Hot Rods 61 Impala SS (four door)

Food for thought only because I drank too much coffee and couldn't sleep.
So, one of these things may just be as rare as unicorn*****, doesn't keep any one of us from putting one together, no not one of those bogus builds that people try to pass off as the real deal just a fun project.
Let's say we just happened to have a suitable candidate and just to make things interesting, say we coincidentally had a few engines laying around such as a 327 fuelie, a tri power 348, or as long as we're dreaming maybe a 2x4 409 with a T-10 four speed, or a Muncie laying under the bench without a home, you'd be half way there.
Now I know a hot rod 61 Impala four door isn't everyones cup of tea, kind of like deuce four door sedans but some people dig them right, and no doubt there have been some built with any one of the above combinations.
So what do all you gearheads think would make a cool sleeper type car?
Kind of a "what if" car like the guys at the GM skunkworks might have screwed together.

 

How about a Sedan delivery or 2 door Bel Air wagon?

Someone could make an El Camino out of a wagon..

 

Except for 61

 

A '61 El Cameano SS, can anyone photoshop that, please?

 

Four door, preferably a Sport Sedan.

 

A 4 door 61 SS would be cool if we could ever finally talk you into building it!
Go! Go! Go!
This is a great idea and your chance to be known and remembered in the car world for the car that may have been or could have been for years to come!
Go! Go! Go!

 

Right!
I'll get on that.......as soon as I finish the three projects already in the works.

 

Could always sell one or two off???
Any pics of the burb build?
Its a shared body style of the accepted year cutoff here and is allowed if its a traditional like build.

 

Yeh, been giving that some thought lately.

 

....And 1969.

 

Evidently in '61 according to the paperwork posted you had to have a W motor for it to be an SS but the paperwork also mentions that SS is a trim package. In the years passed '61 they build a lot of small block SS cars.

All that said I am with @DDDenny if you have everything to build an SS other then the original paperwork and a good donor body why not? We see clones of one of everything here on the HAMB.

Just for fun a high school friend owned a '64 Impala SS 396. yea yea I know never made one. He started with a clean SS 327 car so it was a real SS. I helped stuff the genuine L78 (375 horse) 396 in it and he had the 396 Badges from a Chevelle SS 396 all of them that we swapped on in place of the original SS badges.

Was it the real deal? Ah hell no. But we were hot rodders and in high school, we didn't care. All we cared about was having fun and it was a good looking car that "would motate".

 

Bump

 

Stole this from a Fakebook page. Would this have been cool or what? and would the SS option have been available??

 

Wow, that's wild! I actually like that two-tone paint combination too.
Even though the factory brochure artists of the period made them appear somewhat lower than reality, this P-shop artist is apparently of the "lay'n frame" persuasion. It would have been more believable had he not made it look so much like a "bagger".
Based on the Chevrolet literature the SS was available in four doors so if that was possible I would guess this one would have been too.

 

Well, I didn't get my Christmas wish for a SS four door but maybe the coming year will bring us some inspiration.

 

How about a genuine GM add for one?

 

Random pic from out there...Anyone find junkyard gold over the summer? Also, are there SS-specifric wheelcovers for 61?

 

Yes on the wheelcovers. They look like non-SS covers with the addition of spinners but the real ones aren't cutout where the non-SS emblems are and the SS spinners attach. Here's some NOS '61 SS.

 

Not usually a four door fan but that 61 four door hardtop thats lowered with decent wheels and tires on it looks pretty good.

 

Thanks guys for bringing this out into the daylight.
Gman
Nowadays, I'm of the opinion that most any car looks better lowered at least a little.
When I bought my 61 Sport Sedan in 1969, my first car, it had air shocks on it and the raised rear look was in full swing so that's how I ran it.
As I recall, I said prior that it was black and came with ET and Dragmaster five spokes, the prior owner had painted them black and it really looked good, but you know what they say about
"the first time", and I think if I was to actually recreate that car I would stay with that look if nothing but for nostalgic reasons.

 

Is this it?
Looks like a plexiglass hood on the 4 door.




Nope, not it.
Same car, same show.
No SS hubcaps.

 

Wow Mark, I've seen that photo before but never noticed the clear hood, I know GM did that on promotional cars over the years, how cool would that be to have one on a 61.

 

Yea, on one of these.

 

Wow, where did that come from?
If that was to be a "putting out feelers" concept car that clear hood would "clearly" get their attention if the overall car didn't.

 

Computer generated for fun by somebody on an Impala forum I visit.

 

Shite!

 

Its also missing the SS cross flag emblem, though it does have the big block insert in the grille. There wouldn't be any SS cars in that display since I am guessing it was for the "New" 61 models, so it would be late 60 when the photo was taken. The SS option wasn't available or marketed till mid year 61 from my understanding as there were so few SS cars built. I once did a lot of research on the 61 SS cars in high school as my grandfather had a 61 Impala that we could never confirm was a true SS car but everything was correct, minus the wheels.

 

Thought of your old car again when I saw this in the sitting rotting thread
(Boaz Alabama) always think of the , what if, if that one could have been a super sport, now

 

I recently sold this 61, original car, 235,pg.