2015 Chevrolet Caprice

Vehicle Overview

Follow me on Instagram ~ @capriceofshit Is that the new Cadillac? How did you make that Impala rear wheel drive with a V8? Aren’t those cars illegal to own in the USA? Those are questions I get a lot. No, it’s not a Caddy, I didn’t convert an Impala to RWD with a V8, and yes, its 100% legal to own. Ok, what the heck is that car, then? Well, it’s the Caprice of $hit… The Caprice Of $hit, as it so lovingly referred, is a 2015 Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle, and the American import version of the largely popular Holden Caprice, its Australian counterpart. Holden, Ltd, which was the Australian division of General Motors, ceased production on all vehicles in 2017, ending not only the production of the Caprice, but also the very popular Commodore line, or as us Americans know it, the Chevy SS Sports Sedan. Out of the 4 cars ever imported to the United States by Holden, with the others being the 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO (Holden Monaro) the 2008-2009.5 Pontiac G8 (Holden Commodore VE), and the 2014-2017 Chevy SS Sports Sedan (Holden Commodore VF), the Caprice is unique in 1), it is the only one to retain its original name from its Australian counterpart, and 2) it was never offered for sale to the public new, and could only be purchased by municipalities. There were only a few that made their way into private ownership new, mostly due to a contract oversight by GM, but the majority of the 15,893 Caprice PPV’s sold were never available to Joe Public. The private ownership circle for the Caprice PPV is credited entirely to government surplus auctions and insurance sales, such as IAAA and Copart. Its beginning... Specifically, the Caprice of $hit started its life December 4th, 2014 in Elizabeth, South Australia, as all Holden vehicles did, as build #12194 out of the 15,893 Caprice PPV’s ever produced, 1 of only 1,369 vehicles built for the 2015 model year, and 1 of only 561 offered in WA679F Herron White. It arrived at Beck Motor Company in Pierre, SD on May 13th, 2015, and it was offered for sale through a state QPA to the State Of South Dakota. To serve and protect... With the final procurement by the State of South Dakota on June 3rd, 2015, it operated 293 days with the South Dakota Highway Patrol as car #105. Sadly, its service was abruptly ended by an unfortunate accident at 15:40 hrs. on March 22nd, 2016. Car #105 was struck by a 2012 Nissan Versa that ran a red light at the intersection of US-14 and Central Avenue in downtown Pierre, SD. Information from the police report taken, the estimated speed of impact was >25 MPH. The resulting accident impacted the police cruiser in the driver’s side front door forward, with the majority of the impact to the driver’s front wheel, causing the lower spindle to crack and bending the inner tie rod, rendering the car immobilized and resulting in a total loss settlement for the SDHP. Fortunately, no lives were lost in either vehicle impacted in the accident. From there, the car was surrendered to the department’s insurance agency, CSAA in Lincoln, NE. On May 17th, 2016, the car was issued a Nebraska Certificate of Salvage Title. On May 31st, 2016, the car was sold at public auction, COPART #23405076, with 19,078 miles on the odometer for $6900. It was purchased by Jim Schilder of Surprise, AZ, a suburb of Phoenix. The Restoration Begins... For the next 2 years, Jim restored the car back to factory condition, soliciting the services of several repair and body shops in and around the Phoenix area. A donor car for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department was used for most of the damaged body panels and all other parts were purchased new from Sands Chevrolet in Surprise, AZ. Jim owns two other PPV’s, a black 2011 9C3 that is pro-charged and a silver 2012 9C1. As a true Caprice enthusiast, he also owns several other older B-Body style cars. He had the intention to keep the car once he restored it for his wife to drive since it has a nicer interior but interestingly, she took a corporate job that supplied her with a Tesla so having another car was not something Jim and his wife decided they did not need. In September of 2018, Jim put the car up for auction on eBay on September 13thst, 2018. But why a Caprice? I started on the hunt to find something to replace a 2007 Buick Lucerne CXL I had at the time. As nice as that car was, it had a bullseye on it. In the short time I owned it, I was hit in it 4 times. The final accident was the last straw for me. I decided to take the insurance check and just sell the car to find something new. I had looked at the G8 and the SS from influence by my good friend Travis who owned examples of both at the time. I really liked those cars because I wanted 4 doors with a V8, but any decent examples were well out of my budget. So Travis suggests I look at a Caprice. I remember laughing at his suggestion, because I didn’t want a 20+ year old car! He says, “No, the NEW Caprice”. I fell in love immediately with the car. I have owned 5 retired police vehicles in the past, so this was definitely my car to get. So I did my research and I stumble onto Jim’s listing on eBay. It turns into a bidding war…Sadly, I lose the auction by $100, but I reach out to Jim and tell him I have cash in hand and will match the winning bid if the deal falls through. Interestingly enough, the winning buyer was not able to secure funds because of the branded title, so on September 24th, Jim calls and says, “When can you come?”. I about lost my mind. I make last minute flight arrangements (ouch), notify my boss I’m taking a couple days off, and on October 4th, I catch the earliest Southwest Airlines flight I can non-stop to Phoenix, AZ. At 9:30 am that morning, I have the car in my possession. 27 hours and 1705 miles later, It’s home in Indianapolis! That was a grueling trip, but well worth it. Now What? Since I’ve owned the car, I have done a lot of modifications to the appearance to replicate what the car might have looked like if it was in Australia. In the winter of 2019/2020, it was sent off to Blue Line Performance in Evansville, IN to get some much-needed updates and modification done due to a faulty AFM/DOD system.

Vehicle Story

Future Plans

TR6060 Manual Transmission Procharger or LSA Blower Full Repaint