Customs '62 Impala build story.

I've posted a couple threads about the '62 Impala we got last fall, with the little bits I've done to it since we got back to Michigan, but it makes more sense to have one thread where every stupid thing I do can be chronicled. I've done build threads for all my other cars since I got on the HAMB, so, here goes...

The car belonged to the husband one of my good friends from work, we've stayed in touch and get together often. They moved out of their house with a two garage and big barn/shop into a cottage on a lake and for the past 3 years he'd been trying to keep the car in their one car garage or finding storage for it during the winter. He'd had the car for almost 40 years, bought it from his brother while he was in college, it had been in their family for over 45 years.
Originally a 327 car, 20 years ago he swapped a 454/400 TH in it. Had the transmission rebuilt, Edlebrock intake, carb, cam and headers on the (pickup truck) engine, and put 4.11 gears in the Posi rear end. Since that time, he said he had only put about 200 miles on the car, had only licensed it (for one year only) back in '09. He also bought a really rusty SS Impala parts car, and swapped the interior and all the badging from that.
When he did the engine swap he pulled the front clip, and said in the process he scratched the fenders up badly enough that he repainted them. Separately, in his fathers garage in the dead of winter, matching them to the valance panel.
Which turned out to be a couple shades lighter than the rest of the car.
This soured him on the car, and with the life changes they'd been through, he decided to sell it. Someone had offered him a ridiculously low price for it, his wife asked me if I thought that it was a fair price, I told her NOT to sell it for that, and to please give me first refusal on the car.
I'd never seen it, but she talked about it whenever Randy was doing something with it, so I felt like I knew the car. He told me how much he wanted, I told him it wasn't enough, and gave $500 more than he said, and left feeling a little guilty for having bought it pretty cheaply.
We drove it for 3 weeks before we left for Florida, it ran great, so I felt like it was going to be a good start. I got it out as soon as we got back. The first thing I noticed was a puddle of trans fluid under it, but it still moved. Outside, there were some blisters starting on the right rear wheel opening, which he told me had worked on 35 years ago when he repainted it the light bronze color (from the original turquoise).
I ordered a wheel lip patch, as opposed to a whole new quarter panel, and am in the middle of getting that on now.
It needs a wiper motor, which is stuck, the turn signal switch doesn't self cancel, needing new guts, it's got a ridiculous B&M ratchet shifter which has got to go, and the tires are "new" 20 year old radials. One or more of the 6 taillights periodically lose their ground, and the 4.11's are fun but make the car awful to drive at highway speeds. In the trunk (I don't know why this is now in italics...) is the original 3.31 ring and pinion, and I picked up a complete 3.31 center section, which is a non-posi unit. I may end up just swapping the center section and having the 3.31's swapped back into the original one.
So, that's where I am now. The goal is to get the little bit of bodywork done, repaint the car, get it roadworthy to drive to Florida next winter. We may end up leaving it there, we may drive it back home and take something else, but that's the plan for now. Here are some photos...

 

If you accidentally hit the above icon see (photo below) that will change your writing to italics. If it is changed to a light grey color that means you have turned it on. Simply click on it until the space around it is white again.

 

I knew they were 3-somthings. What I know FOR SURE is the 4.11's are going away!

 

Brings back memories. Built a '59 Elky for my grandson. Thise X-frame Chevys are unique to say the least.

 

I love it.
I learned to drive in a 62.
Always liked the body style. I remember when I was 14 or 15, my friend and I snuck out front and took my dads 62 out on a joy ride in the middle of the night. Pouring down rain and I’ve never driven on a dark rainy roadway.
we were lucky we didn’t get killed trying to keep it on the roadway with oncoming bright lights.
Never got caught. Should have had my ass beat.

 

That's fun at 16 or 17, and my dad was buying tires, but not so much now. ;-)

 

Run 4:11's in mine with a 700R4 trans. Made a new trans cross member and a couple inches out of the front half of the driveshaft did the trick. 2400 rpm's at 70, 427 BB dual quad engine. Also went with an 1/8" wall tube for the driveshaft and an Inland Impire Driveline center support bearing. Holds up to 550 HP/trq. well.

 

That makes it look easy. I am still not convinced I want to get that deep into it though. Swapping center sections seems like a lot less work.

 

I went ahead and bonded the patch panel on this morning. I didn't ignore the advice (well, I DID ignore it, but seriously considered it) to not use Panel-Bond for this, but I've used the stuff with great results in the past. The biggest job was a '59 Edsel wagon that I glued the entire roof skin (which had rusted off the body at the drip rail all the way to the A pillars) rocker panels, lower front fender heels and (home made) dog leg panels on with Panel-Bond. It was a huge job, LOTS of seams on big, low crown panels. 10 years on, the repairs look just like they did when the job left my shop, no seams showing. So I went ahead with it, figuring I didn't want to have the panel warped from heat and deal with that. And, I want to get it done and enjoy the car, not spend the summer working on it.
Tomorrow I'll back the self tappers out, chamfer the holes, knock the little bead of epoxy down on the seam, wipe a skim coat over the seam and fill the holes, then a skim coat of short strand glass filler and a final skim of plastic filler and it'll be ready for primer.
Time to go for a roadster ride now...

