Sales of Chevrolet’s full-size cars dropped by more than 20% in 1966, but that’s not because there was anything wrong with them. 1965 had been a record year and – with the 1966 models little changed – it was inevitable that demand would cool off. This ’66 Impala Sport Coupe is a beautiful survivor and looks as close to new as you might find anywhere. Located in Sacramento, California, this “cream puff” has just 48,000 miles and is available here on craigslist for $33,000 OBO. Thanks for the cool tip, Pat L!.
Impala production exceeded one million copies in 1965, including the popular Super Sport. That would fall to under 800,000 units in 1966, a very respectable year unless ’65 was your benchmark. Other than the adjustment to the headlights and front grille, the most noticeable change was in the rear where Chevy’s signature dual or triple taillight “pods” on each side were now small, rectangular boxes, and not all Impala fans liked the change.
The seller acquired this time capsule piece from the widow of the original owner who has verified that the odometer has yet to reach 50,000 miles. It has Chevrolet’s entry-level V8 under the hood, the 283 cubic-inch eight-cylinder which is paired with a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. We’re told that you can hop into this car and drive it anywhere with the utmost confidence. So why not “See the USA in Your Chevrolet?” as Dinah Shore would croon.
On the outside, the body and paint look nearly flawless, with the seller rating the latter as a “9”. Inside, he/she is even kinder, giving the car a “10” which no doubt was possible due to the limited use of the car in 56 years and it being kept in a garage when the widow’s husband wasn’t taking her to the store. The only thing that popped out at me was that the color on the driver’s side rear quarter panel doesn’t seem to exactly match the door and front clip. Could be the lighting or angle or maybe it required some touch-up at one point.
Russ is correct; there is some paint blending on that left quarter panel. Maybe a scrape or crease was massaged, filled and feathered. I’m sure that willow green has faded just a tad. Just show me the door jams. Underside of trunk shows just what that color can be. I like the ermine white painted top -nice contrast. Speaking of paint – I also see the rims are green. It’s posible car had the poverty caps upon arrival at dealership, and the owner upgraded to full wheel covers. Full wheel covers from the factory always came with black painted rims.
A lot of money for the base V8. You’re buying the immaculate condition and [from the original] climate (sorry, Midwest)! Wonder what he would ask if it were a 396 with A/C?
Too bad there are no photos of the engine compartment.
This needs to be conserved, yet driven, so that people know not every one of these had to be a 396 4-speed. That said, about twice what I’d be willing to pay to be the guy.
What, they weren’t all built with 396 cubic inch engines and 4 speed manual transmissions ?
Very nice, but I’m not sure it’s $33,000 nice.
Cyclop lights weren’t a thing until the early 1980’s, this car has an aftermarket cyclop light that should take a few grand off the asking price. There’s no pictures of the engine compartment either to show what other aftermarket gems have been added.
You want $30k for something that’s not all that original. It’s those of us that pay attention to detail that nobody else seems to know which is in my book a “Deal Breaker”.
Good Luck…
My parents ordered a new ’66 base Impala with a 396 four-barrel, Turbo 400, AM radio, single exhaust, wheel covers, black painted top over silver with a black vinyl interior. The two-tone paint was pretty cool! At some point around 1968 or so my dad had radial tires put on it which were new to him then.
Ah, the memories. I learned to drive in my mother’s ’66 Impala Sport Coupe with a 327 and Powerglide. It was gorgeous with Madeira Maroon exterior and a black vinyl interior that seemed a bit more uptown than the green cloth shown here (mind you, that was more than 50 years ago!). That Impala was my high schools wheels and provided more fun than I can remember.
Thanks for sharing this dazzling number!
Look closely at the picture of the left rear quarter. And notice that the top of the fender and going well onto the trunk lid the shade of green is consistent. I think the the seller Started polishing the paint to make it look even better and realized quickly, DANG this car is bigger than anything today but a full size SUV.
Lowrider
Nice Impala would like to see some pics under the hood and in the trunk. I like this but seems for a base model Impala it’s priced about $10k over. It should at least have am/fm and a/c for that asking price. Oh, and old Land Park is a good photo shoot location! Best to the seller here!