The Chevy Impala would hit record sales in 1965, accounting for more than 800,000 of the company’s full-sized automobiles. And the Super Sport played a big role in that as either a 2-door hardtop or convertible. However, there were no SS 4-door sedans. Here we have a former Impala sedan that has been cut down and turned into a “shorty”. The work appears to have been done a long time ago and the car is offered as a roller with no engine. Located in Independence, Ohio, the Chevy is available here on Facebook Marketplace for an undermined asking price (unless the placeholder $12,345 is the actual asking price).
A decision to convert any car into a “shorty” is one to not take lightly. You’ve got to cut in the right places and then do some precision welding in others. Not just sheet metal is involved. The driveshaft and exhaust pipes will also have their lengths reduced. I would think the most important consideration is to maintain the car’s structural integrity i.e., how stable will it be when you take a couple of feet out of the wheelbase section of the car? In the case of the seller’s Impala, a 1965 Chevy 4-door sedan was chosen with what would be the section behind the front doors removed back to the roof line. And the rear doors appear to have to have been lengthened to fit the wider door opening.
What you end up with looks a lot like an El Camino of the same vintage, but with a trunk instead of a bed. We’re not given any real details about this project, which in itself would be the most interesting part. The car is sitting in a dark barn where it has been for who knows how long. Was the work performed there or was the Impala moved here when the project stalled? The seller calls it an SS but that’s likely to just make it sounds sexier. We don’t know if any of the trim items unique to a Super Sport have found their way to this Chevy.
The automobile does not have a motor, which from the factory could have been most anything from a basic six-cylinder up to a big-block V8. We’re told a manual transmission is present but is that a 3 or a 4-speed version intended to support the desired engine? I would think the latter because why do a project like this without dropping in a 396? With the trunk open, it looks as though the car was red at some point, but black primer may cover the entire car now. The seller says it comes with a clean title, so does that mean the DMV still considers this a 4-door sedan? And, when completed, what could a car like this be worth?
What all Chevy lovers would love…NOT!
Why did people ever think these ”shorty’s” were a good idea??
They weren’t, even when they had their moment in the late-70’s and early-80’s. Nobody that built one started with a pristine car, these were built using cars that were already on a one way trip to a wrecking yard. They are oddities, that nowadays only attract potential buyers that are mainly concerned with getting attention at a local car show.
Steve R
altered wheelbase gasser
I think it was kinda a “Doobie” sort of thing?
Boredom can strike at any time.
SS? Short Stuff?
Super short
Ruined. Crush it and put it out of it’s misery.
run it into the lake with concrete blocks to keep it deep in the water for good!
For the love of God, will somebody please teach these people how to take a proper photo? Smoke and mirrors will not help you sell the heap you are trying to get rid of. There have been a lot of bad photos lately, if you don’t have the integrity to honestly show your hand don’t play the game.
I bet it smells like beer and welding fumes.
St Peter need ask only one question to get past his gate:
Did you ever chop a perfectly good car into a shorty?
I am just here to listen to people whine about a car being cut up. The same ones who say a 4 door isn’t worth fixing seem to complain when one is shortened.
I like the door…maybe they should have stopped there and hung it on the wall in the garage
It would make an interesting Gasser!
I thought they only made a tri five shorty!
I’ll take it off your hands for a $100 I might get $150 for scrap out it I could make $50 ,not worth the $12000 you are asking for it .maybe even after it finished
While this thing is an abomination, didn’t Chip Foose build a shortened ’65 Impala that won the 2015 Ridler award?
You would have to pay me to take this Impala.
The original car had to have been a 4-door hardtop, which would have had no window frames. Parts of the rear doors were removed, but so were parts of the front doors as well as the B pillar between them. Then the remaining parts of the front and rear doors were welded together. And the leading edges of the rear-door glass would have to be trimmed to fit the A pillars.
What’s funky-looking about these shorties is where the rear wheels end up in proportion to the length of the car. Moving the rear wheels back to correct the proportions would be hard but it would make the shorty look more as if it came from the factory.
Ridiculous…and worth, exactly, the current price of scrap (less transportation cost to the scrapper).
The two slot mags and bias-plys are worth more than the rest of the car, combined.
I’d like to see better photos of it in brighter light. From what I can see it looks like it could have possibilities. I think it would have to be shortened behind the rear wheels or the rear wheels moved to the rear a little to improve the proportion but with those mods it might look OK. Normally I have the same opinion of shortened vehicles that most everyone here has but this one seems to have a shape that I could like.
As Rex Payne pointed out, both doors are a mix-up of the original 4 doors, and the windows will need to be shaped to fit the opening. Problem is, these are slightly curved glass windows, and therefore are likely tempered. They will explode into 1,000 little pieces if any attempt is made to change their shape.
There are 3 basic options;
1. live without door windows.
2. Create curved plexiglass windows [Not cheap]
3. Have new tempered glass windows created by glass factory [Very expensive].
What a turd. What was the point??? As for the photos, worse than the effort to chop the car up. Sad.
Question # 1: Why?
Question # 2: See question # 1
I love ’65 Impala’s. It’s also the year I graduated High School. Looking at this one, I am proof that grown men cry.
nice touch with the paneling behind the seats….;-)
Put some weight in the trunk and do wheelies!