Barn Finder Ian C has referred this 1964 Impala to us for consideration, and I must thank him for that. You will find this Impala listed for sale here on Craigslist. Located in Chilhowie, Virginia, this custom 1964 Impala is offered with a clean title. The seller has set a price of $2,600 OBO on this customized classic.
You certainly can’t say that this Impala isn’t just a bit different. According to the seller the customizing job was undertaken in the early 1970s. This was an era when there was something of a trend towards doing these sorts of modifications, but few have managed to survive. This is an all steel modification, and overall it looks to be relatively solid. There is little to no rust in the quarter panels, and the trunk floor looks to be quite solid. The only visible rust is the rust that can be seen in the floor in this shot and a small amount in the rocker on the driver’s side.
The interior upholstery appears to be a mix of standard upholstery and some custom work. It would require restoration to the new owner’s personal tastes. There will also be some cleaning up to be done judging by the amount of over-spray on the seals and trim that is visible in this shot. This shot makes me think that the new owner should probably strip a fair amount of the paint off the car to investigate what may be lying beneath because the last repaint doesn’t look like it was undertaken with a lot of care.
The engine bay doesn’t indicate that a lot of TLC has been lavished here. The seller believes that the engine is a 327ci, but while it turns freely, it doesn’t run. There are a few things under here that raise some questions for me. The heater box is currently in the trunk, but where it bolts to the firewall there looks to be some potential rust issues. The kink in the top radiator hose is also a concern because that is not going to do coolant flow any real good. Still, it might be okay with a bit of luck.
The seller of this Impala has a sense of humor. He suggests that the new owner may want to turn this into an SS close and refer to it as a “Super Short”. Either way, it is going to require some work to revive it. A lot of people may look at this as a waste of a perfectly good Impala. The other side of the equation is that the new owner may wish to return it to the state that it would have been in immediately following its modification as a 1970s custom car tribute. It could also make a great promotional vehicle for a business. It would certainly stand out.
When ever you do this to a vehicle you throw all the proportions out the window. I still fail to see the reasoning for doing it. There are however some things that can be done to impove the look. To start with I’d shorten the body length behind the rear wheel at least 10″ no small task. I’d also move the sail panel back at least 10″ also no small task. And while your busy doing this you need to ask yourself why did I buy this POS. It might make a good candidate for teaching young guys how to weld and fabricate. Other than the above suggestion I’d say parts car.
i’m sorry what is this thing again?
and why would somebody bother to exert so much effort to create such an abomination?
If your going to do all this work , at least make it a full size el Camino
Yuk! Nice rims though.
The seller might have a sense of humour (I doubt it), but he certainly lacks any sense of taste, proportion, purpose, or, style.
I seriously doubt people were shortening cars that were in good shape. At best these were worth a few hundred dollars, if not a refugee from a junkyard. These cars were cut in half then welded together, why isn’t there any pictures of the underside? Those would be the most important pictures, yet I’ve never seen an ad for any shortened car show the fabrication work performed, probably for good reason.
Steve R
Perhaps this is what happens when someone back in the 1970s told their folks that they really wanted an Impala Sport Coupe, but had to settle for Grandma’s more-door hardtop?
I wonder if every guy who built one of these had a fetish for dwarves.
All that work and the floors still look like Swiss cheese….
Wth
I wouldn’t pay $26
I would have them PAY ME $26 for eyewash.
These shorty things must sound like a really great idea after a couple of six packs but in the cold light of day, the end result always resembles a really bad hangover. Alcohol, a Sawzall, and a mig welder don’t ever mix – never did, never will.
Some people should not be allowed to own a cutting torch and a welder🚔
You folks are right. The proportions are all wrong… for a car. If I had the skills, I’d take off the trunk lid and re-work the back into a bed, creating the Impalamino that Chevy quit making in ’60.
at least his asking price isn’t out of the ball park , have to agree, why put all that work into a car, and not take care of the floor issues? It does look odd, my concern other than the floor, is the suspension, wouldn’t doing this throw everything out of whack? ( I don’t know… asking) If I had $$$$ burning a hole in my pocket, I may continue with the idea , certainly would attract attention at ANY car show… or out on the street
Your right Mike a little thing called steering axis inclantion. What that means is when the car was designed new you could take a straight line from the centre of the rear axle to the centre of either front spindle and your spindle arm would line up to your line. Why is this important? With out this being correct when you turn your front wheels won’t follow the correct lines and will be scrubbing the tires off at every turn. It would also handle like a bag of dog droppings. This is an unsolvable problem as it is illegal to heat up steering parts as it changes the melcular structure of the steel causing stress cracks and total failure of the part. This is why you don’t shorten your car and if you do you need to maintain the original wheel base. With trucks often there are differant spindle arm angles available which are usually bolt ons if you don’t believe me watch carefully the next time you see a semi with two front axles they are clearly turning at differant angle to make the whole thing work.
The only way this worth $2600 bucks, is if there’s $2100 in the glove compartment & your in the circus.
I’ve owned a 64 Imp and that’s just a shame!
Already posted here month or so ago
Close, but I believe you are wrong. I always do a search before submitting anything.
Were you thinking of this one:
https://barnfinds.com/1-8-mile-drag-car-1963-chevrolet-impala-shorty/
I never imagined a 64 could be more fugly until I saw this. If you’re going to butcher an old car, then what better donor than a disposable 64 Impala? Thankfully it wasn’t a 63 or 65!
Clown car.
I think Pedro LaPaca better start laying off the weed!
Cool….and more dumb comments….and it’s GONE……
Methinks the distance between the rear window and the back of the driver’s head is a bit tight. If he sneezes, the natural reaction to whip one’s neck backwards will result in hitting the back window! And if the builder kept the rear seat in place [looking at the seat back thru the rear window suggests it’s the original rear seat], that means the seat is no longer adjustable fore/aft.
Aww come on people, it’s a newer version of a businessmans coupe. Lmao!
In the 70s when this was probably done, the donor 4 door would have been a couple hundred bucks running and driving.