I need some advice on an Impala.

Ok, first off i know this car is a lil too new for HAMB, its a 66. But i need some guidance from some folks that have been in the car trading/ building arena a lil longer than me(im only 22) I posted my truck(2000 Z71) on CL mainly to get it out off my way, i havnt driven it for nearly 3 monthes so i thought i might aswell get rid off it. In comes the Impala. I had a guy over me this in a straight trade. http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/965601924.html It seems like a clean car with no rust, it has the ubiqutos SBC 350. So should i pull the trigger, i have a 76 Camaro and a 73 El Camino that will probably be sold if i get it, i really only NEED one active projct on my hands at a time( and thats my 56), but wheres the fun in that. I have a 2002 Silverado for my DD so none of the car swapping will effect my getting from point A to point B. Thanks Guys and PLEASE dont axe this thread admins.

 

If you dont drive the truck you may consider it, what could you sell the truck for if you sold it? It doesnt appear that the 66 is a supersport, I have had 3 impala's a 61 a 66 and a 68 all were nice cars but the super sport is what will fetch the money amongst collectors
Go atleast check it out and look under it, drive it kick the tires, you have nothing to lose
also find out why he is trying to dump it

 

i'm personally not a huge fan of that bodystyle but hey-if you like it, go for it.
i'd probably take it over a 76 camaro or 73 el camino...

 

Yea id take it over the 70s cars any day too. I was asking 6k for my truck and was really hoping to get 5

 

Won't hurt to take a look.......check it over for bondo close.

 

btt

 

Trucks aren't big sellers these days, do the trade.

 

Great Body style...Id roll it all day long!

 

Be sure to check the frame I've had several and they are prone to rust behind the front wheels back to tranny crossmember

 

If the Impala is not a rust bucket, I would do it. I love that body style.

 

I would do the trade, I really like the 65 and the 66 is close enough. If it matters, the 350 wasnt out till 67 so either its been swapped or its some other small block. As for rust, check around the back window under the stainless trim famous spot for water to collect. If anything its a car you could sell pretty easy in the future.

 

I'd try to get a trade plus cash for the deal, if those are real torq thrusts and not copys and are 15's with a nice offset take'm into consideration, listen to what people said above about the rust and bondo, but i'd take the trade. If you like 66's.. I do..

 

I would, I dig that bodystyle. check out www.losboulevardos.com there are a few killer looking Impalas in the gallery like that. Any by the way, I like the 1973 Elky's, I used to own a 1973 Laguna, miss that car

 

It either was a Super Sport that someone took off the script, or they added the buckets and console. You could not get buckets and console in a non Super Sport in 1965 or 66. You also could not get a bench in a Super Sport.

Doug

 

My 66 was a super sport with buckets, console and guage package
my 68 was not a super sport but had buckets and the console

 

Look at the VIN number. If it's a SS, it will have a 66 as the 4th & 5th numbers. Back in the 60's, if you knew the right blocks to check, you could get anything you wanted. That's how you get a bench seat and a 4spd in an Impala.

 

Kids driving it over tomorrow. Being in north ga, the land where SBC grow on trees, I highly doubt the block is original. The seats and console sure do seem correct, what engine was offered in the ss, 327s or 409s or both. It could be the kid cant tell the differance between a 350 and a 327. Also it comes with an extra trim set and ss rims and hubcaps, the fact that the console is there and he has ss hubcaps may lead down the path of an ss.

 

Super sport in the 66 would be a 327
the console is just a factory upgrade and the car would have the SS logo on it and the quarter panels in the rear

 

SS in 66 was a trim package. You could order an SS with a 6 cyl if that's what you wanted.
I owned a one owner 50K mile original 66 Impala SS with a 283/glide. It was original all the way through.

If i remember correctly, there were roughly 118000 V8 and 900 or so 6 cylinder SS's made in 66.
Line up for the V8's were 283 right up to the 427. No 409 in 66, only the beginning of 65s then the switch was made to the 396.
The vin will tell you if it was in fact an SS, and if it was an L6 or 8.
second and third digits would be,
67- (1966-1967 SS L6)
68- (1966-1967 SS V8)

In other words, if it was an 8, the vin would read,
168476 then the letter of the plant it was assembled at followed by the sequential production number.

As for the trade...DO it IF the car is solid.
They commonly rot in the frames by the trans cross member and where they kick up in front of the rear end. ANd i have run across a few behind the rear axle as well, especially back by the bumper.

I miss mine..One of the best car's i've ever had.

 

Thar is an SS Impala. Worth good money, when the maket is good, (i.e. not durring a bad economy); see curent state of affairs.

 

Really, I always thought that the only motor you coudn't get an SS was with the six cylinder?

 

Me too, until i started getting into these thing's back in the early 90's...
back then, when you checked the box for SS, you basically were getting bucket seat's and a trim package...
Just like the earlier Impala's..say 63 for instance. Wanna know if it was an SS, check the trim tag. If you had a 2 door hard top impala, and it showed vinyl as the seat material, it was an SS. All the rest were cloth/vinyl..only bucket car's were vinyl only...
basically, you could get an SS car with inline and a glide if you wanted.
It wasn't until later when you had to option a car as an SS to get the hot mill under the hood. And even then, the're were ways around it.
But that's wayyyyy ot to discuss for here..

If this 66 is solid, i'd swap in a heartbeat SS or not!
Then again, i miss mine so i guess i'm biased.

 

One more thing i noticed, and it may not be a big deal to many, but the dash cluster assembly in this car is not a 66, it's a 65. The seat's are not 66 buckets either. 66's were tapered and came to a much sharper 'point' at the top, and had a very small chrome bead around the backing where it mated with the apholstry.
Even the console is 65..it has a single roung gauge towards the front of it. I think i twas a clock..
I'm guessing that quite possibly a 65 SS car was pillaged for the SS good's and put in this car.

Wouldn't matter to me but these thing's will make a difference if you were to cash out of it.

Could be wrong, but i know for a fact that the dash and seats are not correct for that year.

 

Hey guys thanks for all the info. Unless there is just alot of bullshit rust he dindt tell me about im gonna pull the trigger on it i guess. I got several lil bugs in my truck that i would rather not fix so this seems like the right choice.

 

Best of luck.
Just check the 'ol girl out with a fine tooth comb for rust...
If it's a real solid car like he states, it'll always have a value, and more than likely one higher than your truck..


Tony

 

Thanks for the info Tony. I knew it was just a trimm package, but, I thought that it started with the 283 ci motor. So thanks for clearing up the confusession.

Michelle

 

Nooo problem
I find i'm full of useless information like that..Stuff that for the most part, a 'normal' person would never need. haha

 

looks like a nice car, I would most likely trade

 

The dash and the seats look just like what was in my 65. The 66s had a more rectangle look to the guages. On my 65 the center part was a vacuum guage, some had the tach there. The far left guages were a split between oil, temp, fuel and I think volts or amps.

 

Based strictly on value for value, it looks like it's a reasonable trade. As an impala in average condition, the 66 is valued about $6800 with stock 283. Clearly, the motor's been changed among other things so that modifies the value depending upon your desires.

Check it carefully for bondo,especially around glass in front and back. Bottom line though is it something you think is worth the truck. you gotta live with the trade.