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Original Survivor: 1968 Chevrolet Impala Sedan

If ever a car deserved to be given the label of a survivor, then this 1968 Chevrolet Impala would qualify. It isn’t perfect, but it wears its 51-years well, with its original paint, and its numbers-matching drive-train. Barn Finder local_sheriff located the car for us, so I have to thank you so much for that. Located in Mount Vernon, Washington, the Impala is listed for sale here on eBay. At the time of writing, bidding is sitting at $3,950, but the reserve hasn’t been met.

The owner of the Impala seems to be something of an expert on these cars and has owned a number throughout his life. Judging by the text in the listing, it seems that he has a fairly comprehensive knowledge of this car’s history. What we do know is that the car has never been the subject of a repaint, so that Tripoli Turquoise and Ermine White paint is all original. It has a few marks and chips on it, but after all, this is a 51-year-old car. The most noticeable of these is in the driver’s side quarter. However, these should all be able to be repaired if the new owner is seeking perfection. There is also some rust in the car, but this appears to be limited to some small spots in the bottoms of both fenders, and the same in the bottoms of both quarter panels. We’re not talking about wholesale panel replacement here, as these could also be repaired. I really get the impression that the car has been the recipient of careful ownership throughout its life, and it’s also worth noting that the glass and chrome all appear to be in incredibly good condition.

The Impala seems to be a car that is just loaded with good news, and that includes when you lift the hood. The original owner must have wanted a bit more urge than standard from his car, as lurking under there is a 275hp version of the 327ci V8. This is backed by the optional TH400 transmission, while the car was also ordered with power steering. This is a full, numbers-matching car, and the owner has tried to keep things as original as possible. The original Quadrajet carburetor recently underwent a rebuild, while the entire braking system has also been rebuilt due to it not being up to scratch. The owner lists a huge amount of work that has been performed on the car to ensure that it is mechanically perfect, and it really is enough to make your head spin.

Open the doors and step into the big, wide world of turquoise. The carpet is new (the original was dirty and stained), and the front seat has been reupholstered with NOS cloth due to a tear in the driver’s seat. Everything else is original, and if it isn’t perfect, then it’s all pretty close. The new owner won’t have to spend a single dime on the inside of the car, but just sit back and enjoy the amazing condition. In fact, looking through the photos gives you the impression that the back seat may never have been used.

I know that there are going to be readers who look at the Impala and will say that it has two doors too many. That’s a fair call because there are a lot of people who love their 2-door cars. I’m looking at this as an amazing survivor, and in its current condition, it is a car that promises a lot of enjoyable driving experiences. It is also a car that will grab plenty of admiring glances.

Comments

  1. Avatar Kenneth Carney

    I’d buy this one and let my SIL drive it so
    that she could see what these cars were
    really like. She had a ’68 4-door HT that
    had the same engine and tranny as this
    car, but hers was very well-used by the
    time she got it when she turned 16.
    The 327 in her car was quite tired and put
    out more smoke than horsepower. I still
    remember the day she came to her
    grandmother’s house to show it to her the
    car she’d bought. It smoked so badly that
    all I saw was this huuuge smoke cloud
    coming up the hill in front of the house!
    While she visited grandma, I cleaned the
    plugs, replaced the points with a spare
    set I had in my toolbox, and adjusted the
    carb a bit as it was running really rich.
    When she went back home, the car sounded and drove better than when she
    brought it there to show it off. Even today, Sis is still sensative as to what I say about her first car.

    Like 8
  2. Avatar TimM

    Clean,nice car to many doors!!
    It’s probably got a stupid reserve on it!!

    Like 1
    • Avatar TimS

      Yes, a toast. “To many doors! Cheers!”

      Like 11
    • Avatar Rick

      This post brought to you by the number ‘to’.

      Like 14
      • Avatar normadesmond

        Poifectly put.

        Like 3
    • Avatar alan r leonard Member

      Hey Buddy,,don;t you know that “4 doors rule”?????

      Like 16
    • Avatar local_sheriff

      I wouldn’t be too certain about the reserve – a consious seller knows the market for 4doors isn’t that big. Considering current bidding I predict it won’t sell in this auction, then after it’s closed someone will give him an offer and probably make a great deal

      Like 1
  3. Avatar PatrickM

    I really like this car!! It is almost exactly what I am looking for. Roomy, slightly economical (much better than my full sized 4WD pickup). But, either it, or I, am on the wrong coast. AARRGGHH!!! Almost every time I find one I want… Three Pinto’s, 3 or 4 Mavericks and/or Comets a few Chevy’s. Man, this is almost frustrating. But, I will keep looking. Even the price is right on this one. Lovely car. Would need a few upgrades, but not obtuse.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Bob

      You do know that they ship cars, don’t you?

