Customs '62 Impala vs. SS Impala

Mirrors on a car with door handles don't offend me. I take the mirrors off typically, especially with cars like this (my 61 bubble top, and coupe hardtops) are basically all glass and have no real blindspots. Just a quick turn of the head gets the job done.

I like the wheel and tire combo as well.

Does the car have a posi in it now with the 4.11s? If so, and you really want the posi, maybe you could grab your friend's carrier with the 3.36s and have a shop swap the ring and pinion?

A proper steering wheel is an absolute must for me. I was at a show yesterday and the number of shiny wooden new looking aftermarket wheels around was revolting. There is nothing like the look and feel of a factory steering wheel.

 

My dads SS he bought it in late 62.Notice his upgrades.

 

Side emblems.........EVERY(well almost!) "M-word" claims to have a 289 Hi-Po in it !
If you do the 454 or 427 emblem..... at least have a nice rumpity-rump idle to it !!!!!
All the so called Hi Po's with a silky smooth idle drives me nutZ.
IF you're gonna lie about it, at least make an effort to make it believable.
Same goes for Shivel-layz. (Like every SBC has a Corvette engine in it-look at the valve covers!!)
6sally6

 

Regardless of what emblems you put on your car, as far as big blocks a 62 SS was available with a 409, and it doesn't look like one, so you might as well do what you want! I've been making my 350 kind of look like it belonged in there and it has a nice lumpy idle, so I put 327 stickers on it to look the part. It has fooled a few so far.

What's your plan for the wheels? Leave em? The GM subliminal marketing must have worked, because I very much like rallye wheels in silver with the right caps and rings, but not really in other colours.

Impala caps on the rallye wheels seems like a waste of a good looking wheel with some lip to me.

 

Like I said to Moriaraty, I can't turn my head as far as I used to, and side mirrors are a must. Yes, it has 4.11 gears, I have the original 3.36's that I was going to have swapped back in, BUT... A buddy of mine has several one legged center sections with 3.36's, he's going to give me one. I'll just swap it and have the 4.11 Posi to sell or swap back in if I want to burn both tires.

It has an aggressive cam with a nice lopey idle, so it lives up to the SS emblems. It can back up the look.

 

SS was a great bucket seat option with extra trim. If it had a 283 or one of the 2 327’s offered you couldn’t hear on run if you were standing beside it or even sitting in it. Even the 409 340 hp was a very quiet engine.

 

Brian, I don't know how big the hole in carpet is, but could you cut a piece from under seat and splice it back in? I've done that with carpet before and if the color matches (not faded from sun) it works good. Love the car. I don't like the shifter either.

 

That occurred to me, along with making a little console addition for a cup holder. I've got some vinyl that matches the interior color perfectly, so I'll work around it.

 

Not a GM guy, but isn't the 4:11 a different case than the 3 series ring gear case? Something about spacers that failed and not being able to go back to smaller gears cries in the darkness of the memory banks.

 

Not all of the 62 SS cars got the engine turned rear cove pieces.

 

Gee, I don't know. I did watch a video of a rebuild of one that had 4.56 gear back to 3.36's. In that housing the ring gear had been shimmed away from the hub (or whatever it's called) as the pinion was so small it couldn't contact properly. The 4.11's in mine were installed in the original housing and case with no issues, so I would think the 3.36's should go right back in.

 

I did read somewhere that the early SS Impalas had the plain ones like mine. I just like them, so thought I'd try to do it for less than $1,100, which is what new pieces cost.

 

There was a 3-series and a 4-series carrier. The mounting flange is thicker on a 4-series carrier compared to a 3-series carrier. If there's a spacer between the ring gear and the carrier, you have a 3-series carrier. You can use a 4-series gear on a 3-series carrier with a spacer, but you can't use a 3-series gear on a 4-series carrier. With any luck you have a 3-series posi carrier, with the spacer that can be removed, and go back to a 3-series gear with little aggrivation. Send pic's when you get it out so we can see.

 

That question may never be answered, because a buddy of mine just messaged me and is going to give me a fresh 700R4 that's on an LT1 he just bought. So, the 4.11's are staying and a transmission swap is in my future. It'll make it nice car to drive, I can keep the Posi, the gear ratio will be perfect, and maybe, just maybe, it'll crack 10 MPG.

 

AH HA!!! The best of both world's!!!

 

And just when I wanted to suggest a 4 speed changeover!
Could you at least put a clutch pedal in it to please me.

 

It's a clutchless 4 speed... LOL!!!

 

Would putting a fake clutch pedal in a fake SS be too much? I have standards man...

 

I had a M______ that had a pedal on the left that operated the windshield wiper. Pretty handy for a single wipe. As long as it does something, it isn't fake right?

 

This little piggy went, "Wee, wee, wee, all the way home!" It's going in, the one with the 4.11 Posi is coming out and getting it's original 3.36 's. I have yet to decide if I'm going to tackle the ring and pinion change or let someone else do it.

 

Here you go, still available new, simple switch that could power wipers, squirters, rear mounted lights for tailgaters, joy buzzer in the passenger seat, drinks dispenser under the dash, flame throwers...actually scratch that last one, you may forget and put the clutch in and burn the garage down.

 

What happened with the old trans?

 

Over the years I’ve had 5 62s, 2 SS cars and 3 Impala hardtops. IMHO the best looking Chevy ever made. My first one I bought when I was 18, was a hardtop, bench seat, 300hp 327, factory 4spd, no ps or pb. I’ve only seen one other like that since. One night after large amounts of alcohol had been consumed by me and my derelict buddies, I was going to impress them with how fast I could speed shift. When I did my lightning fast first to second gear shift and and the shifter arm broke off at the base, we all busted a gut laughing. There was a reason the factory shifters were called “spaghetti shifters.” The car soon got a Hurst. One of my SS cars was a 4spd and it already had a Hurst when I got it. I would love to have another, but they’re stupid money now.

 

This thread started right after I got the Impala popped up on my notifications this morning. We're heading back to Michigan (and the Impala) tomorrow, so I thought it was some kinda cosmic connection that required a photo of the car now. We'll be cruise'n style pretty soon!