Ok Dave... when I sold Verne Frantz the ‘61 586 heads I had for this project, I was leary about shipping them after a bad experience with UPS. Since he’s only about 6 hours away, I offered to deliver them. It was a fun little day trip for Loreen and I, it gave me a chance to visit with Verne who I hadn’t seen in quite a while and, it gave me the chance to see the car up close and personal, something I figured I might not get to do ever again. I ended up trading the 586 heads straight up for a very nice set of 583’s that were on the engine when it came from Australia. So for most people that would have been enough, but me in my eagerness to be involved in this project, offered to go to Indiana and deliver the the donor car that he purchased for the left hand drive conversion. When I brought it to them, I stayed two days and help them cut up and disassemble the donor car. I wish I would have been closer to go and help them with the conversion, but it just wasn’t in my cards. Verne was great about keeping me updated on what was going on, and sent me tons of pictures of the progress. So that is the story how I got to crawl all over what I would call the most significant ‘61 Impala that is in existence right now. I hope someday I get the chance to see it again.
Rick
Verne is looking for an original 61-62 4 speed firewall seal for his original 409 4 speed 62 convertible. This is the one inside the car that is screwed to the firewall that the clutch rod goes through. He wants one in good condition and not a reproduction piece. PM me if you have one.
Thanks, Don