Chevy redesigned its cars in 1959 and the “bubbletop” sport coupe was born with thin roof pillars and more glass. That body style would continue into the next restyle in 1961, a new, 409 cubic inch V8 was introduced, and the iconic Super Sport made its debut. This red beauty has undergone a total rotisserie restoration in Culpepper, Virginia and is available here on craigslist. The seller does not disclose an asking price, but I doubt this car with come cheaply. Thanks, Jay L., for spotting this amazing Impala for us!
For the first time since 1958, the full-size Chevy would have no fins in 1961. And they were perhaps the best looking Chevies since 1957. Estimates are that the new Super Sport saw production of just 453 units for ’61, with perhaps only 142 having the new 360-hp, 409 V8. If this car is the real deal and came from the factory with what we see, including the 4-speed, this is one rare automobile, indeed.
We don’t know if the restoration on this Impala is fresh, but it certainly looks it. The photos provided show it in some stages of the process along with the finished product. The process of rebuilding this automobile looks painstakingly detailed. The seller says the mileage is 90,000 but also says it has rolled over, so perhaps this machine has seen 190,000 miles of roadways in the past 60 years. Besides power steering and brakes, needed with all that weight up front, the car is equipped with vintage air conditioning. We see the compressor under the hood, but not the vents inside.
It’s hard not to look at a car like this without going back to the Beach Boys Song, “409.” It was not the most popular tune the group did, but it stayed one week on the Billboard Hot 100, at number 76, in October 1962. It was the B-side single for “Surfin’ Safari.” There’s no telling what the seller may have in mind pricewise for his car. It looks as though a great deal of time and money were expended on the restoration. There are only a couple of these cars currently offered for sale online and $50,000 is the starting point which one much higher than that. NADA is more in line with the lower figure.
While I’m certainly no expert on appraisal of classic muscle this car which I see as the father of big muscle if it checks out in person should be closer to the 75-100K mark. Especially with its good looks and the racing heritage behind the 409 and the bubble top. They gave the honors to the Pontiac GTO as the car that started the muscle car era. I beg to differ.
Muscle car is a MID sized car that had a large displacement engine installed.Full sized cars were not considered muscle cars since the large engines could be had as original equipment, unlike the first GTOs, which was an option package on the LeMans in 64 and 65
You are correct I forgot about that detail and the restrictions GM placed on the divisions with large displacement engines in midsize cars.
The 413 cube engine was available in the 62 mid-size Plymouth’s and Dodge’s. In 64 the 426 wedge was available in the mid-size Mopar. A 389 GTO wouldn’t complete with a 413 or a 426 Mopar.
I totally agree Doug. There are certainly other cars previous to the GTO that were “muscular” in terms of performance, but the GTO was indeed the 1st. It was the beginning of a new era.vThis will turn unto a slew of disagreement or opinion, but you are correct. This will be debated forever, kind of like what oil is the best, or who makes the best truck, those that don’t agree simply won’t ever.
With all due respect, Doug, a muscle car is a car of ANY size with a big engine that was built and tuned for speed. Otherwise you’re saying that a 1962 Pontiac Catalina 421SD is not a muscle car, and I don’t think you’re going to find many car guys who will agree with you on that.
By definition it was the 1964 Pontiac GTO. The end
I agree with Doug on the definition- big block from the full size car stuffed into the manufactures’ smaller car. And I think its indisputable that the 64 GTO initiated the “muscle car era” but I don’t think its the first car to fit the definition. 57 Rambler Rebel, 56 Golden Hawk, 36 Buick Century and the grandaddy of all muscle cars- the 33 Essex Terraplane 8 which I believe held more performance records for more years than any other car
1957 Rambler Rebel. Mid size, hi-Po engine. My vote.
first real muscle was when olds in 1949 put the engine from their 98 model and shoved it into the 88 model and called it the rocket 88 later to become super 88 i can remember going to see them new on showroom floor it was a big deal back then
plus for 1949 olds you could get the NASCAR J2 option which was put in the trunk (J2 was not tri power in 49) I think it was a pair of heads and a intake maybe more
Rocket 88 (song title)
Ike Turner
Is also credited as the first rock-and- roll song…
totally agree Al. I had 2 ’50 Oldsmobiles ( A Convertible & than a 2 Dr. Hdtp.) with 4 speed Hydromatic trannys.. Nothing could keep up with me at that time!
