And now, another installment of “What in the Sam Hill Happened?” Today’s subject is a 1961 Chevrolet Impala convertible, or perhaps I should suggest that it used to be a ’61 Impala convertible. Whatever its story, I sincerely hope no one was harmed in this car’s transformation from what it was to what it is now. Let’s take a closer look and see if we can unravel this mess. Located in Los Angeles, California, this once nicely modded Impala is available here on craigslist for $38,000.
Chevrolet had the tiger by the tail in ’61. It put up a first-place showing in the great domestic production race, with over 1.4M vehicles rolling off several different assembly lines. Of that total, 491K were Impalas and 64K were convertibles, such as our smushed subject. The ’61 Impala was cosmetically a sharp departure from its winged ’60 predecessor, which in turn was a toned-down version of the overt ’59 batmobile-inspired design. Its clean, balanced bearing would be an Impala hallmark for years to come. Besides the convertible, ’61 Impala two-doors were available in hardtop and sedan (the only year) bodystyles as well as four-door sedan, hardtop, and station wagon configurations.
The listing for this unfortunate drop top states, “1961 CHEVROLET IMPALA convertible silver with white top. rollover call for more information,” and that’s all she wrote. The results of the roll-over have been devastating. It appears that only the trunk lid, rear bumper, and driver’s side quarter escaped the mayhem. It’s sad, besides the potential human toll, as someone put a lot of time, effort, and $$$ into restomodding this car. It’s hardly an over-the-top upgrade, but it certainly looks like a well-thought-out and tastefully executed conversion. This Impala seems to have maintained most of its stock looks, except for the substitution of very low-profile tires and oversized hoops. I would have liked to have seen this Chevy before it met its demise.
The red vinyl upholstered interior appears to be stock with its bench seat, column shift, and original steering tiller. But if you take a look at the instrument panel, you’ll notice a very nice aftermarket gauge upgrade that has been beautifully integrated into the original instrument panel. Lap belts are present, but I question how effective they were in protecting the driver or potential passengers from this most unfortunate mishap.
Power looks like it was supplied by a later LS or LT-series V8 engine, which is not disclosed. What is apparent is that this Chevy was equipped with Wilwood disc brakes and an aluminum radiator. The brake upgrade is an enormous improvement over the original drums – I know from experience with the Impala convertibles that I’ve owned. Still, I guess they weren’t enough to have helped in this terrible motoring misfortune.
The seller suggests that those with an interest call for more information. I suppose that’s one course of action for those with an interest, but $38K for this? Perhaps the powertrain and some other miscellaneous parts are salvageable, but this Impala’s days as a running and driving car are over, and I’d have a very tough time seeing $38K worth of parts emerging from this wreck. That’s my thought, what’s yours?
Yeah, it’s bad, but at only 38K it could be worth taking a chance. NOT!
Whomever thought 38k was a good price has to be on a drug that really distorted their thinking……..
Hey, it’s still a convertible…into a refrigerator, a mailbox, or a washing machine. Looking at those rubber bands on wheels, this is one gone hooptie.
The wheels on this car tell it ALL
ImPALEDa ! 😲
Rick W, SO PLEASED to hear from you! Where have you been? I, among I’m sure many others, have missed your pithy comments.
Well, thank you John, 🎵 I feel pithy🎶 oh so Pithy🎵 . Actually I’ve been around and had a slight problem with comments posting. I love to use what’s LEFT of my brain, thus my comments 🙃. Wishing you and ALL BARN FENDERS a blessed Turkey Day, and a Very Happy, Merry HanaKwanzaMas. 🎅 🎄 ✡️
Stick a fork in it it’s done
The 38k ask must have been before the crash.
Or he meant 38,000 cents.
Maybe he meant 38 000 miles Dreamer here.
A set of tail lights for $38,000 Hummmm, let me think about it.
Now reduced to just $30,000. Rollover sale.
It looks like it got air dropped with no chute out of the back of a C5. Hopefully all passengers are okay. Damn.
The seller already lowered the price to 30k. Good luck.
It has only been listed for three days and was $38K this morning. The entire matter seems odd.
JO
Yeah, lowered to 30k. Just a wild guess, I don’t see him getting 10k out of what looks like a used to be beautiful Impala
maybe 30,000 pesos ?
Someone spent some money on this car. It would be interesting to know who is selling it, I wouldn’t be surprised if the seller bought it from an insurance company or Copart and is flipping it. He’s already adjusted the price to $30,000, he still has a long way to go the price is likely to entice potential buyers into acting.