 

More dumb stuff: I was embarrassed to not notice the patch panel wheel lip wasn't as "crisp" as the original, with the lip having a gentle radius, not a sharp crease like the original, until I had it bonded on and the epoxy roughly flattened. It looks like it was made on a bead roller.
Oh well, I can "fix" that with a little fillet of 'glass reinforced filler, which I did. That's roughed off with a first coat of gold plastic filler on. I admit I'm a little rusty, I put too much catalyst in the filler, and it started to kick pretty fast. I'll get it, it ought to be ready to start blocking by the time I get this posted, and I get back out there...

 

The 1962 Impala is the best of them. There’s just something special about the 1962. It’s perfect.

 

Sanding, sanding, and more sanding. Then more filler, more sanding, then take too much off, so more filler, then more sanding. I've got enough time in it at this point that putting a new quarter panel on is looking like it might have been no more effort. Probably wouldn't have been any closer to being right, so, maybe not...

 

I agree. And I like this Sport Coupe roofline the best.

 

Looking good, Brian.

 

leave it as is and drive it....what's not to like the about 2 tone paint....

 

I like the tu-tone, it's that three tone paint job that my wife doesn't like that is making me paint it...

 

What’s the jack you’ve got at the back? I don’t think I’ve seen one like that before.

 

Looking great. You're starting with a killer canvas that just needs your help to get it over the finish line. You're well on your way

 

Awesome B. What a nice driver! It has "the look". Get her on the road for summer. I will have everything I own mobile and detailed for the first time in years.

 

That's a Blackhawk bumper hoist. It's the bomb for cars with bumpers, although these X framed cars are a little too flexible to be lifted off the ground. My '63 Riviera didn't like being lifted with this either. I've got a scissor lift, but it's in the back of the shop and is a bugger to move, so I'm suffering with this. Laying on the pavement long blocking filler is not my favorite thing...

 

Well, I THOUGHT I was done. There were some blisters on the lower rocker, that I hadn't noticed until I got under it and was knocking some paint off. I made a patch panel for the rocker, bonded it on and I'll finish it up tomorrow. I'd probably better pop the rocker molding of the drivers side and check that one too...

 

Brian, I’m enjoying this tutorial. Lap joint and adhesive correct? What about all comments stating that there WILL be a noticeable line/shadow showing up on hot days?

I have something similar to do to an OT truck and was going to butt weld but now not so sure...

Whose repair patch is that?

 

Could have been worse. And no, I'm not doing the repair. Way beyond my skill set.

 

You mean the rocker patch? I made it from 20 gauge, on my homemade 4' brake. It makes a gentle radius bend because it flexes a tiny bit with this gauge steel, perfect for this little patch. The quarter patch is from a little company here in Michigan, in the little town of Sunfield. I was going to replace the whole quarter, but this was so much less $$ and work I took a flyer on it. I didn't ignore the advice to weld rather than use adhesive, based on jobs I've done in the past with this stuff. The seam over the wheel lip is in the pretty deep radius in the quarter, so I think it'll be OK. If it does end up showing through, I'll have been wrong, but it won't be rusty either. It won't be the end of the world. I want a driver, and if I do end up having to replace the entire quarter, that's what I'll do.

 

I suspect the panel bond will work fine but I am not brave enough to try it yet. I had a buddy years ago that bonded a partial quarter panel on a 69 Camaro and it didn't work that well. On that same note and about that same time, I welded some partial quarters on both a Chevelle and a Nova and warped the crap out of them to the point that bodywork after welding was a real chore. So, not sure which was better or worse. Sounds like you have had good luck with bonding so maybe I will get brave and try it sometime. To your point, there is very little to lose by trying it for now even if it does have issues later.

Oh, and I think I have mentioned this before, but I really like this 62! You are just making it even better.

 

I meant to add that I debated welding vs. bonding before others here brought it up, but made a decision based on past experience. Because the seam is in a pretty tight radius area, not the center of large low crowned panel I went ahead with the bonding. You are absolutely correct in thinking that welding a patch in a panel like this can cause as much headache later on as this method. Warping, pinholes, and so on. Mainly I didn't want to get into a huge project and have the car tied up, but rather, I want to get a unified, driver quality paint job on it and enjoy it. I have a car in the garage that has been apart for years, I don't want two...

 

I run 3.36's on my 62 with a think a 26.5" tall tire (from memory) and a 3-speed. Highway RPMs are good and it's a great cruiser.

 

I love the Impalas. I had a 61 and a 65 SS for a short stint.