62 Impala winter project
- Thread starter 62impala409
- Start date
Don, One of my concerns for many years has been that a most of these cars are being restored for the next generation. We will never wear them out! I can't imagine that these cars will on the road for another 50 years. Kind of scarey to think about all of this.
I can't really add anything to what everyone else is saying, but it deserves saying again: BEAUTIFUL car before you repainted it and even more BEAUTIFUL now! I love the spinners and the "swirl" inserts and think they look great even if not "correct" and love that you drive and enjoy it. 
Great car. Always been one of my favorites. 
Hi Phil, Are you aware of the "rest of the story" on these gold emblems and why they are so hard to find?
I'm all ears Leo!!!!!!!!
The info I have is from Vern Frantz who documents many of the'62 and '63 gold cars. All of the early '62 Impalas, (none SS cars) were built with brass plated impala's in the center of the rear quarter emblems because this was the 50th year of Chevrolet production. Apparently the brass plating started peeling off because of a vendor problem. This condition was corrected on 12/11/61 by installing the fully chromed Impala emblems. The early cars that came in for service had the emblems routinely replaced with the chrome emblems under a Technical Information sheet issued by the Engineering dept. I bought one NOS emblem from Jody Anderson and had the other side gold plated. My car has a 5B build date and was delivered with chrome emblems. I was under the mistaken impression that my gold emblems had been liberated, that is why I replaced them. I am going to link the GM bulletin.
Verne_Frantz
58-64 Subject Matter Expert Posts: 4167
Loc: hightstown,NJ USA
Reg: 08-22-00
User Info
Send Private Topic
This User's Topics
This User's Posts
View Profile
09-05-12 04:35 PM - Post#2266864
I have a set in the Chevy boxes that the new all-chrome ones came in. The dealer put the old ones back in the boxes. Yes, they are very rare because Chevrolet got rid of all the brass ones when the chrome ones came out. The part number was made obsolete immediately. It's sad to say but MANY restored '62s from the first few months should really have them since that's the way the cars were delivered.
I'll try to dig out more info later when I find the TSB that explains the change.
Verne
My mistake. It was not a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin). It was a Technical Information sheet issued by the Engineering dept for zone reps to be put in their "Product Data" books. This type of information is very hard to come by since it was only distributed to the zone offices. The zone offices, in turn, were supposed to alert the dealers in their zone about the information. As you can see the notice wasn't issued until April, when the production change ocurred in Dec.
58-64 Subject Matter Expert Posts: 4167
Loc: hightstown,NJ USA
Reg: 08-22-00
User Info
Send Private Topic
This User's Topics
This User's Posts
View Profile
09-05-12 04:35 PM - Post#2266864
I have a set in the Chevy boxes that the new all-chrome ones came in. The dealer put the old ones back in the boxes. Yes, they are very rare because Chevrolet got rid of all the brass ones when the chrome ones came out. The part number was made obsolete immediately. It's sad to say but MANY restored '62s from the first few months should really have them since that's the way the cars were delivered.
I'll try to dig out more info later when I find the TSB that explains the change.
Verne
My mistake. It was not a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin). It was a Technical Information sheet issued by the Engineering dept for zone reps to be put in their "Product Data" books. This type of information is very hard to come by since it was only distributed to the zone offices. The zone offices, in turn, were supposed to alert the dealers in their zone about the information. As you can see the notice wasn't issued until April, when the production change ocurred in Dec.
Last edited:
Another part of the conversation.
Verne_Frantz
58-64 Subject Matter Expert Posts: 4167
Loc: hightstown,NJ USA
Reg: 08-22-00
User Info
Send Private Topic
This User's Topics
This User's Posts
View Profile
09-05-12 12:13 PM - Post#2266786
In response to del.impala
Actually, ALL early Impalas had a 2 piece 1/4 emblem with a brass plated deer. The brass plating failed early and Chevy replaced the emblems with ones that were all chrome. I can be more precise with dates, etc when I get home and find the paperwork on it.
Verne
58-64 Subject Matter Expert Posts: 4167
Loc: hightstown,NJ USA
Reg: 08-22-00
User Info
Send Private Topic
This User's Topics
This User's Posts
View Profile
09-05-12 12:13 PM - Post#2266786
In response to del.impala
Actually, ALL early Impalas had a 2 piece 1/4 emblem with a brass plated deer. The brass plating failed early and Chevy replaced the emblems with ones that were all chrome. I can be more precise with dates, etc when I get home and find the paperwork on it.
Verne
I saved my "correct" chrome emblems but am not ready to put them back on anytime soon.