Would a 95/95 caprice make a good daily driver?

[kennygotgame]

I want a caprice but i just need to make sure the LT1 can hold up to being driven daily/ hours long trips.

If anyone can give me some info on what i'd be dealing with i'd appreciate it.

[kennygotgame]

Also anyone in so cal got a nice hook up on 95/96 caprice that arent used/abused? im looking to pay 2-3000 for a stock one .

[Slaticus]

Aside from the opti, the lt1 is a great engine and it can really hold up for you well if you don't neglect maintenance. Between me and my father, we have probably a good 500,000 miles on all our lt1s combined. They used them in police cars for a reason. Reasonably fuel efficient, very spirited, and can handle the mileage. Just know that if you ever have a problem with either your water pump or opti-spark (basically a distributer), you may as well replace both because sooner or later, the pump will kill the opti.

[kennygotgame]

thanks for info, now the task of finding a low miles9c1...

[cletus284]

Also, bet on the transmission going at 100 - 150k miles. They're the weak link. B-bodies also love to rust if you live in an area where they salt the roads in winter.

Good, low mile 9C1's are getting tough to find. If it were me, I'd be looking for a low mile LS.

[fernando]

Don't think that efforts to find 9C1 are worth that, milage on cop cars does not say nothing as engine is mostly running when car stays. So think LS is the best choise for that money.

[Fred Kiehl]

The LT1 is pretty much bullet-proof mechanically. Ther have been instances where the opti has failed, and others where it has worked for the life of the engine. Like any other car, they need to have periodic maintenance. If you can wrench your own car, it is going to give you reasonable service for your dollar invested. Have a good mechanic check it before you buy it. One of the really good points is that it will save your but in an accident. It is big, and heavy, so the little economy cars pretty much bounce off of it.

There was an incident with a Toyota mini-van (at fault), the B-body wagon T-boned it, and knocked it on its side. The occupants of the B-body were unharmed. The last time I heard, the B-body was being rebuilt.

If you can find one that is a southern car (never driven in snow) you can get tremendous service from it. The engines can last up to 500K, and many have gone over the 250K mark. You can find good engines in the junk yard if you ever need one, and they are cheap...in the $300 range if you pull it yourself. Keep your fluids up and changed regularly, do your routine maintenance, and it should be a good daily driver. Mine have become reliable enough that I really do not need a backup car anymore.

If you can not do your own maintenance, find one with less than 100K and get and aftermarket warranty package. If you have a major issue, they pay to fix it.

[350]

The question is completely subjective since we don't know what you need/want out of a car. They're great cars but I'm not likely to drive one daily ever again. If maintained they're reliable, no less reliable than anything newer. How much do you care about MPG? Modern conveniences?

[MightyCaprice]

I've been DD'ing one Caprice or another for probably 15 years. My primary Caprice I've had for 11-12 years. Daily'd for the first 4ish years, then bought other Caprices for winter beaters over the next 6 years and now it's back to daily again. I've put water pumps in all of them I think, no opti's. And one trans in my daily.

[SlingshotYellow]

Originally Posted by kennygotgame

I want a caprice but i just need to make sure the LT1 can hold up to being driven daily/ hours long trips.

If anyone can give me some info on what i'd be dealing with i'd appreciate it.

IF you can afford the gas on these gas guzzlers..

GO FOR IT