Projects One off the bucket list..... take 2. 58 Impala (Corona Update)

I've been around longer than I care to admit, but when I was 17 I found a 1958 Impala convertible in Vancouver. My Dad and I drove from Edmonton to Vancouver (we left Edmonton on a Wednesday at 6:00 PM and were back in Edmonton at 9:00 AM Friday...... before the Coquihalla Hwy was built..... it was a hell of a drive through Hell's Gate from Kamloops to Hope (Hwy 1) both ways ..... check it out on Google Earth ....... including a blown tire on the trailer and probably 3 hours lost getting it fixed) towing west a 68 Pontiac that my cousin had inherited from my grandfather and picking up the '58. We towed it back to Edmonton (attracting lots of attention along the way) and I went off to pursue a career playing hockey. I had paid $3500 for the car and had a local vintage car lot appraise the car. They appraised it at $7500 and offered to buy it for that price (hmmm.......). Anyway, I sold it after having owned it for about 4 weeks and figured I had made a killing..... and have regretted it many times since. Surprisingly, the car is still in Edmonton sitting in a huge collection (as I sold it).
Anyway, back to the present. A friend I've done a few car deals with mentioned he had picked up a '58 Impala..... say what? I went over a couple of hours later to take a look at it and ended up buying it.
It's American Graffiti white (almost too white in my opinion), 348 tri-power, iron Powerglide......... and an amazing interior that I was stunned by.
I'll have a few questions along the way as I work out a few electrical and cosmetic issues, but I'm excited to own this car. View attachment 3457814

 

Hell, I'm Excited for ya. Very Cool.

 

Damn.....58....don't get much better

Chrome reverse wheels, white walls, stance adjustment....Done!

 

Oh... hell yea!

 

Hey Toad, what are you doing in that car?? What a waste of beautiful machinery!

 

Love the 58 impalas, glad for you!

 

Who'd you play hockey for? Hockey is close to Hokey so I consider this a valid post! LOL

 

Awesome score Al! My buddy has a ragtop version with a continental kit but close body colour and identical interior to yours. He's currently getting a newer aluminium Powerglide installed as the cast iron one kept puking trans fluid after sitting for a while. He also did a frame-up restoration of a copper coloured hardtop like yours for a co-worker of mine's Dad years ago. Make sure you drive the wheels off that sucker! Regards, Dave.

 

Indeed!

I had a shot at a white 348 convert back in the mid 70's but let my best friend buy it as I wasn't yet ready for another car.

 

Damn!!! In 1963 I traded a '54 Olds with a well built 394 Olds (Isky roller cam, 2 x 4 carbs, 10.5 Jahns pistons, Vertex mag, modified Hydro) for a '58 Chev convertible, red interior, black top, 2 x 3 carbs, Powerglide. Yanked the P-glide and replaced it with a Hydro. My buddy I traded with really only wanted the engine - in 2 weeks it ended up in his '56 Chevy pickup. He still has the short block. The '58 ended up as a trade in for a '63 Plymouth convery.

That car was one of my all-time favorites

 

I love white cars. Only thing I would change is the powerglide. In Texas hockey means something different than it does in Canada. Killer find.

 

She's a looker!

 

True. lol
I played with the Brandon Wheat Kings, then the Uof A Golden bears. After winning a National Championship with the Bears I signed with the Minnesota North Stars (yes that dates me)........ played one year (most of the time in Indianapolis with their farm team other than two exhibition games against Chicago and Detroit). I went back to school and got a degree, and it's been pretty boring since then.

 

Beautiful car!

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What a SWEET lookin ride!!!!! Bruce.

 

Clean ride. Go mash the gas.

 

Hi,.. Good luck!,.. Good story,.. Goodlookin IMP!!

So it's "hockey stick" styled
Side trim have anything to do with you getting it??!!

Good luck!! Enjoy!

So, somewhere around '65/'66 ?? A guy had a '58 Imp Convertible sitting in his driveway. I asked him about buying it, he said he was junking it !! Because the floor was rusted out , it wasn't safe. This car ran & drove!! I visited again , same not safe story.
At the time I was busy fixing up a '36 Tudor Plymouth. I asked the owner if I could buy the top to replace the one on the Plymouth. He gave it to me.
Those were the days!!





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Badass, I love 58's.. Don't get why my friend hates them!

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nice one there....here's a four speed post I put together about 1998

 

Absolutely cooler than Darryl Starburd's superfleck moonbird!!


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Sooo,,,,,Gotta ask because in Canada everyone knows someone who played pro...When? With Brian Propp, Brian Glynn, Rich Zemlak or Dave Hanson???

 

Not quite that old. lol
I played with Hextall and Ferraro

 

I have a 58 rag 348 4speed love them, you car looks great how about some red fogging and cad lights

 

Nice car. I love going up the Fraser Canyon, and its a lot quieter now with the Coq. Made many a trip to Ashcroft before it closed up, and no cupholders. I really like that area, Ashcroft and Cache Creek are real nice on a summer evening.

 

I make the drive once a year from Alaska . In fact my truck and trailer is sitting in the Portland area waiting for the PIR swap meet then I'll drive home . I never seem to find the time to stop and snoop around in Canada enough .
Very nice car you have there . I recently looked at a 58 Delray in rough shape ! But I keep thinking I can save it .


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1958 is definitely the best year for the Chevrolet's! Very nice looking car.

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Wow! Nice car, good for you, now enjoy it! I'm finishing up my mom's 58. American auto wire was the place for wiring, they had it all. They make new from factory specs. The harnesses are also factory color coded, so the diagrams from assembly manual matches.

 

The Impala has been sitting to the side in the shop for a couple of years while I flip flopped between Alberta and Missouri and some other projects took priority.
With what’s going on in the world I’m stranded up in Alberta and self quarantined so have plenty of time on my hands. I replaced the single wire alternator with a stock generator last year, got the car running and then had electrical issues as the wiring had really been butchered by a prior Bubba. I picked up new wiring harnesses for the car last year so I’ve started the wiring replacement as well as going back to a stock distributor, coil and ballast resistor. Out of curiosity, does a small block/big block distributor fit a 348?
Once I started on the harnesses, I realized I needed a couple other harnesses to do a proper rewire so those have been ordered. Waiting for those I needed something else to do.
I was never a fan of the Torq Thrusts and raised letter tires that were on the car when I bought it. I have a full set of vintage Cragar SS’s with blackwell tires that were looking for a new home so today I made the change..... at least on the side I could get at. lol
I’ll get the other side installed tomorrow. I like the new look much better.
Yes, the Impala experienced the well known Powerglide burp.


Much better than this.


Allan

 

Cragars are a welcome change from the previous wheels, looks good. With a bit of practice, an 80 grit DA pad will sand all of the lettering off of the sidewalls of those modern tires and make them blank, for an earlier look, if you were so inclined.