Here are some pictures of my 1964 SS and my old 1963 2dr hardtop.

My old car (and first car) was a 1963 Impala 2dr hardtop. It had a 250hp 327 with a Powerglide transmission. It featured power steering, power brakes, 2 speed wipers plus washer, factory AM pushbutton radio with rear speaker, add on revurburator, power windows and factory air conditioning. The car was Ermine White with a blue interior. The car had a pretty good body considering it had spent its whole life in Iowa. When I bought it it was all origional except for the usual battery, tires, hoses and belts(however I wondered about the power steering belt!). It had 92500 origional miles on it when I bought it in May of 1997.

However I decided I wanted something different, so on Sept 11 1998 I traded my old 63 for my 64 SS.

My old 63

My 1964 SS has a 250hp 327 that's been bored .30 over, it has a 350hp 350 cam and has the intake manifold and Carter AFB carb from a 300hp 327. It has a 4spd. manual transmission with origional shifter. The interior is black and all origional except for carpet. The car was origionaly Ermine White But is now black. The roof has been covered in convertible top style material. The car sports a factory tachometer ($48 option in 1964) and a rare AM-FM radio ($203 option in 1964) plus rear speaker.

UPDATE!!!

I have neglected to do this for too long! I no longer have the Black 64 SS. I traded it for a 61 SS 2dr hardtop in march of 1999. I am sure most of you are quite sceptical of the "SS", well I'll explain. I found the car in a small town east of DesMoines. The owner had bought the car from someone who brought it from California. When he first found it it was all original and in need of a restoration. He bought the car and had it painted, installed new seatcovers, headliner, carpet, and freshened up the engine compartment. By the time he found it the 348 was gone as well as the Sun tach. A 283 2v was in the 348s place. The car still had the original 3spd on the column. I later purchased a correct, NOS SUN 7000rpm tach and sender. The car was a California car and was built the second week of February at the VanNuys plant. It was factory fawn beige with the almond top and stripe. It also had a fawn interior. If anyone of you have seen John Tinbergs 61 SS 409, mine was almost exactly the same in appearance. In addition to the original emblems it had front and rear bumper guards, dual antennas, door handle guards and fender skirts.

The reason I believe that it was an original 1961 SS is that it had original, vintage 1961 SS emblems. The emblems were slightly pitted and were definetly not reproductions. Also the grab bar was still in place on the dash with all its mounting brackets. Under the hood it had power steering and power brakes and the inner fender had some holes that the tach sender bolted directly too. However, some suspision still arises every time I think about that car. Was it a real SS? I don't know, but it was most likely the closest thing to a real one I will ever own.

Due to the fact that the 61 had some mysterious quirks that showed up whenever I need the car the most, I sold the 61 3 months after buying it for my current 1963 SS.

My current Impala is probably the nicest car I have owned. It is Tuxedo Black with a red interior. All of the restoration work was done by the previous owner. The car is equiped with a .030 over 300hp 327 that has 2.02 1.60 valves in ported and polished double hump heads, an Edelbrock Torker II intake that has been matched to the heads, and a Holley 600 vac. secondary carb. The car is also equiped with an M21 Muncie four speed, factory tach, 3:73 posi, am push button radio and rear speaker, 2 speed wipers with washer and an NOS vaccum operated trunk opener which I added. I have located a 409 engine which I am going to buy and install inplace of the 327. The 409 is a 340 hp engine with a hydraulic, 292/292 .520 lift cam, and 11:1 forged pistons. I should have the swap completed by the spring of 2001.

I traded the 300hp 327(plus small block fan shroud and radiator)and some cash for my 340 hp 409. The block started life as a 1965 348, truck, replacement block. This block is the only "W" head engine block that can be overbored to standard 409 bore, and thats exactly what I have. The block has the charachteristic "X" cast into the front of the block so In essence it really is a 409 block that was de-bored. This block casting number is only one number different from the 409 truck block from that year. The block is fitted with a 409 crank, rods and 11.0:1 forged pistons. Heads are stock 340hp heads with the 2.06/1.72 valves. The intake manifold, at this point in time, is a 1963 only, single four barrel, 340 hp, cast iron manifold. I am hoping to find an aluminum 348 single four barrel intake to put in its place. I bought a nice pair of 1963 only chrome, "dripper" valve covers and I have the chrome 340hp air cleaner for it. I am hoping to make this swap look as factory as possible.