      Like 3
  4. Avatar johnny garofalo

    Very nice , but did anyone notice you can see on the pass side on the motor theres a bracket with a cabel , i had a 68 impala 2dr hardtop when i was 17 307 motor, it came from concored auto auction acton mass it had on both sides of the motor these brackets and cabels , this was a call back from gm back in the day for defective motor mounts and this is what gm dealers did back then to fix the problem rather than replace the motor mounts stay with me now ok every time i punched the gas to the floor weather it was in park or driveing the car you could feel the motor lifting up and mine back then the motor would start skipping till it came back down in place .

    Like 4
  5. Avatar Chris M.

    Perfect cruiser. Clean as a whistle!

    Like 7
  6. Avatar big mike

    Man does this beauty bring back memories, did I ever tell you all the story of how my Mom and Dad stopped driving Fords.
    In 1968, Mom decided she wanted a new car, not one that Dad had rebuilt, but a right off the showroom new car. Dad told her to go get whatever she wanted, so being a Ford Loyal Family, Mom’s Dad & 2 brother all worked for Ford, anyway she went to the local Ford Dealer in Flat River and was looking at the 68 Ford LTD 4 door, there was 3 of us Boys at the time so 2 doors were out, well she was walking around the car lot and came up on a blue one, she liked the car at first sight she always said, well out comes a salesman, and she is asking about the car and all of a sudden, she asked to drive it the salesman asked her were her husband was, she said at work, I am going to drive it over and let him look at it, so she drove it over to Dad’s shop to show it to him, he liked it said well go buy it, call me if you need anything. So back to the Dealer and she walks in and told a group of salesman standing around that she wanted to buy that LTD, well one of the salesman asked her ” is your husband coming with you to make the deal?” Mom was beyond pissed at this time, she said NO he is not, do I need him! The salesman said “well normally the man comes in to make the deal.” Now let me tell you a couple times about Mom at this time in her life, Mom had already given birth to 3 boys, and battled cancer, and was a High School History teacher, and Girls Basketball Coach, so she didn’t need a Man to help her make a deal. Mom looked at the salesman standing there and said well then I will go elsewhere, he said well if you change your mind you and your husband come back and look me up!
    Mom drives over to Fitz’s Chevy Buick dealership in Farmington, walked up to a salesman, and said, I am here to buy a car, do I need a Man to do it!!! The gentleman said Miss if you can drive them you can buy them. So Mom bought a White over blue 1968 Chevy Impala, that was sitting on the showroom floor. When Mom came home later that day with the Chevy, Dad looked at her and asked what happened to the LTD, Mom told him the story, and Dad drove back out to the Ford Dealer, and walked up to the owner, which he knew very well, and chewed him out. After that my parents never owned a Ford of any kind.

    Like 19
    • Avatar David P. Reeves

      How things have changed. My grandmother’s story about applying for a credit card and being refused without her husband’s signature is still shocking. I think she even made more money than he did at the time. She refused to get a credit card until she could sign for it independently, which was in the 1980’s when she was in her late 50’s.

      Like 7
    • Avatar NotSure

      I hope that those days are COMPLETELY behind us. If the ol’ lady is going on a beer run for my benefit I want her to enjoy the drive and get back quick before the brew warms up. I certainly trust her with that! And that is waaaaayyyy more important than what she wants to drive or who signed or who approves the deal. Her mother maintains that my ol’ lady ain’t too bright but she bases that on that fact that she took up with me. Truth is my ol’ lady handles our family business better than I can. I’m not saying that I don’t contribute but I need her more than she needs me. She never mentions that fact either! Lucky 🍀 me!!!

      Like 5
    • Avatar Bob

      In the ’60’s I worked for a chemical company here in RI and the owner of the company wanted a new Cadillac. On a particular Saturday after working in his yard he went looking for a new Caddy. Now this was a regular guy who had a lot of money but didn’t flaunt it. He walked into that Cadillac dealership dressed in some work clothes and was waiting around for a salesman to help him. He stood there for around ten minutes and walked out pissed and headed over to a Pontiac store. As soon as he walked in a salesman approached him and he was a Pontiac guy from then on. You never know who your dealing with………….