I’m thinking the Bugatti Type 41 would be a “Muscle Car” …. if we were just going by engine size… of 776 cu in. Or how about a Tesla Model S which is faster (0-60) than any 60s muscle car but has a motor smaller than a bread box. I would take a Tesla Model S over any stock 1960s junk. “Muscle Cars” were NOT fast by today’s standards. Especially with stock suspension and tires. Radial tires are the best thing that ever happened to Muscle Cars. Okay… so the Bugatti Chiron is a fairly small car with a 8 liter 16 cylinder engine… is that a muscle car? I think all of you are hung up over a couple of words.
I too, beg to differ on that one. In 1961, I bought a ’60 Impala with a 348, Tri-power w/a 4 speed & that car would glue you to the back of your seat! Definitely a Muscle Car!!!!
As the owner of a 61 409 I could not agree more I as the owner of a 61 409 I agree that the GTO was not the first muscle car, people like Dyno Don was out there beating the Fords as it’s only competition
Mopars were not.up to speed.speed yet
I to am a owner of a special 61 409 409 4 speed duel puad Google gorgeous 61 Impala good read sure you will enjoy it since you brought up Dyno Don 🙏
Though I’m a fan of the ’59s as a great design GM really hit it out of the park with this run of Chevys. Clean lines inside and out and some great engines.
A friend had a ‘61 SS convertible 4-speed with the higher output 409. During the restoration the shifter boot proved to be one of the most difficult parts to source.
Dale Earnhardt apparently had one too. He claimed my friend had the passenger grab bar that belonged to his car. Kind of a remote assertion but apparently only 12 convertibles were produced and the grab bar color was at the center of the claim…
Did they come to an accord? Dale Sr. was known for his generosity, according to John Boy and Billy.
I’m not sure about accord. I don’t think Dale got the grab rail…
Gorgeous car.
Where I came from, “bubble tops” were ’61 only except for ’62 Bel Air.
Exactly right ARBY the bubble top name didn’t start until 1961 and the 62 Belair I don’t remember if there was a nickname for the 59/60 hardtops but it wasn’t bubble top
I HATE listings without an asking price. I guess if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
True that!
Back in 1983 I looked at a 61 just like this. The guy wanted $1250.00 of course I didn’t have the money. Asked my boss if he would loan it to me. He said no! Lol! The difference being that the one I looked at was all original, and mint shape. It was always my assertion that a restoration takes away all originality and so makes it less valuable. Things sure are crazy now a days. Btw…I’m still trying save up the $1250.00 just in case I run across another!!! Omg
Hang on to that dream, Mike.
Better than a listing with a high asking price and no picture :-D
“IF” This `61 is numbers-matching 360HP/409, it’s actually worth well over $100K. So many of the 142 “SS” models that were 409’s originally ended up missing their engines as time passed. Street-raced and rode hard. So this would be a VERY rare find indeed, and appears just as it must have on the showroom floor.
As great as this car is, I keep looking at that lift in the garage.
Nice lift indeed, as is the rotisserie. Hard to tell if they are both in the same garage.
She appears to have been run pretty hard, threw her belts right off.
I cannot think of too many situations where dual, rear mounted antennas look right. But this is clearly one of them.
The 1961 Impala SS is often a cloned regular Impala. Virtually all the SS package parts are reproduction available (not inexpensive). There are a couple of very subtle ways to identify a real ’61 SS (not the VIN or tag). This featured Barn Finds ’61SS may be real. However, the engine is not correct…should be all ‘Chevy Orange”. Also, dual-fours were not available on the ’61 mid-year 409…not until ’62…
And 61’s did Not have alternators! Wife has a ’61 Impala since New! Not a 409 & not a Super Sport & I’m GLAD of that! The car was bought for her by her parents for graduation & was bought to DRIVE, Not to show! We couldn’t afford the Gas if it were a 409. The 283 P.G. suits us fine!
Correct. The first year for alternators was 1963, but they are a common and worthwhile upgrade.
The factory made over 100 with the cowl tag stamped “Super” or SS or Super Sport, depending on the factory. The same was true in 1962 except a higher output. Some owners claim their car is og ss & that factory forgot to stamp tag, could be possible on a few but not as many as show up for sale.
I had a 61 bubbletop when I was 16 first car exactly this color and interior only it was a 283 powerglide best looking impalas ever.
If this car is real, why would anyone in their right mind spoil it and ad after market A/C
Also an aftermarket power brake booster and an alternator
Boy, if you overrevved this motor you would be picking up a lot of twisted oily parts. Considering this started as a heavy duty truck motor.
