As some of you already know.... after over 2 Years of waiting...shes Baaaacccck. As far as I know ( I could be wrong ) Christine is the only 1977-1979 Chevrolet Caprice 2-Door Coupe to be LS1 Powered.

Christine has been down for waaay too long and thanks to Mark ( MrStage1 ) , Justin ( Skinnies ) , Chad ( hotrodllsc) , Tommy ( Tommygun ) Matt ( SuperchargedTA ) , and many many other countless others that pitched in to get her up and running well again ! I am soooo grateful to all who had any help in bringing Christine back to life.

She isn't the fastest car. She doesn't have a show car paint job. Her engine is just a Stock V8, but somehow I still cant stop smiling.

So without further ado....

It was very dark and cloudy out and I still havent had time to finish detailing the engine bay or put all the wires in Wirelooms, but on a plus note Tommy scored me a Rally center cap ( since I lost a Rally cap when the car had thrown one at another car ) so since I had a complete set of 4 again I put them all back on the car.

P.S. Yes I know the Caprice is a big ugly heavy granny mobile looking turd....... but thats the way I like it, because it helps add to the " Sleeper " effect.

 

ever see the videos of the "god father" carbed ls1 81 impala?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXHqFBbuXIM

 

Yea I love that car, thing sounds mean as hell ! Im not really a fan of the 4 door cars though..... I think the body lines of the more Rare 77-79 2 door Caprice's/Impala's are more attractive.

 

Congrats on having it back on the road again!

Also - I think it's great that you chose an "oddball" or non-standard swap candidate like that, & I really like those photos - great backdrop!

 

I like it. I learned to drive in a 79' 4 door caprice. The 305 in that thing couldn't get out of its own way, but ours was sporting the rally rims too. They just didn't have ET streets on them.

 

Nice

 

I saw a simular year 4-door one in San Francisco for sale....

 

NICE! that is sick man. i bet i could pick one of those up cheap and drop one in as well. actually i am really liking this...

 

yea , I like that.Give up the specs on everything???track times?fuel tank,ect....

 

With a little paint, a billet grill and a drop that thing would be something to drool over, nice swap.

 

you know something is up when a car like that has some mt's on the back

 

Thank you greatly V8Rumble ! I have always liked "oddball " stuff too, so much in fact that I had to have one of my own. lol Thanks again !

We have something in common then ! I learned to drive in this car, all the other kids had newer flashy cars, and I got to drive this big'ol huge boat for a first car. Luckily mine had the 350 V8 so it wasn't too bad and clicked off mid-high 15's with its Original 100K+ worn out 350 which wasn't bad since the road test magazines were only able to get high 16's/low 17's with there's.

I know it sounds funny but I'm actually looking to get rid of the Rally wheels an find the Original granny hubcaps for it again, to help add to the " Sleeper " look.

So if anyone wants to Trade some Rally's for some Original 78 Caprice hubcaps, I'm game !

Thank you kindly !

These older ones are becoming more popular again, I have noticed more of them on Ebay recently and they are going for bargain low prices.

I know where there is a GREAT conditioned one for sale for a real great deal, but its local to me in the Kansas City area. I think you would be surprised how well these older Caprice's/Impala's turn heads.

I say go for it and do the swap ! I think you would be very pleased with the end result.


Thanks for the compliment ! As of for the specs, its nothing really exotic or special.

Its just a Stock 98 LS1 ( the Lowest Rated HP year for LS1's something like 305hp for the F-Body cars I think. ), so nothing spectacular just yet, but all in due time.

I have it backed by a TH350 trans with a 3800 Stall backed by a Auburn 3:73 Posi. ( I am trying to do this on a budget so I had to reuse alot of my drivetrain stuff from my last set up ). So the thing screams at nearly 4,000 RPM just putting down the highway.

I haven't had a chance to go to the track yet. (I'm so broke from the swap that I can barely afford the Premium gas to run it.) I have had a couple of street races with it though. Raced a slightly modded 2007 Mustang GT, and beat him until I ran out of gear ( 3rd gear and 6,000 rpm is only like 110-120 mph or so. ) and had the same result, when I raced a slightly modded Bullitt Mustang. I would leave really hard from down low or a dig race, and by the time they came around me I was at the top of 3rd at 6,000 rpm again. The car is used the stock gas tank, but we are using a Corvette style Fuel Filter so it allows for a return line to be ran to it.

All in all I am guessing it might be a low 14 second car since it runs out of gear ( and seems to fall on its face a little nearing the top of 3rd for some reason ? ) , but people I have raced or have given rides to are saying its more like mid-high 13's.... so as of right now its just a bunch of " Bench Racing " until I can afford to go to the track and find out.

 

noooooo!it needs those new 30" pirelli's and 12 inches of lift dude!!!

 

I actually prefer the natural " Patina " ( surface rust with faded paint ) Its nice to not have to worry about ruining some nice paint job or getting an added dent or scratch in it. Way back when I was high school kids made fun of the car since it wasn't shiny like a new car, but I have always liked the " weathered " look, with a little get-up-and-go under the hood.

My motto is " Go Always comes before Show " .

Those aren't Drag Radials..... those are just worn out " Snow Tires " or atleast thats what they look like from the side view.

 

Nice. I'm currently following that motto as my clear coat is peeling off and all I want to know is when I can get the parts to put my new motor in. No money for paint, have to go faster!

I think it looks great with the rust and the Rally's.
I have a friend up in PA that just picked up a 4 door 77, really clean, still has the 305 two barrel in it.

 

" Go Always comes before Show " is a good Motto to follow ! I have had shiny nice Very rare cars before, and it always worried me to drive them so I never really enjoyed driving them. I remember I would get mad if some car splashed water/mud on my car after just washing it, or upset if it go a stone chip or something.

Since this car really doesn't have much paint left to damage I love driving this car because it doesn't matter if it gets wet,dirty, scratched, scuffed, bumped or anything minor like that.

Its good to see that these years of Caprice's/Impala's seem to be growing in popularity too, I would like to see more of these on the road.

 

Damn can you say sleeper, so long as the exhaust does not give it away

 

does it have a bench seat? that would kick ***. i love bench seats.

 

One of my Electric Cutouts broke and was stuck open ( the passenger side one ) but I have since taken it apart and closed the cutout manually so its nice and quiet now.

 

Looks good. What radiator hoses are you running?