Modern muscle

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/01/2016 (3719 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Chevrolet Impala made its debut in 1958. Initially offered only as a sport coupe hardtop or convertible, it was a sales success too good to be kept to just two models. That would change in 1959 as all full-size Chevrolet models were available in the Impala line. Beginning in 1961, a dealer installed Super Sport option package could be purchased on any Impala. The $54 package included suspension, braking and handling upgrades, as well as SS identification badges on the rear fenders, deck lid, instrument panel and wheel covers. For 1962, the Super Sport package became factory option code 240 and included many of the same features as 1961 — with the addition of bucket seats and a locking center console for $155.95.

For Darren Terry of Winnipeg, the bug to get an old car came in 2003. “I looked at a friends SSRq73 Mach I and passed on it, but kept looking,” says Terry. In 2004 he found a 1965 Impala SS hardtop advertised for sale in Park Falls, Wisc. White with a black top, it was a running and driving car with a good body. The added value came with it being factory equipped with an L35 396 cubic-inch big-block V-8 and four-speed manual transmission. Terry travelled to Wisconsin to see the car and discovered a few surprises. “The original 396 V-8 was gone and replaced with a SSRq70s vintage 454 V-8, but the car looked very good, so I struck a deal, loaded it on the trailer and brought it home”.

Terry drove the Impala for one summer and found the motor was getting pretty weak, so he enlisted the help of his friend Dale Loewen of Sandale Automotive & Fabrication to do a full rebuild. Overbored 0.040-inch and fitted with Keith Black 10.5:1 compression pistons, the engine was fully balanced and runs a high-performance camshaft, rebuilt cylinder heads, Edelbrock high-rise aluminum intake manifold, 750 cfm Holley Street Avenger four-barrel carburetor and Mallory distributor, backed up with an MSD 6A electronic ignition box. For the exhaust, Hooker Comp II ceramic-coated headers lead to a 2.5-inch diameter custom dual exhaust system with Turbo-Flow mufflers installed by Extreme Performance Exhaust. On the engine dynamometer at Sandale Automotive, the 454 V-8 produced a respectable 507 horsepower and 548 lb/ft of torque. For the transmission, GW transmission got the nod to rebuild the Muncie M21 four-speed manual transmission and the 12-bolt rear 3.73:1 geared posi-traction rear axle.

With power to spare, the next step came to rebuild the frame in 2006. It was found the C-channel frame on the Impala had succumbed to a fair bit of corrosion. With the car at Sandale, the body was removed from the frame and the necessary repair completed. Some welding and grafting was done along with the addition of other necessary frame rails supplied by Eric Braun in Rosser. The frame was then sandblasted and finished with black paint. New suspension and brake components were installed, including front spindles and disc brakes from a 1970 Impala, shorter front coil springs were also installed to bring the nose down for added handling and the addition of new wheels. To complete the handling package and improve the curb appeal, Terry chose a set of Rocket Booster aluminum five-spoke wheels. With 18-inch by 10-inch up front and 18-inch by 12-inch in the rear, running low profile Mickey Thompson performance radial tires, it gives the Impala a look of its own.

To finish the project off, Terry stripped the car down for paint and placed the Impala in the hands of Sean Conroy at Conroy Collision in Whitemouth. The choice of a two-tone paint scheme and choice of colours would prove to be an onerous task. Terry and his wife Katheryn, used photos of the car, markers and paint colour chips to aid in their decision. After 10 months in Conroy’s shop the Impala would see the light of day dressed in its new paint. With a combination of pewter silver base clear and a three-stage tangerine from Sherwin Williams Planet X paint line, the car is a one-off combination.

Replated bumpers were done by North Star Plating and the reassembly of the car was completed by Terry and neighbour Ray Trump. The black vinyl interior upholstery is original except some panel replacements on the bucket seats by Otto Szalai at Otto’s Custom Upholstering in Beausejour.

Options include the SS package, bucket seats, centre console, Hurst floor shift, AM radio, power steering, power front disc brakes, tinted glass, dual front side-view mirrors, rally clock, vacuum gauge and added Sun tachometer.

At the Impala’s initial outing in 2012 at the Memories Car Show in Selkirk, it won second place. It would go on to be included in the 2013 Piston Ring’s World of Wheels Show at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Terry says, “It’s now just a straight, tight car that’s fun to drive.”

Chevrolet produced 242,700 Impala SS hardtop models in 1965. There were 3,200 that came equipped with six-cylinder power and 239,500 that received the V-8 option. While Chevrolet production doesn’t give a breakdown of what car received the big-block and the four-speed manual combination, it’s safe to say Terry’s car is in the minority.

While the Impala Super Sport model would continue until the 1969 model year, it took a back seat to other General Motors performance offerings in the mid-size and compact line. The Impala SS would later re-emerge from 1994 to 1996 as a sedan offering, with a 5.7 liter V-8. Today these full-size, big-block powered boulevard cruisers are becoming a rare sight, even at car shows and cruises. They represent a period where the family car could also be a sporty and fun car, and all that required was checking off the right boxes on the order sheet.

 

57ford@mymts.net