The occasional classic car will appear on our desks here at Barn Finds, and mere words don’t seem to do them justice. That is the case with this 1959 Chevrolet Impala. As you look through the seller’s photos, it is hard to find anything to criticize. Everything presents beautifully, and it features a drivetrain that backs the good looks with impressive performance. The time has come for the Impala, located in Bee Spring, Kentucky, to head to a new home. The owner has listed it for sale here on eBay, and while bidding has reached $40,100, the reserve hasn’t been met.
It is hard to know where to start with the Crown Sapphire Impala. I believe that the car has received a recent restoration or refurbishment because it presents beautifully. This beauty is more than skin-deep because the photos of the vehicle’s underside show floors and a frame that are spotlessly clean. These match the panels in being free from any evidence of rust. The panels are arrow straight, with no evidence of dings or dents. The paint shines warmly, and this is complemented by trim and chrome that seems to be faultless. The tinted glass shows no evidence of problems, while the spinner hubcaps and whitewall tires provide a fitting finishing touch to the exterior.
It isn’t clear whether the Impala is a numbers-matching classic, but what resides under the hood is still pretty desirable. This engine is a 348ci Tri-Power V8, which should be producing 315hp. Bolted to the back of this is an M20 4-speed manual transmission. This car provides an involving driving experience because there is no power steering or power brakes to isolate the driver from the real world. The Impala is no lightweight, tipping the scales at 3,750lbs. However, there is still enough punch from that V8 to send the Impala down the ¼ mile in 16.1 seconds. That isn’t fast by today’s standards, but those were impressive numbers for such a big car in 1959. The owner doesn’t specifically say how well the Chevy runs or drives, but I have included a short YouTube clip at the bottom of this article. The V8 sounds spot-on, while the car seems to drive exceptionally well.
Opening the doors of the Chevy reveals an interior that isn’t just spotlessly perfect but is trimmed in a color combination that is designed to grab your attention. Chevrolet’s tri-color interior trim was always considered to be something pretty impressive, and we find the Turquoise combination in this classic. I have often lamented that our current crop of new cars doesn’t seem to feature adventurous interior trim, with a few rare exceptions. By-and-large, buyers are left with a choice of varying shades of grey. That makes this interior outstanding, and this alone would be enough to grab the public’s attention wherever this car goes. The Hurst shifter isn’t original, but I can’t spot any other aftermarket additions. An AM radio is fitted into the dash if the buyer doesn’t like the sweet tune coming from under the hood. There are no other luxury features, but you’d soon forget that fact from behind the wheel.
One of the joys of doing what I do for Barn Finds is that it provides me with the privilege of writing about some incredible cars. The downside is that there are many that I would love to park in my garage. However, to do this, I would either need a) a very accommodating Bank Manager or b) a very accommodating wife. I don’t have access to the first option, and I’m not keen on pressing my luck with the second. That means that I will never be able to own this 1959 Impala. Maybe you’ll have more luck than I have. If you do, then I will envy you for that.
The exhaust Doppler in the clip brings music to my ears. Even the wifey agrees.
Simply beautiful.
I knew a guy that had one of these in an aqua color. He was such a fanatic that one time he drove it to a car show in Santa Barbara from the LA area. He got a scratch on the car when something flew up and hit the car on the freeway. He tore the car down again, he had just finished the restoration, and painted the whole car for a small scratch on the lower rocker panel.
I guess he had a lot of extra time.
And money!!
$40,100 and not reaching the reserve yet. When will collector car prices level off? Obviously, not yet. (As long as buyers pay the prices.)
You apparrently don’t grasp the concept of the devalued dollar? If the prices ever stop going up the car hobby will end on the following weekend! Pray that never happens!
So you say.
And conversely speaking, as the prices go up, less and less enthusiasts will be able to enter the sport/hobby: thus the hobby suffers.
try buying a trunk lid for that car you might get one for 2 grand that needs some work and you would be lucky Why would anyone spend 80 grand on a restoration and sell it for 40 grand because you cant afford the price ?You have to consider that they no longer make these autos and it is a one year run Of course if you want it no one is going to give it to you Do you ask your mom to buy a 2 dollar candy bar and try to give her 50 cents to cover the cost ?
Answer to question: seller moving on and already had $40k worth of fun building ,owning, and sharing?
This car will go for the cost of a brand new F-150 Ford truck. Keep the truck, I’ll get the car.
My age is slowly catching up with me as I would have to admit that after owning many Bowties, driving this car would provide me greater satisfaction than driving a 70 LS6 Chevelle…
In my opinion( hey, I’m not totally off base, well, sometimes) I’d have to say, the ’59 Chevy was the most beautiful Chevy EVER! I know that’s a hefty claim, but look at it. They were very popular, and we took their styling for granted, but after not seeing them, in any quantity, for 40 years, it really was a stunning design. They rusted to bits usually. You want this glitz, gonna cost ya’ ( yeah, had to get a price jab in there, hey, it’s me)
Howard, even though I can’t narrow down my choice of the most beautiful Chevy ever, I do not think you are off base at all.
As a youth when these cars came out I mostly saw the ones with less trim and more doors. Never really liked those. I thought they were ugly. The Impala 2 dr hardtops and convertibles are a thing of absolute beauty. To me it is such a stark contrast. I really don’t know how to explain it. I kind of feel the same way about the ’58s.
How about those ’59 flattop 4 doors? Wow! Spectacular!
Have to agree with you Howard. The best looking Chev ever. We never had 2 door models in South Africa but my 4 door was just as beautiful in my eyes, the only thing I wished for to make it really top drawer was a V8 lump instead of the six.
