Thread: 61 impala sport sedan

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I think they came from a Dodge Stealth. They’ll be here if anyone wants them. Free to a good home.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

I'd be tempted to make a road trip to the St. Louis are to pick them up for you if you're going to attend the Street Rod Nationals here at the end of May.

Ken, that's a generous offer but I'd have no way to get them home if I drove either the roadster or the coupe to the Nat's. I'd have to trailer down to have the truck there. Thanks for the thought.

Originally Posted by falconvan

I think they came from a Dodge Stealth. They’ll be here if anyone wants them. Free to a good home.

Really! I had them pegged as Fiero seats! From the angle of the pic they really look like my seats but they're totally different size. I'll pass, but thanks.

I've been looking through my leftover junk stash and I think I'm going to put together a small CI gas mileage motor for this thing. I got a lot of parts with this car including a 6cyl/3speed manual trans parts car and the original 283 short block that was in this car. I also have a late 80's 305 TBI engine that had a rod knock that I saved for the TBI parts and accessory drive. Plus I still have the TBI programming stuff I used when I built my Astrovan. So if the 283 is good I'm going to rebuild it with the 305 heads, TBI injection, and the manual trans set up from the parts car.

This car has 3.08 gears so that should make a good low buck setup with decent road manners.

Sounds like a fun project. I love the 3.08 rear gears. When coupled with a Super T-10 it has adequate snap in first and it allows a nice low RPM at 60MPH. Good choice for all around.

I kinda like these "mordoor" hardtops! Sure they have too many doors but they look sportier than the 4 door sedan! There's a guy in Huntington beach that built a blacked out satin/gloss 56 Chevy 4 door hardtop that's getting all kinds of attention at shows and online. He's a young guy with kids just making practical cool

Thanks, Randy. Yeah, I think the old four door stigma is becoming a thing of the past. The late 90s impala SS was a four door as are the newer hemi Chargers. Just a more convenient way to get people/stuff in the back seat. I saw a totally clapped out 2dr bubble top version of one of these priced at $25k. Now that’s crazy.

Question for some of you engine calculation gurus; if you're building a small cube engine (283) with MPG in mind, what factory head size would be a good fit? 58 or 64cc? I'm thinking 76cc would be too big and kill the compression too much. I need something with accessory holes for the serpentine drive brackets. i was thinking this cam with some flat top pistons:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-k1102

I picked this up yesterday; this is what came with the car when my buddy bought it years ago. He didn’t know anything about it nor did the guy he bought the car from. According to the numbers it’s a 63 model 283. It looks like someone had gone through it or was in the process. Piston tops are clean, no ridge, new looking gaskets and freeze plugs. There’s no cam in it and three of the pistons have marks where it looks like the valves made contact. Maybe someone got a little overzealous with their cam/rocker combo. Anyway, it’s worth a tear down to see if it’s worth using.

A suggestion on the head question. In the mid 80's Chevy made a 305 pickup engine that had decent 58cc heads. They were not the typical lightweight crap castings from that era. Some of the stock class dirt guys used to run them on 350's. I have an engine with them on it in my shop, but can't remember the casting numbers. I can check it out when I get home from work, if you want the info.

These heads would probably still be easy to find and would have hardened valve seats. The 58cc chambers would work well with the 283, but I would still calculate the compression ratio.

Originally Posted by Hotrod46

A suggestion on the head question. In the mid 80's Chevy made a 305 pickup engine that had decent 58cc heads. They were not the typical lightweight crap castings from that era. Some of the stock class dirt guys used to run them on 350's. I have an engine with them on it in my shop, but can't remember the casting numbers. I can check it out when I get home from work, if you want the info.

These heads would probably still be easy to find and would have hardened valve seats. The 58cc chambers would work well with the 283, but I would still calculate the compression ratio.

Sounds good, thanks. I think I know which heads you mean, maybe a 416?

Here’s part 2 of the ultra-budget small block. I picked up a mid 80s 305 for $75 that has the 58cc heads along with some other misc parts I was missing from the 283.

I pulled the 283 apart and it looks really good. All the bearings look new, the crank looks like it was just turned and it’s got .060 pistons. It looks like it was just put together except for three pistons with valve contact marks. I’m going to drop it at the machine shop to get it checked but I’m hoping to be able to get a new set of pistons and put it back together.
I also pulled the seats and carpet and the floors are rock solid as are the rockers and the whole underside of the car. Nice to not have to dig into a bunch of major rust repair for a change.

I got quite a bit done today. Pulled the dash, column, and pedal assembly so I can swap in the manual trans stuff and I’m probably going to rewire the car. I’m going to go ahead and start sanding the car down and fixing panels as I go. Not a ton of body work needed; just a patch here and there. Not bad at all for a 60 year old car.

WOW, you're gettin' after it now!

Should be an easy one compared to that Grand Prix.