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Classic Cars Classic Cars - Archived Discussions '64 Chevrolet Impala 
58 messages, Last post on Jun 09, 2000 at 1:34 PM
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| Boy do I remember the oil leaks from '60's cars. My first car was a Chevy II Nova SS with the anemic 230 cid 6. An automatic on the floor, the most slippery vinyl bucket seats. Blue hardtop, looked cool, rusted out in Buffalo winters (everything did back then)- but leaking rear main seals and around the rocker arm covers was a recurring problem. Mileage was not great either, considering the moderate engine power. | |
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Most old cars used a "rope" type of rear main seal. The slang term was "dog turd" which is what they looked like. No shop liked taking on a rear main reseal job because they were tough to do. Pulling out the top portion of this rope was tricky. There was a company who made a tool called a "Chinese Finger" that would grab a corner of the rope and pull it out. The tough part was getting the new rope in place properly. Even when all went well, it usually wasen't long before they would leak again. When I managed an auto center for Sears back in the good old days, Sears sold and installed rebuilt engines. due to the high PITA factor, they got out of the business later on. I remember an old man ( he was probably 50, my age now) who had an engine installed in his 1954 Chevy. He would put cardboard under the car at night, looking for oil leaks. After numerous attempts at stopping all leaks, including another engine, we ended up refunding his money! He would come in, carrying the stupid sheet of cardboard with him and would point out a quarter sized spot..."IT STILL LEAKS"!!! We suspected he had an oil can...oh well! |
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| The good old days...he'd probably be attacked with a tire iron if he tried that at Sears today. | |
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Sometimes it was much easier to just give a customer their money back. He got a rebuilt engine for free! Something tells me the oil leak didn't bother him a bit after that! We also gave refunds on brake jobs sometimes. I think we guaranteed the lining/pads for something like 40,000 miles. Some abusive drivers would be back in our face once a month demanding we do the job over. After about the fourth time, I would refund their money and ask them to go elsewhere...anywhere! Then we had the people (like my dad) who would buy a lifetime muffler. The next weekend their punk kid would borrow the car, go through a tunnel, turn the ignition off for awhile, turn it back on...Back to Sears! Of course, in later years, I had to take a young punk aside a couple of times and let him know that we were tired of replacing the muffler! " One more time, and I'll tell your dad what is causing them to fail!" Worked every time! |
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| By 64 the main seals were rubber, but still were not the quality that is available today. I had a 62 Impala with the "mild" 409/340 and cast iron powerglide. It wasn't the original engine, it came out of a 63. I bought it for $100 with a bad trans, and then bought a used trans from a friend for $25. The cast iron powerglide handled it OK, but I considered putting a TH400 in it. It was relatively easy to do I was told, with a few mods. Never got around to it. As I rememeber it the car was used for many years this way, even after I sold it. Also had a 61 Bel Air wagon with a 283, that I used for everyday driving. It just went and went. These cars were very simple by todays standards, but also were rust buckets in snow country, and didn't have much in the way of safety features. | |
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283, and 327, Gm will never make anything to even match these timeless engines. BEST EVER MADE. 283 was Maintenance free, 327 was a real evil engine due to the short stroke. I still have a 327 Corvette block in my hot rod, and boy does that thing scream like nothing I've ever had. Puts 350's and YES even some big blocks to shame. |
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I need a luxurious looking car for business. I love the Monte Carlo but I am think it is more male oriented car. So, the Impala could be an alternative. Is it a reliable and comfortable car? Is it luxurious enough to drive high level corporate management clients? I know I should buy a Cadillac but this is too much money and I would like to stick in the Impala price range but still get somehow the luxury of the Cadillac. |
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I need a luxurious looking car for business. I love the Monte Carlo but I think it is a more male oriented car. So, the Impala could be an alternative. Is it a reliable and comfortable car? Is it luxurious enough to drive high level corporate management clients? I know I should buy a Cadillac but this is too much money and I would like to stick in the Impala price range but still get somehow the luxury of the Cadillac. |
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| If you're still considering a luxury car, I'd go with the Regal GS, even over an Impala LS (much as I love Chevys). The Buick is more comfortable and has the same engine as the Impala LS (3.8 liter) except it's supercharged (240 hp). The Impala LS costs less, but the Buick is a much better buy than other luxury cars such as a Camry or Olds Intrigue. I test drove both the Impala LS and Regal GS a few months ago (before the snow fell) and the Regal went like a bat out of hell! The Impala was also fast, but the Buick really flew. | |
| some fun stuff in this topic! A friend of mine has his mother-in-law's '64 Impala SS-195 horse 283, with 49,000 original miles. Black interior. He just had it re-painted the original color of light mettalic green. The paint was done right, and very expensive. There's one nice car that brings back memories of the brand new 62 SS my Dad and I brought home in 62! Anyway, this guy's son is a senior in highschool, and has taken an interest in the 64. Seems as though the 2barrel carburetor was leaking, so, "Dad, yasee" the remedy was to install a big 4barrel and manifold. The manifold, though has no hole drilled for the oil filler tube-so-the only solution for that will be...some aftermarket valve covers with oil filler tubes. The're aware that modifications lower the value of this very nice original Impala, but it's fun to watch the kid take to it and recall my own fun chroming up the 327 in my Dad's 62... | |
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