Thanks for posting Jim, the first is a tuxedo black Impala sport coupe built 3rd week May 62 at Baltimore with red bench seat interior, AC and tinted glass.
Just because the clutch bracket is more than spot welded on does not mean the car was not originally a manual from the factory. Street and drag racers back in the day running high performance very stiff clutch plates often broke the spot welds loose and the bracket had to be re-attatched and reinforced to keep it from coming off during high RPM speed shifts.
Thank you Carl. I wondered about the 62 having a/c. There is a patch welded on the upper passenger side of the firewall, but no other signs of the car having a/c. Someone must have removed all of the a/c components and replaced with non a/c system.
Do you have a photo of that firewall Jim? Does the car still have the original engine? The engine stamp pad suffix code will also confirm if the car was originally fitted with AC.
Here is a picture of the firewall upper corner.Do you have a photo of that firewall Jim? Does the car still have the original engine? The engine stamp pad suffix code will also confirm if the car was originally fitted with AC.
Thanks Jim, someone was sure keen to get rid of the factory AC system because they've welded up the AC holes in the firewall. Here's what a factory AC firewall looks like.
Thanks Jim, the firewall on the 62 confirms it was originally an AC car, as per the code on the cowl tag.
Thanks Carl. And it's supposed to be a 409 car also. Of course it didn't come with the engine though.
Add me, to that list.
My Scheifer Pressure Plate was so stiff, it not only broke the bracket off the frame, it wore a groove on the Clutch Rod, where it went in to the Clutch Pedal hole. The stiff Clutch Pedal, probably has a little to do, with the knee problems I'm now having, on my left Knee.
Lol, I had a Scheifer pressure plate in my 62 back in the day. I remember my leg trembling at a stop lights if I didn't put it in neutral, the clutch pedal was so hard to push down it actually broke the pedal off of the pivot tube where it was welded on and the clutch pedal fell down on the floor. After that I replaced it with a more normal clutch, I think it was a ZOOM clutch.
I see that the car is a stick shift, what kind of engine does it have? code? Electric clock, code?, front fender antennae code?, spinner hubcap's code?
If it was a 409 car, it will have the return fuel line.
It does have a return line or at least what is left of it. The frame also appears to have sagged more than usual at the front rails and has a second set of coils inside the rear springs. I'm guessing it was raced pretty hard back in the day.
My green 62 SS 409 clone looked just like that
I am 99% sure that ALL Convertible bodies were assembled either in St. Louis or Flint Mi then shipped as a "body in white" to their final assembly plant to be completed. I know that is correct for 58 I am not sure about any other year. In 59 I believe same was true for convertible and El Camino and possibly sedan delivery bodies. I had multiple conversations with Verne over the years regarding my 58 Hardtop and will always be grateful that he shared with me tips and details about my car it is a factory AC PS PB 348 PG car. The trim tags were meant to call out things/modifications that had to be done at Fischer before the body went onto Chevrolet so I always keep that in mind when trying to understand some of these codes and knowing full well that not every plant followed the same protocols. The 930A paint code was for Silver Blue Poly which was a Duracryl ACRYLIC LACQUER so the LA might be correlated to that especially since its on the PAINT line of the tag instead of the ACC line. Cannot tell if the car had a power seat and I am not a convertible guy so not sure if the OA or LA might have to do with the power top as those two options would both required the electrical extension harnesses also. The body portion of the harness were installed at Fisher body so that might be a road worth going down.
He told me, every time, I press the clutch pedal down, the car body, lifts up, off the body mount, rubber. On the driver's side.
