After I bought this car I found the amount of body work (bondo and crappy paint job) is extensive. There are patch panels in the rear quarters behind the wheels, but the drivers side rear quarter panel has so much bondo that the distinctive "bulge" in the rear quarter is indistinguishable! I pulled off the vent cover on the drivers side door jamb and shown a light in there. There is a crease in front of the wheel well and obvious dent repair pull holes. The trunk does not show any real damage other than the patch panels.








Prior to putting the steering wheel back on the column, I tested the turn signals. They worked. As soon as I put the wheel on the 20A fuse for the signals/backup lights blows as soon as the ignition is turned past on to run. I just replaced the hazard and turn signal fuses but no joy. I did buy a 20A circuit breaker to put in the fuse holder to help with the trouble shooting. Hopefully I can work on it a little this weekend.

The interior also needs replacement seat belt covers. The original interior is blue but all I coudl find were black reproduction seatbelt covers. The Parts Place has blue covers on eBay for $12 (+$8 shipping for up to 6 covers). These include the button but NOT THE SPRING! How crazy is that? I had to request the springs because they are not listed on their eBay site or their web site. $1 each for the springs. They are a little lighter shade of blue than the originals but they work in a pinch.

The grilles and headlight bezels were painted black by a previous owner. The upper grille is also cracked and has a hole in it. I found another grille set on Craigslist in NY. The set arrived and I repainted the upper and lower grilles and bezels silver with flat black recesses. As I was putting the pieces on the car, I discovered the bottom grill was for a 1970 Impala! AAARRRGHHH!!!
Luckily my original lower grille is in very good shape, so I'll clean it up and repaint it to match the upper.

The seats need to be recovered and the padding replaced. No repro company makes repro seat covers for Caprice. I took the car to a couple of upholstry shops in town and they say they cannot get the original seat cloth. So I was looking at some velour/vinyl combinations that closely match what I currently have. This would mean recovering the door panels also, which significantly increases the upholstry job price. Local quotes were $1200-1800. WOW!
I found out about Pete Ciadella in Arizona who said he could get the original cloth and do both seats for $700. Much better. Then I found SMS Auto Fabrics in Canby Oregon who stock OEM and NOS auto upholstry materials. I requested samples of there Medium Blue cloth/vinyl for the 1969 Caprice (trim code 822).

I am on the fence about getting the seats recovered at this point. I am considering selling the car after getting the rear end rebuilt. I feel the amount of work, money and time required to fix the bad body work just won't be worth it to me. I would have rather gotten a car with original paint and some rust than a repainted car with obvious bondo work of unknown quantity.

More to come later as I decide what to do with this beast. It drives great and has a great rumble. It gets lots of compliments but I am almost embarrased to have anyone look at it.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post: