1966 L72 Impala In UK

[mssl72]

A few years ago there was a post that had a few pics on this '66 L72 Impala. I'm looking for any information/pictures on this car. I'm pretty sure I know where it is now. Anybody...anybody?? Bueller?

http://i6.tinypic.com/8bdyu6u.jpg

http://i8.tinypic.com/86ymwki.jpg

[Stitch]

It was me that posted those pictures , it belonged to a friend of mine when they were taken around 1984/5 , I coulda bought it from him back then for £6000 ($12000) or his 70 Hemi Challenger for £5000 $10000 !! . As far as I remember he got it from a dealer who told him it had been left in the UK by a returning serviceman , the bumpers and hood in the pics were fibreglass , he kept the originals untouched. I helped him put a tunnel ram with twin 660's on it and iirc it ran a high 12 on street tyres.
I may have a couple more pics somewhere , I'll see if I can find 'em. Last I heard was that it had gone back to the USA .

Ron

[3macs1]

I'm looking for any information/pictures on this car. I'm pretty sure I know where it is now. Anybody...anybody?? Bueller?

Are you thinking this one Mark??
http://www.showdownmusclecars.com/inventory/C119273

[mssl72]

Stitch / Ron! That was you that posted that?! Cool. I'm pretty sure right now it's in Oregon in storage. I saw the car just last year when I was visiting a friend who happens to own it. It wasn't until this morning that I was talking to another buddy and I thought wait a minute, the car in Oregon came from the UK and it had a sport mirror on the drivers door. So, I looked at the pics that I saved from your original post this morning and there's the sport mirror. It's gotta be the same car! I know the car has some paperwork with it, I'm just not sure what yet. Maybe some time slips. I'm going to try to convince my friend to restore it as a race car instead of stock since it has some race history. I'll have to ask if the bumpers are still fiberglass. Are you still in touch with your buddy? Any other info or pics would be great! I'll keep diggin' too! Thanks!



http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif Woooo-hoooooo!

[mssl72]

Hi Joe,
That one is a different car. Especially since it's all together!

[Stitch]

Hi Mark,
I haven't seen him for many years but I'll see if I can get his phone number and try to call him , I took a lot of pics of the car at the time and gave most of them to him so fingers crossed he still might have some.
I know the car was very clean and original when he got it , all matching #'s , original intake/carb, idler pulley etc . He kept all those pieces together so I hope they're still with the car .

Ron

[mssl72]

Hi Ron,
I contacted my friend today about it. This has got to be the same car. There are some time slips from the drag strip in the UK. I think he told me it was running 13's. The previous owner was the guy that brought it back to the States. I'll try to get more detail. From what I understand and saw the fiberglass front hood is long gone. The car currently doesn't have bumpers at all on it, I just don't know if the fiberglass ones are around either. It looks like there still is a lower front valance. Here's how it sits now. Take a look at the drivers door...notice that sport mirror???

http://i19.tinypic.com/817gd1h.jpg

[Stitch]

Hi Mark,

13's eh , well you know how the saying goes - the older I get the faster I was http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif . With that mirror it certainly looks like the same car , what's with the different fender scripts on the one that Joe posted ? .

I managed to get a phone number for him and just called , he was sitting in the sun in Barcelona eating lunch . He says he's still got some old pics and he's going to scan and email them to me , I'll post em as soon as .

Ron

[Stitch]

I found a few more pics myself and scanned the two you posted.

http://www.btinternet.com/~rondeco30/impala1.JPG
http://www.btinternet.com/~rondeco30/impala2.JPG
http://www.btinternet.com/~rondeco30/impala3.JPG
http://www.btinternet.com/~rondeco30/impala4.JPG
http://www.btinternet.com/~rondeco30/impala5.JPG
http://www.btinternet.com/~rondeco30/impala6.JPG

Last pic is a bit long distance but he's lined up ready to race me in my 67 Camaro. Hopefully my buddy'll have some better pics to send me .

Ron

[mssl72]

Ron!
Cool pictures! Thanks for contacting your buddy about the car. I'm sorry his lunch with the sunshine was interrupted! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif That's great that he's going to send more pictures. Yes, I think my friend said 13's. I emailed him about it again.

The car on the link that Joe posted is actually just an Impala. This car is an Impala Super Sport, so the frender scripts are different. Also about the car on the link...it's an L72 clone. It used to belong to a friend of mine. Another buddy that really knows his stuff went over to look at it and found a bunch of stuff wrong including all the 6k markings ghosting under the new silk-screened markings on the tach face. The car was originally a 283/3 on the tree.

