Hot Rods 61 Impala SS (four door)

Sorry, missed your post, no the kid I sold the 61 to wrecked it, he painted the drums red. The car came with five spokes that were painted black, two were ET's, and two were International Dragmasters.

 

Anybody out there.

 

I was here and you were gone , now you are here and I am gone

 

I would love to see one but lets think a minute, Think of the guy back in the day that came across a lowly 4 door 61 chevy with SS stuff on it in the junk yard (or wherever) and only saw the opportunity to make his "more valuable 2 door", even more valuable to him by making it a SS with the goodies off the 4 door..........Im sure it would have made perfect sense to almost anyone back then, and with the flick of a screw driver and the turn of a bolt or two, history was lost forever and another old 4 door easily bit the dust.

 

OK, If we are gonna do this, Ive got a little story about this too, Years ago my uncle had been out on drinking maneuvers with buddies one day and finally came home to find his wife (my Aunt) gone, so he Wrote exactly this phrase and left out again, not to return til much,much later

 

Anybody

 

Not sure if this question was already answered, but chevy did build Bel Air convertibles in 1961. Still looking for that 4 door SS though.

 

Yep. This is correct. You could buy an Impala SS with the six cylinder engine. The engine and the body were both entirely independent from the SS designation, which was a trim package. The items in the SS trim package were SS logo hubcaps, SS emblems on the fenders and steering wheel, bucket seats and a console. If you ordered the Powerglide or 4-speed, the shifter was mounted in the console. If you ordered the three-on-the tree, the shifter hole in the console was covered by a block-off plate.

Hemmings Classic Car magazine had a cover story on the SS in general, and a six-cylinder convertible restoration that had the SS trim package. It was their November 2015 issue. Edit: It's available online too: https://blog.hemmings.com/index.php...-doesnt-always-equal-valuable/comment-page-2/

Sadly, Chevrolet lost many of the records and build sheets, so we have few records of how many SS cars were built in various body styles and engine choices. We do have overall SS numbers, though:

1961 - 453
1962 - 99,311
1963 - 153,271

In 1964, the SS changed from an option package to its own model. Here are the sales figures:

1964 - 185,325
1965 - 243,114
1966 - 119,314 (they were now competing with the new Mustang for buyers)
1967 - 70,000+
1968 - 30,000+ (the SS switched back to an option package this year)
1969 - 2,455 (the SS was only available with a 427 in 1969)

 

Dunno where you learned this information, but it's not correct. The SS trim package was available with any of the engine options, and with any of the transmission options, up until the SS became its own model in 1964. SS was a trim package in 1961 through 1963. It was NOT a performance package. (Read the article I linked right above this post.)

 

61 SS was required to have the 348 or 409 engine, spinner hub caps and thin whitewalls. No 4 doors were made. Brochure with the 4 dr pic was printed before the final specs on the 61 SS. Factory never built a Belair convertible unless some dealer did a one off for a show or display. 58 convert could be called a Belair because the Impala was an option for the Belair in 58 only.

 

Never say never, still hoping that (one) will surface here.
That is why I bump this thread once in a while.

Since I'm the OP it's OK to get chocolate in the peanut butter so to speak.
Impala and 58 stuff vvvvvv

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Bel_Air

 

My Race Car was a 64 Chevelle SS which came with
a Six Cly. Buckett seats Consul & Power Glide trans.
& a lot of Chrome like top of Dip stick, Valve cover & other thinks
that I can't think of.
it was a 2 door hard top

just my 3.5 cents
or when the Cows
come Home.!

 

Not so sure GM built a Bel Air convertible in 61 or 58. Both year convertibles were Impalas.

Gary

 

Again, I wouldn't say never because it wasn't until the late 70's that I discovered they built 61 BelAir 2 dr hardtops and my first car was a 61 Impala. I saw one in a driveway close to home, didn't think much about it.
Something just seemed odd because it only had two tailites on each side, turned around, pulled in the driveway, yep, there was the BelAir emblems right there on the quarter panels. I haven't seen one (in the flesh) since.

Here's one.

 

A friend of mine in Missouri just finished a 61 Bel Air hardtop he found in Michigan awhile back, the real deal. Will try to find pics.

 

http://www.aeclassic.com/1961_chevy_belair_convertable/

Yup, Chevy made a convertible Bel Air in '61. Not many though....

 

Wow, neat car, another one I never knew existed.
Seems like a deal considering the rarity, quality of the restoration, and the options.
It may be true that Chevy didn't make very many but they were available, the low production numbers are probably because GM promoted the Impala more and people just didn't know they were available. Production numbers aren't just dependant on how many cars (all brands) were built on speculation of selling, but also on people actually requesting a car to be built by the customer wanting certain options.
It does seem odd to offer a convertable BelAir, and a bit redundant considering most mfg's only made them on their top of the line models.

 

Hey NONAME welcome back, hope you been ok, people been talk'n about ya.
BTW, your photo was held up somewhere.

 

Mark
That is so odd, I'm sure I included that photo in my OP.
Maybe it's just too many eggnogs

 

In 1988 i had a chance to buy a driver 61 bel air 2 door hardtop with a six and a stick for 350 bucks. I decided to keep my 66 C10 instead.

 

If I can't find a wagon for the family, this would work.

 

Bump for the new year.

 

So You gonna build one this year? Seems like youve been wanting to and it seems like youve got a lead on enough sales brochures etc. to lay on the dash to back you up to say one could have existed.
I guarantee it would be interesting.....Make it like the black one you sold!

 

That same year Beverly Hills Cadillac had a near-mint white-over-beige 25k mile '61 Bel Air 2H with a six and Powerglide on their lot for $4888; I offered my nice '66 Coupe deVille in trade plus cash but they wouldn't go for it. I kept the ad with the license number (DIS 246). About a year afterward I spotted it in another ad from some dealer in the Valley, only now it was resale red with a 409 4-speed. I called the dealer and found out it had been consigned as an original, so when I gave him the evidence it wasn't, he got pretty bugged about it (with the consignor, not with me!).

 

Hello.........is this thing on?

 

I guess nobody cares.
I'm going to bed, someone shut the lights off.