This 1973 Chevrolet Impala Coupe has been off the road since the 1980s and taking a look at it in this listing photo, I almost don’t want to move it from this cozy barn full of books. The seller indicates that it has been in single-family ownership until just recently and remains highly original, from the engine to the paint. The two-door Impalas are very handsome cars regardless of the generation, and this one supposedly even has special-order red carpeting which was apparently a new option in 1973. The Impala is listed here on eBay as a non-runner with a Buy-It-Now of $10,755.
The seller has also listed the option to make a best offer. I find the single-family-owned cars so interesting, and in many ways, encouraging. To me, it shows that some caretakers still place a value on the memories and emotional connection a car can provide. It seems we too often see cars go up for sale the second the long-term steward passes away, and while I understand there are sometimes financial concerns at play, not every family-owned vehicle is sold off due to challenging circumstances; sometimes, there’s literally no one who cares enough to keep the grandfather’s or aunt’s old car around. This Impala lives in Iowa and is said to have minimal rust.
I love red carpeting. There’s no logical explanation other than you simply don’t see it that often. Look at this interior: it is in beautiful condition for a car that was driven, which suggests to me that there was some pride of ownership at play. The insides of a car are always far more telling than the outside, as anyone can keep a car washed and looking reasonably clean. To preserve an interior all while using the car like any other daily driver is far harder. This Impala’s red carpeting is in very nice shape, and I wonder what the conversation at the dealership was like when the first owner told the salesman to order his car with the special floor covering.
Under the hood is a numbers-matching 350 V8 with a 4BBL carburetor that the seller claims still turns over. Of course, it needs the fuel system gone through and cleaned out before any serious attempt is made at starting it, and the seller also recommends sorting out the brakes. This Impala was loaded up with power steering, disc brakes, air conditioning, and a tilt steering wheel, among other features. With a solid frame and just some superficial rust to deal with, this Impala two-door deserves a chance to live again, even if it has to leave that awesome barn.
Nice Impala definitely worth recommissioning, I like it…
👍🤓
Start grinding and media blasting on this one and you’ll have plenty of holes.Nice looking rust bucket but not worth 10 imo.I had quite a few of these in my teen years and these cars were nice driving cars but were prone to rust really bad.3k tops.
Was this found in a library?
I cannot fathom that these cars command this type of money. 73 was the last year for this roof style. I always preferred the 71 and 72s. My mother bought a green 71 new which I still have. The one here looks as if it saw a lot of action before its slumber. The dash pad is not cracked and other things look decent but like said these are rust prone. My daily driver right now is a 72 convertible that is condition wise the same as this unit but mechanically sound, a 500.00 car ions ago. 99% of these cars are being turned into Donks or Hip Hop rides and then many are hitting the shred giant wheel included. I used a 71 with this roof line to tow a car trailer for 15 years, a loaded version with full power and a 454. 10k times have changed but hey at one time 59 Impalas were a 100.00 bucks.
You’d have to love it to fix it, and I don’t.
A good few of these came with 400 small blocks, this may be one. The bumpers are hideous but, I suppose if you wear platform shoes and flyaway collar shirts they’ll look a bit better. Attitude makes all the difference.
all the 73’s I’ve seen will say 350 / 400 if it’s a 2bbl car.Then you just look for the cutouts on the balancer to determine what it is a 350 or 400.If it’s a 4bbl sbc it will only be a 350 as this emmisions tag says, as I believe the 4bbl 400sbc was from 75 -80 only.
Could be made into one of the fastest cars in the dirty south..
$10.5k and it doesn’t run? Needs everything and may be a rust bucket. Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s valuable.
It’s a donk wannabe!
Crazy money for a rustbucket.
‘In Philadelphia, it’s worth fifty bucks.’
I’d bet the carpeting in this car was originally black ; from what I can see of the interior, the red carpet has a different look to it than stock ; it looks like the aftermarket replacements you could order from auto parts stores in the 1980s .Even with the gas crunch going on, the full size 73 Chevies were very popular , and didnt rust out anymore than its 71 -76 sisters. The 69 and 70 models were really prone to rust. The 73 -76 full size GM cars are harder to find than earlier years, they were really tough cars and were and are still the car to have for demo derbies.