Here's another picture of the passenger side. Another sport mirror on that side too. The guy who has it in Oregon had started a restoration and was going to put it back to stock, which is why it looks the way it does now. I hope he didn't toss the glass bumpers.

http://i16.tinypic.com/8adp9gk.jpg

[mssl72]

Well, it's time to bring up an old thread and post an update on this car. The extremely detailed restoration was finished the end of October just in time for it's 50th birthday (it was built the last week of October). It was returned to stock form since it wasn't very far from stock at the time it was acquired. It was found in LaGrande, Oregon in 2007 and the restoration started about 6 years ago. The former UK owner Andy C. may still be out there somewhere. The current owner is interested in more history on the car for obvious reasons. Here's some pictures so that nobody says "without pics it didn't happen"!
We'll start with a few old pics first:

http://i64.tinypic.com/qxtqg2.jpg

http://i67.tinypic.com/33c2p2b.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/o54wo9.jpg

As found in Oregon:
http://i66.tinypic.com/28lb5u1.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/295sfti.jpg

At it's new home:
http://i63.tinypic.com/fokt3l.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/1znpeag.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/j8o5zm.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/jp7b53.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/1zedrtl.jpg

The process begins:

http://i67.tinypic.com/14ax8d4.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/2v9vrwx.jpg

http://i67.tinypic.com/nevqzq.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/1tsjs7.jpg

with temporary 390hp air cleaner:
http://i64.tinypic.com/2qmmelj.jpg

http://i67.tinypic.com/161x63r.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/ddj29j.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/19o8wi.jpg

[mssl72]

Done:
http://i68.tinypic.com/2e1hn60.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/5pmm3p.jpg

http://i67.tinypic.com/2v8pkdk.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/20ur9n9.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/dot7v9.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/107kleq.jpg

[MosportGreen66]

Mark, amazing restoration. Can you explain the chemical dipping/stripping process?

Did you have to remove the trim tag? Did you need to strip the paint first?

Thanks,
Dan

[454_Malibu]

Wow,, very nice....

[ZAPPER68]

Spectacular...well done!

[CC Rider]

Very nice!

[SS427]

Beautiful!

[mssl72]

Dan,
I contacted the current owner (who did the restoration) with your questions. Here's his reply:

"No need to strip the paint. The process does that for you. The body needs to have everything removed so that it's just the shell. I did remove the trim tag otherwise it would have been destroyed."

I don't know if that answers the first part of your questions completely, "Can you explain the chemical dipping/stripping process?". I know that the methods of stripping a car has been discussed on this board a few times and it seems there is a side that doesn't like chemical stripping. I've heard stories of the stripper leaching out years later. I haven't personally done chemical stripping, but I've heard if done properly (using a neutralizer) that aren't any issues.

[66 Biscayne]

I know the owner/restorer....NO shortcuts anywhere....period.....and a great guy too !

[mssl72]

An interesting thing about the engine being dyno'ed:

"... it cranked 438 HP (with headers and no air cleaner), With a dual snorkel air cleaner, it cranked 429 HP, so pretty close to 425. That’s with all NOS internals (cam, rods, crank, lifters, etc.) except pistons, which are .010 over."

[Xplantdad]

Beautiful!!

[Damien]

Great story and a beautiful car. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

[mssl72]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MosportGreen66</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Mark, amazing restoration. Can you explain the chemical dipping/stripping process?

Did you have to remove the trim tag? Did you need to strip the paint first?

Thanks,
Dan </div></div>

Another small tidbit to add was that the body was &quot;E coated&quot; after the dip and before paint, which also helps to neutralize the dipping process as well as seals the metal.

[kwhizz]

Another small tidbit to add was that the body was &quot;E coated&quot; after the dip and before paint, which also helps to neutralize the dipping process as well as seals the metal. [/quote]


<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

[Stitch]

Looks fantastic, brings back some some great memories <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

[scuncio]

I have seen this car and it's stunning....

[dykstra]

very cool! Great job!

[427TJ]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mssl72</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Done:
http://i68.tinypic.com/2e1hn60.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/5pmm3p.jpg
</div></div>

Love the N96s and tall ribbed blackwalls.

[earntaz]

What a fine Cruzer that is ...

[mssl72]

Stitch/Ron,
Are you still in touch with Andy? The current owner would love some history on the car.

[Stitch]

No I'm sorry I never see him these days, I did find another pic though. That's me on the left pushing my Camaro

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/rondeco30/impala.jpg