In the 1960s, a lot of people were seeing the USA in their Chevrolet. In just three short years, the Impala had become one of the best-selling nameplates in the U.S. For 1961, the cars were restyled, losing the “batwings” that had signified the autos for the previous two years. This survivor-quality car is tidy overall, having been owned by members of the same family since new. The important stuff is original, like the paint, interior, and drivetrain. Located in Nampa, Idaho, this Chevy is available through a dealer here on eBay where the reserve hasn’t been broken at $31,366. Thanks for the heads up, T.J!
In 1961, the Sport Coupe (aka “Bubbletop”) was one of the most popular Chevrolets with 178,000 examples leaving the factory. Chevy didn’t break them out by series, so that number was split between the Impala and Bel Air, with the former likely taking the bigger share. The next year the Impala would gain a more formal roof while the Bel Air kept the same roofline used in ’61.
You don’t run across a 61-year-old-car every day as nice as this one. Although it has a small bit of rust starting to brew in one fender and a slight crease in the sheet metal, the rest of the two-tone Impala looks great. The paint has never been redone and neither has the interior, although the upholstery could stand some detailing although we have concerns about the front seat bottoms. We’re told this Chevy has just 57,000 miles and that’s quite believable.
Pop the hood and there sits a numbers-matching 283 cubic inch V8 with Chevy’s venerable 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. The seller doesn’t mention how well the car runs and drives, but we suspect the engine may have been worked on. Bling is the order of the day, but original pieces like the air cleaner and valve covers have survived for the buyer to take home with them. The bids have already eclipsed the top resale value estimate that Hagerty has pegged for these cars
Yeah, yeah grandpa this and grandpa that, but the cars my family had, all 14,000 of them, ( est.) were very influential to a young gearhead, where even the most mundane cars( that are 5 figures now) were interesting. After my grandfather wrecked his ’48 Packard, in 1961, he bought a ’61 Chevy Impala, 4 door, this color, non-bubbletop, of course, but close enough for memories sake. I don’t remember much, except coming from a Packard, I don’t think he ever really liked Chevy’s, since he couldn’t buy another Packard in 1961, we feel he always “settled” for a Chevy. “Bubbletop” is another of those catch words today, like “hemi” or “Cobra Jet”, but back then, I remember, they were nothing special, and junked right next to “regular” top cars, THAT’S why they command such a price today. Nice find, and in my best Bob Hope voice,,,”thanks,for the memories”,,
Good point- these cars are nice, but nothing special back in the day, this was my 1st car back in 74, paid $180 for it with a 348 and only 50k miles, it was rusty but trusty, now the bubbletop is a selling point, wasn’t noticed much back in 1974, times have changed
So much of what we ogle over here, never even got a second glance back in the day.
My brother had one on the early 70s black and gold 327 4 bl.3 on the tree quick car loved it buy he was a junk man so there its went
The reserve on this car is probably 50 or more. The only bad thing about that is I don’t have that much money. Most of these become “Resto-Mods” , which I don’t think is a bad thing. However, if I could afford this car ,I would not change the drive train and chase after all the high end builds. I would just bring it up to a high end cosmetic restoration and enjoy the drive, in a way cool car.
61 bubble top is my favorite Chevy followed close by the 62 and 67. Give me a 348 and 4 gears to row through please then I could die a happy man
The car Pa shoulda bought in ’61 instead of that the plain jane black 4 door stripper Biscayne. The only time I went with him to buy a car and even as a young ‘un I was disgusted. Now its too late to fix his mistake and I’m too cheap.
Sweet car.
This is expensive- People forget what these cars drove like- they were poor in stock condition, I would suggest driving it first before dropping 50K for it
My Sis had a ’61 bubbletop back in circa ’64. Gold ( fawn metallic) with white it was a stunning car even back then. It handled fine and the 283 ‘glide was all that it needed. By ’62 they “looked” like they had gotten bigger and for sure by ’64. :-) Terry J
Mine was Fawn Beige with tan top and white spear, Nice looking car except for the rust, had to redo the body and paint, Went with Root beer brown, left the top alone and painted the side spear to match- It was stunning when done, too bad I was always chasing mechanical issues, drivability was always an issue
You guys have to remember thinking the bubble top was a good looking feature, yes? My local neighbor Arthur Hankel had a beige bubble top 348 with a three speed on the floor that would run with anyone. Yes, they weren’t high on anyone’s list when Chevelle’s and Mustang and Camaro were showing up, but they were no thing to be ashamed of, either.
These days a bubbletop is special, back in the 70s they were everyday drivers, no one thought they were collectable or rare, 50 years later its very different- I remember seeing many of these in the junkyards back in the 70s
They must have been much better with a manual trans, A 348 with a turboglide was a very poor combination, power was bad, I was 17 yrs old when I had this car, it was so bad that if you tried to spin the tires, something would break, it had a split driveshaft with an X frame, the 348 routinely threw pushrods for no apparent reason, it was the perfect first car for a teen, it was only good when you drove it tenderly, Not beating on it at all, the car wouldn’t take it, also handled terribly, very wallowy, only good in a straight line.
A lot has been said about these cars not being anything special in the ’70s. Well, of course they weren’t. Neither were SS convertibles, Corvettes, ‘Cudas, GTOs, Mustangs, etc. Why? Because because in the ’70s they were just used cars.
Now this car and others of the same ilk are highly collectible, especially in this kind of well-preserved, unrestored condition.
I would be proud to drive this car around my town, and being not a restored-to-perfection showpiece, I wouldn’t be worried about the occasional paint chip.
The tires are all I would change, to whitewalls.