jaymancds
Member
Whelp....
54 weeks ago I married the girl of my dreams. 10 weeks ago we welcomed our first little girl. My wife is awesome, and having a little girl is an absolutely amazing experience! I've also been working on my senior thesis and my Six Sigma green belt, and of course working all the time. The schedule is absolutely full for sure.
But.....
I was getting mechanically bored. I needed a hobby I could do at home so I wasn't an hour away fishing, or two hours away R/C racing, or spending 8 hours a week at a dirt track. So I got on the ol' Facebook marketplace and started looking. I knew I wanted either an old wagon or 4 door car from somewhere between 1958 and 1964. I've always liked the X-frame cars that GM built (1959-1964 Impala, Belair, Biscayne), so I was actually looking for either an Impala or Belair wagon when low and behold I stumbled across this hot rod an hour and 20 minutes from home. A few messages later and I had made the deal. A uhaul, having my dad tag along so we could use his truck, and $800 and I was set.
So the details, it's a 1962 4 door Hardtop Impala. Originally it was tuxedo black with a white top and red interior. It rolled off the floor with a straight 6 and a powerglide. As it sits it has a 283 and a glide. The floors are actually in pretty decent shape, but I'll have to replace the foot board of both front and rear seats on the drivers side, and had to patch the passenger side. The passenger side quarter panel is totally shot, and the drivers side needs a patch. The entire rockers both inside and outside on the passenger side are gone, the drivers side needs some help too. Otherwise it's in really good shape. A few patches here and there are needed, but that's on all old cars. The entire trunk floor is 100% solid.
I'll throw in a few progress pictures if yall promise not to judge my welding skills! I'm a grinder not a welder, but I can get the job done. This is probably going to be a project for the next 5-10 years and I'm good with it as it's obviously no where near the top of the priority list. The going plan is either and LS1 or LQ4 swap with a 4L80E all built to produce and handle about 450-500hp at the crank. Color wise, I love the white top, but I'll probably do it with a pearl white of some kind. The body will be Kindig's "blue suede blue" with a white headliner and matching blue interior otherwise. I'm planning to start lowering it with 2" spindles and 2" rear springs. I hope that's enough but I may go to coilovers on the front to get it just right. For wheels I'm thinking something similar to a Billet Specialties Malibu in chrome or polished aluminum.
Anways, here's the pictures of what I've been up to lately.
54 weeks ago I married the girl of my dreams. 10 weeks ago we welcomed our first little girl. My wife is awesome, and having a little girl is an absolutely amazing experience! I've also been working on my senior thesis and my Six Sigma green belt, and of course working all the time. The schedule is absolutely full for sure.
But.....
I was getting mechanically bored. I needed a hobby I could do at home so I wasn't an hour away fishing, or two hours away R/C racing, or spending 8 hours a week at a dirt track. So I got on the ol' Facebook marketplace and started looking. I knew I wanted either an old wagon or 4 door car from somewhere between 1958 and 1964. I've always liked the X-frame cars that GM built (1959-1964 Impala, Belair, Biscayne), so I was actually looking for either an Impala or Belair wagon when low and behold I stumbled across this hot rod an hour and 20 minutes from home. A few messages later and I had made the deal. A uhaul, having my dad tag along so we could use his truck, and $800 and I was set.
So the details, it's a 1962 4 door Hardtop Impala. Originally it was tuxedo black with a white top and red interior. It rolled off the floor with a straight 6 and a powerglide. As it sits it has a 283 and a glide. The floors are actually in pretty decent shape, but I'll have to replace the foot board of both front and rear seats on the drivers side, and had to patch the passenger side. The passenger side quarter panel is totally shot, and the drivers side needs a patch. The entire rockers both inside and outside on the passenger side are gone, the drivers side needs some help too. Otherwise it's in really good shape. A few patches here and there are needed, but that's on all old cars. The entire trunk floor is 100% solid.
I'll throw in a few progress pictures if yall promise not to judge my welding skills! I'm a grinder not a welder, but I can get the job done. This is probably going to be a project for the next 5-10 years and I'm good with it as it's obviously no where near the top of the priority list. The going plan is either and LS1 or LQ4 swap with a 4L80E all built to produce and handle about 450-500hp at the crank. Color wise, I love the white top, but I'll probably do it with a pearl white of some kind. The body will be Kindig's "blue suede blue" with a white headliner and matching blue interior otherwise. I'm planning to start lowering it with 2" spindles and 2" rear springs. I hope that's enough but I may go to coilovers on the front to get it just right. For wheels I'm thinking something similar to a Billet Specialties Malibu in chrome or polished aluminum.
Anways, here's the pictures of what I've been up to lately.
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