59 Chevy was the most bad ass, ugly car ever made.
I love them.
If you told a ’59 chevy it was ugly, it would punch you in the face!
Those batwing fins were quite a statement for Chevy. Too bad there were some nay-sayers that didn’t like them at all. I still remember when these hit the showroom floor. I was a First Grader in school and still remember those fins and taillights. I thought Dad should get one but he opted for the ’59 Olds 98 instead. Well, my uncle bought a ’59 El Camino that was the same color as this one and I was very impressed.
Never saw 348s in cars when I was a kid but there were a lot of big trucks that ran them. We had a neighbor who bought a ’62 Chevy full-tandem with one. When I was working for GM I was somewhat surprised at the number of grain trucks powered by 348/409 engines that came into our shop. The combustion wedge was down in the cylinder making them more than a little tricky to get the pistons in. Did a pretty good job of hauling grain to the elevators though. There was one guy in our town with a bare ’63 Biscayne with a 409. Quite impressive…
When my wife was a child, she called these ‘eyebrow cars’.
I think that it’s interesting that a brute like this was ordered in Impala trim. I would have expected a Biscayne.
Actually many BBs went into the typically non-performance body style; the wagon. We don’t get to know whether this was a 348 from day one or even a 4spd – regardless the M21 is not correct for a ’59, if it was ordered with 4spd it would’ve had the T10. I believe the Muncie wasn’t available in Chevs until ’63.
IMHO correctness doesn’t really matter here, this is an unbeatable combination! 👍
the m20 designation is just an rpo code[regular production option.] wide ratio 4 speed. it was used in trucks till 1990 if that impala was built with a t-10 it probably was the same rpo code. when the cars went bact to the super t-i0 in the early 70s they used the m20 code for wide ratio. the close ratio was called m-21.
My brother bought a 283 powerglide version of this car in the mid-70’s. An elderly couple owned the car, and the car had damage on the panel under the rear bumper. In the trunk was a new panel, and a quart of GM turquois lacquer.
Beautiful car, love to own it.
When, I see a car like this ,it reminds me how crazy I am, about cars. I start thinking about how perfect life could be, if I owned this car. I realize that really isn’t true, but what if it was?
It is true your life would be better and if you gave the car love your bank account would double in 10 years Try doing that with 3% interest or the stock market
“V8 with the flags” we use to call them. This is one of the better I has ever seen,then or now. Impala with no PS and no PB. Wow.
rumors at one time that at high speed the back end would float a little.
My dad had a ’59 Impala… I’d love to have the means to buy this and take him for a ride on his 90th birthday…
I know Steve, the owner of this beautiful Impala. He is first class, stand-up car collector. I bought a 1969 Boss 429 from him. I experienced a few issues and he immediately offered to have them resolved at his expense. That doesn’t happen very often in the car collecting world.
Looks like same seller has 2 1959 convertibles and a 1960 convertible on EBay right now as well. Beautiful cars! Better to look at than to pay for though. One was a BIN of $160k and another was $175k.
I was working in a filling station in 1959 and we did new car clean/prep for a local Chev dealer. We would pick up the cars and return them. How much fun could a 16 yr old have transporting a new, red, 348/4spd from and back to that dealer?
My mom bought a new ’59 Impala convertible-283 and a PowerGlide transmission. Black top and cream body. We always called the tail lights “apple seeds.”
A car exactly like this, same color too, sits under one of those temporary oval shaped heavy duty vinyl temporary garages in a yard near where I worked.
I love seeing those tail fins when the garage flaps are open. I would love to see it all the way out and the owner standing near it. Maybe he would let me take a closer look.
My older brother had a red ’59’ hardtop with a 348 and three speed in it as ordered. He put 3 rochester two’s on it, and one night took me for a ride after on he had put a 4.56 rear end in it. That thing wound up in a hurry – really put you back in the seat – then time to let off, he soon put the 4.11 gears back in, but those were still too deep for normal use, but he was always stoplight racing back then !
matt
A neighbor had a red/white ‘vert in the
early 60s. That, and a fenderless Ford
hotrod with a flathead V8. I was a kid…
Thought he was the coolest dude!
Thus began my love of cars!
My favorite Impala’s are the 61’s but there’s no denying that the 59’s are true beauty’s.
KB. I fully agree about the ’61 being the best looking of the bunch. In college I had a light blue ’61 convert, 283/glider. Was my honeymoon car also. Sweet ride.
Here is mine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-vJxKwc8ig
About a hundred years ago we had a customer who had an Impala exactly like this only white. It was something he drove frequently. His other Chevy was a neat one, very nice 50 Fastback sedan. He drove this lots also.
My first car was a 59 Belair 2 dr. sedan. It was a 348 ci with 3 on the tree. Same basic color as this one, but with white on the trunk and roof. I had the speedometer buried several times on the interstate and will say I never felt any floating.
I remember as a kid a guy in our complex had one of these in white.I thought it was the neatest car.Well,fast forward and also being born January 59 I had to have one.I have an Aspen Green Sport Coupe I got 35 years ago along with a Sport Sedan,An El Camino,Two Sedan Deliverys,and also a rare Biscayne Utility Sedan,348 with Fact A/C.All 348 powered except the Sport Sedan.When the stylists had a big say in the final product.GM built them pretty much anyway you wanted them.The Golden Age of car buying!!!
The only way this could be better is if it had been born an El Camino.
Had a black convertible with red interior. Bad thing about the ’59 was that the back end got squirrely when you were full throttle for over a mile.
Not even sure it’s the correct engine and it’s $40K?? Outrageous.