Car of the Week: 1960 Chevrolet Impala

dodgechargerfan

dodgechargerfan

In a 55 gallon drum, floating down river, and
Staff member
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You can tell sometimes just how much a fellow likes his car just by his “giddiness factor.”


It’s that intangible, can’t-hide-it excitement and pride that you hear in their voice when they get to talking about their car. They don’t even have to tell you how lucky they feel, or how grateful they are, or how much fun they are having owning a particular car. You can tell just by the way they talk about it.


When it comes to his amazingly original, low-mileage 1960 Chevrolet Impala sedan, Scott Berger is one of those guys with a high giddiness factor. He knows there aren’t many guys driving around in a gorgeous, 54-year-old four-door sedan that shows just 14,700 miles on the odometer and is so pristine that you’d swear it must have been professionally restored in its recent past.


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When it comes to Impalas, I prefer the '58. Then again, I'm getting to the point where if it's old enough, I generally find myself liking it, regardless of who made it.
 
not a fan of 59 chevys..yeah its a 60 but its still a 59 body..the nose on them fall flat..WORSE than 58...58 the only issue was the grill..the only chunk of the 59 i like is the windshield
 
Not A Duster said:
Sorry.... I just think this is a terrible ​looking car.
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I pretty much have to agree. A 2-door or convert isn't quite as bad though. The only redeeming factor of the impala models is the side spear. It just seems to give it a nice touch. :huh:
 
When the very-attractive '55 Chevy was introduced, someone started a "I bet I can make next year's model even uglier!" kind of bet or pool in Chevy's styling department. They succeeded for '56 of course, and even moreso a year later. Just when you thought there was no topping the ghastly '57, someone dragged out the abortive '58. The '59 wasn't really any uglier, but its always-surprised face is remiscent of an inflatable woman's. In '60, they thought it might be a good idea to set Ford's styling trend for the next four years, which they did. The bet was apparently called off for '61, when styling started to return to attractive with the Bubble Top Impala... but in a masterstroke of integration of the two previous years' styling, the "face" of the '61 looked like, well, a surprised Ford. :doh:

Between '55 and '61, there's not a Chevy worth seeing in my opinion. :hurl:
 
Dr.Jass said:
When the very-attractive '55 Chevy was introduced, someone started a "I bet I can make next year's model even uglier!" kind of bet or pool in Chevy's styling department. They succeeded for '56 of course, and even moreso a year later. Just when you thought there was no topping the ghastly '57, someone dragged out the abortive '58. The '59 wasn't really any uglier, but its always-surprised face is remiscent of an inflatable woman's. In '60, they thought it might be a good idea to set Ford's styling trend for the next four years, which they did. The bet was apparently called off for '61, when styling started to return to attractive with the Bubble Top Impala... but in a masterstroke of integration of the two previous years' styling, the "face" of the '61 looked like, well, a surprised Ford. :doh:

Between '55 and '61, there's not a Chevy worth seeing in my opinion. :hurl:
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Well said Doc...well said...:clap:
 
Finnegan was able to save a '55 from years of anonymity by doing everything I would do to a shoebox Chevy to make it worth owning.
[video=youtube;mbu-p_WrNMk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbu-p_WrNMk[/video]

I still prefer the '56...
 
I did a '60 El Camino for a local fella 10 or 11 years ago.
In Tasco Turquoise with a matching interior it looks ok, but really, its' only saving grace is the stellar body and paint job on it. :)

It's uncommon enough to stand out and I ended up getting a lot of work because it does so, but the '60 models do very little for me.

That four door up above is fairly ugly, original or not.
 
Dr.Jass said:
When the very-attractive '55 Chevy was introduced, someone started a "I bet I can make next year's model even uglier!" kind of bet or pool in Chevy's styling department. They succeeded for '56 of course, and even moreso a year later. Just when you thought there was no topping the ghastly '57, someone dragged out the abortive '58. The '59 wasn't really any uglier, but its always-surprised face is remiscent of an inflatable woman's. In '60, they thought it might be a good idea to set Ford's styling trend for the next four years, which they did. The bet was apparently called off for '61, when styling started to return to attractive with the Bubble Top Impala... but in a masterstroke of integration of the two previous years' styling, the "face" of the '61 looked like, well, a surprised Ford. :doh:

Between '55 and '61, there's not a Chevy worth seeing in my opinion. :hurl:
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That pretty much covers it. Except that really everything from everybody suffered the same fate particularily '58/'59 - with a couple exceptions in the Mopar camp.

A 55' chevy sedan is still on my list of things I'd like to own. Right along with another 55 chevy truck.
 
Not A Duster said:
That pretty much covers it. Except that really everything from everybody suffered the same fate particularily '58/'59 - with a couple exceptions in the Mopar camp.

A 55' chevy sedan is still on my list of things I'd like to own. Right along with another 55 chevy truck.
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Yeah the 58/59 Mopar Cars had some pretty neat, and original looking styling....way more so then the other camps. But I do have to say the 55,56,57 GMC pick up trucks have always been a favorite of mine, love the grille, hood and bumper styling. But the pick up front ends on the GMC started to peter out through 57/58/59.

55 GMC
1955-gmc-suburban.jpg


55 Chevy
1955_chevy_truck.jpg
 
The front of the Jimmy shows class & style, whereas the chevy face just looks anemic. :wtf:
 
Hmmmm.

I owned both and I much preferred the cleaner front end of the Chevy over the GMC. All of that hardware hangin' on the front of the GMC just looked awkward to me - particularly when it was painted as opposed to chromed as shown in the pictures here. Most of those trucks came with painted, not chromed grilles.
 
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