Boy, Chevrolet hit it out of the park with a big truck motor. Only one problem is if you revved it too high you spent a lot of time picking up lots of oily parts all over the road. Ask me how I know.
it came from the 348 which was a truck motor had a 1958 348 raced daily never a problem they where different than truck348
Beautiful car. Had a 61 and a 62 dual quad Convertible. Not oem a/c compressor, don’t think a/c was even an option. Alternator is non- factory. They all came with a 25 to 35 amp generator and a big ugly regulator. Funny story; my buddy and I had a 60 a 61 and a 62 at the same time. We were so broke at that time we used to share 1 generator between the 3 cars. Whoever had a hot date got it for the night. Things were much simpler then.
F
‘things were much simpler then’ – I take it now you guys can have as many generators you want but a hot date not so much…?
Priceless!!
Beautiful car too………..we had a 61 four door stripper….the one with the eyebrow over the rear window. Even at 7 I was not happy. “I WANT A BUBBLETOP!”
I thought all 61′ 409’s had a column mounted Sun tach?
yes they did, ad doesn’t say og ss car though…
The ’61 is the best looking Impala ever!. I had a ’61 Impala convertible in during college and honeymoon vehicle. Just a 283/glider but wish I had it back.
I too had a ’61 convertible, white w/red interior! 283 PG. Had to sell it in ’64 due to divorce!
I believe the steering wheel colors are reversed incorrectly. I still have my 1st ‘61 Impala bubble my Dad bought me in 1969 for $509.
You are correct on the colors being reversed on the steering wheel. Same colors as my wife’s 61.
This was also the first year that they used the thin white walls and black rims.
Robert, My wife’s ’61 Impala Did come with the wider white walls as this one has. We have a few pictures of her with her parents picking up the car the day it was given to her. They purchased it NEW at Mission Chevrolet in San Gabriel, Calif. We have had the sales contract preserved in clear plastic.
I LOVE Bubbly tops ,the very rare 62 is nicer IMHO.Not many prettier mills than a 409 W head either .
$75k if real deal #’s car,50 if not.Reality doesn’t come with the price tag that it used to.
Car looks real nice. Interesting that there is a adjustable proportioning valve for the brakes and a disc brake master cylinder. Aluminum radiator? If you’re going to restore it, go all the way. Just one car guys opinion.
Not a factory correct air cleaner, after market power brake booster (the SS package included power brakes but not duel master cylinder), alternator instead of standard generator and after marker AC. I agree that there are no AC vents in the interior photo. The interior photo shot looks suspiciously like photos from Chevrolet in 1961.
Nice looking car in a racy color. Impalas look really great in red, unlike other cars. Beyond the dual quad motor and radiator already mentioned, I have to wonder if the upholstery is correct as well. Looks like something other than factory-style cloth. Nice car either way and I’d be happy to own it.
Yes MoePoe, the interior IS a correct interior. Wife’s car is white & has the Exact same interior!
Get out your checkbook boys, this one ain’t gonna be cheap! Nor should it be. Gorgeous car!!
409 by The Beach Boys was a great song but not about the car. It was the only song back then written about an engine. All the other car songs were about, wait for it, cars. One of the Beach boys owned a Chevy with the optional 409 engine. The revving engine in the song is actually of his car.
google it freind had a 1961 348 that was used for sound
Al is correct. It was a 348 that belonged to the co-writer of the song, Gary Usher. There are a lot of rumors about what it really was, I have also heard it was a GTO, but GTO’s did not exist when the song was recorded. A lot of rumors and revisionist history in our world, other than dates of when states joined the Union, how much of the crap we were taught in history class was true? In grades 1-12, I never heard the name Nikola Tesla once, yet our whole modern world is built around his invention of an AC electrical grid.
Yes I believe the song was about a 62. Greg Wallace from GM Heritage center after showing many cars was asked his favorite. He went directly to a 62 Impala 409. “This is the car they wrote the song about .” Remember, nobody ever wrote a song about a Volvo.
no buckets, no console…what made this an SS?
Buckets were not available in 1961. The console was a chrome piece that fit around the shifter (about one square foot in size). I bought one for mine several years ago for $500 (new part). The SS was installed at the dealerships. Badges, tachometer, shifter console, black wheels, thin white walls. All very simple…
true the dealer installed ss equipment but the factory made over 100 with the cowl tag stamped “Super” or SS or Super Sport, depending on the factory. The same was true in 1962 except a higher output.
Just for the heck of it…………I have a 61 SS. A true survivor. The SS package included a column mounted tach, grab bar, special shifter mounding, extra bumper pieces (like for the hood pull), 4 speed and a 348 or 409 engine. Mine has the 250 HP 348. As a previous reader commented the available 409 only came with a single 4 barrel carb. I believe mine is real because it is a survivor with original paint and interior and all the other stuff.
