The Impala Project

[Craigwhitton]

Hi Pro-Tour-ers.

I've been lurking here for months and absorbing as much knowledge as I could--thank you to so many of you who have (knowingly or not) provided me with guidance for my project.

In September, on a sleepy Sunday morning, my girlfriend and I (Her name is Teryn) were cruising Kijiji, as usual, dreaming of our dream car. I've always been a big fan of late-60's cars, mainly the Impala, and Teryn's dad used to race motorcycles so there's a bit of engine oil in her blood too.

Anyway, we figured that a car build would be something we'd tackle when we retire--in 40 years or so (Teryn and I are both just 25). But, we had discussed how many folks probably say that to themselves--not just for cars but for everything--and then never get to it. This conversation came up again that sleepy Sunday, when lo-and-behold, we stumbled upon an old Green 1968 Impala 4-Door Hardtop in Wetaskiwin AB.

The following Saturday, we went to take a look--it doesn't cost anything to look, after all.

4 hours later we were the proud owners of our project.

The plan is pretty basic at the moment as we are on a time limit (we could only lease our crummy little garage until April of this year, and we'd like to drive the car to Teryn's Brother's wedding in June of this year.) In fact, this is barely even a "pro-touring" car when compared to the stuff on here. But, essentially it fits the bill -- a sweet old car that I want to upgrade with modern components to make it a solid driver.

So, here's what we want to do:

- Total strip of the car down to the frame to treat any and all rust.
- Front disc brake conversion w/ stainless steel lines throughout.
- Either rebuild the stock 307 with Vortec heads for the HP boost, OR drop in a new 350.
- Upgrade the steering gear so it feels a bit less like a boat!
- Redo the interior to Tan (it is mostly good - a few rips here and there, but we are planning on using SEM vinyl dye for hard surfaces and getting the seats redone).
- Repaint the exterior gloss black.

I've been keeping a blog off-site, at www.impalaproject.blogspot.com for friends and family, but here I'll give you folks the "run so far". Some folks in the Chatroom (Thanks a ton NOT A TA, FreakShow, and others!) advised that folks on here would offer encouragement and perhaps let me know how to avoid certain pitfalls, so here we go!

And so it begins!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://postimage.org/image/ihyd7r2c/)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://postimage.org/image/ihhtua4k/)



Working on the Dashboard -- crazy idea, take the seats out BEFORE the dashboard maybe?
We tackled the interior first and brought it back to our apartment where we plan to clean it all up, degrease it, and paint it with SEM dyes. Our garage has no heat, minimal electrical service (only 1 110v outlet) and is barely insulated so this will be a good project during some of the -30 stretches that Edmonton is famous for!


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://postimage.org/image/ihmsgblw/)

Interior completely removed!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://postimage.org/image/ihrr2d38/)

This was invaluable -- our garage is in a rougher part of town and I wasn't comfortable leaving my tools there. This is a great option; it fits ALL of our hand and power tools that we've needed so far and has held up pretty well to being dragged around the place. The propane heater in the background is to take a bit of the chill out of the air--don't worry, it's very well ventilated when it's in use.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://postimage.org/image/ihq3j0lg/)

This stuff = LIFESAVER ON OLD BOLTS. Every garage should have some (or it's equivalent). We'd been pretty lucky with things up to this point as we didn't encounter anything too tough. Patience is key, and there's plenty to do in the meantime while the bolt is soaking.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://postimage.org/image/ihtelpl0/)

The front end coming off -- these parts will also be brought to the Apartment to strip the paint off.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://postimage.org/image/ihwpoekk/)

Once the front end was done (and we aquired an engine crane) we took the body off the frame.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://postimage.org/image/ii1oag1w/)

...And took the engine out! The front end was disassembled on the same day.

So, all that remains to complete the tear-down is to disassemble the rear end.

Now is the hard part -- putting it all back together!

Apologies for the small picture size - I'll fix that for the rest of 'em. If you click those photos they get all big again.

[NOT A TA]

Good to see you've got a helper there!! You're gonna need her to meet that deadline!!! JUNE !!!???

[69fbodyproject]

Looks like a cool project. Ive always liked that body style. We just sold a few Impalas lately, all three were 427 cars, two were sticks and the third an automatic. I might or might not have some parts laying around, I will take a look. Right now the shop is a disaster so it makes seeing what we have a challange. Are you planning on going with a stick or an automatic? Why not put a big block in it since that is such an easy swap on these cars.

