
The more I photographed this big wagon, barely able to fit its wheelbase within a standard Tokyo parking space, the more I found it compelling. Which is weird, as the styling is objectively pretty bland, space utilization is poor and build quality is not known to be all that good. But in the metal, in this condition and trim, this Caprice has more presence than any Cadillac sedan this side of 1975.
All in all, there are only good things to be said about this Caprice wagon. So let’s be balanced and admit that it must be a bitch to navigate, park and keep in running order on this side of the Pacific (it’s so outsized compared to local norms it had to be registered as a truck!). But it can be done. The CC is just too big (in Japan, among other places) to fail.
Related posts:
CC Outake: 1986 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Wagon – Not Totally Authentically Classic, by PN
CC Outtake: One-Owner Chevrolet Caprice Classic Wagon – Still Hauling The Goods As Well As The Looks, by PN
Curbside Classic: 1986 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Brougham – Niedermeyer Finally Finds Broughmance, by PN
I’m consistently amazed when you post some gigantic American barge floating around there in Japan. It has to be a dedicated owner to want to try to take that out of that parking space and out on the road. If it were me, I’d be scared to death that I’d never find another parking space it could fit into at my destination.
I’ll also say that your shots show an interior that is notably less organized and more cluttered (relatively) than many of the finds you post. I wonder if this is a car owned by an American who brought it into the country with them.
That looks like it was sold new there. Those are the EXPORT mirrors, the taillights are Buick, which I assume were the only ones made with an amber turn signal. Very nice Caprice, but I bet this car’s Olds 307 has added confusion more than once during its life.
The fun thing to remember about this one Tatra87 is this:
Despite its immense size, this is a DOWNSIZED Caprice Wagon.
Imagine if it was a MY 1971 thru 1976! Those were ENORMOUS!
Nice find. Haven’t seen one in this condition in very long time. And that’s over here in the states, where these were once fairly numerous.
The clumsily integrated CHMSL on the tailgate indicates that this is at least a 1986 model.
Build quality on 80s Caprices was pretty good by the standards of the day. As was rust protection. That’s why there are so many of these still around. The only issue may have been the durability of the vinyl wood siding; its easily prone to scratches, dings, tears and fading. Space utilization was great in 1977 when the bodystyle was introduced. 87-90 had flush headlights. I sold Chevies in 87-88 and customers still bought these barges on a regular basis for many reasons.
Where are you that there are many of these still around…?
It is always a treat to see an old car far outside of its element and far away from others anything like it. I have found that it gives a fresh perspective. And I have trouble with a fresh perspective on these because they have been a constant presence (even in the rusty midwest, though in far-reduced numbers as of late) for over forty years now.
I am might sick of white cars, but one matched with a blue interior could find a home at my house.
That fleur de lis emblem (pardon my French) was used on the Caprice from the very beginning, though it looks like the early emblem was a shield with three of them.
The 1965 Caprice brochure even mentioned the fleurs-de-lis – one of the exterior embellishments to identify Caprice as a “different, one of a kind” car.
Funny how it remained a Caprice hallmark for decades.
Looks quite good! Remember “valet parking” one of these , many years back. Was silver out, red in; remember being taken aback at the rubbery, meandering feel of the steering.
Sucks that GM stuck you with the gutlass Olds 307 in the wagon. These things should have had the 350 Chevy under hood, which had fuel injection starting in 1984, 1987 for the trucks and Caprice sedans(wagons were 307 Olds only)
These were pretty much light duty trucks and the 307 wasnt up to the task, especially if you put a full load of people/cargo in the thing or tried to tow with it.
Also I dont think these were all that big compared to some of the 70s barges or crew cab/long box pickup trucks. They fit on our suburban roads/parking spaces, but I cant imagine driving that beast in Tokyo where the whole city was designed around kei cars
The 350 was carbureted in the Caprice through 1988; it got throttle body fuel injection for 1989, and in any event it was available only in police-package cars.
Like Daniel says, the Caprice didn’t get EFI until 1989, for the 305 and police spec 350. However, yes the trucks got EFI in 1987 and it could have easily been adapted to the B-body at the same time. Also the 307 was only used in the Chevrolet wagons from partway through 1986 to 1990. That said, some Canadian market 1987 Caprice sedans also used a 307 in place of the 305.
I drove these cars for many years. Despite their large size, they were quite maneuverable due to their (relatively) short wheelbase. I never had any issue driving one around in a tight downtown.
Hrmm. I’m more than a little doubtful about “easily adapted”. I suppose it depends on one’s definition f easily.
I am mean easily adapted by the manufacturer, not the consumer. Considering Chevy already produced the EFI 4.3L Caprice since 1985, EFI specific parts like the fuel tank were already in production. Albeit, wagons would have been a bit more work since they had no 4.3L option.
