1958 Chevrolet Impala

Impala Coupe

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

F58L196660

Gasoline

1958 Impala Sport Coupe This is a very intact and unmolested black-on-black 1958 Impala Sport Coupe. It has lived most of its life in a climate-controlled garage and wears most of its original paint. I bought this car in 2002 from a collector who also garage-kept it for many years. Other than the occasional summer weekend outing it has never spent a night outdoors in my care. I went to great lengths to find a very original car and went to even greater efforts to maintain its originality. Any car can be restored but they’re only original once. And if you’ve been looking for one, you can appreciate that a ’58 Impala this intact is very uncommon. I am so confident in this car’s condition that I will outline as many things about the car, including its few flaws. A car this desirable is a respectable investment and I feel that any prospective buyer deserves the most complete and honest account. If you have any questions or if you feel that I have missed something, please ask and I will answer to the best of my abilities. Mileage is unknown. I refer to this car as an honest car as it has mostly original paint. The only visible touch-ups are on the right-front corner of the roof and the small panel in the rear where a continental kit touched the body. I removed and sold the continental kit so it is not included in this auction nor is it available. It now has a re-plated one-piece rear bumper. The chrome on the one-piece California front bumper and hood brightwork is entirely original and still very shiny after 52 years. The flaws in the paint are a some ‘prickles’ from the original acrylic-lacquer aging over the years. There are also a few lines on the right center of the roof, caused by some breakfluid dripping on it while it was parked under a lift. (see pictures) If I kept the car, I would probably paint the roof and trunk area, and leave the rest along. This is an extremely dry car, with virtually NO rust. The ONLY rust-through on the whole car is on the very bottom of the left rear quarter panel. That is IT. As the majority of the paint is original on the car you can assure yourself that nobody tried to paint over any rust repairs on the car. A good running 283 and Powerglide powers the car. The engine starts runs and drives great and the transmission shifts properly. As any old car it weeps a little fluid here and there. I chose to monitor the fluid levels rather than pull the running gear to reseal it, but your choice of course. Also included in this auction is a 1958 348-ci engine. It has been disassembled but all parts are there, marked, and accounted for. The prior owner installed a new exhaust system, had the brakes professionally rebuilt (including hoses and drums), and installed tires when he sold the car to me. They are still in as-new condition as I have driven the car only about 2,000 miles since I bought it. It has the following options: Factory power steering Power-assist brakes Limited-slip differential (Positraction) One-piece California bumpers (front and rear; rear has been re-plated) Power trunk (original style but not original to the car) All the tools are present, as well as a very vintage looking spare tire in great shape. I am a fairly detail-oriented person, so even though the car presented well when I bought it, I freshened up a few things. In 2002 I removed the complete interior to check, clean, and protect the floor boards and trunk area. Any soft parts that were not presentable enough were replaced; everything else was put back into the car. Please understand that I did not replace any metal as part of the clean-up. I did not find any rust or damage so repairs would have been unwarranted. I updated and replaced the following parts with the following best quality parts that I could source: Fuel tank and fuel sender Exterior mirrors Kick panels Firewall pad Heater core Heater valve Carpet Sill plates Exterior stainless rocker trim Trunk mat Trunk side panels Trunk insulation Original-style carpet and custom made matching floor mats Vertical weather strips Head liner (this shows some wrinkles that would disappear if re-stretched) I modified the car very lightly so the car could be returned to stock with very little effort. This is an account of the things I did: I lowered the front of the car modestly. Simply replace the springs with stock-height ones to raise it back to original stance. The auction includes the four-bar wheel covers AND the original caps; however, the original caps have aftermarket bullets installed in the center. If you installed the optional spinners on these caps, you would cover the single hole caused by the bullet installation. I replaced the original taillights with ’59 Cadillac taillights. They simply screw into the stock chrome bezels. I did NOT modify the car in any way to fit them. Simply replace them with stock lenses if you like and nobody will ever know it had the other lenses. I installed a hidden AM/FM/CD player in the glove box. It also has a remote. The speakers mount in the factory locations in the dash and rear seat. The car was used in the June 2010 issue of Rod & Custom magazine as the test bed in a tech article, how to convert vintage T-3 headlights to halogen. Those headlights are still in the car. A copy of the magazine also goes with the car. See lots of pictures HERE. http://www.classicroad.com/58Impala See link HERE, for the complete story on the interior work. http://www.classicroad.com/58Impala/resto.htm The car’s flaws are few considering its age. They are: Small crease in the passenger door (see pictures) The paint on the roof and trunk area is thin and has some minor lines (see picture) The stainless has some minor dings and nicks Minor ding on the hood (see pictures) Minor crease on lower driver side fender Detail pictures here: http://www.classicroad.com/58Impala/sale.htm You may ask why I’m selling this car if it’s so great. Well it’s the result of a very tough set of decisions, the last of which include another car that I’ve had my eye on for a very long time. Owning this car was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, as I’ll never own another ’58 as desirable and honest again, but so is the opportunity of owning this other car. I hate to make these decisions but I must follow this path. Rest assured that this car is very presentable as-is. Sure, you could touch-up or even re-paint the whole car if you just had to; however, I can almost guarantee that once you drive it you’ll leave it as-is. It is IMPOSSIBLE to drive this car without getting a reaction from people around you. Winning bidder to post $1,000 down payment within 24 hours via Paypal and submit remainder of purchase price within 72 hours via certified funds or bank wire. (Not Paypal) . As-is, no warranties expressed or implied. I strive to show my products in their most flattering light, but not at the cost of honesty. I try to show all flaws, whether in photo or print, so you know exactly what you’re bidding on (I hate surprises just as much as you do). Naturally winning bidder pays shipping, taxes, licensing and transport. I cannot be held liable for items lost or damaged in shipping so I urge you to insure this vehicle immediately upon purchase. INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS Neither the winning bid nor the shipping charges include import duties, taxes, or customs fees. The buyer is responsible for paying these charges. The delivering/shipping company usually collects these charges. Do not confuse them for additional shipping charges. Please check with your country’s customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying. I offer no refunds for unexpectedly high customs, imports, or duty fees. I do not mark merchandise values below value or mark items as ‘gifts’ so please do not ask. Both US and international government regulations forbid it and penalize both the sender and addressee.