The Chevy Impala Super Sport was one of the most popular cars of the 1960s – at least in the first half of the decade. But mid-way into that 10-year span the mid-size Chevelle came along, and the Chevelle SS 396 stole a lot of the Impala’s thunder (also, the Caprice took away some sales, too). The seller has a 1968 Impala SS convertible, with its tattered canvas top making it something of a seldom-seen find. Located in Hebron, Maine, this ambitious (but viable?) project is available here on eBay for $6,000 OBO.
Redesigned in 1965, the generation of full-size Chevies that were in production through 1970 was perhaps the most successful. More than one million cars were built in 1965 alone (a record not likely to ever be bested). The ‘68s received a noticeable facelift over the ‘67s and marked a return to triple taillights on the Impala and Caprice. Fewer than 25,000 Impala convertibles were produced in 1968, including Super Sports. If 20% of those cars were SS editions with special trim and bucket seats, not that many are probably left.
Considering all the photos provided are of the car on a trailer, we assume this Chevy was a barn find that the seller bought to flip. It seems to be all original and once wore shiny Matador Red paint with a white canvas roof and Parchment/Black SS interior. Perhaps before rust started to take over, a tree fell on the driver’s side rear quarter panel, rendering it and maybe the trunk lid obsolete. The top is now in shreds and that led to the interior being largely a total loss.
Under the hood, numbers-matching hardware is there in the form of a 327 cubic inch V8 (275 horses), a TH-400 automatic transmission, and it’s all hooked up to a 10-bolt rear end. Whenever this Impala ran last is anyone’s guess. Interesting options were power windows and fender skirts, the latter being almost passe by the late 1960s. While a lot of bodywork is in the buyer’s future, this SS appears worth saving. Even more so if it had been assembled with a 427. There is no title as Maine didn’t fool with those back in the day.
Featured here in early May with the same asking price. It’s a better parts car than project, once it hits the right price, there are a lot of desirable options on this car that are expensive to source, but many will not likely be salvageable.
Steve R
This car would cost a fortune to try to fix up. I definitely don’t see $6,000 sitting there. As already mentioned I don’t even know if any parts are usable. Maybe $1,000 as a parts car but even that’s stretching it.
Junk. Too bad because if it was rust free and undamaged the top, if it were still available, could be replaced and the interior redone. But you don’t even know the mechanical condition
Why is this back? “Forward to the past”
“Weathered” is being kind.
You’d have to want a 68 convert awfully bad to buy this one. Parts car at best.
OBO may be the best Option here. As much as I like these convertible Impalas 67-72 I wouldn’t won’t to have to cut out half the car to make one good one. It would be better to just find a nice one. You’d need to have the know how to bring this dream back to life and hopefully come out ahead.
A Parts car, IMHO. Buy it for no more than $1500 at most (and that’s being generous). Strip out the drive line and whatever else can be salvaged and sell the bare hulk for scrap metal! There’s just too much rust here to make this work, as the cost of restoring the body alone will leave the seller under water when the restored car is sold. The only way to make this work would be if a professional body tech were to do the body work on his own dime, with his own labor, for free (think Jay Leno, LOL)! Only someone like that has the time, tools, space and skills to do the job properly without breaking the bank, IMHO! Oh, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the owner finds out that the frame is rotted beyond repair when the body is lifted off of the frame, which would just add to the expense of any restoration attempt. Thanks, but no thanks.
I remember a movie from the 90s where James Woods drove this car through Nicaragua. Gene Hackman was also in it.
seats and console are worth a grand. the rest is rough been ebay for a while. asking way too much for how bad the car is. i paid way less than that for a running rust-free full size buick a year ago
seats and console are worth a grand. the rest is rough been ebay for a while. asking way too much for how bad the car is. i paid way less than that for a running rust-free full size buick a year ago