1964 Chevy Impala 4 door...original family and low

[Barefoot Dave]

Hi folks,

I have a chance to buy a really cool car to use as a driver. It's a light blue 64 4 door Chevy Impala that's been in a friends garage for 5+ years without moving. It's been repainted once about 10 years ago, has all original sheetmetal (no rust repaired prior to paint), original interior except the seat covers and 75,000 original miles. It's a 327 4 barrel car with a powerglide and is overall in excellent shape and only the tires, brakes, belts and hoses have been replaced. It was bought new in MD and has only been registered in two names...the original owner and then the son-in-law when the original owner passed away. I checked e-bay but the prices are all over the place on the 2 doors but I don't see any 4 doors.

Any idea what it's worth without seeing it?

[x Baldwin Motion]

has it got A/C?

[Verne_Frantz]

Dave,
Name everything you think might be an option and which 327 it has - 250hp or 300hp. (the 250hp would have either a Rochester 4GC or Carter WCFB. The 300hp would have a 3720 AFB and camel hump heads)

Verne http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Barefoot Dave]

No A/C. I didn't look at the heads but it's got a glass bowl in the front of the carb but I don't know how to tell the difference between the carbs other than it's definitely not not a quadrajet.

It's pretty basic with an AM radio and everything else original except what I mentioned.

Would the all the codes of the trim tag on the upper cowl help? I don't have them but I can get them if they tell anything important other than the interior and exterior color.

Thanks for the help!

[Verne_Frantz]

Dave,
The codes on the cowl tag may tell me some of the options, but not all of them. The glass bowl sounds like the 300hp. (Quadrajets weren't even invented yet!)

Verne http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[markjohnson]

Those peppy little 327's are a lot of fun. It sounds like a decent fun car and don't let the extra doors bother 'ya. It's easier to pile some buddies in there, everybody's comfortable, get some breakfast and hit the swap meets on a Sunday morning! Fun stuff.

[Barefoot Dave]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm gonna go look at it closely again this week and hopefully bring it home!

[Barefoot Dave]

Well...I bought it and plan to make it my daily driver. It runs GREAT! Here's some pics of the car, the build sheets and the original warranty card.

http://picasaweb.google.com/barefootdave/1964Impala

[x Baldwin Motion]

Excellent!! Good Luck!! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/headbang.gif

[Verne_Frantz]

Dave,

I see a bunch of things on the car I can let you know about if you want to pm me. It's a 250hp 327 with the fuel bowl added. The SS wheel covers were obviously added, but it did come originally with white walls and the full accessory wheel covers. The diagonal braces inside the quarters were typical of BOP cars, especially Willimgton cars, as yours is. The engine pad stamp photo is blurry but I'd guess it ends with an "S".
Congrats on the purchase. It doesn't need much to make it more correct and you'll have a great driver! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

Verne http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[markjohnson]

I've been messin' around with early X-Frame Chevys for many years now but I don't believe I've ever seen an early Chevy with those braces inside the trunk against the back side of the rear quarter panels. Is that a hardtop only thing? Hey Verne, you out there? I'll know that you have the answers! That cloth interior looks great also and I wonder if that's some kind of optional Deluxe interior 'cuz I don't recognize that particular pattern.

[Barefoot Dave]

Verne...I'll send you a PM later today and I'd love to pick your brain about the car. Yes, the suffix is an "S"...T1108S. The SS wheel covers came off of the 64 SS he bought on the same day from the same dealer. It's a really cool story and it I'm glad I got to hear it along with the history of the car.

Mark, the seat covers have been changed and are not the original or even an original GM pattern according to the original owner, he just liked it better than the original and they ripped in 1989 so he had them replaced with what's in there.

I'd also like to hear more about the braces on the quarters too and what they mean.

Thanks for any help and info! :-)

[mmcporter]

Love it - it sure brings back memories of my dad's '64 dark blue impala sedan...'cept his had the 6 cylinder and powerglide...enjoy it--you have a unique car!

[Verne_Frantz]

1964 was the first year the Wilmington plant built full size Chevys. There are a few unique things about Wilmington cars. The rear body braces are the most dramatic difference from other plants. Since the BOP cars built there used them, I'd venture that Fisher Body standardized their body jigs for the rear trunk area which saved them floor space and money. It also allowed them to have one assembly procedure for all the rear floor pans. Notice that the braces are independant of the quarter panels. They tie the rear of the floor pan to the wheelhouse. It turned out to be a good idea. A common problem with these cars was that after age and the settleing of the rear body mount (just behind the axle), a crack would develop on the top of the quarter panel from the C pillar to the belt line. It's very unusual to see that crack on a Wilmington car.
Wilmington was also one of the few plants that used such a detailed build sheet (and usually left more than one in each car). Another "oddity" of that plant was that the trunk lids did not get an insulation pad between the panels. Also, their method of coding for accessory codes (also like Southgate) was to only code for certain major options, like A/C, tinted glass, vinyl roof, etc. And when they did, they used the actual RPO codes rather than something cryptic. They (like Southgate again) were also the only plants to use 3 letters to designate the colors, upper body, lower body and wheel color. In your case, FFA= silver blue, silver blue, black.

Dave, I'll be in touch later with some other things I noticed on your car. Post some more pictures of it once it gets a bath and some polish http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Verne http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[markjohnson]

Wow! Now that.......is a great answer. Thanks V.