Steve R
I don’t get it. Doesn’t this person have insurance?. Where I live, you get the car appraised or agree on a value to have it insured for. Then if something happens, you know what you’re getting. Good luck getting 38k
Insurance companies sell cars they take possession of after they settles claim unless the owner is given an option to buy it back and they exercise that option, companies like Copart act as a clearing house for insurance companies, they run auctions and sell them to people/companies with a dealers license, some get rebuilt, some crushed. If insurance doesn’t cover the car, it’s up to the seller to dispose of it themselves, but the seller will sell it with their existing paperwork. This car was likely paid off and totaled, thus the salvage title, I would guess it’s a flipper selling it, it’s so light on details I would be surprised if the person who owned when it wrecked it is the current seller.
Steve R
I would be surprised if the person that owned it when wrecked isn’t deceased!
If the seller had Hagerty’s “cherished salvaged” insurance they would have retained their car as well as the receiving the insured value. (For example, when my model A was damaged in a fire and totaled I received the insured amount of 15K plus my old Ford. I traded it for restoration work on my Mercedes that was damaged in the same fire)
As to this mess, perhaps they were going for the ultimate “low rider” look.
A steal!
Smashing baby, yeah!
“Maybe It’ll Buff Out”
Perfect!!!
A great laugh there Norma Desmond! Wait!… can you buff Bondo??
Yes, you most certainly can, it comes out in blonde!
I would like to test drive first.
You’ll have to be driven around on a flatbed truck. Nice interior though.
Better be a couple bars of gold hidden somewhere under that big 8.
Seller has a major case of Barrett-Jacksonitis
Oh, I can feel the old mans ugly head rearing, “you got what you deserved, punk”,,,sorry, sorry, that happens from time to time, but you know,as much as I rip on the old man, he wasn’t too far off. Accident reconstruction will show, the driver lost control at a high rate of speed, the indentation shows a tree of some sort, hey, it’s not a Lambo,,,punk, it’s still a ’61 Chevy. You know, that felt kind of good,,,I think they survived, the passenger may have a headache for 30 years, but shows to go ya’, God looks out for fools and little children.
Okay, you heard from my old man, here’s my moms take, the poor people, I hope they are okay, it looked like a real nice car( wheels notwithstanding, mom) and these people feel bad enough, Howie, they don’t need your father rubbing their face in it,,I miss my mom,,
anyway, this was no light tap, to do that kind damage, they were hauling aXX, and stuffed it pretty good. Think the thin sidewalls and clown wheels are to blame? Perhaps and rather ironic, as mentioned, the state of the art brakes, didn’t do any better than the drum brakes they replaced. Car insurance is mandatory in Cal. so I’m sure it was insured, this looks like an ins. yard and who knows what the story is. Tell you one thing, someone is darn lucky, and mom was the good one.
Mandatory insurance is basically a lie, the state requires liability only, but doesn’t enforce it. I was rear ended at a stoplight last year by someone who didn’t speak a word of English, without a license, registration or insurance, the police wouldn’t even come out and write a report. After an hour, parked on the side of a busy road trying to get the driver to show me some form of ID a police officer did stop, but said they were prohibited from speaking with the driver, they could even as what happened or write any form of report nor write any citations.
Steve R
California requires only liability insurance and the minimum required is only $5,000. My sad Jetta was parked in my driveway and got wrapped around a tree by an errant SUV. The driver only had the minimum insurance. I thought I was covered because I had “uninsured motorist” coverage but with Mercury insurance that only covered uninsured drivers, not underinsured. (You might want to check your policy)
Hey Howard, I always heard it was “fools, drunks and little children” and in a few “hold my beer” moments I figured 2 out of 3 what could go wrong!
Is that blood on the driver’s seat?
Right under that Wilwood tilt wheel!
Probably a bit of pee…
Bill Cosby famously observed that: “Your mother always told you to wear clean underwear, in case you have an accident. But if you’re about to have an accident, first you say it, the you DO it! And no matter what happens, you’re going to have SOILED underwear!” LOL!
It’s such a shame that such a funny guy had such an evil dark side!
The only reason it’s listed at $38K is because that will be needed to cover the owner’s medical bills. Don’t try to tell me they escaped without a scratch. Not in this twisted wreck! What a waste…….SMH
$ 380.00
Yes, a displaced decimal point.
A little spit, a little wax, good as new.
Is there a bag of money w/38K in the trunk that we’re not seeing?!?
