When I was a youngster doing backyard bodywork on whatever jalopy I happened to own at the time, there wasn’t much in life more rewarding than getting a panel looking good enough to coat it with primer, usually sourced in rattle cans from my neighborhood K-Mart. The seller of this 1965 Chevrolet Impala SS here on eBay has already done this and reports the convertible isn’t far from being ready to paint. He also believes it will be an easy project, so if you’re ready to take over, it’s in Boise, Idaho, with the current bid of $10,100 still falling short of the reserve.
While I’ve sprayed many a gallon of primer myself over the years, I’ve never acquired a vehicle where someone else beat me to that step, so I have no previous experience of how to assess exactly what may lie beneath all that gray covering. However, there are a few clues here elsewhere that suggest this may be a pretty solid Chevy overall, such as this underside shot, which seems to show a relatively strong platform. There’s also a small section of a lower rocker visible in the top-left corner, with no apparent corrosion hiding in this area.
The owner reports that his original plan was to restore this one himself, but after the work began, time constraints led to a change of plans. It’s said there are no rust holes or cancer present, and while that’s entirely plausible, we don’t get to see any photos of how this Impala looked from the outside before the primer was applied. It remains a mystery of how much sheet metal prep was done on the surface, so it’ll be up to the buyer to determine whether he or she is confident it’s as close to ready for paint as the seller seems to think.
Some really good news is that every removed part from this entire car is said to be present, and if the condition of the seats and instrument panel is any indication of what sort of shape the rest of the Chevy was in before being primed, there’s a good possibility this one was already a decent driver before any work was begun. The ragtop rails still look healthy, so hopefully, all that will be needed there is installing new canvas material on top. The floors have been sprayed black, but thankfully, the metal down here appears sturdy.
Power is provided by a 327 V8, and it’s connected to a Powerglide automatic transmission. It’s running, but the seller indicates that the 4-barrel needs cleaning or perhaps a rebuild before this one can be deemed a daily driver, since the car had previously been sitting inoperative for some time. What’s your evaluation of this 1965 Chevrolet Impala SS convertible?
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