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'71 Impala 4 door... what should I do with it?

Greg

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
I have a chance to pick up this massive boat of a car that is fairly ugly, the previous generation of Chevy Impala was a good looking car, but this thing isn't great IMO. The price is pretty decent, so I'm considering getting it.

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This thing has a 402 big block under the hood, should have a TH400 transmission and I'm assuming a 12 bolt rear axle. Originally, I was going to buy the car for the drivetrain and yank it out, then scrap the rest of the car... but I feel like this car would be better served getting it back on the road, toss on some nice wheels and tires, clean up the interior and possibly adding airbags. Make it a fun cruiser for running around town. Not sure if I'd keep it or sell it at that point.

It does have factory air conditioning, which would be nice if the car is going to end up as a driver. The big question is that I don't know why it was parked. These things are fairly simple, so I'm not too worried about major issues... I just don't know why it was parked.

What should I do with it?
 
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Pike2350

Registered User
Location
Salt Lake City
um. why? :rofl:

No offense, but I think, by the time you invested into it with getting it cleaned up will not be returned. It is not an attractive car, the pics make it look rough, and even as a driver I wouldn't expect to get much more then 2-3k out of it. I think putting that time/energy to your other projects would be much better use of them.
 
Greg

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Pike2350 said:
um. why? :rofl:

No offense, but I think, by the time you invested into it with getting it cleaned up will not be returned. It is not an attractive car, the pics make it look rough, and even as a driver I wouldn't expect to get much more then 2-3k out of it. I think putting that time/energy to your other projects would be much better use of them.
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Because it has a rad drivetrain... and would be a fun cruiser. 🤷‍♂️
 
Greg

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
DaveB said:
I have an air shroud, water pump, AC and other front engine brackets for that engine from a 71 Chevy truck.
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I'll have to see what all it needs, but I'll keep you tin mind if I do get it and need the parts... thanks Dave!


johngottfredson said:
Don’t listen to the haters, you should 100% do it! I agree about it not penciling out, but it looks like good RME build thread entertainment, so don’t let little details like “resale” and “nobody likes that car” keep you from living your dreams!
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I think the haters are watching out for my best interests.... I have way more than enough projects and all of them are higher priority than this thing. The big block 402 and TH400 are valuable (IMO) and make the rest of the car interesting. Those parts would be neat to sling into my Pontiac Bonneville as well.... ;)
 
johngottfredson

johngottfredson

Threat Level Midnight
Location
Alpine
Greg said:
I think the haters are watching out for my best interests.... I have way more than enough projects and all of them are higher priority than this thing. The big block 402 and TH400 are valuable (IMO) and make the rest of the car interesting. Those parts would be neat to sling into my Pontiac Bonneville as well.... ;)
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Whatever, but who is watching out for MY best interests as a casual consumer of RME build threads? I believe in you, whats one more project…:D
 
Hickey

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Location
Grantsville, Utah
I would first check it out for rust, because I personally wouldn’t want to deal with floor/rocker replacement on a car that I don’t already love.

I do agree that it would be a pretty cool cruiser with the right wheel and tire package and a squatty suspension.
 
P

Pile of parts

Well-Known Member
Location
South Jordan
I love that car because it's just like the one we had on the Driver's Ed range in high school. All the other kids raced to try and get the new Grand AM. (This was 1986) Not me... The keys to that green Impala were mine. I loved sliding the back end around the figure 8 while the instructor (gym coach) was busy hitting golf balls onto the field instead of keeping an eye on us. I can still feel the sticky steering wheel from all those years in the sun. GOOD TIMES! But seriously, I'd derby that car!
 
mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
Pile of parts said:
I love that car because it's just like the one we had on the Driver's Ed range in high school. All the other kids raced to try and get the new Grand AM. (This was 1986) Not me... The keys to that green Impala were mine. I loved sliding the back end around the figure 8 while the instructor (gym coach) was busy hitting golf balls onto the field instead of keeping an eye on us. I can still feel the sticky steering wheel from all those years in the sun. GOOD TIMES! But seriously, I'd derby that car!
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You are old! I bet you remember the Van Halen 1984 album well?
 
TurboMinivan

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
Since I recently announced my plan to buy Ryan's Custom Cruiser wagon, I feel obligated to chime in to this thread.

Greg said:
What should I do with it?
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You've already answered this question:

Greg said:
Because it has a rad drivetrain... and would be a fun cruiser. 🤷‍♂️
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The older I get, the more I'm falling in love with cheap old cars. Just bring it back to life and drive the thing. Don't worry about doing any sort of full resto--not at all. Instead, follow David Freiburger's mantra: Don't get it right. Just get it running.

Greg said:
The big block 402 and TH400 are valuable (IMO) and make the rest of the car interesting.
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Being a numbers-matching 402 definitely makes it an interesting car. Will it ever be outrageously valuable? Highly unlikely. Still, it's worth keeping it together and getting it running if you can do so on the cheap.

Say, have you ever watched any Vice Grip Garage car resurrection videos on YouTube? ;)
 
Greg

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Pile of parts said:
.... But seriously, I'd derby that car!
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I don't think I could do that to this car, as straight as it is. I've never been a demolition derby guy, I'd rather see it back on the road than get destroyed.

TurboMinivan said:
Since I recently announced my plan to buy Ryan's Custom Cruiser wagon, I feel obligated to chime in to this thread.

You've already answered this question:

The older I get, the more I'm falling in love with cheap old cars. Just bring it back to life and drive the thing. Don't worry about doing any sort of full resto--not at all. Instead, follow David Freiburger's mantra: Don't get it right. Just get it running.
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I think you're one of the few that understands where I'm coming from. Its not a beautiful car, desirable or valuable... but its still neat and someone would love to drive it.

Yeah, I don't think it would be too difficult to get it back on the road, that's really what I'd want to see for this Impala. Clean it up, get the mechanicals working and drive it.... or sell it to someone that wants to drive it. I'm very familiar with Freiburger's mantra, it was the idea behind getting the '69 Chevy K20 back running! It has a long way to go, but it runs and drives now.


TurboMinivan said:
Being a numbers-matching 402 definitely makes it an interesting car. Will it ever be outrageously valuable? Highly unlikely. Still, it's worth keeping it together and getting it running if you can do so on the cheap.

Say, have you ever watched any Vice Grip Garage car resurrection videos on YouTube? ;)
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I think the car is more valuable as a running, driving car versus yanking the drivetrain out and scrapping the rest. It's also less work! And I relate to Derek from VGG, I love getting an old car back up and running, then on the road. I've had several projects that I've breathed new life back into, getting an old car running again is one of the most favorite things I enjoy these days, TBH.
 
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Pike2350

Registered User
Location
Salt Lake City
Greg said:
I love getting an old car back up and running, then on the road. I've had several projects that I've breathed new life back into, getting an old car running again is one of the most favorite things I enjoy these days, TBH.
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If this is what you enjoy, then go for it. I totally get doing something you enjoy regardless of the financial implications of it.

My main/initial comment was more about, you have so many other projects already going on.....and that given those, the less desirable nature of this car makes it seem like you are spreading your resources too thin. Now, if you have enough room to store it until you can get to it, then by all means go for it. My wife would MURDER me if I brought home so many projects, even if I had the room....but yours seems pretty dam understanding.
 
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