Yeah, I hope someone isn’t seriously injured, or worse because that’s pretty bad! I can’t imagine someone escaped unhurt. It’s sad for the driver but also the car. These aren’t dime a dozen anymore. I think driving these beautiful old classics is great compared to hiding them to never be enjoyed but this is the risk. I saw something similar and equally sad at Chrysler Carlisle a few years ago. A 1969 Super Bee sitting on an open deck car trailer for sale. It was destroyed! Totally trashed. Obviously wrapped around a tree or pole at an apparent very high rate of speed. It was actually U shaped in the form of the tree or pole it hit sideways. It was obviously beautiful before the accident. It had a 440 engine which was cracked the block actually cracked at the mount and transmission mount was torn off. The dash was flat on the seat and the steering column looked as if it was winched off the seat by emergency services. As I stared at it I was pretty sure that a fatality was more than likely the result sadly
Who would want a car regardless of value when there was a fatality involved inside the car…….especially to drive again
Think “Christine”.
Well, I bought one, although the fatality was technically outside the car. Guy hit a guard rail almost head on (at fairly low speed), backpedaled, semi slammed into him, spun the car in a 180 to 360, flung him out of the car (NO SEAT BELT!!!!!!!), and his own car ran over him and killed him. It is strictly a parts car, and was never intended to be anything else, other than the fact that it was a strict object lesson for me, who had been lackadaisical about using seat belts before I bought this car. I haven’t been without a seat belt since, and have pointed to it and preached their use since then.
>Dan, I too was the same regarding belts. Couple things changed me in the opposite mindset. One was a pretty HS girl, couldnt navigate a left hand curve going too fast. Hit those short, wood pole-like guard rail with the cable lines. The car went through the posts, wire over the hood, sliced through the front windshield pillars. She was upright, shoulder belt on, head literally in the back seat. Even if you see it coming, they dont allow for a quick ditch lean into seat moment, that semi-lock state.
Another time, sitting at a light on US-1, about 1:30am, I was 21 then sitting on my new ’82 HD Sturgis when, all of a sudden I hear this LOUD whining sound, like a Ninja doing 90, getting louder & louder & I’m getting more alert cant spot it yet, when at last second, my light turned green to cross the 2 lane US-1 (Boston Ave, Stratford,CT) the sound LOUDER, headlights across from me crossing toward me, I’m frozen numb from the increasing sound all too surreal when all of a sudden, like a slow motion, BAM not 17′ in front of me, this ‘Ninja’ style crotch rocket doing 90+ , slammed right into the drivers door of a 70-73 Camaro, now, rolling slowly towards me at which time just milliseconds prior, I was still absorbing visually watching a guys body slamming into that door, flew straight up & slammed into the traffic light with his helmeted head before dropping down in the street right under it. I pulled my bike slight to right, got off & walked to the Camaro that rolled by me at a crawl.
I didnt even bother with the MC guy, dead on impact. But looking into the Camaro shattered window, I see a kid, few years younger than I, prob 18 then. I said ‘are you OK’? He looked at me in shock, I told him helps on the way, you were hit by a motorcycle, this house on corner called police.
Trying to keep him alert, I said well today, its a damn good thing you didnt wear your seatbelt, otherwise, I wouldnt be talking to you.
The kids body was on his back, his head, tucked under the glovebox door, his chin was up against his chest, his legs both draped over his console, his azz cheeks up against the base of the console where it met the floor.
When I first looked in, I was somewhat dumbfounded as I didnt see the kid, the impact was so hard, the drivers door panels armrest was literally on the right side of that console, his legs if you can picture him his back on pass floor, legs came up from passenger side floor, bent at knees & shifter was up against the backside of his knees & feet were under steering column.
So at 1st looking in, I could NOT see it even had a drivers seat! So crushed in from the door. Total miracle. He’d have been split in half from the force, no doubt.
Hey, to each his own. As a ret cop, (both scenarios, within 2 yrs earlier of becoming LE,’ so nothing I havent seen, pros & cons to it all.
I got my daily laugh out of the price! too many zero’s in it
Doesn’t look like a moving vehicle wreck or roll-over, especially with the intact straight radio-antenna and undamaged rear section: something collapsed onto the front 2/3 of this car, from the looks of things — this wasn’t a collision, in my opinion, and it doesn’t look like a roll-over. For someone looking to restore a 1961 red Impala, this probably has much to offer in the way of excellent surviving parts — but not for any $38,000 ($3,800.00, maybe).
