1973 Chevrolet Caprice Classic review from North America

Brakes, again and again. Once it was the pads (normal maintenance), another time it was the master cylinder, another time it was the rear wheel cylinders (they leaked).

Brake lights didn't work. It was an issue with the turn signal switch wire harness, which had to be replaced.

Alternator went bad.

Starter went bad.

Vacuum modulator for the transmission ruptured, resulting in the engine sucking transmission fluid from the transmission and burning it. Fortunately, this was a cheap and easy repair.

Leaked gas at the fuel pump due to a rotten hose.

Transmission always slipped (even before the issue with the vacuum modulator) and slowly got worse. By the time I sold it, reverse no longer worked. The transmission fluid was very dark when I got it, so there was already an issue. I was told by a transmission shop that with as bad as it was, changing the fluid at that point might actually have made the transmission worse.

Rust through was pretty bad at the bottoms of the rear quarter panels, and eventually the doors and fenders as well. Paint was oxidized and dull, vinyl top was cracked and peeling.

Rear window leaked, but only when it rained exceptionally hard.

The timing chain and camshaft sprocket were replaced shortly before I got it.

Carburetor was really touchy, especially in the winter. In cool damp weather, it would ice up and make the engine run rough, due to a missing heat pipe that originally routed heat from the exhaust manifold to the air cleaner intake.

The exhaust system was shot.

With all of the issues I listed with the car, you'd think I would've hated it, but I didn't. It was my first car, and it was given to me for free by my aunt when I was 16. It was a 2 door hard top, avocado green with a black vinyl top. It was previously owned by my great aunt who passed away shortly before I got my driver's license. She purchased the car used in 1980, and had put only 13,000 miles on it by 1990, when I got it. It sat outside those ten years in the scorching hot humid summers and bitter cold winters so typical here in Wisconsin, and in fact, it sometimes sat almost entire winters without being driven. Given its old age, lack of use and in some cases neglect, it's hardly surprising I had so many issues with it. I'm sure it would've been better if it had been treated better before I got it. I did manage to get 27,000 miles out of it in the 2 years I owned it.

This car was full of quirks in the winter. The exterior locks had a bad habit of freezing up. I'll never forget the afternoon I got out of school and couldn't get into it because on the driver's side, the lock was froze and the handle was free, while on the other side the lock was free and the handle was froze! More than once, the door latch froze, so that once I got the door open, it wouldn't stay shut again. Starting it in freezing weather was a challenge. The first try would result in the engine sputtering. The second try would get it going, but I'd have to sit there and hold my foot on the throttle in just the right spot until the engine warmed up-otherwise, too much gas and it would cut out and die, too little and it would die as well. Even with good tires, it was unruly in the snow...indeed, I had my first ever car accident with it due to slippery roads back in December 1990. I've never driven a vehicle since that was as bad in the snow-even my current 2 wheel drive Chevy truck is better in the snow!

The funniest thing I remember about it was that it had a really LOUD backfire because of the holes in the exhaust system combined with the emissions controls pumping air into the exhaust (and I think it ran a little rich at times)...sometimes it sounded like a shotgun blast!

I only got 6, that's right, 6 miles per gallon with it when I first got it. A new set of spark plugs and ignition wires immediately boosted it up to 9, and as I drove it more it gradually improved, but 13 miles per gallon is the best I ever got out of it. That's really not bad when you consider that this was a 4200 pound full size car with a big V8 fitted with the primitive and terribly inefficient emissions controls typical of all early '70's cars. Acceleration left much to be desired; 150 net horsepower from a 400 cubic inch V8 was simply not enough for a car this huge. In fairness, other cars of that era weren't much different.

I really did like the styling and the ride. The ride was smooth as silk, it felt like riding on a cloud. The styling was quite handsome... I particularly liked the hard top roof line and the concave rear window.

I would like to have another one of these, not as a daily driver, but just as a neat old relic to enjoy once in a while. I know it sounds crazy considering the issues I had, but I did have a certain fondness for it anyway.