No Reserve: 1960 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe 348

While many American manufacturers in the late 1950s and early 1960s were producing cars with fins so tall that you needed a ladder to get to the top of them, Chevrolet was heading in a different direction with the 2nd Generation Impala. They featured fins, but these looked more like a set of arched eyebrows than something that belonged on the back of a fighter jet. This 1960 Impala Sport Coupe appears to be a hot prospect for a restoration, and it is essentially complete. Whipping it into shape will take some work, but as you will see, maybe not as much as initial impressions might suggest. The owner has decided to part with the Impala, so he has listed it for sale here on eBay. It is located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and bidding has reached $6,700 in a No Reserve auction. A big thank you has to go to Barn Finder Larry D for referring the Impala to us.

The owner says that the Impala will need a lot of TLC, but I have undoubtedly seen worse cars resurrected. The car looks like it has undergone several color changes during its life because I can spot evidence of Horizon Blue and Roman Red appearing from beneath the existing Tuxedo Black. I probably won’t shock a lot of our readers when I reveal that the buyer will be facing some rust repairs as part of the restoration process. There is the usual dusting in the lower body areas like the lower front fenders and rockers, but this isn’t severe. The floors and trunk pan are different stories because they have deteriorated to the point where replacement is the only viable option. All of the parts that would be required are easy to find, and with fresh steel for the floors costing less than $900 and a trunk pan adding a further $700, addressing the worst of the rust issues would not appear to be an expensive undertaking. The big unknown in that proposition is the state of the frame. The owner doesn’t mention any problems, but we are flying blind on that front. Many trim pieces will need to be restored or replaced, but the enormous expanses of glass look like they might be okay.

Chevrolet introduced its first big-block V8 into their product range for the 1958 model year. It is this 348ci brute that we find occupying the engine bay of this Impala. Bolted to this V8 is an automatic transmission, but it isn’t clear whether it is the 2-speed Powerglide or the rarer Turboglide unit. The 348 produced 250hp when it was new, and even though the Impala was no featherweight at 3,810 lbs, it was still capable of achieving a sub-18-second ¼-mile ET. When you consider the general level of deterioration across the rest of the vehicle, the engine bay rates as a pleasant surprise. Some components have developed surface corrosion, but the engine itself is pretty clean. This is a case where appearances aren’t deceptive because while the Chevy is a long way from being roadworthy, that V8 will roar into life when connected to an external fuel source. That’s a spot of good news and could mean that the motor might require little more than a cosmetic refresh during the restoration.

As is the case with the rest of the car, the Impala’s interior appears complete. The color of the trim suggests that the exterior probably started life as Roman Red, and when combined with what we can see here, that would’ve made the Chevy a striking car when it was new. That was a long time ago, and much water has passed under the bridge since then. It looks like some critters have had a ball inside the car because there isn’t a single piece of upholstery that isn’t shredded. The dash seems restorable, and the buyer could also salvage many of the hard trim pieces. When you consider the overall level of deterioration, the Impala is a prime candidate for an interior trim kit. The buyer should have no trouble finding a high-quality kit for around $2,500, and this would make this area of the car look factory fresh once again.

Tackling any project car with significant rust involves a leap of faith, and some projects require more of a leap than others. This 1960 Impala will need a lot of work, but it may not be as difficult as you might think if the frame is structurally sound. I believe that the buyer will probably tackle this as a frame-off project, and it could be worth the effort when the time comes to consider potential values. Like many classic cars, the values of the 1960 Impala stayed reasonably static during 2020, but they have climbed notably during the first half of this year. Restored to a high standard, this is a classic that could command an easy $50,000 in today’s market with the intact big-block under the hood. Given favorable circumstances, that figure could climb higher. That makes it a project car that could be worth closer scrutiny.