I can't imagine how hard it is for you to get parts there for the Impala, but I sure bet it's tough for the '60 Sedan Delivery. Rare as hen's teeth here where they were built.
'60 Chevrolet Impala HT
- Thread starter Impala60
- Start date
Impala60
Well Known Member
Well, actually, it's easier than you think.
There are surprisingly many parts dealers / speed shops in here. I use mainly two of them, US Parts and Racers Place. The first has basically everything for street cars, from Factory Stock to Street Machines and usually the parts can be found immediately from the shop. Racers Place concentrates on Drag Race stuff, but they order anything you ask from the States if they don't have it on their shelf and ordered items arrive in one week. There is also an engine dyno and you can bring your car there to be repaired/rebuilt as well.
But of course it's not as easy as it is in the USA. Especially when talking about rare parts it's not easy.
There are surprisingly many parts dealers / speed shops in here. I use mainly two of them, US Parts and Racers Place. The first has basically everything for street cars, from Factory Stock to Street Machines and usually the parts can be found immediately from the shop. Racers Place concentrates on Drag Race stuff, but they order anything you ask from the States if they don't have it on their shelf and ordered items arrive in one week. There is also an engine dyno and you can bring your car there to be repaired/rebuilt as well.
But of course it's not as easy as it is in the USA. Especially when talking about rare parts it's not easy.
Impala60
Well Known Member
There came a slight problem with turn signals on this. Last night on a local Cruising Night when I was just driving around after everyone had already left home (It was about 1AM) when I put turn signal on to the right, it worked fine but it didn't stop flashing. After that turn signal to left didn't work and whenever I put right on it just didn't stop flashing until I had moved the stick up and down a few times.
Today I took off the steering wheel and found out that sometime during the car's life that part where the turn signal switch is attached had been bent a little and that caused the problem. At the same time one slug had came off. I put it back and tried to bend that other part a little. It partly fixed the problem but it's not as good as new. My dad tried it also after I had fixed it and he said that now the turn signal works better than it has ever worked. That's great, but I just hope it will last for a while. Gotta see if I can find some new parts from Ecklers or Classic Industries for that. Finnish dealers don't unfortunately have those parts in stock.
Anyway I took a couple of night pics of the car and they came out surprisingly good.
Today I took off the steering wheel and found out that sometime during the car's life that part where the turn signal switch is attached had been bent a little and that caused the problem. At the same time one slug had came off. I put it back and tried to bend that other part a little. It partly fixed the problem but it's not as good as new. My dad tried it also after I had fixed it and he said that now the turn signal works better than it has ever worked. That's great, but I just hope it will last for a while. Gotta see if I can find some new parts from Ecklers or Classic Industries for that. Finnish dealers don't unfortunately have those parts in stock.
Anyway I took a couple of night pics of the car and they came out surprisingly good.
VERY NICE.
That car came out awesome !!!
That car came out awesome !!!
brushwolf
Well Known Member
Nice job! I too have a 60 red hardtop and it is also from Texas, so remains to be seen how much rust repair is in it it. But seeing your nice work gives me enthusiasm to keep going. Mine probably doesn't have any hidden previous rust repairs at it is still in original faded red paint. But my trunk floor is real bad as the car had a dented trunk lid and was open for years so the sitting water did a job on the floor. Amazing how we'll you got the previous paint matched up so well. See you stuck with the 3 red tail light lenses on each side. Had planned to do the same with mine. Always thought the white center lens looked kind of lame.. I had one of these previously when I was a couple years older than you, but got broadsided at an intersection so ended up selling it soon after I got married. Have regretted selling it ever since, but have the parts, tools, and money to build this one better than the previous one. Have a rebuilt 348 with three deuces sitting on engine stand now, so have to get to work on the body pretty soon and your thread was a great motivator. Thanks, Mike
Impala60
Well Known Member
Sorry for the late reply, I've been really busy with other stuff going on (School business & graduating from High School, work, Drag Racing etc). Of course I have visited in many Cruising Nights / Car Shows and whatever car events with this Chevy, too.
Thanks guys for the kind words!
Mike: Your project sounds very interesting! Original paint is a good thing for sure, because there might not be that much surprises and no previous repairs under the color coat as if it was repainted later. That paint surprised me as well, it's very close. I bet that if it looked as old as the other paint which has pretty many scratches and everything, most people couldn't tell it's repainted. I also agree with you on the taillights, three reds just look so much better. I replaced those white center lenses with reds maybe about ten years ago or something like that and they've been there since then.
I've heard it many times that people regret having sold their previous cars. But it's a great thing that there is a possibility to buy or build a similar, or even a better one. Even reading about a 348 with a TriPower makes me drool all over my keyboard...
Thanks guys for the kind words!