      Like 3
  7. Avatar Maestro1

    Adam, it’s a nice car, the price is right, I have no room, somebody jump on it but make sure you put your hands on it and look at its bones (underside) then enjoy.

    Like 1
  8. Avatar Dan M

    Almost identical to first car at 18. had non hi-po 327 (I think) Paid $300 in 1979. After Grateful Dead show I danced it into tree. Shame. It’s was a good cruisin car .

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Steve Coan

    I hate to point this out, but this is what most people drove. Not Camaros, SS Chevelles or Corvettes. They drove Impala sedans and hardtops people and that’s what makes it worth preserving. Even though they were the most common, few were saved.

    Like 9
  10. Avatar Tim m

    We had almost the opposite experience. My Dad and Mom bought a new 2 door 1968 Impala in November 1967 which my Mom drove. The car went back to the dealership numerous times with transmission shifting concerns, and it never started well cold. The service department would tell her to have her husband bring the car in because he needed to describe what was wrong with the car. My Dad finally took it in on a Monday night which was the only evening they were open and the only time he could bring it in. He told them his wife was capable of explaining the problems as he also experienced the same concerns. They worked on the carburetor, verified the transmission concern but the car would have to come back when they had more time. On the way home the transmission started to act up real bad. We got home, my Dad went in the house and used the bathroom got back in the car, drove to the local Ford dealership and traded the Impala in and bought a new 1968 Ford LTD XL. My Mom loved it and from then on only bought Fords.

    Like 5
  11. Avatar PatrickM

    Bidding now at $4,832.00. Sure wish this was a lot closer. Steve Coan, you are absolutely correct. Most cars, years ago were large, full sized sedans, then came the advent of mid-sized cars: Chevelles, Torinos, etc. Followed by economy cars, Falcons, Novas, etc. In mid ’60’s, car makers decided to start making factory hot rods: drop a 327 into a Nova, and so on. This really sent the back yard mechanic back a few steps and ingenuity expanded. I hope someone gets this car soon, or I am going into debt, again.

    Like 3
  12. Avatar Timmy

    I have a 68 fastback original motor numbers match 396 with factory a/c the same color combo I will let go for less money

    Like 3
  13. Avatar r s

    1. Puzzling to me why they’d have upgraded it from the standard 307 to the 327, but not gotten A/C? I’d much rather have the A/C, I know it’s more expensive then the bigger motor but still puzzles me. The 307 was THE standard V8 in full sized Chevies that year and I’ve seen millions of them… I think the 307 was a slightly desmogged version of the 283 which it replaced.

    Here is the brochure page indicating that the 307 was standard in 1968, but you had to get an Impala or better to get a Turbo Hydro with it, otherwise just a Powerglide.
    http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/brochuredisplay.cgi?year=1968&manuf=GM&model=Chevrolet&smod=&page=14&scan=14

    2. I had a car magazine back in the day, they tested a 2 dr sedan 1968 Biscayne with 427, 4 speed, positraction, and a bunch of heavy duty stuff… sticker price on it was $2998.
    Where’s my credit card, I’ll take a few.

    Like 2
  14. Avatar StevieG

    Bob, you are correct in your post, you never know who you are dealing with. In January of 1999, my Mom wanted a new car. She wanted a Honda Civic in particular (she bought the car that made me HATE Honda products). She called me & asked me to pick her up. I, at the time, drove a rusty, battered 1968 Cadillac hearse which she absolutely could not stand. She was embarrassed by this car! I asked her why she wanted me to pick her up. She had a nice 2 year old Corolla. She just told me to do it & I would understand why. She told me to go to the dealership & we were going to see how long it would take to buy a car.
    The sales people ignored us, as I thought they would. Finally the general manager approached us & asked if he could help us. Mom said she wanted to buy a car, a Civic EX (sunroof) coupe, red if possible (her favorite color). The general manager passed us off to a young, inexperienced chick. She found the car that would eventually be purchased. Mom test drove it & liked it. We went to talk to the sales chick who was told to find out what we had for a down payment. Mom was paying cash for the car! Those “experienced” sales people didn’t see that coming! I swear, that inexperienced little lady selling cars was the envy & hero of that dealership that night. She got $20,000 cash out of the people driving the battered 31 year old meat wagon! Fun stuff!

    Like 1

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