The Rally-Ready 1975 Caprice Raced by Gas-Monkey Richard Rawlings
Performance
Motorsports
Richard Rawlings (left) with Motoexotica's Scott Brandt (right), who is selling the car.
Before hitting it big with the “Fast N’ Loud” television show, Richard Rawlings from Gas Monkey Garage was making a name for himself in the world of rallies. His 1975 Caprice, now receiving bids on eBay Motors is a sleeper. There’s no indication that Aaron Kaufman—his partner at the Dallas-based garage—slapped a Vortec 6-liter LQ9 Vortec V8 under the hood. That might explain the vehicle’s recorded top speed of 163 miles per hour.
Before the debut of “Fast N’ Loud,” Rawlings piloted the green Caprice in the 2008 Gumball 3000 rally - opens in new window or tab., which went from San Francisco to Beijing (partly via an air transporter). Then in 2009, Rawlings and the Caprice hit the Bullrun - opens in new window or tab. rally, traversing terrain from New York City to Austin, Texas. With fewer than 22,000 miles showing on the odometer, the Caprice is capable of eating up a lot more rally routes.
Custom Features
The Caprice has fog lights on the front bumper and Hella lighting - opens in new window or tab. added to a roof rack. A Cobra CB radio - opens in new window or tab. and JVC navigation system - opens in new window or tab. help drivers traverse the courses.
The original bench seat was swapped out for a set of bucket seats for more comfort during long stretches. The seller indicates that the interior is showing well for a 43-year-old car. This Caprice has additional gauges installed to monitor the car’s mechanicals. The four-wheel disc brakes were upgraded to help slow things down as necessary.
If other rally racers don’t notice the Gas Monkey Garage graphics, a blast from the car’s horn—liberated from a locomotive—will get their attention.
Those features added to the road-tested 345-horsepower automatic 1975 Caprice should be everything a new owner needs to show well on a rally course. There’s one more thing: a Gas Monkey Garage good-luck charm in the form of Richard Rawlings’s signature on the sun visor. After 18 bids, the current offer eclipsed $5,000 today. There are three days left to go.
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