Art & Inspiration '62 Impala SS. It's fitting right in...

Who's that old guy standing in front of your Bad Ass new car? LMFAO!!!

 

Good riding and driving car with a huge trunk. I had a Black one with a 283 and Powerglide in Texas in the early 70's that I wish I had now even though it was no where as near as nice as yours is now.

 

Are you in the Witness Protection Program LOL? Your HAMB name is flying BRIAN but your shirt says BOB

 

That's Mr. Bob, to you!

 

Well, the question about the rear gear change has been answered. A buddy of mine is giving me a fresh 700R4, so, the 4.11's are staying and a transmission swap is on the "To Do" list for next spring. I love it when plan comes together. After changing several times...

 

Best of both worlds there….

 

Um, ah, oh man, it's rough having to tell you this, but that shirt clashes SO BAD with that car . You must have gone to the Gilmore by yourself. I know your wife would have caught you up before you ever got to the door and made you change .

 

Had a guy ask me if my 62 Bel Air was "an old caddy" this year. That was a new one.

 

LOL.
When someone asks if my Buick is, or runs like, a Cadillac, I answer "makes a Cadillac jealous".

Ben

 

LOL, the H.AM.B. is not only the tradition police, but now the fashion police! nI have LOTS of old bowling shirts, I'm sure there's one that will coordinate better.

 

Thank you so much for understanding. A '60s style button down Madras plaid shirt would have been more suitable while driving that fine machine. Think something along the lines of @moriarty 's wardrobe. Being in the public eye, we do have a unique place in society and must uphold our standards at all costs .

 

Congratulations on finding your Impala. Definitely my favorite year. I’ve been searching for a 62 wagon and it’s like hunting for a Unicorn. Enjoy!

 

Amazon brought me a truck load of goodies today for the Impala! 454 badges (an SS 454 '62 Impala seems like something Chevrolet should have done), a rear view mirror to help keep me from backing into things, a shift linkage kit to hook the column shift back up and get rid of that ugly B&M ratchet shifter and some cupholder inserts I'll use in a little console I'll make to cover the patch in the carpet where that abomination was. God, I hate that thing...

 

The 62 2dr hardtop style was one of my favorites. A teacher had one that was burgundy with Cragar ss's. It looked great. 283 2 barrel and powerglide. Gutless but looked good. Looks like the front clip is a different color????

 

That's part of the reason I was able to get the car. They guy I got it from said he scratched the front fenders up taking them on and off to do the engine swap, and repainted them. Unfortunately, and to his regret, he matched them to the valance panel between the hood and grill, which is the same lighter color "I had to work really hard to get the paint that light", he said. It soured him on the car and he didn't drive it at all after that.

 

Hey Brian,

The car is looking great! Have you thought about painting the wheels body color?

 

Boogity boogity boogity!!!

 

Thanks! That occurred to me, as did going back to Argent Silver, which the PO originally painted them. I don't care for black wheels, especially on this, and I'm not a big fan of the Police style caps. Wheel Vintques has proper looking Impala poverty caps, and caps with 3 bar spinners, either one, with trim rings, would look much better than these. I'm defiantly going to paint the front fenders to match the rest of the car better, next season, so it'd be logical to shoot the wheels at the same time. I have to get new tires anyway, so no need to mask anything or worry.

 

Brian
These are hands down, my favorite Chevy dog dish hubcaps from the early 60's.
They are 63 Biscayne (66 Chevy II also), nice ones have gotten hard to find at a reasonable price though.


Color somewhat like your 62.

 

That's the style I like. Wheel Vintiques offers ones that look like that, but fit inside the center on their Rally wheels, which is what this car wears. They're smaller, 7" diameter, but would look better than the police style ones on it. I'd get full wheel covers, which I like even better, but the wheels are staggered, 14's in front 15's in the rear. I don't want to get new wheels. The photo of the post sedan is a ringer for the early 80's bronze color on my car. I like it.

 

I completely missed the rally wheels, the police car caps should have stood out as I actually bought a set new from the dealer when they were still available many years ago.

 

Charcoal center American 5 spokes would get the nod if I were gonna buy wheels for it. Maybe I'll find a nice used set.

 

All over FB marketplace for that car…never find em for my Ford’s though haha

 

Plans are meant to be changed, right? Initially I was going to have the 3.36 ring and pinion re-installed. Then, a buddy of mine offered me a low milage 700R4, and I thought would be the ticket, leaving the 4.11 gear. A quick bit of research shows me the transmissions are different lengths, which would require a driveshaft and trans mount change. My primary goal is to NOT have this thing spread all over my garage, but to do things that keep it up and running.
A couple days ago another friend offered me a complete drop out, 3.36's, but an open rear. That's an easy job, so my new plan is to swap that in, and then I can, at my own time, swap the ring in and pinion in the Posi case and reinstall that one.

 

Perhaps another option would be keeping an eye/ear out for a 200-4R trans which would give you overdrive and compatible dimensions, IIRC.

 

Unless the 4.11's have a thick ring gear or a ring gear spacer denoting a 3 series carrier, the 3.36's will not fit. Generally, 4.11's and deeper will use a 4 series carrier, which moves the ring gear closer to the pinion.

 

I thought that was on the 10 and 12 bolt rears, not the late 50’s early 60’s drop out centers.

 

Nope, pretty much all Chevy (maybe all of GM) rear's of that era are that way.

 

The new Eaton positraction carriers available now are listed for 3.90 ratios and down. As gear ratios get deeper they require fewer teeth on the pinion hence the need to move the ring gear closer to the pinion.