Mike: Your project sounds very interesting! Original paint is a good thing for sure, because there might not be that much surprises and no previous repairs under the color coat as if it was repainted later. That paint surprised me as well, it's very close. I bet that if it looked as old as the other paint which has pretty many scratches and everything, most people couldn't tell it's repainted. I also agree with you on the taillights, three reds just look so much better. I replaced those white center lenses with reds maybe about ten years ago or something like that and they've been there since then.
I've heard it many times that people regret having sold their previous cars. But it's a great thing that there is a possibility to buy or build a similar, or even a better one. Even reading about a 348 with a TriPower makes me drool all over my keyboard...
Impala60
Well Known Member
A While ago I bought new cylinder heads for this. They are those that were used in '59-'60 283 engines with two Four Barrel Carbs and Fuel Injection engines. I guess they are pretty rare, but I got them cheap from a friend. They need to be rebuilt, but after looking at what prices some fellows are asking for that, I decided to rebuild them myself. It shouldn't be that hard I guess and at least my dad knows how to rebuild cylinder heads so I can ask him some advice as well.
Today I took apart everything that came off from the heads and tomorrow I'll drop them to my dad's workplace where they can be washed so that they will be clean as new after that. I need new valves but otherwise I believe I don't have to buy new parts for them. Just some new red paint and I'll install them at the same time when I'll do the intake manifold swap (I'll install an original cast iron intake from '67 327 SBC and a Quadrajet).
Not that there's anything big wrong with the engine as it is, but that might give a bit of extra power that might help a bit.
Today I took apart everything that came off from the heads and tomorrow I'll drop them to my dad's workplace where they can be washed so that they will be clean as new after that. I need new valves but otherwise I believe I don't have to buy new parts for them. Just some new red paint and I'll install them at the same time when I'll do the intake manifold swap (I'll install an original cast iron intake from '67 327 SBC and a Quadrajet).
Not that there's anything big wrong with the engine as it is, but that might give a bit of extra power that might help a bit.
What are the casting numbers on your new hi po heads? The true 2x4 and fuelie heads will have a smaller combustion chamber (59 cc verses 69 cc) to increase the compression ratio, requiring higher octane fuel to prevent pre detonation.
Mr harold knight
Active Member
It really looks great.
Impala60
Well Known Member
Well it's been five years so let's bring this one up back from the dead. A lot has happened, but not a lot with the '60 Impala... First let me say that yes, the Power Pack heads are with the 692 casting numbers.
So the summer 2015 went really well. I drove a lot with the Impala and during the autumn it worked also as my daily driver. I bought a 1st gen Chevy S10 as a daily driver, but it needed some work before I started driving it (had to get rid of the ugly lowered chassis and return it back to more stock-ish appearance). The S10 was a good daily driver, but a bit too modern so nowadays I have a '74 Malibu Classic Wagon as my daily driver...
Anyway, in October I parked the Impala inside my garage as the winter was coming. Next thing I know is that I bought a 1962 Chevy II which I'm currently building as a period correct '60s Gasser with a blown SBC and four speed. So we drove the Impala to our summer cottage's garage in 2016 as I needed to get the Chevy II home. There was no other space for the Impala, so unfortunately it sat there unused, until in late November 2019, our other garage was modified so that we could fit two cars inside. So finally, it was time to bring the Impala back!
So in November 2019 we went to our summer cottage hoping that the Impala would be in running and driving condition after sitting there for four years. We left in the morning (with my dad) and the plan was to come home the same day, so we had to try avoiding any big problems... We pushed the car outside from the garage. It looked exactly like I remembered, so I took the spark plugs out, cleaned them and sprayed a bit of oil to the cylinders. With a new battery the engine was turning really good, but there was no spark. So I took out the distributor cap and after a careful cleanup of points and all other contacting areas, we had a good spark again. When the fuel came from gas tank to the carburetor, the engine was running very nicely again.
The engine was warmed up and I wiped all wax away from the chrome parts. Then hit the road. Otherwise the car was working fine, but the timing advance adjustment springs (or whatever they are called in English) were dead. So that was causing some trouble when trying to leave from traffic lights, but otherwise everything worked just fine.
The next day I washed the car as it was dirty from driving on all of those dirt roads. Then I had to plan what I wanted to do with it...
Well, last time when I was in the annual tech inspection with this one, the upper control arm bushings were a bit loose on front end. So they had to be replaced. And at the same time while I was working on the front suspension, I decided to replace every bushing and ball joint. So the front suspension was taken apart...
I cleaned up the front end of the frame properly and painted it gloss black.
I removed the old bushings from the control arms by burning them away and new ones were installed on place. That wasn't the easiest job to do, but luckily with help from my dad and another friend we got them done. Then just some new paint to the control arms.
