When Chevrolet introduced the new 1965 Caprice, it was marketed as an upscale option to the Impala lineup. Even more, it was available exclusively on the four-door, hardtop sedan Impalas. The new nameplate offered numerous upgrades that were not available on the “standard” Impala, such as a heavier frame, softer suspension tuning, and a more plush interior, in accordance with mid-’60s standards. The 1966 Caprice nameplate came into its own the very next year.

The up-fitted Caprice was so popular that the very next year it broke out of the Impala stable, free to enjoy its own pastures. Now, instead of being a four-door-only option, Caprice could be had as a four-door hardtop sedan, a two-door hardtop coupe, and a two- or three-row station wagon. The all-new 1966 Caprice coupe, such as this one owned by Bob Topinka of Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, had an exclusive notchback roofline giving it distinction from its siblings of any other GM marque.

Bob’s Caprice has retained the distinctive roofline but has enjoyed many upgrades that do not take away from the feel of the era. Note the exhaust openings in the rear bumper.

Bob located this 1966 Caprice on an online auction seven years ago, but the story of how he fell in love with the notchback Chevy begins several decades earlier. In the ‘80s, Bob restored a big-block-powered 1968 Corvette. Two of his friends owned 1965 Impalas and Bob liked the body lines of the larger Chevy so he began the search for his own.

As is often the case, Bob began searching for an Impala but quickly came across a 1966 Caprice with all its upgrades and that distinctive roofline. The car was a clean Oklahoma example, and Bob, a body shop technician by trade, restored the car. He then found himself enjoying the Caprice more and the Corvette less, so he eventually sold the ‘Vette. They say you never forget your first, and Bob would most certainly agree. In his words, “Like a fool, I sold that car in 1996.”

It’s 1966 Again!

Upon his retirement, Bob began the search for another ’66 Caprice to fill the void. He found this car in Florida, which had many of the same options as the one that got away. In speaking with the owner, he learned that this car also has an Oklahoman history. Bob took that as a good omen and purchased the vehicle. For Bob, it was 1966 all over again!

The interior of Bob’s ride was in nice shape when he received it, but it was all black. He removed the interior and dyed the seats and door skins white to help break up the cavernous cockpit. Note the three pedals, as well as the gauge pod and (supposedly) four-speed shifter in the wood-grained console.

The car had an amateur restoration, but as a body-man with some time on his hands, Bob wanted to take the car’s appearance (and performance) to another level. Even though it was drivable, the car needed a complete re-do. This allowed Bob to drive it in the summer and continue working on it during those cold, wintry months in Pennsylvania. That’s also why it took him seven years to get the car to the level of detail that you see here.

This 1966 Caprice Is Better The Second Time

While it may be true you never forget your first, that doesn’t mean things can’t get better the second time around. Bob had his second-chance Caprice, and while that distinctive notchback roofline does its best to set it apart on the show field, what really makes this car such a cool ride will likely never get noticed unless Bob tells you. At first glance, his cool Caprice looks just like a very nice restoration of a big-block, four-speed Custom Hardtop Coupe. But Bob’s blue ride (custom-mixed color by the man himself) is more than meets the eye.

Only some of the more keen-eyed readers may have noticed the dual exhausts poking through the openings in the rear bumper. While not a new styling treatment by any means, you can rest assured that no ’66 Caprices had such a feature. And, before you pat yourself on the back too quickly for noticing, did you also notice how Bob widened the wheel openings 1/2-inch on the rear quarters to give more room for those meaty Cooper radials? Granted, it’s hard enough to notice once Bob points it out to you, let alone in a photograph. We’ll give that one to you.

There are so many other things Bob did to improve his Caprice that go unnoticed, even with the car sitting in front of you. Take for example that big-block 427. Now, take another peek — would you have guessed it was a fuel-injected ZZ502 crate engine from Chevrolet Performance?

A Modern Driveline With A Vintage Vibe

Bob went to great lengths to disguise anything that would give away the engine’s secret. Under that oh-so-OEM air cleaner assembly resides a Holley Sniper EFI unit and Hyperspark distributor, to which Bob ran all the hoses and wires down the rear of the engine by the firewall to keep them hidden. To further disguise the modern powerhouse, he fabbed up a faux fuel line and filter at the front of the air cleaner assembly. The ploy works well to deflect your psyche into thinking this is just a nice restoration.

The guise goes even further inside the vehicle, where that factory-looking four-speed shifter pokes through the gauge-ladened console. Yup, everything seems to go by the book, but when you start shifting gears, you’ll find a few extra gates in that OEM-appearing stick. That’s because Bob installed a TREMEC TKX five-speed transmission to make his Caprice the cruiser he always wanted. He does admit he’s toiled over whether he should modify the factory four-speed shift pattern logo to match the gearing, but then that would take away from the stealthy nature of the swap.

The console holds other surprises, as well. Since there’s a fat chance Bob would let anyone smoke inside his Chevy, he decided to better utilize the ashtray space by putting the Holley Sniper control panel into the unused space. When he wants to view it or make a change to the tune, he just slides the door forward, and voila. No more wielding screwdrivers out under the hood for Bob and his Caprice!

 This 1966 Caprice Has Upgrades You’ll Notice, But Never See

As we were talking with Bob about his ride, he kept pointing out upgrades throughout the car that you would never see unless he told you they were there. Some were so well hidden that we didn’t notice them, even after he pointed them out.

One such item was the 1,000-watt stereo system that resides in Bob’s ride. There is a Custom Autosound head unit that features Bluetooth and a CD player that supplies the tunes to all of the nine speakers that make up the system. All the speakers and the Kicker amp are hidden to keep that stock appearance. There’s also a 10-inch subwoofer in the trunk that pumps out the waves through the opening in the rear seat back!

Other upgrades are not necessarily hidden, but reside under the vehicle, like the Global West upper and lower tubular control arms and adjustable strut rods. There are also a set of Viking Performance double-adjustable coilover shocks to help tune the ride. Out back, a set of aftermarket upper and lower trailing arms with the Bilstein shocks to keep the rear suspension stable. Bob also dropped the ride height of his ride by 2-1/4 inches in the front and 2 inches in the rear.

When it comes to the exterior of Bob’s 1966 Caprice, there are plenty of modifications that sneak past one’s view. Purists will note that the grille is lacking the small Chevrolet emblem. Bob took two factory grilles and aluminum-welded them together to make one. He then had the grille, headlight doors, eyebrow moldings, and extensions all chromed so they would match. He also shaved off all the other emblems except for the center bow tie emblem, which he plans on using LED bulbs to make into a stealthy third brake light for the car.

The Holley Sniper EFI has the ability to control cooling fans, so Bob installed a set of fans between the radiator and the A/C condenser. He created a spacer to move the radiator back enough to give the fans sufficient room. He also uses a belt-driven fan to keep the OEM appearance. Sneaky!

When you look at Bob’s Caprice, we’d say that even all those imperceptible modifications still add up to a greater sum than just all the OEM parts. We love that it holds so true to the factory styling in so many ways and yet, goes beyond what the engineers could have ever imagined in their day. It also exceeds anything Bob could have envisioned when he owned his first Caprice back in the day. But then again, those improvements are hard enough to see, even with the car sitting in front of you.