Sport Coupe Roller: 1963 Chevrolet Impala
Back in the day, a lot of folks were doing the “See the USA in a Chevrolet” thing. One of the best-selling automobiles in 1963 was the Chevy Impala with more than 552,000 of them ordered as a Sport Coupe alone (with or without Super Sport trim). This is one of them and – if factory installed – wears a vinyl top, which would have only been specified by less than 2% of original buyers (according to one source). A roller now without an engine or transmission, this looks like a project that got stalled, but not recently. Located with a dealer in Everest, Kansas, this Bow-Tie is available here on eBay where $4,750 has yet to crack the reserve, but the Buy It Now price is $8,500.
Styling of the 1963 Chevrolets was an evolution of that of the 1962s, with an arrow-like pointiness to the front and rear fenders. We don’t know the history of the automobile except that it appears a prior owner was trying to restore it (for example, unused upholstery material was found with the car). There’s no indication of what may have resided under the hood at one time – but either a 283 or 327-cubic-inch V8 would be a safe bet. And from the surviving peddle arrangement under the dash, the car once had a Powerglide 2-speed automatic transmission,
It’s too bad that a photo of the cowl tag wasn’t provided to try to verify the vinyl top. A new option in 1963 (RPO C08), 10,395 were supposedly built this way, and of all the 1963 Impala Sport Coupes I’ve seen, this is the first one I recall laying eyes on. What may be Azure Aqua (light blue) paint is said to be mostly original and is most of the pieces of the passenger compartment (except for the chrome pedals).
Rust is present, but it may not be sufficient enough to warrant any new sheet metal, just a few patches. The chrome and glass also appear to be in fine shape, suggesting this car may have spent its idle time inside and out of the elements. Once the buyer has loaded the car onto a flatbed trailer, he/she will get to keep the car’s original service manual which contains information about the original owner and selling dealer.
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Comments
If that’s the exhaust pipe sticking up, it might have originally been a straight 6 engine. Needs a lot of work, but doesn’t appear to be too far gone. A nice project for someone. Most likely it’ll be turned into a ridiculous hotrod, rather than restored to original.
the engine signs on front fender is for a 283 which would have had a 2 barrel carb and under 200 hp
I have the exact needed engine and trans setting on a dolly in my shop with a new long block before it was removed. Just waiting for me to find the right vehicle.
Those moldings which have IMPALA on the rear quarter panels were made in the Fisher Body Plant in Ewing Township, New Jersey in the same era in which the vehicle depicted here went down the assembly line.
In the summer of 1995, millwrights and riggers were moving a large Niagara high speed press which had been in its place at least prior to 1976 when I came aboard the vast operation; let’s say since the late-1950s. What the crew found was a relatively well-preserved box of 20 or so aluminum moldings, anodized, painted and with the individual letters spelling out IMPALA on them. I think these were the driver’s side (left-hand) moldings.
The press was located not too far from where the racking/unracking stations were for the old anodize plater. If I recall correctly that anodizer was designated the #10 Hanson Plater. Our plant had once had over a dozen platers of various types. The speculation was that some foreman had put these moldings aside for a time when the anodize department might have been behind the day’s production standard. Most likely these moldings were put aside and then forgotten.
The supervisor in charge of the press-moving operation directed one of his guys to carefully put the box, maybe a five-footer, onto his Cushman plant vehicle. Off these went to the plant manager’s office. That’s the last I ever saw of them.
Although these painted moldings had lain inert for a few decades the white paint was still dazzlingly white, the anodized aluminum gleaming as though newly processed. I’m sorry that I never asked our plant manager what had become of these items while I had the chance.
Thanks for that, Nostromo. Back in the eighties and nineties we “ran to a count” at the axle plant. It was hot, heavy, dirty and dangerous, so as incentive (the carrot) they said, discreetly, give us 575 a shift and you can be done. Read the paper. Play cards. Just don’t let a manager catch you sitting around. Sometimes on afternoons we’d bang out ten or so extra each day, undocumented. The towmotor driver would stash them till Friday, when he’d pull them out and add them to that day’s count. We’d be done by lunch. The single guys would punch out and get a good Friday night in. Family guys would
(quietly) pop beers, maybe get pizza delivered over the fence. Chill.
Maybe the molding guys worked to a count, also?
Bub, that is entirely plausible. I still like the notion of a supervisor being the proponent. One supervisor, during my association with anodized decorative moldings, really coveted these special brushed aluminum bodyside moldings that went on the ’81 to ’84 Buick Electra. He watched over these brushed aluminum moldings like a hen watching over her chicks; it bordered on fanatical.
One time a carrier arm on that #10 Hanson Plater crashed down into the station containing the hydrochloric acid used to etch the aluminum before it was anodized. There were two full racks of brushed aluminum trim items now submerged in the acid and it became a race against time. The supervisor looked on in horror as the moldings timed-out sitting in the acid and were ruined. I felt sympathy for the fellow watching his prized items slowly dissolving.
This was in ’82 at the tail end of the economic downturn caused by the second oil shock in ’79. Production rates slowed down and costs came under more scrutiny. Our plant was on the chopping block in February ’82 but we skirted disaster that time.
A lot of stories and particular instances come back to me seeing the cars here on Barn Finds as I find them on Twitter. Working at/for General Motors encompassed some of the best years of my life. Best wishes, Bub.
Anybody that’s under the age of 50.will have a very hard time comprehending how popular and widespread these were. They were selling over a million full-sized Chevy’s every year for quite a long time period.
I just read an article bragging about how the Toyota Camry will breach 200,000 units this year, haha. That was Firebird sales in the late ’70s. Of course, you didn’t have the choices back then that you do now, so sales are much more spread out across different models and brands as compared to 60 years ago.
It’s a project, but not at the price asking.
I’ts not worth more than 5K, considering you’ll put another 60K in it to be properly restored. Minimum.
This one’ll cost a sassy little penny to get right, fully agreed. The rust doesn’t seem too horrible, however, and that’s usually the big budget killer on these projects. But there is some, and you will need paint, interior, and mechanicals, and that’s gonna add up.
So yes, you need to compare what this’ll cost to restore versus how much you could get a non-SS 283 or 327 ’63 for that’s in good condition already. My guess is the numbers will not favor it (they usually don’t), though it’d be a very cool car restored. Regular and somewhat common cars in this kind of shape are usually restored for sentimental reasons.
It’d make a nice Lowrider.
Are those wire wheels and knock-offs? The rims are cool, and the car has potential, but at the current bid of $5,600 I think it’s reached its max value. It needs a lot.
Admittedly, I am not a GM person, although I’ve had a few over the yrs. That said, the 61-3 Impalas/Biscaynes are my favorite body styles.
I think this one shows promise as a project. Of course would require a good inspection, but if you did some of the work yourself, could go mild to wild (with mild being much cheaper!).relatively inexpensive.
Clean up the body, do the upholstry, and drop a crate SBC (junkyard LS?) and appropriate trans and be showing up at the weekend cruise ins. I like it!
My boy in Detroit rockin a killa 63. This one needs some love but got potential to be somthin real good.
#classicwhip!