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1978 Chevrolet Caprice Classic

Introduced near the close of September 1976, Chevrolet introduced its downsized Caprice Classic for the 1977 model year, reducing its weight and exterior dimensions, but increasing the trunk capacity, headroom, and rear-seat legroom. Over $600 million was spent by General Motors on the downsizing program, called Project 77, in efforts to reduce weight, improve fuel economy, and modernize its full-size lineup. Over 600 pounds were shed from its coupes and sedans, and 870 pounds for wagons.

When the 1977 Chevy Caprice rolled into dealerships, they were ten inches shorter for the coupe and sedan, and 14-inches shorter for the wagon. The width was reduced by four-inches for the coupe and sedan, the height increased by 2.5-inches, and the trunk increased to 20.9 cubic feet for sedans and 19.8 cubic feet for coupes. The wagons had a 121.5-inch wheelbase, and the coupe and sedans rested on a 116-inch platform which it shared with the intermediate-sized Chevy Chevelle. The 1977 model year was the first time a mid-sized car, the Monte Carlo, was larger than the full-sized car. In 1978, Ford introduced a true downsized full-size car when they introduced the 1979 Ford LTD.

Chevrolet's full-size 1978 cars, including the Impala and Caprice Classic, shared much of their styling with the previous year. A new horizontal-bar grille adorned the front of the Impala and the Caprice had fewer divider bars in its lattice cross-hatch pattern grille. Body styles continued to be a two-door coupe, four-door sedan, and four-door station wagon with both two- and three-rows of seating. New optional equipment included a 40-channel CB radio built into the AM/FM radio and a steel sliding moonroof. Popular options included the F41 suspension system which added stiffer springs, larger sway bars, wheels, and tires. The appearance package added an elk-grain forward vinyl top, sport mirrors, accent striping, belt moldings in matching colors as the vinyl top, and bright rear-edge molding. Ten new body colors became available in 1978, giving customers a choice of 14 body colors. Standard equipment included a dual-note horn, fold-down center armrest on sedans, wheel opening moldings, interior lighting, clock, and full wheel covers.

Chevrolet introduced the Caprice Classic Landau coupe during the 1977 model year, with 9,607 examples built, followed by 22,771 in 1978. The sport coupe was priced at $5,530, the lowest within the lineup, and 37,301 examples were built. The Landau coupe had a factory base price of $5,830, and the sedan listed for $5,630. The station wagons, available only with the V8 engines, listed for $6,000 for the 6-passenger version and $150 more for the 8-passenger. Chevy built 32,952 examples of the 8- and 24,792 of the 6-passenger wagon.

The powertrains were carried over from 1977, however, the axle ratios were reduced to improve fuel economy. The base engine was the 250 cubic-inch inline-6 with overhead valves, an 8.1:1 compression ratio, seven main bearings, a 1-barrel Rochester carburetor, hydraulic valve lifters, 110 horsepower at 3,800 RPM, and 190 lb-ft of torque at 1,600 RPM. The optional 305 CID V8 had overhead valves, five main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, 2-barrel Rochester carburetor, 145 horsepower, and 245 lb-ft of torque. The four-barrel 350 CID V8 delivered horsepower to 170 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque.

The six-cylinder engine gained a new integral distributor cap and coil in 1978, while the 350 CID V8 shed 35 pounds thanks to the new aluminum intake manifold. The standard for all engines was the three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. Chevrolet had introduced the 305 CID V8 in 1976 for its compact and mid-size lines. A year later, it became available on the full-size line.

Although the engines powering the full-size models post-1976 were smaller and less powerful, they offered comparable performance due to the reduction in weight, along with increased fuel economy. The buying public agreed with General Motors' attempts to combine performance, luxury, and fuel economy into a stylish package, making the 1977 full-size Chevys the number one selling model in the United States. The previous-generation 1976 full-size Chevys had been the third-best-selling model. Over 660,000 full-size Chevrolets were produced for the 1977 model year, with the most popular being the four-door Caprice Classic sedan with 212,840 examples built - 203,837 examples were built the following year.

Motor Trend magazine awarded the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice with Car of the Year honors.

Chevrolet slightly updated the models for 1979, again focusing on the front and rear, and the 250 six gained five additional horsepower. The 305 V8, however, dropped 15 horsepower due to switching from the larger Rochester 2GC carburetor to the smaller Rochester Dualjet carburetor.


By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2021

Related Reading : Chevrolet Caprice History

Ford had introduced a luxury series called the LTD and in response, Chevrolet introduced the luxury trim package, Caprice, in 1965. It was available on the four-door Impala models with the name being chosen by Bob Lund, the General Sales Manager, after a New York City restaurant. The package included full wheel covers, a vinyl top, and an upgraded suspension. On the interior the cloth and vinyl seats,....
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Recent Vehicle Additions

Performance and Specification Comparison

Price Comparison

1978 Caprice Classic
$6,150-$109,800
1978 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Price Range: $5,530 - $6,150

Compare: Lower | Higher | Similar

Other 1978 Chevrolet Models
$3,030 - $4,715
$4,420 - $5,600

Caprice Classic

Specification Comparison by Year

Year
Production
Wheelbase
Engine
Prices
341,382
116.00 in.
6 cyl., 250.00 CID., 110.00hp
8 cyl., 305.00 CID., 145.00hp
$5,185 - $5,735
321,653
116.00 in.
6 cyl., 250.00 CID., 110.00hp
8 cyl., 305.00 CID., 145.00hp
8 cyl., 350.00 CID., 170.00hp
$5,530 - $6,150
317,731
116.00 in.
6 cyl., 250.00 CID., 115.00hp
8 cyl., 305.00 CID., 130.00hp
8 cyl., 350.00 CID., 175.00hp
$5,800 - $6,550
211,355
116.00 in.
6 cyl., 350.00 CID., 105.00hp
6 cyl., 262.00 CID., 130.00hp
8 cyl., 305.00 CID., 165.00hp
$9,890 - $10,715
116.00 in.
8 cyl., 307.00 CID., 140.00hp
6 cyl., 262.00 CID., 145.00hp
8 cyl., 305.00 CID., 170.00hp
$10,240 - $13,800

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