Very good observations, Harrison. It appears something did fall on the passenger side, and yet there is damage on the driver’s side too. And a car damaged that badly would have had to roll over several times, so the antenna would have been bent, at least. Hmmmm…
Also, a rollover woudn’t have left the back end still looking pretty straight.
Yeah, that was my thinking. Damage does not look like a driven roll-over. Maybe being trailered? Or, as you suggested, something dropped on it and crunched it (like maybe the same house that landed on Elphaba?).
To me, it looks like someone ran it into/under the back of a large truck. They tried to swerve to the left, but the right side went under.
The seller already replaced the antenna. Then gave up? You gotta start somewhere…
I was thinking maybe a shipyard accident with the container being dumped.
Someone is smoking some GOOD stuff!! Sad to see, but you out yo mind!
You can fix that up. All you have to do is weld in a couple of plates.
This person has High hopes but a very limited concept of value. Considering the retail value of the car as it sits $500.00 would be realistic. Their only other option would be, dismantle the car and sell the salvageable parts individually.
Or sell the car to a salvage yard. One thing is certain, this particular car is not worth $30,000 to $38,000!
I think what the owner meant was a buck three eighty.
They’re joking! Right?
We can fix in post.
Just went to Craigslist, the price is now 30k
How much is it worth? How much does it weigh?
Maybe they could put it in a Movie like ” Christine” where it would come back to life, Then start a bid at $38,00.00. And Now for my next Dream.
Well I just gotta say that I got a good chuckle out of Howard’s missives. Kind of what I’d a heard from my rents. Especially my grandma. I guess that there are still some good parts left on this woebegone Chevy. It was obviously a build that required the big three car restoration components: Time, Money & Perseverance. Not to mention skill. How unfortunate. Hopefully nobody was killed or seriously injured.
Maybe if I can haggle him down to $27,500…
I will haggle you down to $26,500
Give em a break! Could be a typo on the price! That column and wheel are worth at least a grand!
Hey! It’s still got the keys with it!
So….it’s now a crushed couch. For $38K. Smh.
”most unfortunate mishap”
What an understatement!
This is the largest joke on the internet today! Ha, Ha, Ha’ Ha!
Copart Lot number 71636065, Sale Date 10/13/2025. Est value, 154562.50. Listed as a roll over.
154562.50 est value???? I don t get it. Can somebody explain? (I’m not leaving in the US, so I am not familiar with those).
Also, why are there 2 missing wheels…and a missing hood? I guess no one can answer this one…just wierd.
Hope no one was in it when I got hit. I hope it didn’t t roll over, as mentioned in the sell.
Cars like this will often go through several storage yards and sit for long periods of time, possibly years if there is a lawsuit. Things go missing especially if they aren’t bolted in or are in the way, sometimes they are stolen. No one will ever know and it realistically doesn’t matter in the grander scheme of things. The estimated value doesn’t mean much, but it would be interesting to find out what the actual sale price was.
Steve R
Chances are that was the insured value of the car before the accident. If so, that was what the insurance company paid the owner.
$38K? Oh come on now.
Ok Barn find’s readers add says call for more information someone make the call and see what they have to say and let us know
These hulks are put in here to generate copious responses. It worked!
junk. i would not even want it on my property. lot of bad juju there if somebody pays asking $ whatever it ends up being they are nuts
Start with a new frame, and then continue to build from there! I see about $400 worth of scrap iron! I would think that there is a lot more hidden damage than shown!
“That’ll buff right out!” I LOVE it! There’s maybe three (3) straight panels left on this tragedy, the trunk lid, left rear (driver’s side) quarter panel and driver’s door. The driveline might be salvageable, if the impact didn’t break the crankshaft, crack the block or damage the transmission case or internals! The rest should get the same treatment that Auric Goldfinger’s Lincoln Continental got in “Goldfinger” (1964). Just don’t try to haul the remains away in a 1964 Ranchero, LOL! Oh, and BTW, at a $38k asking price, I want some of the “Wacky Tobaccie” the owner is smoking, it must be good stuff!
My initial thought – looks like it was containered in a shipping yard, and the container got dropped, or knocked over.
Or, another container with a vehicle (maybe a truck) inside of it got dropped onto the one with this car, say, from the deck of a tall ship, onto a low loading-dock!
