1965 and older - Whats your most favorite GM cars and why?

58 Impala 38 Sedan

 

Oh gee,
'61 Olds for sure.

'58-'59 Corvette

'57 Buick

'55-57 Chevy truck. '60-64 Chevy truck, '41 Chevy Truck

'41 Chevy Coupe

'59 Impala, '62-64 Biscaine and Impala

 

I love 60-66 chevy trucks. 1965 chevy c10 fleetside longbed is my favorite cause my dad had one in the 80's and thats what got me to really enjoy old rides. But when I joined here I got brainwashed in liking the 50's cars and so I ended up trading my truck for one and now I hate it ahaha. Miss my 64 but now I have a 67 which is the era body change from the 60-66 but still a an old truck Ima keep on Truck N'

 

humm, lets see

53 chevy 210 - diamond in the ruff, look at my build thred
55 chevy - Gasser style with wheelie bars
59 impala- killer fins, lowered pro touring look
59 corvette - great lines on this car, only add some power to it. and must be red.
59 elcamino - all additude tubbed and blown
63 Impala - Lowrider, flake and switches

theres my top GM cars and why/How I would build them

 

1956-1962 Corvette

 

Just gimme this one, that's all I need...

 

Favorite GM cars I have owned or now own:
32 Chev coupe
40 Chev Sedan Delivery
56 Chev 2-door wagon
57 Chev Sedan Delivery
65 Chevelle 2-door wagon
65 Olds Vista Cruiser
Wishlist:
37 Chev coupe
39 Chev Sedan Delivery
57 Vette
61 Chev or Pontiac bubbletop

 

For me it would be anything from 64 back. I just don't like the styling after that from GM.

 

One important car I forgot: the '33 Cad Aero Dynamic coupe concept car, and the limited production V12 and V16 coupes derived from it:

 

1965 gto my first car
1963 catalina last year gm was racing
1961 2 door cat with flat top first 421 year
okland 1931 roadster with v8
gmc 1957 palermo pickup
and get my 1949 cadillac sedanette on the road

 

here we go, mostly for style: 1949 or 50 cadillac or pontiac 2-door fast back, always loved those/ 1953 pontiac, dug the twin-wing illuminating hood ornament and also it's the first year of pontiac tailfins/ 1955 pontiac starchief covertible fully loaded, or the chieftain 2 door wagon, non safari/ 1957 bonneville, only 630 production models of this one-to-a-dealer super loaded fuel-injected convertible/ 1959 caddy, 1959 impala convertibles/ 1960 buick electra 4-door hardtop (flatop)/ 1962 biscayne 409 with factory 4 speed, dog dish hubcaps, radio delete, etc/ 1962-63 nova convertibles, their only ragtops/ and finally but out of category, the 1966 Nova ss with 350hp 327 factory 4speed 12 bolt posi rear end/ thanks for the thread!

 

I've always wanted to drop a 389, 428 or a 455 into one of these. I had a '62 model but the '63's were much improved. I love the handling, style, size, and body trim. But I especially like the unique engineering of their drivetrain.

Excerpts from Wikipedia:

The original Tempest featured an innovative drivetrain — a rear-mounted transaxle coupled to a torque shaft arcing in a three-inch downward bow within a longitudinal tunnel — coupling the forward engine and rear transmission into one unit and eliminating vibration.<SUP id=cite_ref-nyt1_0-0 class=reference>[1]</SUP>

The combination of the rear-mounted transaxle and the front-mounted engine gave the car very nearly an ideal 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, enabled four-wheel independent suspension, and eliminated the floor "hump" forward of the front seat which accommodated the transmission in a conventional layout, such as the front engine/front transmission used in the Tempest's Buick and Oldsmobile sister cars.
John Z. DeLorean, designer of the Tempest, was the division's chief engineer and a Packard veteran who would later become the division's head and later still would become widely known for founding the DeLorean Motor Company. The Tempest was Motor Trend magazine's 1961 Car of the Year. Road & Track praised the Tempest as "exceptionally roomy" and "one of the very best utility cars since the Ford Model A."

The 1963 version, slightly larger and heavier than the previous two years (now designated a "senior compact"), and with a redesigned transaxle that improved handling, offered a high-performance option much more powerful than the scarcely ordered 215. The 215 was replaced by Pontiac's new 326-cubic inch (5.3 L) V8, a motor with the same external dimensions of the venerable 389, but different internals, designed to produce more torque. A new version of the automatic transmission (now officially stamped "TempesTorque" on the case) was designed with beefier internals to handle it; the four-speed was not, so few, if any, V8 cars were built with four speeds (the three-speed remained for both motors, however). The high-compression 326's output was 260 hp (194 kW; 264 PS) and 352 ft·lbf (477 N·m) of torque. The actual displacement was 336 cubic inches, but according to lore, since no GM division compact was allowed to have a motor larger than the Corvette's 327, the advertised number was 326. The cast-iron mill brought weight up 260 pounds over a 195 cubic inches Trophy 4 and weight distribution changed only marginally to 54/46. Performance was strong enough that Car Life magazine stated; "No one will wonder why they didn't use the 389," and fuel economy with the 326 ranged up to 19 mpg. The V8 option proved popular: 52 percent of the 131,490 Tempests and LeMans sold in 1963 were ordered with the 326. The 326 sold in the 1963 cars is a one year-only motor; the next year the displacement was adjusted so that it was actually 326 cubic inches.

