If I told you this Impala is an SS but came from the factory with a inline 6, you would probably say I don’t know anything about Impalas (I might even have a few people say I must not know anything about cars, to make such a mistake). I mean, why in the world would Chevrolet ever build a Super Sport and then stick a 140 horsepower inline 6 in it? This might come as a bit of a shock, but Chevy actually did build a small number of Impala SS with the inline 6 and 3 on the tree. I know, it seems like a strange combo for a car that’s suppose to be an all out performance model. Well reader Ken L recently picked up this rare Impala after responding to a Facebook ad. He thought it was a clone and wanted it just for the interior.
His friend JC told him about the Facebook ad and that the car might have a good interior for his ’64 Impala project car. When he first looked at it, he just assumed it was a clone. The seller didn’t really seem to know much about it and since it is so rough, Ken offered him just $700 for it. The seller took the offer and Ken loaded it up on the trailer and headed home. He decided he might as well decode the VIN tag to see what was going on here and he was quite surprised what he discovered! The second and third digits were 13, which if you look at a 1964 Impala VIN decoder, you will find that it denotes this car as being an SS L6. As soon as Ken realized what he had, he felt pretty bad about offering the seller so little for it, especially considering there were at most 8k cars built in this combo.
Personally, I don’t think he should feel too bad as I doubt there is much demand for an inline 6 SS. Most people want these cars because they usually came with big V8s. Add in the overall rough condition and I would say it is worth only a few hundred dollars more than what he paid for it. Of course I could be wrong, but remember – rare doesn’t always mean valuable! Ken still isn’t sure what he is going to do with the car, as it would be a shame to strip out its interior when it is such an odd car, but as of right now he is still leaning more towards using it as a parts car for his other SS. Given all the rust, I would be tempted to just use it for parts too, but it is such an interesting car. If the chassis isn’t too rusted, I would be tempted to fix it back up, throw some upgrades on the 6, and make it a fun and interesting driver! What about you? I want to thank Ken for sharing his car with us!
I was under the impression that ANY “SS” ( not just Impala) came with the 327, or larger .. in 65, they allowed a 283 to be put in an SS . this had to have been made for someone who would toss the I6, and put in a big block .. this is a find, hopefully it can be saved
No big block in 64, except the 409 which could just be ordered in a 64.
Someone just wanted a sporty looking economy car.
Mike,
SS was just a package on some cars. I had a 63 SS Nova and a 65 SS Nova and both had straight 6’s in them from the factory.
SS was just a package you could even get a 4cylinder Nova in the beginning of the package it just meant it had bucket seats
And it appears to have an overdrive. How rare is that? My first new car was a ’62
belair bubble top,235 “6”,3 speed o/d , adobe beige with red interior. $2332 sales tax included. Sold it in ’65 before going overseas with usaf …. been kicking my butt ever since .
I’m looking for the elusive ’69 Corvette C3 4 banger. Perhaps this gives me hope to persevere.
I purchased a Texas 62 Impala SS with a 327 and 3-speed on the column. Car was black with a white roof and at one time had a 2-way radio. Large whip antenna on LH quarter. (filled in after removal) and all kinds of strange holes in the lower part of the dash.
Bolts now occupy the holes in the trunk where the transmitter was installed.
Right now, a friend of mine has a ’63 Impala l6cyl., 3 on the tree, and factory air. He said the factory air with a 6cyl. was rare. Not quite as interesting as this SS, but goes to show you, you could get any combo in the old days.
In high school I use to clean my mothers beauty shop owners ’64 ImpalaSS with a 283 2 barrel carb. with PowerGlide tranny. Boy was I cool driving it back and forth.
Oh the good old days.
Before I could drive, I rode to high school in a buddy’s ’64 Chevelle SS I6 w/ powerglide. Very nice car but it was only 8 years old at the time. We had a ball in that thing. It was kind of a slug for speed but it took us everywhere we wanted to go.
Air shocks and chrome reverse wheels with baby moon hubcaps. We were so cool. LOL
Good friend had a 67 SS convertible with I6 auto and air from 66-72 when he bought a 72 Impala Convertible. The story of what happened to the 67 is too sad to tell:(
yes Virginia – you could get a Chevy with either a 6 or 8/283 standard in the Impala’s and same for the SS….there were still allot of diehard 6 people in the early 60’s. There was on SS – 6cy car in my hood….chased after it for years….the next of kin got and tore it up….white with the red interior….
I am tagged FORDMAN ,(one of 4 nicknames that have stuck) and i knew that the SS actually went from option to its own model line(ie. GTO). Not sure of the year but it was similar to Full size fords in the 50’s, You could get sunliners,skyliners,crown victorias. Instead of being a performance option like it was on Camaro’s,Nova’s or Chevy II Nova’s, Odd things for odd time’s. I even know of one 63 Galaxie 500XL Convertible that had all the same hardware that come in Liteweight Galaxie’s, But it was a street car.
The “SS” was a (level of) trim package “Impalas underwent several styling changes in the 1962-64 model years, and the Super Sport package became a sporty trim option without any bearing on performance.” Read this info at: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/30/automobiles/30CARS.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0
SS is just a trim designation, not power plant.
Yes! I have one of theese elusive impalas. The vin threw me off when I got mine as well. I wanted to put in a 350. But after realizing the rarity. I decided. An original rebuild was best for it.
Keep the driveline combo and do your best to have this true SS back on the road! No problem hopping up any 6 cyl chevy mill,(have experience with 250 with increased CR, 4bbl carb and RV cam) and with a stick it’ll work very, very well. It has a massive COOL factor apart from the thousands of V8 ‘Palas out there. Owner of a much more common true 64 SS hardtop V8/auto ‘Pala.
My parents had two 64 Impalas when I was a small child back in the early 1970s. A white 4-door sedan with the 230 cubic inch 6. And a LiteBlue SS hardtop with a white roof. With the 327. Both had the Powerglide transmission. Interesting enough the white one with the 230 was the one that made several trips back and forth from Pennsylvania to Florida… Naples actually all the way down… LOL.. on all the major highways…throughout its entire road life. That’s a lot of car for such a small motor traveling 70 miles an hour 1500 miles at a clip. But somehow it did it year after year mile after mile. You would get run over in a car like that today as there would be no way I could keep up with today’s fast moving traffic quick accelerations and God forbid traffic merges! But back then traffic patterns were different. Fewer cars were on the roadway and major highways weren’t as congested and fast-moving as they are today. Simpler times.
Bought mine for $100 in 1980 drove it til 1987 then sold r $900 wish i kept it
In ’74 bought a 64 Impala SS for $50.00 in Illinois. Already rusty but had 283 and 4 speed. Wish I still had it, had a blast cruising in it and gas at .49 a gallon not to bad.