I’m grinding my teeth saying that I concede to Brian…it certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort, and I will maintain that the Savoy he posted up was a race car that was chosen simply because it fit the body mold. But whatever…I can stand up and admit when I’ve been bested. Shortly after I wrapped up the article with the 1966 Impala push car, I received a message from Joe Haber, wanting me to take a look at a 1969 Impala. It wasn’t a Kingswood wagon, but at the same time it didn’t have woodgrain on it either. The second I saw it I wished I hadn’t conceded.
This Impala is still carrying some stout options, though. The 396/TH400 combo is a nice score, and has received an HEI conversion and a set of dual pipes. The fresh brown metallic paint works for me nicely, especially in the sunny pictures. You’ll see two sets of wheels on this car: the factory steel wheels with dog dish hubcaps and a set of Dayton wire wheels in a size close to stock. I’ll be honest, I’d take either, but personally I’m leaning towards the Daytons. The fender skirts and the fender-mounted spotlight are factory options, and inside you have functioning A/C and a power rear window.
Both the push car ’66 and this low ’69 are the ideal forms of the wagon for me, and in this case the ’69 wins due to the big-block and the extra gear in the transmission. It’s not a racer, and it shouldn’t be looked at like one. This is just a good cruiser that can be fast when it needs to be. And that’s all I want.
So, with that, the war turns into something that resembles the 49th parallel in Korea, with Lohnes watching for one false move. And as you all are aware of, not all is quiet on the front. Stay tuned…come Monday I got something planned for the boss.
Craigslist Link: 1969 Chevrolet Impala 396
nice, but points are lost with the “let’s lift the hood and paint everything we see Chevy orange” paint job on the motor
Easy fixes…its not like it’s lime green.
What this war needs is a solid Vista Cruiser. Enough of these imitations.
I accidentally typed’BankShift’ before I posted and now I have a lower interest rate on my house.
Yea……no one will notice the orange over spray on EVERYTHING.
Officially, this was a Kingswood wagon. From 1969 to 1972 Chevrolet gave its wagons separate names. On the full size models they corresponded to the passenger car lines:
Brookwood–Biscayne
Townsman–Bel Air
Kingswood–Impala
Kingswood Estate–Caprice
The mid-size ones didn’t correspond as much…
Nomad
Greenbriar
Concours
and Concours Estate