1962 Impala build

[swedester]

thought I´d put up a build thread of my beat up 62 Impala,the car has been hit hard on the drivers side in an accident many years ago,and at some point someone thought it would be a great idea to make a "new body" for it out of bondo:wasntme:and when the bondo started to crack and fall off,someone decided to strip it down and do a resto,to make a long story short,that failed and the car became a donor car.and that´s were I came in to the picture,I traded some free stuff I had for the carcass,and dragged it home,it´s missing all glass,all crome,all interior,drivetrain,well,you get the picture.
the body needs new rockers,new floors,right qrtr panel,new trunklid and hood,and I allready got a fresh driversdoor and driverside fender for it.
plans were vague for starters,but when I found a 2002 8.1 litre vortec engine,the plan started to form,I soon realized that the oem frontsuspension needed everything replaced and uppgraded,I got a 86 c4 z51 frontend off ebay,and got it shipped to sweden.
that´s about were I´m at,I also ordered some wheels for it,but they won´t be here until mid/late Jan.
now on to some pic´s off my Impalaish pile of wrinkled steel:screwy:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/100_0189jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
after second nite scraping and cursing
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/100_0232jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
engine fresh out the junkyard low mileage out off a wrecked ambulance
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/100_0233jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
cracked watercrossover,I will probably fabricate a new one out of aluminum,need to shave every possible ounce of this beast
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/100_0556jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
z51 frontend still wearing the old framerails
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/100_0574jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
mocked up at desired ride height,give or take 1/2"
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/100_0575jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
well,not much going on here yet,need to fixate the frame square and level to the floor before I start cutting.

[coolwelder62]

Cool project.Cant wait to see some update's.

[CruizinKev]

very nice project! I love the impalas!

[lilbuzzy]

What will you take for the scooter in the background?

[swedester]

a little more info:the wheels I ordered are aero racing wheels series 50,in gloss black,10x15" fronts,12x15" rears,also ordered tires;m/t sportsman s/r,12x26x15 fronts,15x29x15 rears,a little to much sidewall for a cornering monster,but I just had to have the nascar wheels!,as for clearance of the front suspension with a 10" wide 15" wheel,I will have to tweak the caliper some,and remove the greasefitting on the lower balljoint.
transmission wise,I´ve decided on a t56,probably will get a used viper unit,and make it work with as much own fab as possible,if it blows,I´ll get the keisler dog box kit for it.
I will probably use a 9" rear,but with strange´s 12bolt drop out,just to keep it a little more gm(and to get less friction/hp rob)
not decided on what rear supension I will use,but probably home made K-link style.
the engine will creep back a few inches too,not decided on how much,or what style the firewall will get,but I´ll figure it out.
updates will probably be far inbetween,as I´m both lazy and poor:rotfl:

[swedester]

got the vette framerails off,and started removing the old engine stands,and spent the rest of the evening cleaning/organizing my garage.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/100_0576jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg

[swedester]

mini update:removed the old oilcooler lines from the 496,and got some more paint on my garagewalls.

[jake8092]

Cool, A friend of mine is building a 62. We built a 70 for him back in our High school days...Sweet project!

[swedester]

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0627jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
got the body off,and the frame back inside.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0629jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
rear part of frame is toast,but I planned on making new rails out back anyway.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0628jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
body out in the cold...
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0631jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
cleaned up the garage,and cut off the frame horns,next is drilling the floor for some fix points.

[lnirenberg]

Very cool. If you PM me your email, I have an article from Muscle Car Review on stiffening the X-frame. The files are too large to post and I have no idea how to make them smaller.

[lnirenberg]

I got a bunch of requests for the article which I sent, but it would be a lot easier if someone on the site knew how to reduce the size of pdf files. I have a sheet scanner so each page is a separate file almost 1mb each.

[61ragtop]

I got a bunch of requests for the article which I sent, but it would be a lot easier if someone on the site knew how to reduce the size of pdf files. I have a sheet scanner so each page is a separate file almost 1mb each.


I found this after I got your email with the article........

http://www.streetrodderweb.com/tech/1002sr_how_to_stiffen_your_chevy_frame/index.html

[Motown 454]

Nice project!

[Conrad283]

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/100_0574jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg

I think that's an awesome picture ...

[swedester]

got this up on my wall today,it´s from the 1961-62 gm shopmanual,blown up to a decent size and laminated to last a long time.it was expensive though...
but it will save lots of time,as I don´t need to move away from what I´m doing to check the drawing.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0632jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg

[MrBlonde]

Go the fullsize!

[swedester]

well,today my front wheels and 4 tires showed up from summit,and,sadly,both rims were dameged due to poor packaging from the manufacturer,one rim was pretty scrathed up,and the other one even bent slightly,and it was repacked at summit(said so on the sticker)so they saw the bent rim,and repacked and sent out,NOT what I expected from summit,been in touch with customer service already,and I will post up the result here,I really hope they solve this in a nice and timely manner,I don´t want my project to be held up another month waiting for new rims to arrive with sea freight.

[David Sloan]

sorry to here the set back, But this is a cool project! cant wait to see more!

[swedester]

soo...summitracing blames the shipper,even though it´s obvious that the damage occured before the boxes were packed together as one unit(no damage on the summit stickers etc) so this looks like it will turn in to a nightmare,I wish I photographed the pallet before I opened it up,damn...

[swedester]

well,trying to see beyond the damaged parts,and test fit and plan the rest of the build.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0689jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0690jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0694jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0695jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0696jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0697jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0698jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/100_0699jpgforwebxlarge-1.jpg

[racedaddy]

That's some nice lookin' tires. Lots of meat!

[ramlinman]

this should be a nice build keep the pictures coming