GET IT STARTED. Get it running at least and it might just be justifiable for 10k IF rust is minimal. Could be the case since its been stored. I’m curious, did Chevy offer a 4- barrel 350, I thought they were 2- barrel. Anyway, these are beautiful cars and although I was only 9yrs old when this car was built, I do remember them everywhere, including the gas lines when you could only get 10 gallons at a time. 1-2 hours waiting time for gas in 1973, many people literally “ran out of gas” while waiting to get gas. This car totally deserves to be at least mildly restored. Just “get it running”, and let the next owner take it from there. Good luck. Love the article too.
If it was parked in the 80’s, why does it have a current plate on it? It should have the white on green embossed plate. Nice car but not 10k nice,GLWTS!
My cool elderly neighbor has a really rotted 65 impala 4 door 283 hardtop that has sunk into the ashphalt for 25 years or so (I like it ,it is driveway art to me!)but plates it every year for fear of Johnny law.In the city I live in by city ordinance the po po can come on your property if they see or know of a expired tag and fine you or worse.Maybe that’s why?
Yes! We have a guy in town who had a beat Buick Reatta that he dragged about 350ft. from his neighbors front yard. And parked it in front of his garage with the rear towards the road. It never moved, was going back to nature, but it had a current tag on it for years. He finally got smart and turned it around!
This is a thoroughly ordinary malaise-era car with scratches, dents, rust in the fenders, rust bubbles under the vinyl roof, a worn, faded interior, and an engine that isn’t running. Seems to me that $10,555 should buy three or four of these.
Eleven grand??? In 1984 I bought a 73 Caprice coupe white with red interior (velour). It had the coldest A/C and drove like a dream. I paid $500 for it.
And that was nearly 40 years ago. …..
In 1975 I had a 1973 Estate wagon. Even though I’m a Diva for Cadillacs, I loved that car! Very roomy, smooth driving, great horse power and I loved that power clamshell tailgate. Used to pick up sailors at the Orlando naval base. My record was 13 sailors at the same time. Rear bumper was almost touching the ground.
I just remember good times in mine. That’s one car I shoulda kept.
My friends mom when I was 15 that lived in the cul de sac 2 houses down to where I lived had a 73 clamshell Impala that had some mechanical problem .Sat there on the side street in the cul de sac for monthes.Rootbeer brown color. Had 400 call outs on the bottom of the fenders in front of the tires. Wanted to buy it so bad but as me being 15 with only a drivers permit she wouldn’t sell it to me and ended up junking it. Never knew if it was a sbc or bb.
This car brings back memories of when I was 16 and stupid.My buddy had a 73 impala custom coupe he had for a while that he used for an every day driver.It took a hard hit on the rr quarter but I helped him get it road worthy again with a pry bar and hammer and a used tire. He soon later bought a used red 80 -81 z28 to be cool with the ladies as a smashed rusty 73 Impala didn’t fit his image and sold me the 73 for 50.00 back in 1982.My house I grew up in backed up to a
very large old brick built turn of the century public school which had a huge amount of property around it probably 5 acres .We both got a little intoxicated one winter night on a friday about 10:30pm during a snow storm and took the old Impala out and did donuts on the school grounds for about 15 minutes till it got stuck in the mud.We tried to get her out to no avail.Left it and hopped a few fences to get home to my house.Next morning I get up early around 6am and the damn thing is still there , I could see it from my yard.Got some thin planks and called my buddy up and another guy around 8:00am and we got it out.Sold it for 300 to someone who put the engine and trans in a 70 mc.
My grandmother had a 71 Coupe that I was going to acquire and fix back up. Unfortunately a tornado came through and dropped a huge oak on top of it..
This Impala has the optional ‘Sport Cloth’ interior with red carpeting.