1967 Chevrolet Impala 396 4-Speed Convertible!
Here’s an interesting one, it’s a 1967 Chevrolet Impala convertible. Now, we’ve covered many ’67 Impalas over the years – and why not, GM’s entry-level division only assembled 575,000 in ’67. Parse it further and we find about 30,000 convertibles. As for full-size Chevies (B-bodies) of all trim levels, 1.9 M saw the light of day 57 years ago – it was the Toyota Camry of its day! This example, however, is a bit different than most produced in that halcyon year, so let’s look her over in detail and see what makes it a bit more than average. Lineville, Iowa is where you’ll find this big drop-top, it’s available, here on eBay for a current bid of $11,001 with the reserve not yet met.
The listing states, “Original convertible top boot included & in good condition. Car has been all sandblasted underneath & undercoated. No Rust EVER! Car has a few paint spots & will need to be re-painted..Or drive it as it is.” There’s also mention of a damaged front passenger side fender but it appears to be minor. The “no rust” matter is important as that’s one thing that these B-body convertibles do rather well. The seller claims that it has always been garaged so that’s certainly a checkmark on the positive side of the ledger. As for that “sandblasting” business, the underside, while appearing clean, looks as if it has been rattle-canned. Also, there’s mention of a non-retracting top and a problem with the pump reservoir. I know from experience that these are simple systems, and the parts are all available so effecting repairs shouldn’t be too big of an undertaking.
Where things get interesting is with the drive train, it’s a 325 gross HP, 396 CI “Turbo-Jet” V8 engine connected to a Muncie four-speed manual transmission. The seller claims, “All original car…Matching numbers…With 84626 Original miles…Starts & Shifts as it should…{See video}..&..Super tight shifter.” The shifter is claimed to be a Hurst unit; visually it’s not, it’s the original Muncie piece with a reverse lockout. If it’s “tight” as suggested, that’s a good thing as the Muncie units are notorious for wear and sloppy shifting. You’ll get an arm and leg workout with this car, there’s no power steering or brakes.
The parchment vinyl bench seat interior is about what you’d expect for a car of this age as the upholstery is ripped in places but that’s no surprise really. The rest of the environment shows pretty well and the seller fills us in with, “Working heater fan…& Heater. Interior lights working. Exterior light working. Horn works. Windshield wipers work. Radio does not work. All gauges work as they should.” As for gauges, this is a fully instrumented car with an optional tachometer – a great inclusion!
I’m not certain how many of those 30K Impala convertibles assembled in ’67 came so equipped with this powertrain, or how many still exist, but this is a great find – it checks all of the right boxes. This Chevy will not be muscle car fast, such as a 396-powered Chevelle or Camaro, but it will scoot with some authority. At 4,100 lbs. one can expect a great full-size cruiser – a perfect accompaniment for a warm sunny day, wouldn’t you agree?
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Comments
Odd equipment choices, as mentioned above manual steering and brakes, 4spd, posi rear end, factory tach, 396. It will make a great cruiser, fix the top, seat by and whatever else you find, then drive it as is. Not every car needs to be restored.
This will be an interesting auction to watch.
Steve R
This was my old car. I sold it 47 years ago to a collector that had every full-size post-war Chevy convertible…except a ’67. This thing was a beast to drive. No PS or PB and a stiff clutch. Parking it was brutal. The original owner pulled a camper and didn’t trust PS or PB, so that’s why it was equipped the way it was. I prepped the car and had it painted. Had a painted stripe applied. I bought the wire caps…it had dog-dish caps originally. I contacted the seller to look at the car. He blew me off. Said to make a bid. I’ve owned hundreds of cars but I’d never buy anything without laying eyes on it. Even if it was my old car.
Thank you for the reply. That’s a great story. It’s to bad the seller isn’t receptive to you looking at you’d old car, it’s foolish and disrespectful not to.
What you said about it being a brutal to park brings back memories, I’ve had a few midsized V8, 4spds with manual steering and manual drum brakes. Radials helped over bias ply’s, but at low speeds they were a bear. This car must have been worse.
Steve R
I have 2 photos I took the day the buyer picked it up. Looks exactly the same except for the phony “Hurst” emblems someone stuck on the front fenders. The seat has a slit in it…which is funny because I’m pretty sure it did when I owned it, but I had it repaired. I had a black ’68 Cad convertible with a saddle interior at the same time I owned this…and that’s a car I would really like to find. Probably got pimped and lowered by now. I have a ’57 Cad convertible, ’66 Buick, a couple 928’s and a XK8 convertible…so I was serious about buying the Chevy. Crazy to think the Chevy was only 10 years old when I had it.
Time for some new coil springs jack after 57 years it’s time!
Can’t say I have ever seen a non-SuperSport with that drivetrain. Looks like the original buyer opted for AC using the top down method. Just as I was admiring the car with the wire wheel covers I saw near the bottom of the eBay listing that they do not come with the car. Bummer!
Good it needs 15 inch Rally wheels anyway!
