here it is. kinda late model, but i tried to build it as traditional as possible, as per what i know of 60s style. my new 65 impala. the color is war bonnet yellow, has a little metallic in it, looks real good in decent light, more pics to follow. a friend had two 65's, and i needed a daily driver, and almost exactly two months ago we started. gutted it, got the brakes working good, all the other mechanical stuff in good shape, took it to bare metal, did all the body work our selves and painted it in his driveway. basically totally dismantled the two cars and built one out of them, we did everything short of a frame off. for our first time doing bodywork on a whole car, and for my best friend's first time painting a whole car, it looks great, and will look even better when we can buff it a little after the paint is all safe. it has the 283 with a 2bbl and a powerglide from the one car that ran, so that's what we went with. drives well, handles well with th two coils cut up front, stops great. we shaved all the emblems but the leaping impalas up front and i shaved the ugly protruding antenna off the back. i hate radio anyway. the stereo plays MP3's, or so it says, so i could easily make a disc with like 150 songs and just roll with the same randomness as radio around here, only more bitchin. only fit it gave me was the oil light blipped on just when i pulled into my driveway, checked the oil and had plenty, fired it again and it didn't come on. the oil, oil pump, filter and all that jazz are brand new, as is the sending unit. the wiring is kinda scary, might be that. we'll see what tomorrow brings. we did mostly good work, cut very few corners, and there are things i won't do again when building a car, but for a first car, i think it is something to be proud of. it is one helluva car, and i have waited so long to cruise an old (ok, not by some HAMBer's standards) car, especially an impala, they were my first real love.
late model ??????? those are rad cars ......i would drive it ANY day of the week over some peice of shit ''rat rod ''.......congrats......you should be very proud......... i wanna see daylight pics though........
Sweet ride Josh!!! ...........great to see it on the road bro.........now maybe we can hook up for those brew's I promised a while back at a future show!........love to see some more pic's of the beast!!
Very good! Different color! Day photo's? I second the motion. Take care, get real close, so the edge's of the car fill the frame of the camera. Neat car. Did the work w/friend's in the driveway...Keep up the momentum. Want a 'work-out'? Load the trunk w/some heavy weight to get an idea what it would look like.....dropped.
yeah, it looks really good in the light. no shit though, i thrashed all weekend hard on it, we painted it like tuesday after dodging weather and running out of hardner, etc. i spent like 48 hours from friday till tonight on it all by myself because my partner in crime went on vacation! he came back today and got the front bumper together and on with me while i wrapped a million other things up. by the time it was "done" it was dark and all i had was the flood light outside to light the car for the pic. i had this list, with like 40 different things on it, feels good to have them all crossed out! well, it still needs seatbelts (got em, just gotta get em in, SOON), back shocks (got em too) and for god's sake an exhaust system! the hookers sound good uncapped, but my head is killing me, even if it is a good kinda hurt thanks for the compliments fellas! there's been ALOT of people on here that helped to build this thing and didn't even know it. we wouldn't have been able to build this car this well, let alonein two months without my constant HAMB reading at night. man, i am ruined too. every night for the past two months we've worked on this. at least five hours on week day nights, 12-14 hours on weekends, with only two days that we took off. i thought i'd take a break, but i wouldn't know what to do. thank goodness my other brother-like best friend just bought a 60 nomad that is screaming to be roadworthy, albeit beat up, by goodguys this weekend!
ha, there is plenty in the trunk! two kicker 12" subs! plays the beach boys real well. it did level it out when the guy who built it with me's brother was in the trunk hooking the speakers up! thanks again guys!
<font color="green">Finished? Hold on a sec..... gotta go look that one up. Just can't seem to recall the meaning.... Where is THAT dictionary? I'll be right back. I know it's here somewhere. Nice job by the way. RASHY </font>
Looks killer! WE are all proud of you son!! Someday you'll make a fine moose! REally, you did a great job,let the cruisin' begin! Hope to meet you someday, Glenn
keep it the way it is and put some supremes on it and it would be one bithcin ride!! looks really good! N8
Looks like a Hell of a job for a first build! You'll get better and learn new things with each successive project...but for now, stand back and be proud of what you've accomplished...ya done good!
Hey Rat... that looks great!!! Can't wait to catch ya in Columbus. So does this mean the Grand Am gave up the ghost?
Looks great. You two were bustin' some major ass to get it done in 2 months. What do you plan on doing for wheels?
yeah, rash, i said "finished" loosely, i still have to put seat belts in it, will do it tomorrow, and it needs rear shocks and mufflers. i must have a gift, i've went past ALOT of coppers today and no troubles! maybe they like a 283 with uncapped headers too! for a while, the wheels will stay the same. i knew going into it that mags would be out of the question for a while, and when i was considering color combos, i remembered a T that i think von franco built that was pagan gold with black steelies and wide whites. i knew that wide whites wouldn't be appropriate, so i stepped up an era and used thin whites so it'd fit the vintage of the car a little better. it'll be fall or next spring before i get wheels if i can afford em, but if i do, it'll ride on supremes for sure. the ol' grand am is kind of dead. i'll fix it this month sometime and keep it so that it can battle the salt and snow while the "tuna boat" remains safe and warm. i love this car, had a few compliments on it, had to change the oil today to get the gunky crap out of it that freed up from driving it, i'll do it again tomorrow or thursday so i can make it to goodguys ok. but i tell ya, the most awesome thing was what must be a weekly event. the local arby's is like 300 yds from the garage we built it in (didn't want to build it at my place because my parents would shit if they saw me drag home yet more old beat up cars ) and i have eaten there like every day because it is close, the manager gave me a 10% VIP discount for being a regular, and last and most especially, the girls are all just bad as hell. it's like hooters, only it is cheaper, faster, and more sincere! well, they had another bikini car wash for customers today. since the paint is still kinda fresh, i just had em clean the wheels ! they dug the car. and i dug their lack of attire. wow. oh, here's some daytime pictures... side view
quality on the last pic kinda sucks, i had to shrink it a few times to make it under 70k, for some reason it didn't shrink the same as the others when i went thru and sized em down the first time. thanks again for the compliments, guys, makes me feel pretty damned good.
What no car wash pics?? Baby moons on those steelies would be cool. I don't even know if pep boys still has them.Either way your car is real nice. Glenn
Nice work! Congrats on getting it "done"...I'm sure there will always be something else to add/change/modify. Now...would it kill ya to share the car wash fun with the rest of us?!
changed the oil today to get rid of some ancient gunk, runnin good, no more idiot light! as far as the car wash goes, we'll see what next tuesday brings. maybe i can get a friend of mine to work the "spycam" mwuhahahaah. for the next challenge, we're gonna see if we can get a friend's 60 nomad roadworthy by goodguys! thanks again, fellas
That looks nice, I have a '67, mine's primer grey with keystone's. Yeah I know. I got enough in my intro. That 65 looks really nice though.
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