New Caprice - Discussion forums

A little background. I recently acquired a 2011 9c1 from the Canadian Government auction for almost a song. It is one of possibly four in Canada. From research I have done so far, the other three may have gone to Six Nations Police. I have yet to try and contact them but they may have been abused and thrashed for the past 6 years. I might possibly have the ONLY registered Caprice PPV in Canada. At worse, I have one of only four.

Here's my dilemma. The interior just plain sucks. The seats are not comfortable and hurt my back, no center console to speak of, no carpet. I'd like to throw in G8 seats, carpet and console but I would be afraid that this would reduce its value and originality. I'd also like some nicer wheels. Right now, you can tell it's a purpose built police vehicle. I'd like to clean it up and take it to Canadian car shows and meets. I already took it to a local meet and it drew a lot of attention. They didn't even care that I didn't clean under the hood.

Either way, I am planning modding the engine (cam, tune) and the exhaust.

Additionally, I have first hand knowledge of its history.

So do I mod it to my liking and possibly depreciate it or keep it all original?

Mooseman wrote:A little background. I recently acquired a 2011 9c1 from the Canadian Government auction for almost a song. It is one of possibly four in Canada. From research I have done so far, the other three may have gone to Six Nations Police. I have yet to try and contact them but they may have been abused and thrashed for the past 6 years. I might possibly have the ONLY registered Caprice PPV in Canada. At worse, I have one of only four.

Here's my dilemma. The interior just plain sucks. The seats are not comfortable and hurt my back, no center console to speak of, no carpet. I'd like to throw in G8 seats, carpet and console but I would be afraid that this would reduce its value and originality. I'd also like some nicer wheels. Right now, you can tell it's a purpose built police vehicle. I'd like to clean it up and take it to Canadian car shows and meets. I already took it to a local meet and it drew a lot of attention. They didn't even care that I didn't clean under the hood.

Either way, I am planning modding the engine (cam, tune) and the exhaust.

Additionally, I have first hand knowledge of its history.

So do I mod it to my liking and possibly depreciate it or keep it all original?

9C1s won't hold much value. I'm not even sure if 9C3s will. If you modify it, just keep the original parts so you can return it to stock. It will make you feel better. It's not like you're talking about cutting the car up so it can never be returned to stock. If you tastefully modify it, you may actually help its value. You will most likely not get back what you put into it, but that's a given!

i posted the numbers for the carpet , the box is huge it will take up the bed of a truck easily , so shipping isnt going to be cheap , if you have a friend at the dealer and will give you a break on the price , best to get it from them

put the rubber carpet in the box and stick it in storage

its pretty much what im doing with mine , anything i take off i keep and put away

As others have said, since most of your mods will be bolt-in, just keep the old bits, just in case. You'll probably want to document any changes in the wiring (you'll have to re-pin the connectors to the seats if you install the G8 power seat racks).

Even in the US, these things are pretty rare, and being the last rear wheel drive sedan used by LEOs, they may actually have some collectability down the road. I know I have a big pile of parts to install in our '12, and a smaller pile of take-offs should we ever want to go back to original.

I know the guy who bought our 95 9C1 was specifically looking for a relatively unmolested retired service vehicle. The mileage was secondary to condition and lack of serious mods.

Thanks for the comments. Really appreciate it.

True that I can return it to original if necessary. And it's not in perfect condition at the moment neither. Some rust under the hood on a few spots but nothing serious. Wheels also have some rust on them.

These mods won't be for tomorrow, that's for sure. And I'm also learning its quirks for parts. I do have a friend in Oz that can probably help me out there.

I'm still i awe of this vehicle. Just need to make it a little better.

I'd recommend replacing the broken/rusted pieces sooner, than later. Even right now, parts listings are starting to disappear from the catalogs.

There's nothing so seriously rusted that they would need replacing. Just some surface rust on coils, strut mounts and braces. Nothing a good brushing and some paint can't fix.

However, I should order parts for the center console now. As Holden closes down, we're gonna be in some serious trouble for some Aussie specific parts.