...More coming soon, stay tuned...
So the summer 2015 went really well. I drove a lot with the Impala and during the autumn it worked also as my daily driver. I bought a 1st gen Chevy S10 as a daily driver, but it needed some work before I started driving it (had to get rid of the ugly lowered chassis and return it back to more stock-ish appearance). The S10 was a good daily driver, but a bit too modern so nowadays I have a '74 Malibu Classic Wagon as my daily driver...
Anyway, in October I parked the Impala inside my garage as the winter was coming. Next thing I know is that I bought a 1962 Chevy II which I'm currently building as a period correct '60s Gasser with a blown SBC and four speed. So we drove the Impala to our summer cottage's garage in 2016 as I needed to get the Chevy II home. There was no other space for the Impala, so unfortunately it sat there unused, until in late November 2019, our other garage was modified so that we could fit two cars inside. So finally, it was time to bring the Impala back!
So in November 2019 we went to our summer cottage hoping that the Impala would be in running and driving condition after sitting there for four years. We left in the morning (with my dad) and the plan was to come home the same day, so we had to try avoiding any big problems... We pushed the car outside from the garage. It looked exactly like I remembered, so I took the spark plugs out, cleaned them and sprayed a bit of oil to the cylinders. With a new battery the engine was turning really good, but there was no spark. So I took out the distributor cap and after a careful cleanup of points and all other contacting areas, we had a good spark again. When the fuel came from gas tank to the carburetor, the engine was running very nicely again.
The engine was warmed up and I wiped all wax away from the chrome parts. Then hit the road. Otherwise the car was working fine, but the timing advance adjustment springs (or whatever they are called in English) were dead. So that was causing some trouble when trying to leave from traffic lights, but otherwise everything worked just fine.
The next day I washed the car as it was dirty from driving on all of those dirt roads. Then I had to plan what I wanted to do with it...
Well, last time when I was in the annual tech inspection with this one, the upper control arm bushings were a bit loose on front end. So they had to be replaced. And at the same time while I was working on the front suspension, I decided to replace every bushing and ball joint. So the front suspension was taken apart...
I cleaned up the front end of the frame properly and painted it gloss black.
I removed the old bushings from the control arms by burning them away and new ones were installed on place. That wasn't the easiest job to do, but luckily with help from my dad and another friend we got them done. Then just some new paint to the control arms.
...More coming soon, stay tuned...
Looking good. 
Impala60
Well Known Member
Thanks Jim!
The control arms were finished when I installed the ball joints and the bolts that hold the axle in place. I painted them silver as they were rusty so they'd look a bit better...
Then it was time to put the front suspension back together. I took my dad with me to have an extra pair of hands here. The springs were a bit tricky to install on place, but after some modifications to the spring compresser tool we got the springs mounted.
After installing the sway bar and adding grease to all ball joints the car was driveable again. I wanted to do some work with the engine, so we moved the car to our home garage where we had a bit more room. This other garage was quite full with the Impala and our Stock Eliminator race car ('74 Malibu) inside.
So what about the engine? Unfortunately it's still not the time to install a 348 or 409 under the hood. That, and a four speed, would be a dream come true, but unfortunately I can't afford it yet. But some day, this thing will for sure have a W-Block under the hood.
Right now this car the stock 283 SBC with one 2bbl carburetor, originally advertised at 170hp. Not very impressive as far as the power, but it's a really good and reliable engine for cruising around. But that 170hp combined together with the current Powerglide trans, 3:08 gears in the rear axle and tall rear tires make this car pretty slow. I want to keep cruising around with it so I want to keep the engine pretty mild. But some extra performance would be good.
To achieve this I have 1960 283 Power Pack heads that were used in Corvettes with 2x4bbl carburetors or Fuel Injection and the intake manifold comes from a 350 of a late '60s Camaro. On top of that I'll install a Quadrajet that used to be on our race car before we bought a new one for it. And I'll replace the stock exhaust manifolds with headers as I'll need to rebuild those rusty exhaust pipes anyway. Lastly, I found new unused 3:55 gears for the rear axle for around $50 so I bought them too. So nothing special, but it should be a little better.
I rebuilt the heads myself. After a careful cleanup I polished the valve seats. Valves, valve seals and valve springs were all new parts. Then I painted them red which is the same color the engine will be. I know factory color would be orange, but my father painted this engine red in 1990 when he rebuilt it, so red it is... I also painted the intake.
The control arms were finished when I installed the ball joints and the bolts that hold the axle in place. I painted them silver as they were rusty so they'd look a bit better...
Then it was time to put the front suspension back together. I took my dad with me to have an extra pair of hands here. The springs were a bit tricky to install on place, but after some modifications to the spring compresser tool we got the springs mounted.
