I think the 64 Impala is a bit tarted up in design, but you probably need a bit more tartness like duals or other small custom touches. Actually, it doesn't look all that bad by itself, but compared to the 61-63...
The local newspaper ran this pic from their archives today, from 1963. The number of British cars here at that time was remarkable, and matches what I remember as a kid.
RE. The "Medalist"--I'm surprised they built it in a four-door hardtop--and even a two-door hardtop, for that matter. Strippo model.
For about $100 more, you could get a 'Custom'. It bought you chrome window surrounds and not much else. But, believe it or not, you could get a convertible.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
I find the 61-64 big Chevy's interesting because they seem to evoke strong opinions. For example, some like the 62 claiming it is the cleanest design, while others feel it is too plain.
I find the 61-64 big Chevy's interesting because they seem to evoke strong opinions. For example, some like the 62 claiming it is the cleanest design, while others feel it is too plain.
That's true. Definitely seems to draw out differing points of view. To me the '61 model seems to have deliberate lines and trim to create a separate top and bottom half of the car.
And the rear wheel openings are either Ford aping GM or the other way around!
The '62 Impala seems to be a cleaner integrated look which seems to draw the eye forward. Almost like it's poised to move even while parked.
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
A cousin of mine shared this online yesterday (there are some wide age gaps in my family, I have cousins who are almost 70). The adults are my grandparents, the kids are cousins, car looks like a 54 Mercury Monterey, pic taken when it was maybe a few years old:
When I see old color pics, it strikes me that life itself seemed more colorful then. I'm also reminded of that from the clip from "Mad....." you posted earlier.
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RE.: Wheel openings...I tend to hate a ton of sheetmetal above a wheel opening, as was so often the case back then, but the '61 Chevy's trim seems to minimize that look I think.
I did always like the '61 and '62 instrument panel, with the center glovebox. My Dad always whined when Chevys got away from that. I liked the Impala steering wheels too; made me think "Corvette".
Chevy hung onto Powerglide and 283 forever, while B-O-P moved up in engineering....but I have often thought Chevy put its money where you could see it. Often, an Impala's interior bettered a Catalina, LeSabre, or base-Olds full-size....at least in seating and door trim, if not instrument panel.
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Thinking of movie clips and the 54 Mercury, I recall there's a pretty one in the underrated "Peggy Sue Got Married", which has nice atmospheric shots with period cars:
I knew I had seen another in a movie from the same era (also a time travel theme), there's also one in Back to the Future, which did a generally excellent job creating period scenes:
I seem to remember padding on the top was optional, but they were metal at the bottom I'm pretty sure. My grandparents had a '63 Bel Air wagon they bought new and I can actually remember when they got it, LOL.
Thing I remember most was that glorious section of blue at the top of the tall windshield!
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I love that wagon. Not the tint. Or the color. But it’s a stick! I would buy something like this, if cheaper of course. Kinda like a Volvo brick wagon V8 conversion. For a lot less money.
Too bad no interior shots. That might cool my jets, but a swap from an SS inside too would help.
That blue '54 Merc is a Sun Valley, with the plexiglas top. Pretty desirable to some folks (including me).
That Malibu wagon--as I tend to like 'stock', it's not doin' it for me, LOL.
I remember in '82, when Chevy tried to rationalize away various models. They added Cavalier and Celebrity, and removed Impala coupe, Malibu coupe, Citation coupe (w/trunk; to me, the best-looking X car), Monte Carlo bucket seats, and in '83 even got rid of Caprice Classic coupe, although brought it (and Monte bucket seats) back for '84. The Citation coupe also returned. I'm guessing dealers complained.
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The '62 Impala seems to be a cleaner integrated look which seems to draw the eye forward. Almost like it's poised to move even while parked.
Yes, agreed! Really good use of lines on both of those, tbh. I think that's something that has been forgotten in this decade. Now it's all about slabs and blocks, which is what makes so many modern vehicles look so drab.
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
I love that wagon. Not the tint. Or the color. But it’s a stick! I would buy something like this, if cheaper of course. Kinda like a Volvo brick wagon V8 conversion. For a lot less money.
Too bad no interior shots. That might cool my jets, but a swap from an SS inside too would help.
Being a Tucson car, I suspect the interior might be a little toasted and sun-kissed, though who knows for sure. Might be a reason for no pics of it though.
The other day, I spotted this Studebaker, driven by Colonel Potter from "M*A*S*H", just before Mrs. Partridge nailed it...
Yesterday, I went for a walk on a local trail, that used to be a rail line from Baltimore to Annapolis, and saw this mural, painted on the back of a store, that was kinda cool...
Nice '63 Lark Custom sedan--above the best-selling Regal series, but below the Cruiser. It has the 'checkmark' molding behind the rear doors, similar to the '62 Lark Daytona.
Funny that Col. Potter drove a Studebaker when back in Hannibal on M*A*S*H.
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TJC, a few years back there was one of those floating around Cherry Hill (used to see it at the BP station over by Ashland station). It was brown, and I am pretty sure the "bulkhead" was made out of plywood. Looked real safe! Haven't seen that beast in quite a while.
