1966 Caprice LSx Swap Project: "Big Black"

[GarageToys]

This is the build thread for my '66 Caprice which I inherited from my father. It was a 396/Powerglide, vinyl top, bench seat, drum brakes & whitewalls nose-high stocker when I got it back in 2000. The only thing not original was the color. Originally white, my Dad sprayed it black to match the body to the vinyl top.




I was not too impressed with the power or handling of the big black land yacht. Prior to acquiring the car, I rode shotgun in someone else's car on Hot Rod Power Tour. It became by goal to do the tour in the Caprice.

Winter of 2003 I started phase one, which included a 700R4 trans, 4-wheel disc brakes, 2" drop spindles, 1.5" drop springs, Hotchkis suspension, new exhaust and 17" wheels/tires:



I finished it the day before leaving for Power Tour 2003, and we drove it on the 2004 tour also. The car was a lot more fun, but it still wasn't exactly what I wanted. Nevertheless, it stayed the same for years while I populated my corner of the Earth. Now my kids are getting old enough that I can get away to work on the car a little, so phase two has commenced.

Along the way, I have collected some parts. My brother is building a 48 Chevy truck, which was going to be a blown small block. Then he sold the engine and bought another small block, which he sold and bought a 2007 6.2L L92 out of a wrecked, 7K mile Escalade, along with a brand new 6L90E. When I saw it, I called "dibs" when he invariably decided to sell it. It took a year, but he sold me the L92/6L90E combo for the Caprice. This was in January of 2010.





In November of 2010, I listed the 396 on Craigslist and sold it to the first caller. The next Saturday we pulled the front clip off the car and yanked the engine/trans. The buyer put the 396 in a '65 Impala. The 700R4 is in my brother's '48 (behind engine #37 or so).



And that's how that car sat for the next 2 years while I collected parts. But no more. I gutted the interior to prep for floorpan/tunnel mods to accommodate the 6-speed auto trans. That's when I found that my clean Arkansas car was not a "rust free" Arkansas car. Although the fenders, quarters, rockers, etc. are rock solid, the vinyl top had rusted out the rear window channel, which in turn leaked into the floorpans and trunk pans.

For some reason, I took wood shop in highschool instead of metal shop & all these years later, I still have not learned to weld. My friend Terry has a mig and a tig... and a huge shop. Off to Terry's goes the Caprice for floor sections and a new trunk. Here's the last couple of pictures while the car was still at my house. I removed the windshield/back glass and the vinyl top. I also did a mock-up in cardboard for a custom gauge panel that will also house the ridetech air ride controller.






More progress updates soon...