 

1950 Buick 2dr Sedanette
1950 Oldsmobile 2dr 98 Fastback
1960 Chevrolet El Camino

 

64 Buick wildcat two door hard top.

 

1965 impala fastback with a 396 big block. (still sitting in the garage)
that was the first car i ever owned . i used to see it sitting in a back yard next to my church every sunday when i was a kid and finally saved up enough money to get it when i was 14. then i had to sell it to get a car to drive everyday to get to work when i was 17. now found one about a year ago same color and everything and was going to freshen it up, but now i have a baby on the way so its still sitting in the garage. its ok though i got more time than money!

 

1961 Buick 2 door hardtop "Bubbletop"

 

65 GTO!!! Because of the Brutus funny car. I've liked that race car since I was a kid!!!!

 

55 Chevy first and foremost.
63/4/5 Stingray.
63/4/5 Buick Riviera
62 Impala
61 Impala
54 Chevy
Plenty of others.......

 

1) 1962-1964 Pontiac Grand Prix
2) 1965 Chevrolet Corvair
3) 1961-1962 Cadillac
4) 1963-1965 Buick Riviera
5) 1961 Pontiac Bonneville

 

1950 Olds
1955 Chebbie
1962 Tempest coupe
1962 Skylark coupe

that's as GM friendly as i get. nothing past '63.

 

'65 GTO
'62 Impala bubble top
'61 Buick Le Sabre bubble top
'61 Pontiac Ventura bubble top
'61 Oldsmobile bubble top
'59 El Camino
'55 Chevy 2 dr sedan
'51 Chevy 2 dr hardtop
'50 Oldsmobile coupe
'34 Chevy 3 window coupe

 

Without a doubt the '65 Riviera and the '65 Bonneville ! ! !

 

'61 Ventura bubble top, and '65 Corvette (no split, and the L-76, as good as it ever got). Some guys have asked why the '65 cut-off, actually very logical, as '66 marked a major shift in GM styling to the coke bottle look.
I guess the '55 has to fit in there somewhere, due to the first SBC. Sure like '37 chevy coupes too, but the Ventura and Stingray?? DAMN!

 

Some guys have asked why the '65 cut-off, actually very logical, as '66 marked a major shift in GM styling to the coke bottle look.


65 not 66 was the start of the coke bottle GM cars.

 

Pre '65... So many beauties, so little time.
1932 Cadillac 4 Door Sedan. I grew up in Chicago. Al Capone and his Cadillacs... Iconic.
1956 Cadillac Limo. 50th Anniversary. Dad had one being reclaimed by the earth in the back 40 when I was a kid.
1961 Cadillac 2 Door Sedan. Rocket pod tail lights from '59 morphed into the bumper, fins were still substantial in height but not ridiculously huge. Lower fins emerged. Intricate grillwork! The last year the fins were capped with chrome trim.
1959 Buick 2 Door . Those fins!
OK, I'm gonna cheat a little here:
1969 Pontiac Firebird convertible. Red. Black top. Black interior. Why? If you gotta ask, you'd never understand.

 

55-64 Chevies
57-61 Pontiacs

My current 63 Impala project. A just completed nut & bolt frame off restoration.

 

Wow, thats a long list. It includes
All of the Corvettes
1963-4-5 Buick Rivera
1961-2-3-4 Impalas
The 1955-6-7 Chevrolets
1932-3-4 Chevrolet
Just about all of the pre 1935 GM cars.
Of the 30s, the 32 Chevy is the best
Of the 40s, none of them
Of the 50s, the 57 is the best
Of the 60s, the 63 Impala and 65 Riviera are neck in neck.
And why? Just because they are so damn good looking, thats why.

 

57 Chevrolet 150

Need I say more

 

Since I have never replied to this thread and the fact I am not a Chevy guy I can appreciate all the nice cars Chevrolet had built during the time period we cover I would have to go back to my teenage years and the ever popular '55 Chevy.

If I were to go out looking for a Chevy it would have to be a 55 post car,no tudor for me.

Throw that front bumper in the garbage,327/4 speed car a set of dark gray or black centered 5 spokes,grant steering wheel and a black 64 Impala interior and piss yellow paint,

A true mid 60's Chevy hot rod. HRP

 

55 chevy. 62 impala 64 chevy Pk