After installing the sway bar and adding grease to all ball joints the car was driveable again. I wanted to do some work with the engine, so we moved the car to our home garage where we had a bit more room. This other garage was quite full with the Impala and our Stock Eliminator race car ('74 Malibu) inside.
So what about the engine? Unfortunately it's still not the time to install a 348 or 409 under the hood. That, and a four speed, would be a dream come true, but unfortunately I can't afford it yet. But some day, this thing will for sure have a W-Block under the hood.
Right now this car the stock 283 SBC with one 2bbl carburetor, originally advertised at 170hp. Not very impressive as far as the power, but it's a really good and reliable engine for cruising around. But that 170hp combined together with the current Powerglide trans, 3:08 gears in the rear axle and tall rear tires make this car pretty slow. I want to keep cruising around with it so I want to keep the engine pretty mild. But some extra performance would be good.
To achieve this I have 1960 283 Power Pack heads that were used in Corvettes with 2x4bbl carburetors or Fuel Injection and the intake manifold comes from a 350 of a late '60s Camaro. On top of that I'll install a Quadrajet that used to be on our race car before we bought a new one for it. And I'll replace the stock exhaust manifolds with headers as I'll need to rebuild those rusty exhaust pipes anyway. Lastly, I found new unused 3:55 gears for the rear axle for around $50 so I bought them too. So nothing special, but it should be a little better.
I rebuilt the heads myself. After a careful cleanup I polished the valve seats. Valves, valve seals and valve springs were all new parts. Then I painted them red which is the same color the engine will be. I know factory color would be orange, but my father painted this engine red in 1990 when he rebuilt it, so red it is... I also painted the intake.
That's a really cool looking car, 
good luck with the engine.
good luck with the engine.
Impala60
Well Known Member
Thanks guys!
Now that the car was at home, it was time to remove the hood and take some parts away from the engine bay in order to get the engine out.
The current exhaust is in really bad shape (rusty) so it will be replaced as well. While I'm doing that, I'll also change the exhaust manifolds to headers. The old exhaust pipes were also removed. Luckily all bolts opened nicely, but I had to cut the pipes just before the rear axle to get them out...
Then I took my dad with me into the garage so now I had two pairs of hands. We took the tranny out. As you can see, it's a newer aluminum version of Powerglide. The original cast iron one is rebuilt and we still have it, but I think this aluminum one is going back to the car for now. But it has been leaking oil for the last 30 years so I'll need to fix that... As you can see it also needs a complete cleanup.
Then we took the engine out...
Proper cleanup and some fresh paint needed both, on the engine bay and on the engine itself!
Now that the car was at home, it was time to remove the hood and take some parts away from the engine bay in order to get the engine out.
The current exhaust is in really bad shape (rusty) so it will be replaced as well. While I'm doing that, I'll also change the exhaust manifolds to headers. The old exhaust pipes were also removed. Luckily all bolts opened nicely, but I had to cut the pipes just before the rear axle to get them out...
Then I took my dad with me into the garage so now I had two pairs of hands. We took the tranny out. As you can see, it's a newer aluminum version of Powerglide. The original cast iron one is rebuilt and we still have it, but I think this aluminum one is going back to the car for now. But it has been leaking oil for the last 30 years so I'll need to fix that... As you can see it also needs a complete cleanup.
Then we took the engine out...
Proper cleanup and some fresh paint needed both, on the engine bay and on the engine itself!
Impala60
Well Known Member
I removed valve train, intake, heads, oil pan, water pump and some smaller parts from the engine. All are in need of careful cleanup, but other than that they look pretty good.
Rockers for the new Power Pack heads will be taken from the stock heads... So they needed to be inspected and cleaned properly. I'd say they're good to go.
This is how the engine looked at that point...
After careful cleanup of the engine block and other parts that will be painted, they're actually not that bad. But, of course they'll look better with fresh paint on them anyway.
Timing chain and the gears looks like they could be replaced. Well they're not expensive so I picked up a new one already from a local speed shop.
And today I painted the engine block, oil pan and the backside of the water pump. For some reason those parts look like orange on the pictures, which would of course be the factory color, but I have to say that they are actually gloss red.
Rockers for the new Power Pack heads will be taken from the stock heads... So they needed to be inspected and cleaned properly. I'd say they're good to go.
This is how the engine looked at that point...
After careful cleanup of the engine block and other parts that will be painted, they're actually not that bad. But, of course they'll look better with fresh paint on them anyway.
Timing chain and the gears looks like they could be replaced. Well they're not expensive so I picked up a new one already from a local speed shop.
And today I painted the engine block, oil pan and the backside of the water pump. For some reason those parts look like orange on the pictures, which would of course be the factory color, but I have to say that they are actually gloss red.
this is a great thread, well done with the 60'