1961 Impala Bubble Top 409 4 speed - $35,000

[George Smolinski]

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/cto/d/minneapolis-1961-impala-bubble-top-speed/7350783898.html

Lots more photos on CL.

I picked this up at a car dealership. They picked it up from a guy in Wyoming who owned it for many years. I didn't want to see the car parted out or what ever car dealers do to old cars. So, I paid up a little bit on it and that is how I came in possession.

The car is a real bubble top. The car has real SS emblems on it. The engine is a real 409. The tach looks to be real tach. (it works)
You can see the block number and date code in the picture gallery.

I am guessing around 2000 it must have had an "owners" restoration. There was a new floor put in it and I can see that there were new quarter panels put on the back. The work is average. The floor looks to be a one piece, but it isn't quiet finished. There is some more welding that needs to be done to connect it up. Like welding the floor braces to the outer rockers.

The rockers look good, but I do see some bubbling. Nothing through, but if there is some bubbles, there is going to be something under the paint. It doesn't look like the rockers or inners were replaced. The quarters were replaced and I can see that they didn't do anything to the drop downs. They are original and need to be replaced. Nothing has been done to the trunk floor. It is original and has some rust holes that need to be repaired or replaced to be perfect. Left front fender I believe has a patch on the upper side of the head light. Drivers side looks to be fine. Both doors look to be fine. Overall, the car looks ok, but when I put on my x-ray vision glasses, you can see the car is going to need sheet metal if you were to restore it correctly.

The frame is solid, but has a few "holes patched up front. and I can see that the back of the frame has some holes here and there. It is a "dry rot" vs. salt rust. Looks like the dirt from the gravel roads sat on certain spots and it just ate into the frame. "old school" rust. The frame isn't shot, but isn't show quality either.

The engine runs great. Story line goes it was rebuilt. Has mechanical lifters. Starts right up and sounds great. The car steers real nice and the brakes work, but need attention. The brakes grab real hard. Might be a leaking wheel cylinder? I have not looked at it.

I sold my pole barn and have been selling off cars that I had in it. This is a real collectible car. I do not have any documentation for it. But the question is it real. This is my thoughts. The car is a real bubble top and it has so much "SS" stuff that it lends you to believe it is a true SS. I would think it was originally a 348 SS car. It probably was raced and under warranty the engine was upgraded to a 409 when the 348 went out. Talking to guys from this era, this was a common practice. The car does not have power brakes or power steering.

I have not been able to decode all the data from the cowl tag, but I can see that it had a padded dash and that was standard on the SS package.

The car is at my house, you can look at it if you want. It is also going on Ebay 7/18. Bid seriously. I will not let you come out after the auction to look at it and than choose if you want to pay for it or not. I did have this happen once in the past year. It also just happened to a friend of mine on his 'vette. Guy comes out and undercuts his auction bid. Were all to this game! I reserve the right to sell it outright and please be serious if you bid.

My wife speaks Spanish, so if you text me first, I can call you back and have here talk to you.

Thanks Tim
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