1966 Chevrolet Caprice 396

1966 was the first year for the Chevrolet Caprice as a model in its own right. Life started a year earlier as a $200 luxury option (Caprice Custom Sedan – RPO Z18) that was only available on the Impala 4-door hardtop.

Following its popularity the Caprice became its own series for 1966 with a 4-door hardtop, 2-door coupe (as we see here) and 2 station wagons that featured simulated woodgrain trim on the sides.

With the full-size Chevrolet cars experiencing a full restyle the previous year the cars experienced just a mild face-lift for 1966. The front fenders thrust forward more, the rear taillights moved away from the familiar round shape to large wraparound horizontal lenses. The grille was revised and the parking lamps were moved into the front valance (as were the backup lights into the rear bumper).

side view of a 1966 Caprice
side view

This Marina Blue Caprice looks classy with its formal roof line roof. It was also available with a black or beige vinyl covering – a $100 option.

rear view of a 1966 Chevy Caprice coupe
Rear view showing wraparound taillight assembly

Inside, the Caprice the interior looks great and was available in all-vinyl or cloth and vinyl combination. Those walnut trim pieces you can see on the door panels, dashboard and horn ring are Caprice specific.

luxurious bench seat interior

Under the hood the Caprice came with a 195 horsepower, 283 cubic inch Turbo-Fire as standard. Also available was a 327, 396 and the mighty 427. This particular Caprice is now fitted with a more modern 350 cubic inch V8.

Although 1966 was a poorer year for Chevrolet, not least because of the Ford Mustang sales – although they still managed to sell 2.2 million cars! The Caprice did manage to steal plenty of customers away from the Ford 500 LTD and Plymouth VIP.

Chevrolet made 181,000 Caprices for the 1966 model year with no breakdown available per individual model. If you wanted a 2-door Coupe back in 1966 they started at $3000.

This 1966 Caprice is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for lots more photos)

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