1964 Chevrolet Impala

Description

This affordable classic is a road trip with a bunch of friends just waiting to happen. Load up, pile in, and head out to see what kind of adventures you can find. Four doors make this car the perfect vehicle to re-enact the perfectly ridiculous, yet classic, Chinese Fire Drill scene from the opening of Happy Days in. Check it out, see what you think.

This '64 Impala has all the vintage good looks of an early 60s full sized car. It has what is referred to as "rectilinear" styling. That means lots of straight lines. Down the side of the car, the top edge of the front fender flows into the top line of the doors and continues along the rear fender. A piece of chrome trim parallels that line starting at the front, curving down and around the Impala logo at the rear and travels back up to the front wheel well. Up front, the hood has a ridge of chrome down the center that points to a red, white and blue Chevy emblem and below that an egg crate grill has quad headlights set into it. A chrome bumper underlines it and wraps around the side. The trunk is similar in its ridge of chrome, but it leads into an upside-down U-shaped aluminum strip which runs side to side above the taillights. Chevrolet appears in script inside it, six round taillights bracket it, and another wrap-around bumper underlines it.

Open the door and you will find a two-tone green interior that has a well-worn, survivor look to it. The door panel has a light green pleated center panel outlined by chrome trim, with a dark green bottom. A green two spoke steering wheel has a half crescent horn ring with an Impala center button. Behind it mounted on the column is the shifter for the automatic transmission, and behind that is a rectangular sweep speedometer with the gauges and lights off to the right side. There is an iPod compatible stereo with Hertz speakers mounted in the package tray and subs in the trunk. A brushed aluminum panel running from side to side holds the control knobs and below those are the ventilation controls which includes the air conditioning. The bench seats both front and rear could be used the way they are, but a re-cover would help them quite a bit. The headliner is in good shape and green carpets tie everything together nicely.

Pop the hood and you will find a 283 cubic inch motor nestled down in a neat and clean engine bay. A Summit chrome air filter housing feeds an Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor and Performer intake manifold. Chromed Edelbrock valve covers provide a splash of flash and there is a newer master cylinder as well as vacuum booster. There are signs of good regular maintenance with newer belts, hoses, plugs, cap and wires. Power flows back through a 3-speed automatic transmission to a solid axle mounted on coil springs and control arms with coil springs handle things up front. The rubber meets the road on this car through 235/55 ZR20 both front and rear mounted on those black 5-spoke Boss 20" alloys.

This is an affordable way to get into a classic car. Come on down, check it out, and start planning your adventures in it.