Hot Rods 61 Impala SS (four door)

Yep, you read that right.
Anyone ever heard of such an animal, me either, but I just found this when researching for the "Stuck in a rut" four door ideas thread.
I almost swallowed my gum when I saw this photo because my first car was a 61 Impala four door hardtop, and we all know the 61 Impala SS two door hardtop was a pretty rare car, and only became available near the end of the 61 model year.
Was going to submit this to the rare factory option thread but it was just closed due to posts referring to (post) 65 stuff.
Check this out. May have to enlarge photo to read it.

 

Confusing 'rare' with 'desirable'.....

 

Never knew such an animal existed.

 

What I've read was that the SS option was available to order on any 1961 Impala including station wagons but none were ordered as such. I did personally see a '62 4 door hardtop with a factory 409/4 speed with the knee-knocker tach still in it but I don't think it was a Super Sport. Unfortunately that car was parted out for a convertible.

 

..................................Same here.

 

I was always under the impression that the Nomad was badging for the 55-56 Chevy wagons but my wife's Grandmother had a '60 Chevy 4 door Nomad. HRP

 

Can't say I've ever seen a 4dr SS anything, but who knows. It'd be a hen's tooth if one did exist. I wonder if "SS" became 2dr HT & Vert only, post sales literature printing?

 

could even order with 348 / 409 and 4 speed - maybe some Chevy restoration site has built records. found info at www.automobile-catalog.com

 

Steve
I'm not confused about it's rarity because it sounds like none were actually produced but I bet more people would desire one if they knew for sure only one or two existed.
With the way some collector cars have been going for crazy $$$, this thing would no doubt generate a lot of interest.
In my mind (and other Chevy guys minds) this would be right up there with stumbling onto factory Ford literature suggesting a four door Thunderbolt was under consideration to be offered.

 

I would own and drive that car even if it had an I6
and if someone said it was a moor door I would say so what.

 

Nice car, and great find..
Good for you..

 

I remember a long time ago (not in a galaxy far far away) an article in Super Chevy that had a pic of a cinnamon red coloured 61 Impala SS four door hardtop. Not sure if it was in the same issue but there was also a 62 Impala four door sedan with a dual quad 409 and three speed column shift.....It was the only one built.

 

Never saw one, but they did some weird shit with the SS line. My '66 Nova SS came equipped with the 230 6-banger.

 

^^^ I've personally seen one of those Bob. On a lot, early 70s. SS, 230/glide, sandy gold and clean, they wanted $1300 IIRC. I wanted a 327 of course...

 

@mr57
This 62 is quite famous in Australia, in the early 60's it terrorized the road courses there wth a 409 and four speed, although IIRC it was originlly a 3 speed car and also had been converted to RHD.
Interesting history
http://www.uniquecarsmag.com.au/news-and-reviews/article/articleid/41617.aspx

 

The SS option was available on any Impala in 1961, including the one-year-only Impala 2 dr sedan. I got a ride in a real '61 Impala SS a few weeks ago, 409 (360 horse), 4 speed car, 2 dr hdtp.

 

Mine was a project car, still had the OG mounts and 230 fender badges. But it was set up for a manual, forget if it was a 3 on the tree or not. Saw a '64 Impala SS with the 3-speed on the column and that had the 6 as well. And buckets.. looked weird.

 

How cool would a SS long roof be. I had no idea it was a possibility.

 

It's not likely a 4 door or wagon was ever built or at least I have never seen one in person or print. If you look at the original poster's sales brochure it lists what came with the SS option, not what options were available with the SS option. All had 348 or 409 engines. The standard engine was the 305 horsepower 348 and it was the only SS available with a powerglide trans. All 340hp & 350hp 348s and 360hp 409s came with a 4-speed. Only about 450 were built and since they were not considered collectible until they were about 20 years old not many survived.
There have been many clones built in the last 30 years but one of the estimated 50 original survivors with documentation are highly desirable in any body style.

 

According to Chevrolet, 453 '61 cars left the factory with SS equipment, 142 with the 409. There is no way to identify one by the data plate, and there are indications that some dealer installations of the SS trim items were made late in the year (source: Chevrolet Super Sports 1961-1976 by Terry V. Boyce, Motorbooks International, 1981).

 

Frank
I hesitated to bring this up in my original post due to the negative stigma that "clone cars" have had in the past in the collector car world. What has given these cars a bad name is when people take it to such a level that they print up ficticious build sheets and claim original to catch some high roller sleeping at the big collector car auctions.
Even though this car never actually got in production, I can't believe that the knowledge of this four door SS brochure in the Impala crowd is not more widely known. There have been so many "phantom cars" screwed together over the years that it's surprising (to me) that at least one has not surfaced.
Sure would be a fun car though!

 

"It's a complete special package, in Chevy's Convertible, or any other luxurious '61 Impala model."
That's the intriguing part of the sales brochure right there. And the first I've ever seen mention of it.

That was my findings when I was researching '62s. As long as you started with a V-8 car, it was pretty easy for someone to bolt an SS together, if you had all the right pieces. That changed somewhat a little further down the road, starting in '63 or 4 I believe.
I did see one '61 SS Impala at auction sometime around '84. I was nuts (still am) for bubbles and emptied my piggy bank thinking I had a shot. I was short of the portly sum of $11k it sold for.

The 4dr unicorn sure makes interesting reading.

 

Me, I like the orphan 4 doors myself. Bruce.

 

Denny, I bought a hardtop in 1985 when they were just becoming collectible. It was a 305 horse 4-speed and a very nice original car. It was only the second SS I had seen or remember seeing. A friend's parents had bought him a black convertible when it was almost new. That car would break the bank today.

 

the ss was a trim package , not a performance package back then. neighbor bought a 62 buckets console and a six cylinder

 

Many new 1961's got "dressed up" by the dealer with SS parts to get them sold.

 

he orderd the car this way he just wanted the bucket seats. it was a tudor hardtop

 

I grew up next to the GM Tech Center in Warren, Mi. Most of my neighbors worked there. Many of them ordered cars and had them delivered to the Tech Center. Modifications of all kinds were done. My next door neighbor and good friend bought a 61 Chevy 4 door hardtop super sport, in 1965. Just about like the one above. The guy he bought it from worked in the Styling department. It had all the badging and interior changes, including the engine turned pieces. They just took it in and changed it as a "Styling Exercise" he was told.

 

Kills me to think that hard-core hot rodders would be so concerned about the originality of anything.

Real men cut 'em up!!

MAKE it original, make it one-of-a-kind: make it yours!!

Cosmo