This would be one fun car to drive with that 409 and 4 speed manual transmission. It would also be fun to take it to car shows or cruise inns which ever you want to call it.
All 1961 SS409’s had four bumper guards on the rear bumper. This would make me suspect this may not be the real deal.
Bumper guards were a chosen option as were the front guard.
That’s just what I thought too, Dennis! Didn’t they also have the Front Bumper Guards too???
This is a beautiful car, but that is not restored. Nobody seems to know what restored means nowadays
The bubbletop I want is a 1961 Pontiac Catalina. 421 and all. Ear to ear grin every day of the week.
Looks like an alternator on the engine. They weren’t introduced for GM vehicles until 1963. A minor point, perhaps, but not an original item.
Roy Blankenship…excellent comment about Nikola Tesla!
yes thats my dream car i would even be happy with it with a tri power 389 love 1961 ponts
Anyone remember the tv show “Quantum Leap” with Scott Bacula? He would travel to a different time in history and save someone or do something else good for humanity. In one of the shows he totally wiped out the front end of a 61 SS convertible by slamming it into a concrete bridge support. I was not a Chevy guy at the time but I was a car guy and I knew that 61 SS’s were rare, and it made me cringe to see it.
It’s going to come down to the suffix on the engine Pad and also the date code on the back of the engine. I have one of these but it’s not an SS. Also have At 61 Oldsmobile dynamic 88 bubble top.I’m pretty well-versed in what to look for. So many of these cars are pawned off as an SS as mentioned before. Looks like a nice car.
The only thing correct on this car is it is a bubble top. It is not a SS. SS package consist of 1 inch whitewalll, all 409 engines have a different code for each year 61 thru 65, all had the tach on the column with no shift point, grab bar, four speed SS identification, sinister brakesdripper valve covers, small console around the shiftersingle four barrel , special numbered rad . This car is nice but it is just another attempt a cloning . Good grief why do some of these guys even bother.
Really? Why bother? There are more responses to this car than any I have ever seen on BarnFinds. Maybe because a real car is made of unobtainium.
“Hey, did you see that ’61 SS?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think it is original”.
“Maybe, but it sure is cool.”
I love it, I want it, I don’t know what it costs, and I know I can’t afford it!
The ad says restored 61 bubble top. It never says original SS or original 409 car. I don’t think it is an original SS but what I do know is that I would love to own it and drive it. The fact that it has two carbs doesn’t mean that it’s definitely not the original engine. It was a different world back then and when the 62 models came out with two carbs you could go to the dealer and buy a kit to put two on your 61 model. Back then the manufacturers wanted their cars to be the fastest.
What was the first muscle car will be debated til all gear heads are dead. My vote the 1957 Rebel from the great American Motors. 60s Impalas bring huge money, far more than many old Corvettes. I have owned a 64 and a 65 Impala and they were both daily drivers, snow, wind and rain. Very few mechanical problems, always started, always had heat, everything worked and this was in the 80s, when they were already old. And that old BS believe that lead free gas would kill the 283s, is total poppy cock. I commuted more than 60 miles a day on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, at 70 mph plus, both cars had the indestructible Powerglide. Never a valve problem. I put more than 200,000 miles on both of them as my job required me to drive my cars once at work. I refuse to drive and PAY for new junk. My daily driver now is 24 years old and still going. How far GM has fallen with the garbage they build today. This car will sell for more than $80,000.
Bumper Guards and the hood pull were standard on the Super Sport. Bucket Seats were not available however.
Sorry guys, nice car but so much wrong with attempt at cloning. I had both a 61 and 62 409 Impalas. That air cleaner is a dead give away. The 61 Han an air cleaner that went back into the firewall and sucked air in the vent next to the wipers. That skinny shifter is right, both cars came with a sun tach held on the steering column with a hose clamp. When I questioned the dealer, he laughed.
GM had troubles with the Government trying to claim a monopoly with 53 percent of overall cars sales in the late fifties and early sixties. GM was not promoting much racing at this time, You should look up Zora Duntov as he turned the grand sport Corvette into a cobra killer and the GT Ferrari was no match either. This was totally against GM and was ordered to shut the program down several times. GM had a 550 horse power all aluminum 6.2 motor in the early sixties!
In the mid 70’s my teenage friends and I had an opportunity to buy a 61 Impala for $75. It was red. Who knows what was under the hood — could have been a 409. Our plan was to drive it on the trails in the woods until it died. Naturally, Dad put the kibosh on that brilliant plan!