VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1965-1970 '66 Caprice wagon

Could Turbo-Hydramatic be optionally ordered on a 327-powered Caprice wagon (instead of powerglide)?

c.d.p.

No, in 1966 Power Glide only. T.H. available in big blocks only.
1967 was the first year T.H. was available with a 327 engine.

I have a friend that has a 1965 wagon with a 396 and Power Glide. Either transmission was available in a 396 in 1965.

Reminds me of the story of my dad's 1966 Parisienne (rebadged Caprice in Canada)rolling off the line in Oshawa.

He worked on the line so not only did he get to work on his own car, but guys that knew it was his car, did a few upgrades.

The car spent a few weeks in "Heavy Reject" while the paint shop custom painted and soundproofed the car and by the time it was done, the build sheet didn't match the options the car left the factory with.

My dad kicks himself for selling that car but still gets nervous telling the story as he had no idea the extent of his buddies "taking care of his car" would actually go.

Interesting on the same note, it was common for managers who were disliked to get things "downgraded by accident" so management tried to keep quiet when they ordered a car.

The dealer had a heck of a time getting the transmission to shift right in that car since the drivetrain combo was not one that was actually offered.

great story, Tim. Have always assumed the Cdn equiv of Parisienne was Impala while Grande Parisienne was the Caprice counter part. Comment?

I checked with my dad and the Canadian Pontiacs were typically the middle of the road Chevy model with interior/exterior trim changes, badging and grill changes and a few different option packages and colors.

My car is one of the more radical series of Canadian Pontiacs where they built a complete Pontiac shaped front end to fit on the Chevy platform.

He does not recall building the Grand Parisienne model in Canada but it seemed to exist a couple years based on the Caprice. Some Pontiacs were straight imports from the US depending on the current government and their tariff choices. There were a few Pontiacs that had a Chevy chassis but imported US Pontiac motors for base models but then optioned in large chevy motors like the 396 and 427 into the same car along with true US Pontiac options like the tri-power motors or OHC 4 barrel sixes. Some truly odd combos came out of Canada. Olds and Buick were similarly built but lower volume so saw more direct imports.

Then there was the Beaumont (chevelle based) and Acadian (chevy II based) that were Canadian models that did not have a brand/division (like Olds, Chevy, Pontiac) but were stand alone Canadian cars built on Chevy platforms. Later Acadians fell under Pontiac.

He does recall many, many, many parts substitutions. If Transmission A wasn't available, he would sub Transmission B and all the related supporting parts. That's what he did for most of his time for GM - match the parts to specific vehicles/options so the right parts arrived at the line at the right time in 5 factories and swap in replacement parts when there was a shortage. He does not recall motor subs, but trans swaps were common unless specific orders.

He worked there thru 60's, 70's, and 80's. I worked at the truck plant a few summers in the 80's. In his early days Oshawa had all models come down the same line - Olds, Buick, Chev, Pontiac, school buses, heavy trucks, Chev trucks, GMC trucks, etc so his parts coding was pretty crazy in those days, and they all shared many parts.

related question: 6 and 9-passenger wagons were offered in Caprice trim. All I have seen have simulated woodgrain, woodside trim. Was that an option or did all Caprice wagons have it?

All Caprice wagons and only Caprice wagons had the wood.