I owned and sold this car 47 years ago. I bought the wire caps for it. It had the dog dish caps, which made it look like an unmarked patrol car. I thought it was weird the guy wants to keep the wire caps too.
I had a 65 Impala, Non SS, with a 396 4 speed and a bench seat (pictured). I bought it off a lot in Cave City, Ky back in 84 for $1300 and slapped a set of headers and new exhaust, a set of 8′ rally’s on the rear with 7’s on the front. The car looked and ran strong. Story behind the car was that the old man who ordered it didn’t want to pay for the SS option but wanted the hotrod. You could order them the way you wanted them back then.
[email protected],
That’s exactly the they did it in those days. I have a 65 Plymouth Belvedere 2 Dr. HT that was ordered triple black with a 383 Torqueflite, 3.23
Sure Grip, with no options but a radio and heater
It was traded to a Chevy dealer in Chardon OH in 1970 by the original owner’s son. I know most of the story from there because a guy I used to work with bought it off that lot in 1970. The story includes a sale to a kid who wrecked it three weeks in and I got it from my Dad’s junkyard in 1978.
A friend and I “kind of” fixed the body damage in 1978, but it wasn’t right. I gave it to the local Mopar expert in 2003, and $35K later with a year’s worth of my labor I have a show car that I can’t drive without wrecking all the detial work I did to it. I still drove it to a couple shows, but not much.
Great car Eyes. Bench seat, 4sp, too cool 😎 Good write up J.O.
And spot on comment from Al, Diamond 💎, and Steve. 🏁
A comment about the photography: taking the pics in a corn field actually works. It avoids the problem of having a cluttered background, something commonly seen.
I love this one !, nnice find !
a diamond indeed
67s are one of the sexiest cars in history; imho
and with those options ,, wow
awesome car .
Everything was an option, and lots of people just wanted what they wanted. If I had ordered that car I would have ordered just like that. No dudads . Big motor, four speed you do not need anymore. I still have a few cars from that era, all are manual trans. I would be very interested in owning this
Convert,bb,4 speed.Cheap money so far.I had a 67 Chevelle ss396.Blew it up,and put in my buddies 427 from the Vette he wrecked.Perfect timing
I had a 66′ Impala SS cpe 396 4sp, No ps No pb. I learned a lot from that car which helped me when ordering cars for stock as a sales manager. This car had the optional console with tachometer and posi rear. Discharged from the Marines, I bought the car with 9,000 miles from the father of a dude that just got drafted. The car had the 325hp option but single exhaust, a posi rear, but 3.08 ratio. The price was great, but what were they thinking when it was ordered. This car , like the 67′ here, should have had a 3.55 or 3.71 rear, power steering, power front disc brakes, and dual exhaust. I think that that 66′ Impala SS was the best looking car of the 60’s, while I’m at it, the 57 Olds Super 88 was the best looking car of the 50’s.
’67 Impala’s are somehow strange cars to me. On one hand, I believe they are the least attractive of any ’60s Impala’s, but on the other hand, I absolutely love the SS427’s, and this being a 4-speed big block strikes my fancy as well. No offence to the original owner, but it not coming with those wire wheel covers is a plus in my book. A set of small center cap rally wheels would be perfect. I agree with the author that the shifter is definitely a factory Muncie. I also agree that man handling this thing at low speed would be no fun. In the grand scheme of things, I really can’t say whether it is a decent price or not, given that you just don’t see one equipped like this for sale very often. Still a pretty cool car.
I was butt ugly with the poverty hubcap. Looked like a highway patrol car.
@Oldrodder
I have to agree with you, I always thought the Impala ’67 was kinda an ugly orphan child..
My oldest sister & her new husband ordered a brand new 1966 Impala convertible in yellow,, black interior & top. I don’t know about the steering & brakes, if they were power or not but it was a 4 on the floor with a bench seat & dogdish caps
cause they knew they were putting mags on it.
She managed to run over a VW bug with it about a month after they got it. What do you expect? Same sister totalled her 1968 Roadrunner in December of ’68. Three weeks after my mother totalled her 1967 Checker.
1968 was not a good year for cars for us.
What a wonderful SS Impala convertible. In my opinion the 67 was one of the most attractive Impalas from the 60’s and this one should be totally restored to really be appreciated it for what it was when new.
It’s not an SS, just pretty much a plain Jane Impala convertible, except for the big block and the 4 speed.
Auction ended 10/31/2024 with a high bid of $17,100 that did not meet reserve.
Steve R
Didn’t hit the reserve. Maybe he’d have better luck if he actually let potential buyers see the car in person. Or…maybe not.
You are right. If he was rude to you, a former owner, someone that would likely to be a motivated buyer, think how poorly he would have treated everyone else that inquired about the car.
In case you decide to contact the seller again please let us know how it turned out.
Steve R
The old expression “strike while the iron is hot” comes to mind. He didn’t. And the iron is cold now. I’m pretty much over it.