Or, another container with a vehicle (maybe a truck) inside of it got dropped onto the one with this car inside, say, from the deck of a tall ship, onto a low loading-dock! Maybe this Chevy was parked with its rear quarters hanging out, and hurricane blew the barn down on top of the front 2/3 still inside. The grille reminds me of the pathetic look of the front of a car which has been through the crusher and is stacked with other crushed cars. Somehow, I feel right sorry for this Impala — but not $30,000 worth of sorry!
And you folks make fun of us MoPar guys and prices…..
Looking at the front end pictures from the cl ad it looks like this car hit some kind of pole or post, hard. Maybe a guard rail? After that hit we can only guess how it bounced.
What a mess. Plenty of parts for somebody who has the need. But not at 30k. Maybe 3k?
Looks to me an awful lot like a telephone pole indentation in the right front headlight and then a flip. Just saying.
Is this a joke? April Fools won’t be here for 5 months! I hope he had specialty insurance on this. I hope nobody got seriously hurt. But asking $38,000.00 trying to recoup for the money lost. Well good luck to the owner. 🇺🇸🐻
The ad says it was a rollover but nothing else. I almost missed that because the seller didn’t start the Sentence with a cap and doesn’t use punctuation after it and then goes on to write “call for more information”. So, I think we can safely assume he was going pretty dang fast and hit something and flipped it.
I can’t believe this isn’t simply a joke to see what, and how many, responses are resulting. Will be interested to see what it finally is hammered down.
When I first saw the photo I thought, what happened??!!
Then I saw the price and I thought, what are they smokin??!!
Didn’t I see some girl dancing on the hood of this during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show? Made my soul hurt.
1962, 1963 and 1964 Chev convertibles were there. Not 1961. Most of the dancing on the car was on the 1963.
Not worth it, odometer rolled over…!!!😄
Death Mobile. No thanks.
I looked at the photos again and believe he hit a Jersey Barrier in the end at a very high rate of speed. If you look closely, the grill and fender are rolled inward at or below the hood level, just speculation.
I think somebody fat fingered the number pad on the keyboard—the decimal is in the wrong position.
The deep indentation in the right-front headlight area is too narrow for a telephone-pole or a tree — more like a steel pole of some kind. Maybe it supported one corner of a structure, which then fell on the car after the car knocked-out the support? A regular collision or roll-over would show more scraping damage: except where the metal is bent, the paint on this Chevy is intact. Did this car lose hold on the “park” setting, and roll downhill into some structure, which its impact caused to collapse upon it? I just don’t see this — especially with the steering wheel not bent — as something that happened with a driver in the car. And it appears to be parked among other damaged cars nearby, suggesting a yard full of insurance-totalled wrecks. It will be interesting if we ever learn the back-story, here. I keep returning to the undamaged radio antenna and rear section, yet the front of the car appearing crushed from above on primarily the passenger side. I see all the ear-marks of a freak-accident with this one.
I still remember an accident where a brand-new 1976 Dodge Aspen ran a red light and got T-boned by a 1941 Buick. The Aspen was bent-in deeply on the passenger’s side, and the driver’s side doors opened: the whole framework-support of the car was curved beyond any help. The drunk driver of the Aspen had a cut on his forehead, but was otherwise unhurt. There was relatively light damage to the front of the Buick, which was able to drive away. But it’s 92-year-old driver was badly shaken and in tears over the car he had been so careful to keep “perfect” for years, and he could not bear to see it damaged. He was taken by ambulance to hospital for observation, in case he had hidden injuries. I never learned what he did about his Buick.
Maybe $3.8k for parts??!!
MAYbe…
Show Me the CarFox!!
People, Cheech was driving when he suddenly reached for a dingle ball or maybe a joint. Labamba stayed together enough to prevent them from getting seriously injured . They survived to cruise another day.
When an unlicensed kid in a Topaz left-turned me in late 2000, American Collectors paid out the $8K.
A week later I called the adjuster and asked where my car was. She replied it was still at the tow yard. Incurring $75/day storage.
I asked her if she wanted to stop paying storage, tow the car to my house, I’ll keep it. She readily agreed. I stripped it for parts when I found the identical car (but in better shape and buckets/console) for $8K in Seattle a month later.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/5lB42Rc.jpg[/img]
I’m guessing that this is a parts sale. Still more than double a realistic ask IF all the restomod upgrades are undamaged a functional. And how could you know until you take a can opener to it.
Looks like it hit something like a gas station canopy pylon and the canopy fell onto it.
Possible…
Holy crud Batman!
I’ll get this dang photo in…
https://imgur.com/5lB42Rc
Ouch. Able to resurrect in future or use for parts?
I’m thinking they are about $28k high!