1961 Impala 2 Door Sedan - Let's Get Started...

tcb-1

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 1
As I’m sitting here on the couch rubbing my tweaked shoulder, I come to a conclusion. I’m getting too old to manually remove bumper to frame bolts. I should have just ground them off, but that would have been too easy. Yes, I’m a glutton for punishment.

Bumper off and will be replacing the passenger side bumper end with a NOS piece I found. Also now on the lookout for valances since apparently, the original owner used to mow down small trees and animals in his spare time...

That’s it for tonight as I take a handful of ibuprofen and a few sips of bourbon.

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pvs409

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 11
while you are resting -check e-bay but good valances are expensive and hard to find.
I bought and shipped a set of 61 fiberglass valances to Sweden last year for a friend, since we could not find any steel ones for his 61 Impala.

Now I see that OER has made reproduction steel valances. Fronts appear to be $ 220 for each section
rear repros are $ 240 each.
 

tcb-1

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 1
Paul, I have feelers out right now for a set. A guy in California has set of front and rear, in good shape and in original tuxedo black for $500. I’m really tempted.
 

tcb-1

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 1
Well, work schedule and kids have kept me hopping lately, but I had a chance tonight to install the last bit of side trim. I really was intimidated by installing bright work, but it wasn’t that bad. Granted, I didn’t remove all the Impala specific trim around the windows, which looks darn near impossible to reinstall once off.
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Also fine tuned the front fender alignment now that I had some trim to aim down.
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Now that the body is closer to being where I want it, I’m shifting focus to the engine and getting prepared to remove the front clip. Power disc brakes, stainless brake lines, and a full suspension rebuild is in store as well as a complete engine bay detail once the clip is removed.

That’s about it for now. But I’m happy to say thing are finally progressing after 3 years of stagnation!
 

tcb-1

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 1
Ok gang, getting ready to pull the trigger on a carb. Going with the 500cfm Edelbrock AVS-2. Did a lot of research and the annular boosters really are a big selling point. My question is (and remember, I'm not an engine builder), should I go with the manual or electric choke? I imagine the manual is just that, you have to adjust it via a control cable. The electric choke I'm guessing will need an "ignition on" 12 volt source. Am I thinking correctly?
 

tcb-1

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 1
Had to drop the fuel tank for a few reasons, mainly to diagnose a sending unit issue. Come to find out the float on the sender I put in 2 years ago was cracked and full. Cheap Chinese crap strikes again!! Soooo, I’m buying a new sending unit now. There are 2 sizes, 5/16” outlet for 6 cylinder and 2 barrel 283s and a 3/8 for the 4 barrel 283. My car is an original 6 cylinder, so I’m assuming my lines are 5/16”. However, I’m getting ready to drop a 283 in with a 500cfm carburetor.

Question. Am I going to starve my small Edelbrock carb with the original 5/16” line or will it work. I can run a new fuel line if need be. Thoughts?
 
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