Adding the SS and 396 options to the ’66 Impala turned it into a genuine muscle car, which makes the way this one was optioned a little odd. You would think if you are getting bucket seats, the SS package and a big block you’d also want a 4-speed on the floor, but this one received a 3-speed column shift. We’ve seen a few Impala SS cars with column shifters, but it just isn’t what you’d expect to find in one of these. If you’d been looking for an Impala SS 396 and don’t mind fixing rust, this one might be worth a closer look at. It was said to have been parked in a barn that was nailed shut, but is now out and can be found here on eBay in Austin, Texas with a current bid of $3,460.
I’d love to know the seller’s reserve is on this one. While these cars can fetch good money, this one is rough. Saying it has some rust would be an understatement. And some of the seller’s statements are slightly comical. They state, “the car is all original paint”. Um, what paint? Most of the paint has rusted off. Oh, and “it was running and driving when it was parked, but has been parked for 25 years”. I always love that one! A lot can happen in 25 years, like rust and corrosion.
They also state that the interior is intact and complete. And it does look to be complete, but I don’t know if I would say it’s intact. The upholstery is beyond saving, the dash pad is destroyed and the headliner is missing. I shouldn’t be too hard on them though, they seem to be upfront about what’s missing and it really is a rather unique Impala.
At the current bid, it might be worth buying just for the powertrain. Chances are the 396 will need to be rebuilt, but these are desirable engines. I won’t get into the ethical debate of buying it as an engine and VIN donor, but I’m sure there are people who would go that route. While there are definitely some bad spots that are going to need to be repaired, it looks like much of the rust is just on the surface at this point. You’ll want to take a closer look though to get a better idea of just how bad the rust is. So would you take on restoring this Impala and if so, would you leave the shifter on the column or relocate it to the floor?
My dad had a 67 impala that my 87 year old mom still talks about. It was her favorite car. If this car were a 67 I’d like it more they had better styling que’s. These impalas were terrible rusters around the back wheels and many were scrapped because of it. My dad was a mechanic but not a car guy and had no interest beyond his job, I would have loved to restore a car with him as a kid but his interests weren’t there. He instead ran a part time welding shop out of his garage and made a nice extra bit of cash that way. I guess the Apple didn’t fall far from the tree as my career went the same way as I’m a mechanic and welder by trade.
I agree ..the ’67 is my favorite! I have had my SS396 for 28 years now..I could not imagine not having the 4 speed on the floor, but I guess it makes it rare…
but not as fun!
I would have loved to watch the person who ordered this car…”Power steering? Nope. Power brakes? Nope. 4 speed? Nope. 396? Oh, yeah….”
… as addendum…. full gauge package…yep. Console…. yep…whoa now, a console without a shifter is just plain weird! The only think I can surmise about this car is someone was trying to.get one over on it he insurance man.
I think you hit the nail on the head.
At least he can see the gauges on the console.
I remember my brother bought a beat up gold ’67 Impala for $300 and change back in ’77. It had the 327 with a 4 barrel carb and boy, did that baby fly!
I think I’ll just leave this SS to sit here and marinate in the Texas sun for thirty years then sell it as original. Oh I mean damp barn. Uhuh. I guess folks dont even bother anymore to get the car running they’re going to flip. Seems kinda lazy.
Looks like mostly surface rust. Personally I’ve never liked column shifts but I would leave this as is, only because of it’s rarity
I don’t get it, especially if you’re going racing with the way the rest of the car was ordered, why would you want a tree on da tree?
Not to mention it is very uncomfortable and a chore to drive always hunched over to shift. What’s even more strange is that it was ordered with a console.
Me thinks someone checked the wrong boxes when they sat down with the salesman and that’s why it sat for so long. WEIRDO CAR
I had a 1961 Ford Fairlane town sedan (the big Fairlane before downsizing) with three on the tree, and I never once had to “hunch over” to shift. If you know where the gears are and when to shift, they’re no problem. I have a fondness for them because I learned to drive in a GMC pickup with TOTT.
Interesting car. I’d be surprised if many were built with a 396, column shift 3spd and console with qauges.
The powertrain isn’t worth $3,460. Complete turn key 396’s with unknown history would be lucky to pull in much more than $1,000, the 3spd manual might get a few hundred same with the bell housing and flywheel. The secondary market has shifted towards larger engines, 454 cores are easy to find and are inexpensive for those willing to look.
This car needs to stand of fall on its own merit, if the condition warrants it, it will be restored. The current bid of just over $5,000 suggests that a restoration is in its future. As a parts donor, $1,500-2,000 would have been all it’s money. The wild card for parts pricing would be the shifter delete panel on the console, something like that can bring really good money since it would be nearly unobtainable.
Steve R
Very unusual, a Chevy Impala SS with a trash on the dash and a 396? Long gap between 2nd and 3rd ratio wise.
Can we say ruff impala ..
Three on a tree is a bear and no speed shift from one to two
Maybe the thought was from orig owner heck it will choke up some but the big block will chug in second at lowspeeds👀😂
Let me just say the interior and paint is in excellent shape…,lol
You know you’re getting old when you actually remember driving a car with a manual column shift :D
Seems unusual someone would opt for the console, but not for the 4 speed.
It’s already surpassed what it’s worth. Just don’t understand people. Shop around and you can find a nice driver for $8-12k
It’s already surpassed what it’s worth. Over 5k and still hasn’t hit the reserve.
This thing is a rust bucket!!! Just don’t understand people. Shop around and you can find a nice driver for $8-12k
Always been a huge fan of the 3 on the tree and the 396.
Condition aside, IMO this would be a ball to drive.
My Dad had a 65, 3 on the tree, no p/s or p/b. That one wasn’t a SS nor was it a BBC, it was a 283. Could be nice again but it’s going to take a lot (and I do mean a lot) of attention to get it into that condition.
Listed as a parts car avg price 8 grand. Listed as a #4 condition avg is 17500. So the 396 SS.and 3 on the tree still holds value . But with a full blown restoration you need to be careful with your spending due to them topping out around 55k….
I’d want a closer look, but the rust doesn’t look that bad. ( mostly surface ) This is a very unique car and well worth restoring. I wonder if it’s one of one?
3 on the tree is the coolest ever, yes I am old, and I do miss them.
The seller states the car had A/C and power steering and the compressor is missing.
The entire A/C system is missing, it never had A/C, no dash vents.
No sign of it being equipped with power steering also.
Rare optioned car just the same.
Learned the three-on-the-tree on my dad’s ‘68 Impala. Miss that “chug in 2nd at low speeds”! It is nice to see that all these years later someone hasn’t found the time to hack a shifter through the floor. This is a neat car and a neat find!
I’d start with checking the frame for rust out. I think this is a cool car that you could have fun with.run it around in Primer. Took my road test on a 67 biscayne wagon, 3 on the tree,no p/s, passed the first time!!
Good luck to the new owner!!!
I have a very rare 66 Impala SS. 6 cylinder engine and 3 on the tree. All original , bucket seats, console etc. It’s for sale to someone who would like to own a car that could be a one of a kind. Car is in excellent shape, white with bright blue interior, could drive it anywhere.
Please consider listing it here on the site Elmer: https://barnfinds.com/sell/
When I was a kid a neighbor of mine owned a 65 SS Impala with a 6. He was divorced and hired me a few times a year to address envelopes to his ex-wife. I suspect he didn’t want his ex to see who the holiday cards were from and toss them unopened.
Count me in, 3 on tree fan. Not for dense city traffic, but on country roads, heck yeah! This is a fantastic car.
6,100.00 and reserve not met. Wish I would of found it, It would not be for sale. Nice car to restore.
This would match my three on the tree madness crave!!! Already got my 1972 Ford F-100 390 longbed three on the tree being worked on. Now this 1966 Imapla is perfect, favorite year, engine and rusty. A 396 and 390 hm never can hate ‘em. I can see this ole ‘66 being a daily driver for my young 19yr old self saving classics one at a time.
What does this have to do with a ’66 Chevy Impala?
I think you don’t understand how i see things but. The 66 Impala is my dream since a little child. Now this car right would fit my collection for three on the tree crave also getting my favorite ride in one deal.
Wouldn’t have to worry about it being stolen, how many people actually know how to drive a 3 on the tree?
These days, kids can’t drive anything with a standard transmission, no matter where the shifter is placed.
Why would Chevrolet even offer such a bizarre configuration? This has to be close to one of one. In the 90’s someone in my neighborhood bought a ’66 Impala SS convertible with a 396, factory a/c and Powerglide (with the shifter on the console). At first I was sure it was non-original, but I checked and I was wrong, the 396 was available with either TurboHydramatic or Powerglide. Why would anyone buy such a heavily optioned convertible and then handicap it with a 2-speed transmission? Again, not sure why Chevrolet even offered it.
I am not sure hadicapped is the right word.
The Powerglide is the go to transmission for racers these days.
JTNC! Buying or ordering a car was a lot different in 1966. Why is this so bizarre to you? What ever happened to buying or ordering a car the way you like it and not what some supposedly expert thinks. If it wasn’t for cars like this Barn Finds wouldn’t be very interesting. 2 speed Powerglides are still used in drag racing
I can top this one for weird 1966 Chevrolets. I have an all-original 1966 Caprice two-door hardtop, 283 4-barrel, no power anything, three-speed column shift with overdrive! The car is amazingly quick with its numerically high rear end ratio, and gets 21 m.p.g. most of the time. I met the original owner a few years ago, and he said he wanted it equipped just like his 1958 Impala was equipped, when he ordered this one.
Weird options and nothing to do with insurance.
Some old farmer’s idea of just what he wanted.
Took my driver’s test in my Mother ‘s 1963 Impala 327 3 on the tree. I was told to go to the end of the street and turn right. (no stop sign) After turning right I double clutched into first gear. (First was not syncronized until 1965 I believe) The examiner asked what I was doing with the clutch. I explained that first gear did not have synchronizers and that I needed to match the engine speed to shift into first gear with out grinding. (which I did perfectly) He told me to turn around and go back to the DMV. I had passed my exam. One block! Not a bad test!
i like it.. i once had a white 66 Biscayne 2dr sedan, radio, heater delete rubber rugs, man power steering and brakes… it had the 427 & a powerglide .. was a real blast to drive, sold it to my high school sweetheart’s brother for 250.00 he wrecked it 2 days later, then he went into the army.. i never received a penny from him…
That mopar hubcap is worth some money…….
4 wheels, 4 different hubcaps.
Doesn’t everybody have that on their car?
Not a muscle car really, just a big car with a kinda big engine.
I worked at a Chevy dealership in the ’70’s. We got in a 1970 SS 454 Monte Carlo with 3 on the tree which was special ordered!! It was ordered by a farmer who grew up with a three speed all his life! I know it’s California and this part of the state wasn’t known for farms, but they were around till urban build out pushed them away.
One of the main reasons that you can no longer order drivetrain options anyway that you like is that every combination has to be run through the EPA test program. Think about a manual transmissions in the 80s. With sensors for every gear so that the computer can adjust for every load situation. A 3 speed stick with overdrive now has 6 possibilities instead of 5. (and California’s is worse) I once heard that it costs about $250,000 per test cycle to run a vehicle through the test procedure. And that was at least 20 years ago. Now I know that engine management systems are better now, and technology is more advanced now and it would be “easier” to make multiple options. The other main reason is there are many more competing makes than back in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. You have to be price competitive to stay alive. The more every vehicle is the same. The cheaper it is to produce. Just like the console top on the 3 on the tree option. How many console tops do you think were installed with no shifter holes in them. 3 on the tree and automatic column shift. (With buckets?) Now that manufacturers have a taste of a greater % of profit per car. They are not going back to the “good old days”!
I have a 1966 Impala SS with a six cylinder and three on the tree. It’s for sale if a collector out there is interested.
My 66 Impala story, it’s a heart breaker.
Bought an unrusted 66 Impala convertible from a high school friend in 1974 for $175. Couldn’t bring it home or my dad would have killed me as I already had 2 or 3 vehicles. The place where I had parked it told me I had to move it. I sold it for $100 and it went on to get a zillion more miles put on it before it wore out and got junked.
$100 for a car that would easily be in five figures today.
I’m looking for a ’66 Impala or other ’66 full size Chevy project car with good tin. Less engine OK. Mechanical condition, interior, glass unimportant. I’m after the frame and sheet metal. 2dr. hardtop manual trans car preferred; w/c others. I’m located in Kannapolis, NC.