Robert Bean is the proud owner of a 1984 Chevy Caprice purchased brand-new by his grandmother Carol Sopousek and eventually sold to grandson Robert as his first car.
The Caprice took a long and winding road out of Robert’s life before he was able to purchase it back later in his life.
Jim Sutherland
The legacy Caprice led a charmed life under Grandmother Carol’s ownership because she maintained the car at a very high level. Carol had her husband Frank (Robert’s grandfather) negotiate the purchase because she was working out of town at the time and trusted his decisions.
One of Frank’s decisions was to add optional pinstriping to the Chevy, a feature that he liked on his own vehicles. Eventually the Caprice became a “family loaner” (in Robert’s words) because it was a comfortable and reliable vehicle for holiday use.
Robert piled up plenty of fond memories of the Caprice when he was a kid, mainly because Robert associated the car with his grandmother, but also due to its role as a summer road trip vehicle when he was a youngster.
A major milestone occurred in Robert’s life when he became the ’84 Caprice’s second owner about 15 years ago. The upscale Chevy sedan was his first car and Robert paid his grandmother 300 dollars for it.
Grandfather Frank had the Caprice fully serviced before Robert got it as his first-ever car, while his stepfather gave Robert a hands-on lesson in spark plug replacement on the 40-year-old Chevy.
Robert’s next phase with the Caprice occurred after only a few short years as its owner: “I was young and dumb and sold it a couple of years later but never really felt right about selling it”, in Robert’s words. He added; “The guy I sold it to sold it to another gentleman-and a week before it was sold, I kept getting this gut feeling I needed to go talk to the guy I sold it to-but didn’t understand why”.
He was too late to buy back the car from the interim owner at the time but was able to track down the Caprice’s next owner in a small town via the internet and found it very quickly in the tiny community. In Robert’s words: “I was in the town about 30 seconds and instantly saw it parked in front of a house”.
However, the Caprice’s owner was not in a selling mood, so Robert left without the car. The years passed before Robert had what he described as “getting that same gut feeling I had experienced so many years back (8-ish) and knew I had to go see him”.
Robert was unable to connect with the owner until he visited a local store and was advised to “go inside the screened-in porch and knock on his door”. He startled the owner but found out the guy was finally in a selling mood and had already attempted to phone Robert via his old number.
Robert wanted the car enough to “re-finance my daily driver” so he could buy back the family heirloom.
The car has been back in the family for roughly 5 years and Robert’s mother and aunt both love the fact he is once again the 1984 Caprice’s owner because they also have fond memories of its role in their lives.
We at MyStarCollectorCar love happy endings in our car guy stories, and this Chevy Caprice’s role in Robert’s family is one of our favorites.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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