1969 Caprice w/hideaway headlights - anyone make one?

[impcon]

Just wondering if any resin casters out there produce a grille for a '69 Chevy Caprice with the hideaway headlight option? Or was there ever a '69 Caprice model? I know there was an Impala annual but was there ever a Caprice? Just wondering..

[charlie8575]

I've never seen a Caprice in resin, Gary, although I must say that would make a very nice model if someone were to do it. I think there were some other differences with the body, though. Something in my mind says the roofline and quarter window were different.

Charlie Larkin

[Zoom Zoom]

No Caprices as far as I know; but it's not difficult to make the hidden headlights. I did it by making foil casts/impressions from the main part of the grille, carefully backing the pieces w/some glue, then carefully trimming them to fit.

[impcon]

No Caprices as far as I know; but it's not difficult to make the hidden headlights. I did it by making foil casts/impressions from the main part of the grille, carefully backing the pieces w/some glue, then carefully trimming them to fit.

Nice build!!!!!!!!!!!! It;s kind of hard to tell but the blue that you used is similiar to the one that I want to use on my new project. I did some research today and there are quite a few subtle differences between the Impala and Caprice. I sure do like that hide away headlight option though. What colour did you do the interior on your car?

My wife drives this '70 Impala hardtop in the summer months and we really enjoy the car. It's pretty plain - 350, auto with a factory AM 8 track stereo. I bought a set of rally wheels for it for next summer.. although I sure do like the stock wheel covers..

There used to be a VERY nice '69 Caprice coupe in my area here - it was a VERY pretty blue with a black vinyl top and a black interior - factory 427 car that this snivelly, runny nosed little punk kid bought off an old couple who bought it brand new. He destroyed the car in a matter of months. It was the same colour as the car below and it looked just like this except the vinyl roof was black and it had the rally wheels..

There was another one that showed up several years ago - a brown coupe with factory buckets and console, 327 automatic. The car was rusty but woirth saving and I wanted to buy it so badly but we were short of cash at the time. Well, it sold and the druggy that bought it took the back seat out of it so that he could haul his dogs around in it. *sighs* It had the rally wheels and while the colour was not exactly eye catching, the car was what it was. Last I saw, he had "rat rodded" it.. painted it flat black and it looked like he took a cutting torch to the coil springs and dropped the poor car down so that a speed bump was almost an impossibility. But he was cool, drving around with a car full of dogs and the floor pans scraping the pavement.. oh well - I can't save 'em all.

[Zoom Zoom]

Thanks; my model (restored from a damaged promo) was painted Tamiya Light Metallic Blue, the top and interior are black. It's a "replica" of a Caprice that some old friends of mine used to have. Their car looked great, had wheelcovers (I preferred the Chevy rally wheels), and a real slug of a 396 engine....I drove it one time and was surprised at how slow it was...and most recently saw an old road test of one from "Car and Track" of an Impala w/the 396 (see below) so I guess my friend's car was "normal"

0-60 in 13.7; quarter mile time 75 mph, 19.8 seconds!

"Can't punch it's way through a wet Kleenex!"

[impcon]

Thanks; my model (restored from a damaged promo) was painted Tamiya Light Metallic Blue, the top and interior are black. It's a "replica" of a Caprice that some old friends of mine used to have. Their car looked great, had wheelcovers (I preferred the Chevy rally wheels), and a real slug of a 396 engine....I drove it one time and was surprised at how slow it was...and most recently saw an old road test of one from "Car and Track" of an Impala w/the 396 (see below) so I guess my friend's car was "normal"

0-60 in 13.7; quarter mile time 75 mph, 19.8 seconds!

"Can't punch it's way through a wet Kleenex!"

I can identify as I have a 1972 Chevy 1 ton with a big block ( 402 ) in it and it's pretty dismal as far as hauling power goes. I work it hard and the engine is definitely reliable but it's a hungry brute and gutless as all get out. I had a '66 GMC 1 ton with a 292 in it and it would out pull the '72 any day. The '72 is a cute little truck - short wheel base on duals with a wooden factory built grain box and dump on it and it drives like a car. Still, I love the little truck and it has really worked hard for me. It's hauled hundreds and hundreds of yards of fill into our property.. and I m not exaggerating. I used to take it to work every day and I'd haul a minimum of two yards of gravel home each day -= five days a week -- and then some days I would go and get another load from a local contractor. This was over a period of about four years.. There were times when I did not drive the truck for a few weeks at a time but it was my normal mode of transportation for going to work.

As for the Caprice and Impala models - I really wish that someone would produce one of each year - '69 and '70. They really are a gorgeous car and I really appreciate the interior styling on them. We only drive Tina's Impala in the summer as I said and hopefully this coming Spring will see it in my shop for a repaint. We'll stay with the factory colours and while green is not my favorite colour, I do like the shade of green that the car is and I really like the aqua interior! We have a power seat for it and I'd like to add a tilt column but I may not add either as we enjoy the car just as it is.

We know the original owner who bought the car new in Edmonton Alberta and then in 1977, he sold it Ted Galbraith and his wife. Ted was my wife's grade six school teacher and he drove a '70 Impala 4 door hardtop to work at the school each day and his wife drove the two door hardtop as her car. When Mrs. Galbraith passed away a few years ago, the family wanted someone who appreciated the car and who would not butcher it to have it as Ted no longer needed two cars. I had done some little repair jobs for the Galbraiths on the car over the years and both Ted and his son Allan who is a good friend knew that we liked the car. So, it was given to us as a gift with one condition - we would not destroy the car or "chop it up" in Allan's words. There was a waiting list of people who wanted the car and who would have paid good money for it but we were blessed to receive it and it will stay in our family. When the car was delivered to our home, I handed the keys to my wife and it became her car. It just seemed like the right thing to do and she sure does enjoy her old Chevy. I will in due course build a modell to duplicate it and paint it the same colour. The only challenge is the rear window and the roof line- The model is an Impala Custom with the concave rear glass and squared C pillars - our car has the Impala roof which is different. I'm sure that we can figure something out though.

Sorry for rambling on like that.. iut's a story that I like to share.. sorry if I bored anyone..