Projects 1961 Impala drop top B/B found in (pole) barn

Latest addition....

I already had an original 3x2 intake so I was telling a gearhead friend that I'll be looking for some 2G Rochester carbs at the upcoming Portland Swap Meet and I hope he'd look too. A few days later he shows up with a whole crop of them. I tried to pay him several times but he said no.

Not correct tri-power carbs but the right era with side fuel inlets and hot air choke. I'll be able to make 'em work. Plug the idle circuits, remove choke plates, choke shafts and plug the shaft holes. Buy the correct reproduction throttle shafts for all three and the thick throttle blades for the front and rear. Now I need to find some progressive linkage.

YeeHa.





I have been doing a little work on the car.
Did a rattle-can restoration on the generator.
Pulled off the fan, pulleys, shroud and radiator for some clean-up.

 

Got the manifold cleaned up and painted but it needs another coat.
Soaked the carbs, got everything moving freely and ready for dismantle.
Borrowed some funky little air cleaners for photo fun.



Now for some of my swap meet scores.

Got enough interior handles to replace all of mine that are badly pitted.
These are Olds, Buick or Pontiac.
Just like Impala but chrome knobs instead of black.


I also bought some nice exterior handles but failed to notice they were for 63-64.
Damn it.


A correct 1961 "553" belhousing for the 4 speed conversion.


A correct starter that fits the bell.


A "spaghetti" shifter I thought was Chevy but found out it's Mopar.
I think I can make it work.


I have a boot and ring to use from my spare parts stash.
Not a correct boot but free is a very good price and it looks "close enough".

 

Also scored a Powerglide steering column to make look like a 4 speed column.
Finding a 1961 four speed column is impossible unless you have very deep pockets.

Already had it torn apart so here's a red one that looked the same as the green one I bought.



You can see the shift indicator pointer and shifter handle boss have been ground off.



I beveled the edges of the ground off shifter opening so it'll hold filler better.
You can also see the hole in the collar that needs filled where the shift indicator light was.



For the shift light hole I cut a piece of metal to back it and JB welded it inside of the collar.
This will give the filler something to bite.



Stuck some clamps on it until the JB dries.
Put some screws in the two shift indicator holes and ground them off.



Mixin' up some Bondo for the old shift handle hole after it was mostly filled with JB and a little mesh.
I like to use a smooth cardboard box for Bondo so I don't have any clean-up except the applicator.



Roughed in Bondo.



Almost ready for primer.

 

Great read. Any updates?

Allan

 

Not much for updates on the Impala.
Been buffing/tinkering on my Ford pickup "The Rattle Can Rebuild" getting it ready to sell.



Did pull everything off the front of the engine on the Impala so I could finish painting it . Also painted the power steering stuff, inner fenders and fan shroud.

Soldered a pinhole in the radiator while it was out and discovered it's a 2 row core, not original to the car. Decided my next big purchase will be a reproduction 3 row, copper and brass unit from U.S. Radiator so I didn't bother painting. Been working on the tri-power, getting linkage sorted out to build.



Redid the heater hoses to delete the factory "H-tube" on the fender well. Less cluttered now.



Car show season now so I've been busy at work making cars ready besides working on projects.
(https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/)

One project, an E-code (factory dual quad) '57 Ford Fairlane convertible restoration that will be going to the Forest Grove Concours 'd Elegance next month. An original paint car shown here from a few months ago after loading up for a trip to the paint shop.



Also working on "CammerBird". It's a '57 T-Bird with C5 Corvette transaxle and front suspension. Sporting a Hilborn injected, 1966 vintage, 427 inch SOHC cammer engine. This picture is at setup for the Portland Roadster Show. We got a fresh coat of primer, dropped the engine in and slammed on some new chrome the few days before show.



Getting the engine married to the shortened Corvette torque tube was a huge challenge.
Dual disc clutch, hydraulic throwout, hybrid pilot bearing and modified scattershield.
Having a carbon fiber driveshaft built now by Lonnie Gilbertson.



Hilborn is converted to EFI.
The owner didn't like the looks of fuel rails so we built a cover.



The black looking bowtie spot on the front will be polished aluminum with a hole for the top radiator connection. Has a remote thermostat housing under the cover. Stock water pump is now gone and replaced with aluminum tubing. Remote electric pump mounts to the steering rack. Cobra oil pan sectioned for ground clearance.



Gotta go in tomorrow (my day off) and work on this '56 Lincoln. Going to be in the Portland Rose Festival parade on Saturday but been starving for fuel and died a couple times. I think the pickup tube in the tank or fuel line is clogged. This 'tuna boat' has the longest quarter panels I've ever seen.

 

Love your 61 man! Just finished up a 61 bubbletop myself. Dont care what anybody says you got a killer deal on the droptop! Enjoy it!

 

Just found this thread. Love the '61!! I had a '61 Bel Air Bubble top in the early 80s. I wish I had it back. You got a great deal on the car, even before all the extras. The '61 is a hot car right now and going for a premium.

 

I think part of "going for a premium" is that reproduction parts are scarce for the '61.
Any other year Impala isn't a problem.