[Craigwhitton]

John,

She's an invaluable companion--she somehow knows just what to say when a knuckle clips metal and the curses are flowing. She's a keeper, for sure :P I know June is pretty tight--we actually don't expect to meet it, but if we work towards a goal it'll help prevent this one from becoming another one of those cars that gets torn up and forgotten.

fbodyproject,

We'll be sticking with the original transmission as it's very low mileage Hydromatic two-speed. Not the best for performance but a transmission swap can come in a year or two as funds become available, along with an upgraded engine. I'd REALLY like to slap in the same 4.8 V8 Engine that I have in my 2001 Silverado--it's a smooth running engine that puts out decent power. But, undoubtably, the more power bug will bite me and I'll be slapping in a BBC sooner rather then later!

[CruizinKev]

cool project! i love impalas :twothumbs

[Craigwhitton]

Thanks Kevin!

[WS6]

Love the green color. Will you be keeping it or is that undecided?

If you like the 4.8 in your Silverado, you might as well step up to a iron 5.3 at the smallest. It's cheaper than the iron 6.0s and you can bore the 5.3 to 5.7 in the future if you decide you want more. The 5.3 is a great budget swap candidate for tight budgets. The other great thing about going with an LSx, even the 4.8, is that swapping to a bigger and meaner LSx is simple. All the hard work was done in getting the first motor in there and most of the parts interchange between all LSx engines.

[Craigwhitton]

Thanks for the tips, Trey. I'll look into the 5.3 option; I only picked the 4.8 because I like the way she performs in my truck but am definitely open to other options!

We were OK with the green color, but we want it to look just a wee bit meaner so we're going with Gloss Black with a tan interior (Yeah, just a little meaner ;))

Cheers
Craig

[Craigwhitton]

We didn't make it to the garage this weekend, but we did get a bunch done on both hard and soft parts that we brought back to our apartment.

We used SEM's Paint System to begin work on some of the soft interior parts. This stuff works GREAT. With a bit of patience, we were able to make the door panels look like they came that way from the factory (the masking step was critical). The door panels do have carpet on them which I will be dying black in the very near future.

We also stripped down the rad mount and parts of the front end, and managed to slop on some of Eastwood's Rust Converter.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/5382653538_6fbfa1925e-1.jpg

The New Color of the door panels. We first cleaned it with with the SEM's Vinyl Prep product as per the directions, then masked off all the chrome pieces. It took us one can to cover the door panel and two sun visors.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/5382653012_a2c8f517be-1.jpg

A comparison of new versus old--I was initially concerned about coverage of the product but as you can see, we made a dark color lighten up quite a bit and it looks really good. It's hard to see in these pictures, but the product completely preserves the texture and look of the door. Honestly, it looks like the natural color of the vinyl.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/01/5382652798_1e5ff7b535-1.jpg

Teryn hard at work taking paint and rust scale off the rad mount. We later hit it with Eastwood Rust Converter, and we'll letting that cure for a couple of days before painting.

T-Minus 134 Days until our road trip!

Cheers
Craig

[The Stickman]

WOW good woman you have there. Not only is she supportive but helps and lets you do it in the house.

[NOT A TA]

Indoor rust removal! Awesome! Door panel looks good.

[Craigwhitton]

I am for sure lucky to have a lady like her!!

Indoor rust removal was really my only option. Minimal power at the garage precluded mechanical removal, and those chems need a certain temperature to work. So, our spare room was temporarily turned into a workshop!

Cheers
Craig

[NOT A TA]

I am for sure lucky to have a lady like her!!

So, our spare room has been turned into a workshop for the rest of winter!

Cheers
Craig

^^^^^ Fixed it for ya!

[The Stickman]

I am for sure lucky to have a lady like her!!

Indoor rust removal was really my only option. Minimal power at the garage precluded mechanical removal, and those chems need a certain temperature to work. So, our spare room has been permanantly been turned into a workshop/part storage area!

Cheers
Craig

There I fixed it for Not A TA

[LeighP]

Nice project. I used to have a 66 Impala I did al lthe suspension on so it handled nicely. Very nice road car.
With the carpet sections on the doors, I've seen a nice job done by a guy who used spray vinyl dye, then used a stiff brush while it was still wet from light spray coats to brush up the carpet fibers.....he repeated a few times and eventually, the carpet looked brand new.

[Craigwhitton]

TA and STickman, I laughed out loud in my office--I had to make up a rapid excuse!

Leigh,

Thanks for the tips! I will definitely be trying something like that. Any idea what brand of dye he used?

Regards
Craig