Hot Rods 61 Impala SS (four door)

That's a beauty!
Would make a nice candidate for an SS tribute car.
My car was just like it, had the white detail between the trim strips, was a 348/3speed.

 

Thats a pretty modern car and in good shape considering the surroundings.

 

There is one in Modesto Craigslist right now. 348, 4 speed 4 door ss. I am on my tablet and cannot share the link. The post number is 7042875193 if someone can bring it to this thread.

 

https://modesto.craigslist.org/cto/d/modesto-1961-chevy-impala-348-4spd-4dr/7042875193.html

 

Cool but don’t see where it says it’s a SS or the badging, just says 61 was the only year it was offered, The ad does insinuate it but don’t see it

 

All the trappings of a dishonest seller. Doesn’t actually claim it’s an SS car, but adds a bunch of superfluous information about phantom 1961 SS four doors to lead the unsuspecting to believe this is one, with no documentation to validate that this 4 door sedan is one.

So far 9 pages and no documented, verifies evidence that one single four door 1961 SS was ever produced.

Early sales literature yes, but evidence of actual production, no.

Sort of like the 427 / 390 hp 1968 Torino and Fairlane... it’s in the early brochures, but exactly zero produced.

 

This is a little past the "off topic" bubble but is solidly in the same vein............
My brother-in-law, who owned a speed shop through the 60's, special ordered a 454 Chevy station wagon in 1970. It was fire engine red with the fake wood package, front bench, 4-speed manual and all the rest of the heavy-duty equipment, plus SS emblems as big as life. I don't know if any more were built but they built that one.

He claimed the SS badging was factory. There were no other Concours or Kingswood emblems or leftover holes anywhere. He never struck me as the type who would stick the SS emblems on himself after the fact. But I'don'no???

EDIT: I wouldn't be surprised if there were a lot of cars built that aren't supposed to exist. I always sat down in the dealer's office with the build/option list and ordered something that you would never find anywhere on the lot. .......Did it many times.

 

Many times these types of cars got dreamed up in the engineering dept. before the corporate "bean counters" got wind of it.
This is probably OT too, but what the hell, it's my thread.
I don't know the story behind these but GM toyed with offering the 64 Chevelle with the L76 engine option, a 365 hp Corvette 327, same engine as the 375 hp fuel injected version but with a Holley carburetor, word is there were a few that actually got built before being pulled, can you just imagine!!!???

 

When I was a kid growing up in Pittsburgh, PA I worked in a gas station (Sunoco) on Bankville road. One of the regular customers had a white over blue 61 Impala 4 door hardtop with a small block (283?) and a powerglide. I remember it well because it had a very distinctive trunk emblem on it with the SS letters in it.

 

Problem with anecdotal stories like this is that all the emblems were available over the counter through the parts department at any dealership.

without documentation, it’s just an Easter Bunny story.

or maybe Santa Claus, considering the season.

 

Back in 64-65 I was involved in the street racing down by the Airport and Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia. There were some pretty connected and serious racers that showed up and I do remember one with a 365 horse 1964 Chevelle. It was a new car and word was it delivered that way. May have been or it may have been upgraded by the owner. I never saw or heard of another one and shortly afterward was on my way to the Service and away from all the fun.

 

Happy Easter!

 

I've owned some "freaks" and know of several more.
I've also modified plenty that would make people scratch their heads.
Anything is possible.

The oddest factory built for me was a 57 Chevy sedan delivery with windows.
I got it in the 1970's after sitting in the 2nd owner's back yard for years. He bought it from the original owner (US Navy) at auction in early 1960's, painted it orange, drove it in college until he wrecked it but did very little else. Was early serial #100276. Had an SPL paint code and an SPL trim code.

The original paint was Navy Gray with the white top and the interior was green 1956 with a deluxe split bench seat and door panels. Every shoebox Chevy expert will tell you that car never happened.... It had very heavy factory insulation and undercoating. Lots of extra wiring, holes from equipment mounts in the cargo area and under the dash. Antenna holes in both front fenders and on the roof. (some kind of "radio" car)





One I built in the 1980's and had a lot of fun fooling people. It was a one owner, original paint 1964 El Camino seen in the garage. I also bought a low-mile but rusty '67 Pontiac Tempest Sprint with the factory OHC 6 and Quadrajet 4bbl. Used the entire drivetrain, interior including carpet, dash, bucket seats and door panels. Put the OHC6 emblems on it. I told everybody it was Canadian made. More people fell for it than not.





I take care of a large collection that has quite a few documented rare cars.
Included is this 1962 Starliner. 401hp 390 engine, 4 speed, bucket seats, wide base wheels, dealer A/C.




Also know a 1962 Corvette, factory painted Cadillac Heather Amethyst (purple).
It was 1 of 13 built for Tangier Shrine Corvette Patrol of Omaha Nebraska. (COPO fleet order)
Photo is not "the" car but one of the fleet.


KEEP LOOKING

 

My Aussie delivered 1961 Impala right hand drive Sport Sedan. With 283 & cast iron glide.

 

I have a hunch anything interesting 4 door could have been ordered for export where 4 doors never had same "mum & dad's car" stigma as in the US. I have seen weird stuff which was sold here in Europe but no performance-oriented, US-based person would have ordered, so theoretically anything is possible. Please remember back then an American car sold in Europe was a luxury vehicle, costing almost as much as the usual suspects from M-B, BMW or Jaguar. So many American 4 doors were sold with what you guys would consider as Hi-Po stuff but which the wealthy European would've considered essential in ANY luxury vehicle (powerful engine, big/disk brakes (as soon as those became available), LSD etc. Plus until relatively recently even big luxury cars were often specced with manual g/boxes, and again American 4 doors were ordered with those here).

Just my two (EU) Cents, lol.

 

It has been almost 59 years since 1961 409 Chevys were built are there more today than the 142 that were built in 61?

 

Hello, is there anybody out there, just nod if you can hear me.

 

There is a very nice 1961 Impala 2 door sedan in Bristol, Connecticut. Supposedly an original car.

 

Is this turned on?

 

Dave's not home, man!

 

I am comfortably numb.

 

“Dave’s not here, man.”

 

In 1964 Roger Thorsen of Carline Auto Parts in Walteria (Torrance Ca.) wanted to go to Bonneville and bought a new Blue Chevelle 283/4-speed and a new crate 375 HP FI engine. Swapped the engines and headed to Bonneville. Some where north of Ash Springs he lost control of the trailer and flipped it off the road but the car stayed attached to the trailer. With help he got it out of the ditch and went anyway. Other competitors helped him and he ran somewhere around 150 in C Production if I’m thinking right.
I remember the new 283 went into one of his customers 1955 V8 Corvette.
Now that was a car GM should have assembled and sold. All factory parts.

 

Hello......Hello.......Hello..................

 

I guess that's my holy grail Mark, seems we'd have better luck finding a factory 427 "Mystery Motor" car sitting in someones' driveway.

Interesting!

 

That script looks too new.^^

 

Looks like 66 chevelle script.