It’s sad when an enthusiast locates a suitable auto for a particular vision, only to develop health issues before turning it into the car of their dreams. Sadly, that’s what happened to the seller of this 1960 Chevrolet Impala, who intended for the finished product to be a Restomod. Some good news here is the mostly solid nature of the metal, as this one was originally from California and is said to be nearly rust-free. It will be up to the next owner to decide whether to restore this cool Chevy back to its original condition or take things in a different direction, but whichever path is chosen, it looks like there are some strong bones to work with. The Impala is now located in Stow, Ohio, and can be found here on eBay, where 12 bids have taken the price up to $5,450, not enough for a sale as the reserve hasn’t been met. This one’s another find from reader Mitchell G., and we’d like to thank him for the tip!
From its curvy windshield to the space-age quarter panels, the ’60 Impala has one of those bodies that looks good from any angle, and the exterior here seems straight for the most part. A dent in the driver’s side fender is pointed out, which is probably repairable, and hopefully, the rest of the panels won’t require too much effort before this one’s ready for a respray in whatever the new owner desires. Some photos show a bit of rust bubbling through the blue paint in the lower extremities, such as underneath the doors and the bottom quarter area, so a few repairs will be needed here and possibly elsewhere. However, the platform seems to be in fine condition overall.
The Impala is powered by a 283 V8, which is running and sounding solid, according to the seller. Since a swap was in the works anyway, no effort has been put into further engine evaluation, nor is it stated if this is the original motor. In the event it is still the born-with component, this could prove to be a dilemma, and that’s whether to keep things under the hood numbers-matching or install something different.
With the large amount of underside photos provided, the inside shots are sparse, with none showing the dash. The seller mentions that the entire interior needs to be redone, but states that he has the original seats, although no information is provided about what else is present. Even with such a small inside area visible, it’s a plus to see how decent the rear floors appear, and hopefully, the front sections as well. How do you see moving forward with this 1960 Impala? Is it best to restore it back to factory specs, or turn it into a fun Restomod?
Interesting, but rough car. They don’t have the same appeal as the 1961. On April 19th it had a high bid of $6,900, but did not meet reserve.
Steve R
Worth saving…. hope it finds a new owner.
Nice Impala.
A friend in high school had a 59 like this. 283/3sp. Nice car, looked pretty sharp. He kept it waxed to the hilt. We were all jealous as the girls in our school liked to ride in it and he got a number of dates from that. He used to laugh with us guys saying that he really needed a four door instead as the back seats were “better”. Never could decide if he actually got any action there or not, he just coyly smiled when pressed for details. I hope he did because he never made it back from the war.
Strictly speaking, bubbletops are 1961-1962 only. I had a couple of good experiences with 1960 Chevrolets.
Looks like a good solid car and a blank canvas to do whatever you want. But I’m curious about the pic in his add of the right rear inner wheel well. It appears that the outer portion of the rear inner wheel well is … missing? The outer quarter panel does not look damaged, and it does not appear the inner wheel well is eaten up with rust, it’s just, missing.
I know where one of these cars sit in some trees. The owner left it in the trees and instead, kept and fixed up his 1967 Camaro.
Bubble tops include 1960 and 1959 ,hows that?.
My first car was a 60 Impala Convertible that I bought for $300.00. It needed some relatively minor body work, new powergide trans, new cylinder head (six cylinder), fix rusted floors, new carpet, renewed radiator, water pump, and rattle can paint, all of which I learned to do myself. Great experience. But what I really remember is replacing all of those darn bulbs in the dashboard while upside down under the dash!
This one looks pretty solid. Good project for somebody.