Hot Rods My 63 impala 409 finally begins its rebirth...

Makes for a damn good lifetime though!

 

Hard to tell the good times from the good times.

 

You are doing a real fine job on bringing this back to life. Then you are giving it to your pops ........AWESOME.

 

Thanks Loudbang! I appreciate that!

 

I really enjoy your builds. this one I am sure will not disappoint.

 

Looking good.Keep the updates coming.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

What a car! Or should I say "super car".

 

Glendale, thanks man!
Fella's i appreciate the kind words. Hopefully i'll have some progress to post up within a week or so.
I plan to start doing the finish work on the floors this weekend.

Thanks again guys!

Tony

 

Etched.....and i had to smooth out a couple small spots before i high build it.
Body work on floor boards..........
There has to be a clinic for this kinda nonsense. One i should be in!!!

 

So made some more progress in between "life".
Floors are done and painted.

Front and rear suspension is all rebuilt and painted.


Heading out today to hopefully paint the frame, then assembly during the week.



Got one set of its wheels squared away. It'll have two sets depending on my mood. One stock 14x6 with original dog dish caps, and a set of reversed 14x6 rockets.


Hoping to have the chassis together and on wheels next weekend.

Tony

 

Hey, Tony, Tommy form LI here (now in Virginia) - just saw this thread and you are doing a great job - looking forward to more progress when it happens. I totally understand about life getting in the way sometimes ...

 

Hey Tommy, thanks man!
Yeah it can get crazy at times, but we do what we have to do then do what we want after. Haha

The frame is painted, now i just wait for it to cure and i can start assembly.
Let the fun begin!

Tony

 

Nice attention to detail! Keep up the great work!

 

wow impressive build, my favorite Impala... bodywork on floor pans, love you attitude!!!!!!

 

Haha thanks guys!
Yeah i can get a bit (a LOT) lost in the detail stuff....a bit too much really considering i dont attend any shows that judge....or shows in general.
Kinda like the upper ball joint fasteners. Factory used rivets, replacements are bolts.
So i machined the bolt heads to look like rivets...yeah, freaking crazy i already know.
I just figure if im doing it i may as well do it the best i can, and at least i know how far i went.

Anyway, thanks!!
Tony

 

Can you do me a favor and take a pic of the driver side rocker panel where the inner rocker comes together up by the toe board. Right where that angled bracket with the hole in it is.

 

Looking Really Good !
Just blasted my frame yesterday

 

Very cool! We've got the weather to get it done right now thats for sure! And thanks!

Bigpokie, the under side of the drivers front floor area?
I can take a pic when i'm where the body is, just not 100% sure where you need.

Well all the chassis stuff is painted and ready for assembly. Probably start that tomorrow after the day job.

Pretty stoked to see this shitbox coming back to life.

Tony

 

Another step closer to it getting back on its wheels.

 

I realized I already asked earlier in the thread. I can't keep on area at a time. I left that spot to work on another spot and now I'm back to it.

Buuuut...... Can you tell me more about this air ride. I'm doing to do mine so I was just wondering more about the bags, cups and final stance.

 

I hear ya, i can jump around too. Sometimes it breaks it up so i dont get unmotivated.

The air ride honestly couldnt be easier.
I was originally going to make bag cups etc for it, but found they could be bought fairly cheap and my time was worth more than their cost so thats the route i went.
I can get the company name i got them from and get back to you if you'd like.

My system is a air lift crafter pack. Basically a universal kit.
I have 2600# bags at each corner, 1/2" lines, quick valves, 5 gal tank, digital control and 2 viair 380 compressors.
I had this set up in my old 62 first but yanked it out when i sold it.
Very minimal cutting needs to be done, and whatever is cut can be fixed easily if removed.
Stance is pretty much anywhere you want.
My 62 (and im sure this car) would set right on the exhaust aired out (or literally lower control arms against frame and driveshaft on floor if the exhaust wasnt on to keep it up) and max the suspension up when lifted.
For the most part i left it a touch lower than stock with a slight rake.
The first pic is literally laying on the exhaust, middle pic is how i drove it.




Tony

 

Tony
I built a roll-over setup (kinda) like yours, for my Wescott roadster body, but I haven't actually used it yet, curious what procedure yours requires to facilitate the roll-over.
What I'm getting at is; did you have a lot of help doing it, because Impala bodies aren't the lightest even without frontend, etc. Or do you have an overhead crane or some kind of framework and chain pull, etc.
Just curious because I don't have either in my shop, and I'm not looking forward to it.
Thanks.

 

@DDDenny ,
Its truthfully not that bad. I can't do it by myself, but i only need one buddy to roll it.
One of us at each end of the body.
We lift it until it reaches a balancing point, roughly 45 degrees, then one of us go's around to the other side and we slowly keep rolling it until its on the side legs.
We've had a number of different bodys on this thing and we've always just had two of us flipping it.
The only thing we have to do is keep some resistance on it once it passes the 45 degree point so that it gos down gently.

Tony

 

Always loved the look of Rockets but I ran dog dishes on my Impala SS's for the"bad ass" look!

 

Yep i get that for sure!
I dig the flash of a nice chrome 5 spoke like Cragars or Rockets, but the all business looks of the dog dish caps is killer too.
Something about a 409, 4 speed and poverty caps thats always appealed to me. Haha
Thats why i'll have both.

Tony

 

Hi Tony

When did they come out with the Rally wheels , as my new 69' SS 396 El Camino had them

Might be too new for your car to be correct ?

 

They "vette" style came out in 67 so not too new, just not really a wheel i like very much.
i dont mind rally's on certain cars that originally came with them, but in general they are not a wheel i like very much.
I had a 70 el camino that had them too.

This car actually had a set on it when i bought it.
Tony

 

ive have the pipe at the house for the cups. any reason why i couldnt use cups for the lower control arm? does the 5 gals fully lift the car all the way up? i was wondering if 5 gals would do it.

 

Tony,I got to the party late,but it looks like a great build although a lot of photo's must have be lost when the site updated. HRP

 

Bigpokie, i cant see why you can use that for the lower mount. Mine is nothing more than a 3/8 plate thats bolted to the top side of the control arm with a couple holes in it for the lower bag mount.
In the long run the plate is probably a whole lot quicker to fab, honestly does the job perfectly and spreads the load over a bigger area than just the spring pocket.

Danny, thanks!
I hadn't looked at the other thread link when i added it so you're probably right. Damn updates! Haha
The photos in this thread seem to be showing for me, so im just assuming the old thread pics must be gone.

Tony