Hello, It was the fall of 1962 and my friend’s dad was ready to get a new car for himself. He gave away his old sedan to his oldest son and now he needed to get a new car. So, my friend and I took him to several Chevy Dealers to see what was on the lots and showrooms. The dad saw a two door hardtop Chevy Sedan and liked the styling. I had my 58 Impala and my friend had his cool 55 two door post chevy sedan, but his dad wanted a cool two door hardtop. We were trying to steer him to the new 409 motors and in looking at the horsepower ratings, it would have more than any of our teenage cars. Ha! What a concept, an old dad driving around in a powerful chevy two door hardtop 409 sedan… Jnaki Well, we liked the 409 sedan and wanted him to get it. We could already see us driving around in the 409 on the Friday/Saturday night cruises. Plus, the dad wanted A/C, which was ok with us. Those hot summer nights, we rolled down all of our windows. So, the new hardtop would have been nice with the wide opening with the windows down. Now, they would be rolled up and the A/C blasting… As all good things are planned, this one ended up with a two door Chevy Hardtop in a Sea Mist Green with A/C, but it had the small 283 motor and lower horsepower than most of our teenage cars… but, the A/C in the new hardtop was great to use during those hot summer nights in a “new” car. An old post: In the 1963 model year arrival, my friend’s dad asked us what car he should get for the next family car. What? My friend had a choice? Well, we dug up some very nice choices, topping it off with the latest from Chevy to appease his dad favorite brand, Chevrolet. There were still some 409 Impalas left and the new 63 models were getting a good look when we all went to the local Chevy dealer. My friend was looking ahead in trying to get his dad to get a new 409 still on the showroom floor, or order a new one with all choices the dealer had to offer. In a side conference, my friend and I wanted to know if the new 427 was available in the 63 Impala. so, we had to ask the sales guy. He said it was a special order and it would take 6 months to almost a year to arrive in the dealer’s showroom. It was a nice thought as there would have been gobs of horsepower no one in our area had at the time. The 409 was the king, but this one could obviously tip the scales. Despite the advantages of having the latest version of a high performance Chevy car with all of the goodies, bucket seats, 4 speed, Positraction, his dad wanted to think it over. So, we left it at that and wished the dad would step up his choice to the 427 Impala. So what if he drove his old Chevy sedan for another 6 months to a year? My friend and I were in “dreamsville” and waited the decision with some anxiety. Note: After a couple of weeks of looking at 63 Chevy models, a Turquoise Green two door Impala was sitting on my friend’s driveway. When I came rolling around the corner, it was smiles across my face…YES!!! So, without inspecting it, I went in to talk to my friend. He was happy it was a new 63 Turquoise Impala, but not happy it wasn’t a 409. It wasn’t 6 months or a year wait, so it could not have been a new 427 Impala. Well, it was not an SS model with bucket seats and a 4 speed, 409 motor, but at least it had A/C. That hot Summer was perfect for cruising around in an A/C car. We made do with what was available. For the hot Summer/Fall nights, the A/C was great. Since his 55 Chevy two door post sedan was the one we cruised around in those "roll down window" days, this new situation was used as often as possible. Everyone knew the new 63 Impala was not a 409 or a 427. And we heard plenty of comments of it being a dad’s family car… along with other comments. But, at least, we were the “coolest” guys on the cruising scene, with the A/C blasting during the cruise nights. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
