It’s always refreshing when you run across a vintage car that has an interesting story to go with it. But this car may have the best one yet! According to the seller, this 1960 Impala Sport Coupe was once owned by the Castellano crime family. As in the Gambino’s and the Mafia. They eventually gave it to their maid, and she kept it in a shed for years. Now it’s out in the open again and looking for a restoration. It does run, so perhaps the majority of the work will be cosmetic. Located in Pico Rivera, California, this once sinister car is available here on eBay where the bidding is up to $20,400, but the reserve is still out there.
The 1959-60 Chevies were a styling departure from the rather bulbous, one-year wonder that was the 1958 Chevrolet. Tailfins were back with “cat-eye” taillights on the ‘59s. The theme of the ‘59s evolved into 1960 and that resulted in a sweeter-looking car (to yours truly). More than 200,000 sport coupes were built for ‘60, split between the Bel Air and its more upscale companion, the Impala. The Impala was more easily recognizable because it had triple taillights on each side compared to the Bel Air’s two.
The story of this ’60 Impala gets better. We’re told that if you feel around under the driver’s front seat, you’ll find a gun holster sewn into it, sans the weapon, of course. And the seller ran across several shotgun shells inside the car along with a set of 1984 airline tickets from Florida to New York. Other documentation includes a Florida title in the name of Alfonso Castellano. If you pop open the hood, a running 283 cubic inch V8 will appear, along with Chevy’s 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. The car has been taken out on a few weekend drives.
The Impala has rust in quite a few places and there is evidence of some earlier rust repair work, at least in the rear quarter panels. The floorboards were treated to a small patch at some point and an area in the trunk needs attention. As the photos will attest, the paint is peeling, and surface rust abounds. Some of the exterior brightwork is missing but fortunately, those pieces are not hard to source.
Inside the passenger cabin, you’ll find all the original fabrics and other materials. The back seat looks good, the headliner has a hole in it, the dash may be okay, but the stuffing is coming out of the front seat, especially on the driver’s seatback. Power steering is there to help you navigate the ’61-year-old-car, but the brakes are not assisted. The mileage figure is no doubt a placeholder at 100,000.
Should you believe the whole Castellano family angle is humbug, here’s the title in the Castellano name. Alfonso, who died in 1973, doesn’t seem to figure in the lore about the family as we can find. Once restored, this could be a mid-five figure car, but it remains to be seen whether the reported history of the car will be an asset or not.
I just looked at a used car for my daughter in that same block of Cass St. here in Tampa. Interesting story.
I’m not sure I would want to own a former mob car. How do you know they will not come to claim their property one day or one day you just happened to loose control and wind up in the bottom of some lake or a canyon?
They will either give you a pair of cement shoes or leave a horse’s head in your bed.
Has anyone checked the trunk?
Judge Crater and Jimmy Hoffa might be stashed in it.
There is no such thing as the “Mafia” . Ask any Italian-American.
Yes there is. We had a neighborhood grandma. She was Italian, a great cook and a member of the “Fia” family. We all called her “Ma-Fia.”
Mafia= Mothers And Fathers Italian Association—-Sicilia
Worth half of what the current bids are, all due to the family that owned it. Take that out of the equation, and it might be an affordable buy. As it stands, it will be so over priced the buyer won’t be able to restore it.
so the maid ended up with the car ehh. Is she “the cleaner” like in pulp fiction. Has the trunk been processed for past sleeping 💤 guests prior to sleeping with the 🐠 🐟 with cement shoes?
Not to be a wise guy-but…I suggest folks are making to much off offers that the flippers can’t refuse.
another car priced twice what its worth
Another Impala low rider
Interesting story. Wonder how it made it from Tampa to the barrio of east LA. Someone might have thought of doing a low rider with it. A 60 Chevy would be a prime candidate. The price has obviously gotten silly but I suppose the “provenance” appeals to some. Just for laughs I google mapped the street photo of the address on the title. Looks every much the part of a mob clubhouse. LOL
Well unless there is a map in the trunk telling us where Jimmy Hoffa is, then they are asking too much for this one…
Appears to have more bondo than sheet metal for a car that was parked in a shed.
Since the castellano family lived on Staten Island NY I’m not sure how true this story is
Kind of smart that someone from SoCal bought it-when they get stopped for not having a passenger while driving in the HOV lane, they can say “Ha! Before you write that ticket you might want to check the trunk..”
Not in good enough condition for the flashback in time in “the Sopranos”.
& too far from the Bing anyway. Always laff at the scenes of Paulie & the cat(lookin at the pic of dead Christopher) & later the cat lookin at Paulie on the sidewalk in Newark i think. The jokes & ending of that show are priceless.
Ridiculous story. Common Italian name. The gun stuff is ridiculous too. Anyone can have a gun holster put under the seat.
I agree – Does anyone think there was only one guy in New York named Alfonso Castellano ? He could have been a shoe salesman for all we know
One would think that a crime boss would’ve bought a less ‘bare bones’ car. This one’s only options are PG, PS, radio and tinted glass. Manual brakes, the “cheap” recirculating heater, single speed wipers, etc.
Fugittabout dis car.
You didn’t see nuthin.
Shotgun shells? Airline tickets?
If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance….
Chevy had orange painted engines in 1960. Is this a transplant?
Just checked it out on Ebay up to 25,000, if it sells and the buyer has it restored. The buyer will have so much money in it they better drive it until the wheel fall off! Just my opinion!
At $28,300 and reserve not met. I finally got around to looking at it on EBay and I don’t think I would want it. It’s rusty from front to back and the interior is a mess. The heater is not hooked up and the engine must have been replaced as it’s the wrong color. Just too much negative about it to pay that price. You could find another 60 Impala in better condition for that price.