I was asked to post some pics of my other rides, so here is some reading material for you guys while our Corvette's are resting this time of year. Will add my others later .
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My love for the 58 Chev started in back in 62 when the folks came back from Winnipeg at Xmas time with a 58 Biscayne 4door, it was our first family car, 283 pg . I later learned to drive in that car and served as my wheels till my early 20's. It was the first car I painted, man what an experience that was. I put dual walker continental Blue Swingers on it and man what a sweet sound that 283 was.
But in the fall of 75 I seen this ad in the western producer, 1958 Impala 2 door, $695 down in Beechy, Sask. Jumped in our 63 Ford 1/2 ton with a tow bar and away I went @ 10mpg in that pig of a 223 6 cyl. The 58 had a missing back window, but ran. It was a virgin car, just faded out. 235, pg but had ps and pb oddly enough. I bought the car for $650 and dragged it home. ( The guy also had a 58 Impala convertible sitting in a pot hole in the field for a $100, but that is another story for another day.) I was tickeld pink, a real 58 Impala was mine. Well I soon found a rear window in Winnipeg out of a 58 Parisienne, got the brakes done and tuned up the 6 banger and drove it abit that fall of '75. I couldn't handle having such a car with a 6 cyl after driving so many years listening to a 283 in the 4 door. So that winter I redid a 307 I had laying around and got a V8 cast pg tranny from a friend and did the swap. Come spring I wanted it painted, and having a pro painter for a friend, we did the car in a back yard garage in Saskatoon. I just wanted a nice driver, not a perfect show car. Guys honest truth it was a $75 paint job. A gallon of RM enamel was $32, plus all the other stuff added up to 75 bucks. I did a color change too, as the car was silver with a white roof and the ugly tri color orangey interior. Mom and I did the interior which cost $100 for material. I kept the original pattern inside but just did the seats all in red. Shag carpet on the floor and a custom white steering wheel to replace the huge stock wheel. Best trick we pulled was the headliner. It was stock perforated vinyl in silver, but I thought white would look better. Barry says I can paint it with lacquer. So right in the car he sprayed it with his devilbliss gun. It turned out perfect. It never peeled or nothing in all these years. Gravel roads or pavement, I drove it as that was my car, and the front of the hood shows the stone chips well. Later 80's I found enough parts to build a 348 tripower. Remember this was in the days of no internet and stuff like that didn't exist up here, so parts were very hard to find. Carbs I could not find. So I just built them from ordinary 2GC's using the 58-68 Chev parts book as a guide, made mechanical linkage and all turned out very good. She don't pop back or anything when kicking in the outboards, and 17 mpg highway. The stock ps and pb I kept on it. Then later I added underdash a/c and cruise. She is a dream on the road, very smooth riding and pulls well. Only made 12 passes on the drag strip one time in the vintage drags. I was the heaviest car there, 4400 lbs I think it was, only 80mph in the 1/4 mile , 3.36 gears. The paint still shines like it did 39 years ago and shows it's age with the stone chips but it is like a vintage guitar....why touch it now, it still looks ok for a driver. I've owned about 30 58's including parts cars, many still have, built a few. Not many can say they learned to drive in a 58 and still do 2day. This is my car not scared to go anywhere with it, I don't own anything newer other than my 68 Impala wagon ( and now recentlythe 82 vette ). Only sad though I don't get many miles on it every year. Total investment counting all and not my time, I maybe have $2500 in it now. Will post my other stuff down the road another day.
.
.
..........
My love for the 58 Chev started in back in 62 when the folks came back from Winnipeg at Xmas time with a 58 Biscayne 4door, it was our first family car, 283 pg . I later learned to drive in that car and served as my wheels till my early 20's. It was the first car I painted, man what an experience that was. I put dual walker continental Blue Swingers on it and man what a sweet sound that 283 was.
But in the fall of 75 I seen this ad in the western producer, 1958 Impala 2 door, $695 down in Beechy, Sask. Jumped in our 63 Ford 1/2 ton with a tow bar and away I went @ 10mpg in that pig of a 223 6 cyl. The 58 had a missing back window, but ran. It was a virgin car, just faded out. 235, pg but had ps and pb oddly enough. I bought the car for $650 and dragged it home. ( The guy also had a 58 Impala convertible sitting in a pot hole in the field for a $100, but that is another story for another day.) I was tickeld pink, a real 58 Impala was mine. Well I soon found a rear window in Winnipeg out of a 58 Parisienne, got the brakes done and tuned up the 6 banger and drove it abit that fall of '75. I couldn't handle having such a car with a 6 cyl after driving so many years listening to a 283 in the 4 door. So that winter I redid a 307 I had laying around and got a V8 cast pg tranny from a friend and did the swap. Come spring I wanted it painted, and having a pro painter for a friend, we did the car in a back yard garage in Saskatoon. I just wanted a nice driver, not a perfect show car. Guys honest truth it was a $75 paint job. A gallon of RM enamel was $32, plus all the other stuff added up to 75 bucks. I did a color change too, as the car was silver with a white roof and the ugly tri color orangey interior. Mom and I did the interior which cost $100 for material. I kept the original pattern inside but just did the seats all in red. Shag carpet on the floor and a custom white steering wheel to replace the huge stock wheel. Best trick we pulled was the headliner. It was stock perforated vinyl in silver, but I thought white would look better. Barry says I can paint it with lacquer. So right in the car he sprayed it with his devilbliss gun. It turned out perfect. It never peeled or nothing in all these years. Gravel roads or pavement, I drove it as that was my car, and the front of the hood shows the stone chips well. Later 80's I found enough parts to build a 348 tripower. Remember this was in the days of no internet and stuff like that didn't exist up here, so parts were very hard to find. Carbs I could not find. So I just built them from ordinary 2GC's using the 58-68 Chev parts book as a guide, made mechanical linkage and all turned out very good. She don't pop back or anything when kicking in the outboards, and 17 mpg highway. The stock ps and pb I kept on it. Then later I added underdash a/c and cruise. She is a dream on the road, very smooth riding and pulls well. Only made 12 passes on the drag strip one time in the vintage drags. I was the heaviest car there, 4400 lbs I think it was, only 80mph in the 1/4 mile , 3.36 gears. The paint still shines like it did 39 years ago and shows it's age with the stone chips but it is like a vintage guitar....why touch it now, it still looks ok for a driver. I've owned about 30 58's including parts cars, many still have, built a few. Not many can say they learned to drive in a 58 and still do 2day. This is my car not scared to go anywhere with it, I don't own anything newer other than my 68 Impala wagon ( and now recentlythe 82 vette ). Only sad though I don't get many miles on it every year. Total investment counting all and not my time, I maybe have $2500 in it now. Will post my other stuff down the road another day.
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