 

I like to think it's because it was the best looking Impala made. Followed by the '67. ;-)

 

Sigh.

 

Got the progressive linkage built for the Impala's tri-power out of my junk linkage box. Kinda stock looking compared to all the aftermarket stuff offered. Now I gotta rebuild the carbs, switch the top on the rear carb to match the front, plug the idle circuits and remove the choke assembly on the front and rears. I'll cut off the rest of the throttle bellcranks I don't need and straighten out the lower throttle rod to clean it up a little more.


Very happy how it works. Front and rear carbs engage at about 60% throttle.
The throttle rod connection on the front carb is a slide.
Has a nut on end of rod which acts as a stop to actuate front and rear carbs.

 

^Nothing like good 'ol boneyard parts to get the job done! This is a great thread to check in on, Mark. You get a lot done.
Nash Metropolitan drivers could view the entire reflection of their car at once in the Lincoln quarter! Land yacht, that baby needs a foghorn!

 

Took it out for the maiden voyage around the neighborhood last week.

 

Wow
Those five spokes are perfect for that car.

 

Sure is good looking now.

 

Looks like this winter I'll be lowering the front a couple inches.
The rear has air shocks with one or two inches of air now.

 

Mrs LowKat and I took Impala on a "top down" ride today. Drove to closest gas station a few miles away. Cruised at highway speed for the first time. Got gas and the F'r wouldn't turn over to start, Open hood, loose wire on solenoid. Wiggled and start. WHEW!.. 16 miles on it today and nothing fell off. Gaining some trust.

 

Couple weeks ago installed an old VDO tachometer from my parts stash.
It has a ribbed case that mimics the dash trim.
Used the old school hose clamp method to attach to the column.





I gotta keep looking for a proper Sun tach that I can afford.
Here's what a real one looks like.

 

Love this car, Mark...., I'm so jealous!
Personally, I like the VDO tach better than the Sun.

 

my first car was a 61 2 door hard top. love your car.

 

Love this car!!!

 

A video wouldn't hurt any of our feeling. Those Bumper Titty's always get a man's attention!!!

 

Looking better all the time.That big ole Lincoln brings to mind the term"Battle Cruiser.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

I read through your 48 F1 thread and this one, love both! How's the camper coming along, is there a thread on it anywhere? My brother has a 61 4 door Biscayne, do you have or know of any left side rear bumper pieces? His is pretty well bent. By the way, I'm sure you know how you want to lower yours, but he used S10 springs, they were a bit lower than the factory Biscayne ones, but he wanted lower and cut a few coils off.

 

You bought that at a good price. Nice car and one of my favorite years...

 

Very nice. My first road-driven car was a $100 '61 Bel Air hardtop with a 235/3spd. Bought in 1986, totalled in '87!

 

Very interested in this build, I'm trying to sort out tripower linkage for my 348 in my 40, first time playing with this kind of stuff, no box full of old parts, its not proving that easy for me. My carbs have been rebuilt, and seem to be the right carbs for a 61 W motor. One thing I also want to do is remove the choke on the center carb, just to help with the linkage, could you do a little post on that, what bits you remove, holes you bung, and how, would be great.

 

Neil, ask over on the 348-409 site as there are many tri power guys over there that can give you the specs and help if
someone here does not respond. I have everything in the garage but I am in FL basking in the sun!

 

vtwhead is correct, the 348/409 site is a good place for tri-power info: http://www.348-409.com/

I haven't finished mine yet. The main thing to get a tri-power working correct is make sure there's no air sucking past the throttle blades on the front and rear carbs when they're not engaged. If you hold each end carb up to a light with the throttle blades closed and you see light, you're going to have problems.

Real tri-power end carbs have much thicker throttle blades than ordinary carbs so they seal better and also have extended throttle shafts on the passenger side. That's where the factory linkage connects the front and rear carbs together. I'm using junkyard carbs and after much reading decided to use "Vintage Speed" throttle body bases for mine which are made to convert normal carbs.



As far as linkage, there's ready made stuff from Speedway, Jeg's, Edelbrock and others but I don't like the modern look with alloy throttle arms and heim joint ends. I think you can get some of the tri-power reproduction linkage rods at Show Cars: http://www.dr409.com/

Here's factory linkage for a 1961. Notice the vacuum diaphragm on the front carb.





You may want to think twice before eliminating the choke depending on how long you want to wait for warm-up. Real tri-power has choke only on the center carb. On mine, I'm retaining the hot air choke on the center but removed the choke plates and shafts from front and rear. The holes from the choke plate need plugged. I threaded mine, installed a bolt, then cut it flush to the carb body.

Been working on my '31 Buick getting it put back together to sell so haven't been doing much Impala stuff. Almost have everything collected for the 4 speed conversion but still need this clutch fork reasonably priced. It's for 55-57 Chevy car and 55-62 Corvette.



Last time I drove the Impala, the heater core puked and of course it's the only year Impala that's not reproduced. Figured out a '64 Caddy core is the same size but still need to get my tanks soldered on.

 

I would install Kool Carb insulators under those carbs. Will save you some headaches with heat soak especially with the aluminum Speedway bases.