I just bought another 409! I found this one while I was as school. I was at a swap meet in Witchita with a sign on my back reading that I was looking for 409 parts. A guy tapped me on the shoulder and said he has this engine for sale. Well, I went to look at it and bought it. It is a 1962 409hp 409. It has the "068" block, "690" high perforamance heads, 2-1/2" outlet exhaust manifolds and a 380 hp intake manifold. It is only missing the carb and air cleaner. It is stamped as a "QB" 409hp 409. It came out of a car from the St. Louis plant. If anyone out there has an early 1962 St. Louis dual quad 409 car, I may have your original engine. I would be willing to sell it to back to the owner of its original car. If you are curious as to if this is your engine, send me your vin and I will check it with the one stamped on the block. If it turns out I have your engine I would be more than happy to make sure it finds its way back in to your car.

I FINNALY got the 409 installed and running. I started this project in august of 2000. My first attempt of installing the engine was unsuccesfull due to an in correct pilot bushing. I changed that and go the engine in and everything bolted up one night. The last thing I put on was the starter. I crawled under the car and the bolt holes diddn't line up! I thought I had the wrong starter, so the next day I drove all over creation looking for somthing that would work. I finally made the conclusin that my old 153 tooth fly wheel and bell housing wasn't going to work up against my 409. So a couple months pass and when I got home from college I ordered a 168 tooth flywheel and a larger bell housing and my starter bolted right up. After that I started the engine up and set the timing. At idle the engine ran great and sounded good. My first drive proved dissapointing. After ALOT of fuel system experimenting and timing adjusting I got it to run just like it was supposed to. It turned out my high performance cam was 8 degrees retarded with my 340hp timing set. Once that was remidied the car ran GREAT!! Lots of power and tons of torque! I put about 1000 miles on it in only two weeks.

The list keeps getting longer! June 9 2002 I sold my beloved 63 ss. It was a phenomenal car, and it was hard to get rid of it but I was ready for a change. On June 11 2002 I purchased a factory original 1963 Impala 2dr hardtop with its ORIGINAL 340hp 409 engine. ALL of the numbers match. The VIN on the block is a spot on match with the VIN in the door jamb. It still has its original alternator. The only things not stock on the engine is the carb., the fan, and its missing the original fuel filter and upper choke tube. This car was originally a 3 speed on the column but a 4 speed has been behind the 409 for many many years. The car is factory black with a red interior. At this time the car has 162,800 original miles. Anyone who ever said a 409 won't last should see this car. It will not overheat and runs as smooth as any new V-8. The car is pretty low on options. The only optional equipment is the 340hp engine, drivers side out side mirror, AM push button radio, rear speaker, gas door gaurd, and a trunk light. You can only wonder what this car was ordered for!!! I plan to keep the 4 speed and add the factory tach and original shifter. I have bought a floor shift steering column and tach dash (out of a 64 SS 409 no less) and also the SUPER RARE factory shifter with the Muncie linkage rods. I also have an original 4 speed shifter hump for the floor. I am the third owner of the car. It spent its whole life in southwest Iowa. The second owner had passed away and I bought the car from his widow. The car changed hands for the first time sometime in the early 1970s. According to the oil change record the car had 109915 miles on it in November 1975. The second owner modified the car slightly to fit the styles of the 70s. It has keystone mag wheels, glass pack mufflers, shag carpet, and white tall back bucket seats out of a Mopar e-body! When I first got the car it also had a hurst T-handle shifter and a 12" foam grip steering wheel. I am slowly taking it back to 1963. **Check back for updates!!!**

Since the fall of 2002 I have changed the look of the car slightly. The first thing I did was throw away that awful shag carpet! I now have some original red carpet down. The Mopar bucket seats are long gone too. I temporarily have a 64 SS bucket seat in the front for the driver. I will be working on rebuilding the front bench seat the winter of 2003. The old mag wheels have been changed back to a nice set of 14x6 black steel wheels with 63 Chevrolet hub-caps with white wall tires. I will be aiming to keep the car as stock as I can.

I have bought a few NOS parts to help me in the future. I found an NOS set of aluminum for the rear cove. I also have an NOS passenger door glass channel, these are notorious for rusting, and mine is pretty bad! I also bought a few NOS pieces for the back-up switch on the transmission. I also have some parts that will be later used in the restoration. I have a complete 340hp 409 tach dash with the 6000 prm tach. I have a complete 63 bench seat shifter. Most guys default to a Hurst but for total authenticity the factory, Ansen-built shifters are a must. For more info on factory shifters see my shifter info page.

The restoration process is slow but rewarding. I am doing the work myself which is diffuclt as I am still in college. If you would like to know more about this car or any other car I've owned please e-mail me at roscoe3@hotmail.com