Product Description
Offered is an exceptionally preserved 1996 Chevrolet Caprice Classic powered by Chevrolet's 5.7L LT1 V8, auto transmission and rear-wheel drive. Equipped with a 2.93 rear axle, G80 limited-slip differential, heavy-duty cooling, external trans cooler and factory trailering equipment, this is a blast from the past from the final year of the traditional full-size Caprice.Factory equipment includes power windows, locks and mirrors, power trunk release, cruise control, A/C, rear defrost, factory CD audio, digital instrumentation, and power front seats. And this Chevrolet comes with one heck of a story.According to its longstanding history, the Caprice was ordered in 1995 in Virginia as the sheriff's car. After that year's election, the incoming administration transitioned department vehicles to white and the new sheriff opted for a marked cruiser, identical to the patrol deputies units. This already-ordered Caprice was reportedly declined, allowing a local couple close to the outgoing sheriff to purchase it instead.Original matching-VIN paperwork confirms the couple took delivery new in Virginia on April 24, 1996. The car was built February 1996, a timeline remarkably consistent with the story. We have not located the original government purchase order, so the Sheriff's Office connection is presented as longstanding oral history, not independently documented fact. Build sheet is still sewed in the passenger seat bottom.The original owners drove it, enjoyed it and cared for it exceptionally well, storing it inside a pole barn on their Virginia farm when not in use. It was later sold within the family and continued receiving the same care.The hood and tops of the front fenders were professionally refinished and blended due to years of sunlight exposure from its parking position inside the barn. This was NOT collision repair.The A/C compressor is brand new.The exhaust has been upgraded to something more appropriate sounding for an LT1. It isn't obnoxious. It simply lets a V8 sound like a V8. Probably the cause of the check engine light being on...The factory body-side molding was removed sometime during its life. Apparently even Chevrolet glue eventually admits defeat after 30 years.Rally-style wheels are currently installed. Factory wheels are included.The interior tells the story. The cigarette lighter is unused, and the rear seat looks like its toughest assignment may have been an occasional grocery run.This wasn't a car abused and rediscovered behind somebody's garage. It was somebody's automobile, and they cared about it.With authorization for testing and tuning, I can tell bidders firsthand: this thing is an absolute pleasure to drive.Smooth, comfortable, torquey and unmistakably old-school Chevrolet. Put your foot into the LT1 and you remember why Chevrolet's final B-body cars developed such a following.This ain't Grandpa's Cadillac.It's a Heavy Chevy time machine: V8 up front, drive wheels out back, plenty of hood and a trunk big enough to reconsider the definition of cargo capacity.Key is here.Virginia title, free and clear of liens and/or salvage branding/history, is here.IMPORTANT DISCLOSUREWe are NOT representing this vehicle as a factory 9C1 police-package Caprice. No 9C1 code has been found on the original SPID label. The Sheriff's Office history concerns its reported original order and delivery, not a claim that it was manufactured as a 9C1 patrol car.Original documentation and factory wheels accompany the vehicle.If you're looking for a remarkably preserved LT1 Caprice with long-term Virginia ownership, unusual history and enough personality to make an unnecessary grocery run seem reasonable, you found it.Bid early. Bid often. And bring enough garage.Send your zip code for a shipping quote.