Car of the Week: 1962 Chevrolet Impala SS

[dodgechargerfan]

the thieves who swiped Bill Schill’s 1962 Chevrolet Impala SS many years ago had known how great the car was going to look and what a wonderful machine it would be at 56 years of age, they might have tried harder not to get caught.

As it turns out, having been stolen and moved across the country just makes the car a little more interesting. Somehow, the gorgeous black coupe has remained almost entirely original and unmolested, and that’s the way Bill and his wife Bonnie aim to keep it.

“We bought it just to have fun with it. At the time I actually didn’t realize that it was a survivor. I didn’t think much about it, I just liked the car,” says Schill, a resident of Campbellsport, Wis. “It caught my eye because I had a good friend of mine, his older brother had one that looked just like it except it had more engine. And it reminded me of that one and we just ended up with it. We’ve really enjoyed it and now it’s going to be hard to ever part with it [laughs].”

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[68R/T]

Back in the day a local guy bought one new that looked exactly like this, but he had a 409/409 with a 3-on-the-tree. Used to be wild as hell to see him humming along with the shift lever sticking above the dash.

 

[Dr.Jass]

The author doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word "wraparound", which he twice uses in place of "ugly": Once in reference to the '63's rear window redesign and then in regards to the taillamps.

I could never understand the affection for this car's design. The front looks like Don Knotts in welding goggles, and the roof seems to be a placeholder they left there when someone forgot to replace it with the attractive one. The whole car is just so plain-looking.

 

[69.5CUDA]

im with ya there doc and will throw in that it always felt to me that they were trying to take late 50s style and mix it with the 60s lincolns