old school impala/deville

[jw01]

hey guys

im sure someone here has to be a car fanatic, especially old school cars.

thse days im really into purchasing a 64 impala or a 65 deville. i have finalized my choice to a 65 deville b.c i cant seem to find a impala w.in my budget of $5k that's in decent condition. im not looking to overhaul the ride, since i dont have the money yet, but fix up minor tweaks and take it out on weekends etc. the 65 deville i have seen has an amazing frame with minimum rust and is it really good condition. it has its issues, nothing huge, but then again any 43 yr old piece of technology. anyz, i want to kno you guys input. bfore purchasing the ride, other than getting the car certified, is there nething else i should look for? my mechanic said im looking at roughly 30k to fully restore it but yeah. any input would b apprecaited. thanks

jay

 

[LateComer]

I'm surprised that you found it easier find a Deville than an Impala. I am a fan of old cars as I remember them from my youth but I wouldn't call myself an expert. Anyway, my laymans opinion is that the Deville would be a better choice than the Impala based on the looks/prestige value unless I am totally out to lunch here. Wouldn't an old Caddy be more in demand than an old Chev? Of course this doesn't answer your question about potential problems with the car. My only suggestion would be to google it but I am sure you already did that.

 

[DistantVoyeur]

Actually the Impala would have more value. You find a 409 and clone it to an SS, good value car. Caddies and Lincoln's from the 60's have not really caught on yet, who knows with the future though. Also, parts will be harder to find for them as not as many were made.

 

[LateComer]

Actually the Impala would have more value. You find a 409 and clone it to an SS, good value car. Caddies and Lincoln's from the 60's have not really caught on yet, who knows with the future though. Also, parts will be harder to find for them as not as many were made.

I guess when I think of an Impala I think of my friend's father's 307 Impala - a very pedestrian automobile, but hey what do I know? An old muscle car version like the 409 or any convertible would be desirable.

 

[DistantVoyeur]

Actually you can use a 307 model to make a cloned 409, just need some extra trim pieces. Clones are making decent money these days. Unfortunately Caddies don't have a desirable model to clone.
A stock 307 Impala would be a boring car, would at least have to upgrade the motor and tranny.

 

[jbar]

Take it to someone to have it THOROUGHLY inspected. I owned a 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible from 2000 until this summer. I bought it for $4300 (appraised value was $7600) from an estate auction that took place in the middle of nowhere.

The body panels were all original but were weak...newspaper and bondo, which led to problem number 2; my buddy owns a body shop and has all of the NOS (New Original Stock) catalogues to order from, but we couldn't locate a rear quarter that was made for the convertible..the aftermarket didn't support it. If it was a Chevelle or a 442 convertible, it would have been no problem. Also, since GM didn't go through the cookie-cutter syndrome to the degree that they are today, few parts between the 5 GM divisions could be interchanged. In the 60's/70's generally, a Buick 350 does not equal a Chevy 350, does not equal a Pontiac 350, does not equal a Olds 350 since each division had its own motor design. The choke on my carburator kicked the bucket. You think it would be easy to locate/interchange another one......nope!!! Since the convertible was only a fair-weather-runner, it wasn't a problem. I have a few other stories regarding part scouting (tires, mirrors, etc), but you have to check to see if aftermarket can supply parts adequate. And check the original production totals to gauge in order to probability of finding scraped/salvaged parts. The Mopar folks are going ballistic these days because the production totals for their cars are a fraction of what GM produced for competing models (e.g. Chevelle verses Charger), which in turn leads to higher part prices. God forbid you try playing the AMC game.

It you are going to do a nut-and-bolt restoration, keep in mind that you will NOT recoup any labour costs that will go into it. Legendary Motorcar in Milton tries to: they will charge $80K for a restored Challenger 440 while the rest of the market would have to settle for $50K for the same car.

This is a very cool hobby that you are entering, I've gotten some good "play" because of it, but it will test your patience and cleverness. Networking is crucial in this game, and going to classic car events, like RM Auctions (Oct 19 - 21 at the airport....see you there) will help with the learning curve.


Cheers