RE.: Partridge Family--I used to think Susan Dey was so...well, beautiful. They had it playing in the waiting room of my Chevy dealer on a Sat. morning a few months ago. They'd close-up on her often, and she had a deer-in-the-headlights/mouth-breather look I don't remember from my adolescence, LOL. It was almost embarrassing!
I did watch the show religiously when it was on prime-time.
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A '67 Fairlane is what I always remember from "Dragnet", as well, although like you said, Fintail, I'm sure they got a new ride each season. As for home-job pickups, my Granddad did that, to make his first. He took a 1939 Plymouth, cut off the body behind the B-pillar, and built a bed out of wood. Of course, it was easy to do with something like that...with a bolt-on body that sat on top of a frame that was probably about as beefy as a half-ton truck, to begin with.
When people take these unitized vehicles, like a Voyager/Caravan, and attempt a home conversion, you have to wonder about how bad the integrity might be compromised. Although, cutting it off way in back, and turning it into sort of an Avalanche or Explorer Sport Trac, maybe that's not so bad.
RE.: Partridge Family--I used to think Susan Dey was so...well, beautiful. They had it playing in the waiting room of my Chevy dealer on a Sat. morning a few months ago. They'd close-up on her often, and she had a deer-in-the-headlights/mouth-breather look I don't remember from my adolescence, LOL. It was almost embarrassing!
I did watch the show religiously when it was on prime-time.
Oh, she was for sure. When she reappeared on LA Law in the '80s she was still a good-looking lady but had lost that dewy-eyed freshness she once had. I remember being disappointed when I read in TV Guide or a similar magazine that she was a heavy smoker.
RE.: Partridge Family--I used to think Susan Dey was so...well, beautiful. They had it playing in the waiting room of my Chevy dealer on a Sat. morning a few months ago. They'd close-up on her often, and she had a deer-in-the-headlights/mouth-breather look I don't remember from my adolescence, LOL. It was almost embarrassing!
I did watch the show religiously when it was on prime-time.
Funny... Usually, when I go back and see old shows, I have the same problem with recollection. But, in this case, I remember her from the Partridge Family exactly as you described her.
As a result, I could never warm up to her character on LA Law. (which, I remember as a good show, but could be wrong about that..)
As a result, I could never warm up to her character on LA Law. (which, I remember as a good show, but could be wrong about that..)
LA Law was a fun show. As with virtually any legal show on TV(save Night Court) the legal process was abbreviated and simplified, but the personal dynamics tended to be spot-on.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Comments
58 coupe had prototype CHMSL before its' time.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Austin had a fun slogan:
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
In the '61 to '64 sequence my favorite is the '61 and my least favorite is the '64. But I break the sequence by in preferring the '63 to '62.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
To me the '61 model seems to have deliberate lines and trim to create a separate top and bottom half of the car.
And the rear wheel openings are either Ford aping GM or the other way around!
The '62 Impala seems to be a cleaner integrated look which seems to draw the eye forward. Almost like it's poised to move even while parked.
So nice to see a color pic from back then.
When I see old color pics, it strikes me that life itself seemed more colorful then. I'm also reminded of that from the clip from "Mad....." you posted earlier.
I did always like the '61 and '62 instrument panel, with the center glovebox. My Dad always whined when Chevys got away from that. I liked the Impala steering wheels too; made me think "Corvette".
Chevy hung onto Powerglide and 283 forever, while B-O-P moved up in engineering....but I have often thought Chevy put its money where you could see it. Often, an Impala's interior bettered a Catalina, LeSabre, or base-Olds full-size....at least in seating and door trim, if not instrument panel.
Notice this one is a Sun Valley.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
https://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/d/hereford-custom-1979-chevy-malibu/6790331148.html
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Thing I remember most was that glorious section of blue at the top of the tall windshield!
Too bad no interior shots. That might cool my jets, but a swap from an SS inside too would help.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
That Malibu wagon--as I tend to like 'stock', it's not doin' it for me, LOL.
I remember in '82, when Chevy tried to rationalize away various models. They added Cavalier and Celebrity, and removed Impala coupe, Malibu coupe, Citation coupe (w/trunk; to me, the best-looking X car), Monte Carlo bucket seats, and in '83 even got rid of Caprice Classic coupe, although brought it (and Monte bucket seats) back for '84. The Citation coupe also returned. I'm guessing dealers complained.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Yesterday, I went for a walk on a local trail, that used to be a rail line from Baltimore to Annapolis, and saw this mural, painted on the back of a store, that was kinda cool...
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Funny that Col. Potter drove a Studebaker when back in Hannibal on M*A*S*H.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I did watch the show religiously when it was on prime-time.
When people take these unitized vehicles, like a Voyager/Caravan, and attempt a home conversion, you have to wonder about how bad the integrity might be compromised. Although, cutting it off way in back, and turning it into sort of an Avalanche or Explorer Sport Trac, maybe that's not so bad.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
As a result, I could never warm up to her character on LA Law. (which, I remember as a good show, but could be wrong about that..)
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Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive