Low Ride Or Not? 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS
Chevrolet introduced the Super Sport as a performance car in 1961 and sold just 453 copies. They revised their strategy in 1962 to make it more about style than muscle and sold more than 99,000 units. It was popular enough to become of series of its own in 1964, which includes this nice restomod version. The engine has been rebuilt and blinged out and it wears a set of wire wheels. The seller has no more time to devote to the Chevy, so it must go. Located in Graham, Washington, this Bowtie is available here on eBay where the bidding holds at $15,400 (the reserve is unmet).
The company’s decision to go mainstream with the Impala SS (any engine, including a six-cylinder, could be ordered) no doubt made the bean counters happy. The sales results for the first five years speak for themselves: 1961 – 453, 1962 – 99,311, 1963 – 153,271, 1964 – 119,166, 1965 – 178,565. The ‘64s may have been off due to the boxy styling that all the full-size Chevies wore that year and sales of the bigger cars were off in general, not just the Super Sport. Plus, the Chevelle debuted in 1964 and it, too, had an SS which may have siphoned off buyers.
Under the hood of the seller’s car is Chevrolet’s most popular engine of the era, the 327 cubic inch V8. We’re told this one has been rebuilt and – from the looks of things – it may very well have received some performance upgrades. The power brake booster looks new, and we’re told that the power steering components are new and “updated” (variable ratio?). The transmission is a 4-speed manual, but the seller doesn’t mention if it’s original or has been reworked, too.
This Chevy has been treated to some replacements in the front suspension and the front brakes have been converted to discs. The wheel and tires are new and appear undersized for the car. Could all this be an indication that the front of the car will bounce up and down on command as the ’64 Chevy was popular for mods like these. The paint is good, but not perfect, the interior is nice with all the SS badging, and the Impala seems to have escaped the rust bug over its 58 years. All-in-all, a nice Super Sport. Would leave it as-is or would you start gathering parts to put it back to stock?
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Comments
Oh Russ, I’ve lost all faith in you, kidding, you do the best nostalgia sometimes, for not mentioning Cheechs’ “The Love Machine”. I think he’d like to forget those days as a stereotypical hippie, but he’s plenty rich because of it, I’m sure. Yeah, it’s Rockford this, General Lee that, but a ’64 Impala just screams Cheech and Chong. Regardless of your views on weed, yeah, yeah, let the jokes fly,,this movie was the funniest, stoned or not. DON’T forget the dingle balls.
All that aside, the ’64 Chevy was a good car, certainly nothing a 4 speed would enhance, it was a grandpas car, plain and simple. My 1st GF, yeah, that’s right a GF, had a ’64 Impala like this, 283, powerglide, it was, yep, you guessed it, her dads, and was a BIG car. She traded it for a Datsun 1200, one extreme to the other. Cool find, like this,,meh, but as “The Love Machine”, I almost guarantee a thumbs up,,,from those over 50, anyway.
I almost bought a 425hp 4speed 64 Impala back in 80, dk blue w/ lt blue interior. A beautiful car and was pretty quick. I ended up buying a blue four speed 75 Vette coupe.
Thumbs-Up from this 57 year old. I rework 64 Impala Hotwheels into Love Machine clones, and they sell pretty quickly. ~S
God, I love these, esp the SS and the factory yellow colour. I’d like to buy it just to prevent it being a hydraulic up and down jumper. I just don’t have the energy myself anymore (to)…
I’d buy it just to take off those gawd-awful wheels. Have to give the seller credit though . They didn’t cover the whole inside with pink carpet and install a chain-link steering wheel.
It’s love macheen.
I would leave it just as is. It looks to be in amazing shape and some of the hard work is already done (disc conversion, steering work, engine rebuild, etc.) The 4-speed and the color are just icing on the cake. I don’t think I’d juice it, but an air suspension wouldn’t be out of the question (just to pancake when I park and lay frame). The wire wheels would definitely stay. I wish I had room for it.
Well if you’re going to have a lowrider , it had better be a 60’s Impala . However this is an SS 4spd. , so it needs to be returned to what it was . Sell the hydraulics to the neighbor kid for his Nissan .
Restore it to original please.That’s what she deserves.
Raise it up.
Never a low rider. I hate those things.
Slam it to the floor , It’s Beautiful as is ….
Come on Mark Don’t hate Appreciate . Every Impala from 1958 all the way to the Mid 1970’s look magnificent as Low Riders Come on guys you just can’t deny some things in life. Beautiful Car.
I hate low riders. put it back to where it came out of the factory original. I don’t think it’s cool to mess up factory original cars
I am in total agreement with you Michael.
When I was in high school, my absolute dream car was a ’64 Impala SS 4 speed. I lusted for the 425 horse 409, but the 327 is a fantastic engine that can make serious power with the right mods. I’d buy this one and leave it exact as it is, unless it has hydraulics, which I’d swap out for air ride. Static lowriders are almost undrivable, and hydraulics add too much weight and complexity for a performance car. But I’d love to own this one, same color and wheels as it sits and then I’d drive it at every opportunity.
Put a surprise suspension on it, some nice wheels and drive it
Neither of those was a bad choice.
Michael Big Art here, I don’t know about your but when they came out of the factory they were already Low Riding … just look at how all Older Chevys look . I’m Sorry Mike but someone over at General Motors is a Low Rider… That’s why they made Fender Skirts, Sun Visors, White Wall Tires, Bad Ass Paint, all the awesome Chrome, Cross Bar and SS Hub Caps All Low Riding… Stop Hating . l like them no matter how they look Low Rider , Stock , Hot Rod , and even Rat Rod and I’m pretty sure you do Too…
I agree with everything you said but from the factory they were low enough and I’m only hating the low riders with the hydraulics to where they butcher them up like I said ORIGINAL
“May I see your license? ” “isn’t it on the bumper, man?”
I like most 64 SS’s, especially w/the 327 & up engines. Aw the awesome 409’s with dual 4’s was icing on the cake. Couldn’t afford 1, buy, couldn’t stop me from sobbing over 1.
I liked all the 60s ss,s a regular Chevy guy sometime I want a 1967corvette with a 435 horse 427 with all the extras and a 1966 chevelle so 396
It’s no wonder the world is a mess, we can’t agree on anything. Raise it, lower it, slam it( same as lowering?), puff it( made that one up), heaven forbid we should just leave it alone.
How about someone just buy it and don’t tell us what you did to it!! Just save it already!
I agree. Save it, drve it, and enjoy it.
My favorite ‘Pala. Had 3 of these and I would put it back stock like it left the factory. Chevy sold over 180K of the 1964 Impala SS and I see why, good looking then and good looking now.
I feel a bit of regret. Back in the early 80’s, I bought a black, ’64 true SS convertible with silver interior, bucket seats, centre console, 283 Pwr glide and, after a year, sold it for $2,200.Canadian.I made $100. Cdn. Now, with two replaced hips, it would have been perfect for the position I’m presently in. I have to remember, that I had enjoyment with it for a year and be content with that. I just wish I took more pictures of it!!!!
$22,177.00
Reserve not met
Someone save this beautiful machine, shoe it with a set of 8″ Chevy rallyes and a set of white letter BF’s, get the stance leveled…please! It appears to be a true SS car.
Poor man’s blue walls – you may remove the new whitewall tire blue protective covering if so desired.
Love that interior, & dash! – which should have been retained for as many future model yeas as possible, IMO.
This isn’t a ‘lowrider’ – it just has the typical lowrider wheels. No hydraulics or ‘bags, this is just how it sits with smaller diameter wheels.
Personally I hate the factory stance on the X-frame and this comes from a ’64 owner too. Even with stock wheels and wheel covers these cars make a much, much better impression when dropped to the ground. Bags or coils are the methods for slamming it properly, hydros make it ride like crap. As long as the mods are reversible I don’t have anything against modding (improving) its suspension and the seller here has done some sensible upgrades.
The color here should be Goldwood Yellow and was a new color for ’64. For the Chev B-bodies it was only available as Impala or Impala SS, and only interior color it could be ordered with was black
My first car, a non SS silver poly blue convertible. I bought it for 300.00 in 1978. I was 14. I used money I had kept my mother from knowing about. The car wasn’t far from where I lived and the guy asked how I was going to have it moved. I told him my father would take care of it. As soon as I knew he was not home, I screwed plates on it threw my bicycle in the trunk and drove it home. Got a huge butt kicking for that, not for driving but for holding out money from my mother. The car took me through high school, in shop we heated the springs and a bunch of guys sat on the fenders and quarters which sank my boulevard barge 2 inches. For a while in the early 80s the car had blue velvet incerts in the seats, a chain steering wheel, stainless skirts. By the late 80s the interior had been returned to original, the car kept its low stance, stainless skirts were swapped for painted ones. This car gave me car disease, I blame all of my car sickness on this unit, Hotwheels, and Matchbox. The 64 of mine has, ac, power everything, seats,windows, tilt, a tachometer that sticks out of the dash, the laser beam light dimming gizmo atop the dash and the cruise control which is a wheel on the left you can speed up or slow down by rotating the numbered dial. These cars are nothing short of fantastic. This one here is a Bute, a 327 like mine, a 4 speed, (mine is an auto), and a tilt wheel. The wheels aren’t for me but who cares, this is a great looking car and will make its next owner quite happy.