Car of the Week: 1959 Chevrolet Impala

[dodgechargerfan]

Larry Axdahl figured he’d have a hard time improving on the 1959 Chevrolet Impala convertible he bought new back in ’59.

But that hasn’t stopped him from trying.

In some ways, his glorious red ’59 ragtop is actually better than the Impala he bought new and kept for five years in his younger days. The car has a modern air ride suspension, point-less distributor, dual exhausts, a more modern 700R4 transmission and certainly a better paint job than the factory would have supplied.

Impala No. 2 will never make Axdahl forget his first one, but the Chetek, Wis., resident seems just as happy with this one as he was with his brand new convertible. “My wife and I met and 6 months later got married and started having babies, you know how that goes,” he recalled. “When the second [child] was coming she said, ‘That’s it, no more convertibles,’ so down the road it went. I had to unload it in ’65, and then 11 years later I found this one in Minnesota, where we lived.”

Read more.

 

[68R/T]

Where did he come up with that 3,600 lb weight for a 59 convert? I had one back in '66 with a 348 & 3-on-the-tree and that thing tipped the scales at 4,300.

Even with 3.08 gears the 348 pulled pretty strong. Better gears probably would have made it a slouch because the 348 runs out of poop at 4,500 rpm. :doh:

I always hated the looks of the '59's until I got one, but then it kind of grew on me. Eventually it met its' demise, one night I was drunk and flipped it end-for-end at 105 mph. Nice car, and it only had 51,000 miles. White with red gut and white top.

 

[thrashingcows]

Holy Crap!! Endo-ing it in a 59 "vert....geez your lucky to still be around! Did you get thrown clear?

 

[68R/T]

Holy Crap!! Endo-ing it in a 59 "vert....geez your lucky to still be around! Did you get thrown clear?

The headlines of the local paper read, "Spectacular Crash"

First, I sideswiped a tree on the pass side that tore the door off, and the guy that was holding onto the arm rest. :bwuhaha:
Next, a telephone pole dead center snapped like a twig, but ripped the top open
Then I hit an embankment that caused the up-ending and me going thru the now open top. [smilie=2:

I ended up about 30 ft from the car with a concussion, broken hip and many ribs broken.

My passenger got a sprained shoulder from hanging on to the door as it tumbled around. :shifty:

There was not a usable panel left on the car, but it never crushed the top frame. :huh:

 

[thrashingcows]

Wow...What a ride!