GM changed the 1987 pickups to EFI for the last your of that bodystyle. It could have done the same for the Caprice, but instead it dragged its feet until 1989. My read is they invested as little as possible in the B-Body to maximize profits from it. It helped subsidize all of its money losing new platforms.
Oh, yeah, GM could’ve done it with a single sneeze.
Leave it to GM to try to starve the golden goose to death, eh!
I don’t honestly know much about these, but I can tell you that a quick shot of the VIN (If visible) would tell you the year. If memory serves correct, it’s the 8th digit from the right. Also, those mirrors are either for export only or were changed out by the owner for a larger/bigger view. The steering wheel tells me that the owner isn’t afraid to change some things out.
It’s the 10th digit from the left, which was a letter code from MY1980 through MY2000 and then a number starting in 2001.
The one trick with reading the model number from the VIN plate (aside from the VIN being covered or illegible through the windshield, of course) is that certain letters are skipped to avoid confusion with either a numeral or an adjacent letter: I, O, Q, U, and Z. So, a 1986 model would be G, 1987 would be H, and 1988 would be J because the I was skipped.
True. It’s been so long since I had to deal with that, so I’ve forgotten now how to read the year from the vin.
However, 10th digit from the left or 8th digit from the right ends up being the same digit. ; )
Yup, true. I just find it easier to find the correct digit if I go from the left.
I’ve been meaning to ask you a question Tatra. But have you seen an actual Tatra in Japan?
Never! Not expecting to, either…
The last time I saw one was in Thailand. Have a read if you missed it:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/museum-classics-twofer-1949-and-1952-tatra-t600-tatraplan-two-halves-almost-make-a-whole/
Neat find! I went visiting my sister in London (the one in England) at the end of 1995 when she was living there, and recall watching from her 3rd-storey flat as one of these Caprice wagons made what seemed like a 37-point turn from one very narrow street into another. Can’t imagine this car is very well suited to Japanese conditions, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is probably an ’86, but you’re right that it’s difficult to say for sure. The ’87+ composite headlamps were made only in a US-spec version; that quad-headlamp setup was retained in ’87+ for cars exported to markets that did not accept US-spec headlamps.
They’re neither of those. These are the export mirrors; they’re hinged rather than rigidly mounted, because outside the North American regulatory island they have the temerity to insist sideview mirrors give way to a pedestrian’s body rather than carving off a hunk of it. Pretty dumb when you think about it, really; efforts like this to mitigate injury means pedestrians just never learn. Same goes for that other equally-dumb rule requiring turn signals and brake lights to look different from each other; apparently the rest of the world is just fine with drivers falling asleep because they aren’t being kept on their toes guessing what a sudden red flash in front of them might mean.
Enough snarkasm, I guess, for the moment. Other things noticed: the outboard high/low beam headlamps are Japanese-made (Koito) H4 units, but the inboard high-beam ones are sealed beams, probably American ones. The “repeaters” crudely screwed onto the fenders don’t actually appear to be repeaters; they look like truck marker lights. That’s a little odd; GM did at the time have real repeaters on the shelf, but trying to make sense of random GM decisions is not a cost-beneficial use of time or brainpower.
Nice find! A few points. As already pointed out it has export mirrors and tail lights. There are a few oddities otherwise. It has a standup hood ornament, which was only used 1987-90. It also does not have the silver bezel around the climate control and radio, which was used in 1986. It doesn’t have the aluminum trim on the C-pillar, meaning it is not a 1988 or newer. It has the newer style seats used in the 1987 wagons.
Our resident lighting expert Daniel Stern said the export models didn’t get the composite lights. So, I’d say this is an export model 1987 Caprice wagon, despite it looking like a 1986 model. Being a 1987 means it most certainly has a 307 Oldsmobile V8 under the hood, however, it should be noted many 1986 Caprice wagons still used 305 Chevrolet V8s. The transition to 307 engines for Caprice wagons occurred partway through the 1986 model year.
Oh, good catch on the standup hood ornament and the lack of the ’85-’86 silver dashboard bezels. I’m changing my vote to ’87.
(I also now see what looks like a blacked-out central brake light lens; I don’t recall at the moment what year the CHMSL became legal in Japan, but I think it was sometime in the ’90s)
When I looked at that pic to try to verify if the CHMSL was blacked out (I think so), I couldn’t help but notice that it appears the back glass is open, too.
Thank you for giving us the definitive MY! 1987 it is.
This caprice wagon is no newer than 1987, because in 1988 GM Japan replaced the Chevrolet Caprice wagon with the Buick Regal (Century) wagon.