Customs Pics of 58 Chevies

Early 1970's.

 

Deleted scene from Forrest Gump

 

prototypes

 

^^^ That's an awesome look!!

 

to fully understand the 58 chevy , you have to know the why, and what they wanted to accomplish.. prior to 1958, pontiac kicked chevys ass at will in sales.. the 58 impala, and the rest of the line was supposed to be the mike tyson of auto.. and was to beat the Bonniville by pontiac... but they closed the gap.... but it didn't happen... and if you look at an impala, you can see where it looked more like a pontiac,, all the extra chrome, the pitch forks on the side.. fake roof vents.. 6 tail lights.... so actually it was a flop, people said... if I'm gonna buy a car that looks like a pontiac... I'll just buy a pontiac

 

here's my lump of coal... according to the hood it was a 6 cyl car... but looks like the front clip has been changed....gonna shave it all anyway.. gonna keep the delray spear, but shave the lower biscayne spear... vette 327 4 speed car...

 

Hello,

Your view and application of the 58 series GM product was a little harsh. In our local So Cal area, there were nothing but 58 Impalas that were in the A/Stock car class racing. If one was able to get a 315 h.p. motor, then it got moved to the SS class. That included Bel Air sedans as well as Impalas.

But, as for local racing, the 58 Impalas overall sold at least 170000 of them and you could see plenty of them on all of the local So Cal streets where we lived and cruised.
In 1959, the 58 Impalas were still powerful in their own class and there were plenty of them racing. Three in the picture above for the starting line at Lion’s Dragstrip. The 59 Impala on the left was the fastest car in the S/S class with 335 hp and a 4 speed. But, from the fall of 57 to the fall of 59, the 58 Impalas ruled the class competition. And, yet, no Pontiacs of any year in the competition classes.


As far as local So Cal cruising, the 58 Impala was around at most teenage drive-in restaurant parking lots. Up north in Downey, Harvey’s Broiler always had several sitting and cruising around. Down South in Newport Beach, there were always plenty of 58 Impalas, yet no 58 Pontiacs, anywhere. Not even on Saturday days/nights at Lion’s Dragstrip.

My brother’s Impala with the “notice my finger in the air” in the far starting line staging area, while the FED racer of Ed Losinski/Jack Chrisman fires up.

Jnaki

So, as the “being different” lately in hot rod choices, yes, the 58 Pontiac is similar in general body style. But, as we all know, each GM division has the basics and have to work with what they have.

Adding prior models to 58 Pontiac vs Chevy was a no brainer. In So Cal, the 55 through 57 Chevy sedans were the most popular teenage/20 something cars to modify and customize. Not the Pontiac brand. So, your statement is a little harsh and not convincing to one who was there in the thick of things from 1955 to 1965. YRMV
similar, but not quite… thanks… @themoose

 

I also grew up in the 50's and 60's cruising in my uncles 58's a black one and a comp orange one, and for most of my life have always owned one...but pontiac killed chevy in sales... chevy wasn't after the young crowd, kids were broke....people with a little money bought pontiac's and those with a lot of money bought Cadillac's.... we all know what PONTIAC stands for.... Poor Ol Neighbor Thinks It's A Cadillac

 

With a purpose of retaking the industry sales lead, 1958 Chevrolets sold less than their less-than-popular 1957 counterparts, but wait, there's more. It turned out that 1958 was a recession year, and though Chevrolet model-year production dropped from just over 1.5 million to north of 1.2 million, Ford dived to less than a million, giving Chevrolet the crown…big time.

 

1958 Chevrolet Facts – Powertrain Options

• • V-8 283 cubic inch 230 horsepower engine. ($27).
  • V-8 283 cubic inch 250 horsepower fuel injected engine. ($484).
  • V-8 348 cubic 250 horsepower engine engine. ($59).
  • V-8 348 cubic 280 horsepower engine engine. ($70).
  • V-8 348 cubic 315 horsepower engine engine. ($229).
  • Three-speed manual transmission was standard in all models.
  • Overdrive transmission. ($107.50)
  • Powerglide transmission. ($188).
  • Turboglide transmission. ($231).
  • Posi-traction rear axle with 3.36 or 3.55 ratio ($48).

NOTE: Base 2-barrel 283 CID V-8 included in base V-8 model pricing.

this explains why both my uncles had 348's w/ 3=2's..... $229 dollar option...