.

the car junkie daily magazine.

.

Roadtrippin’: The One That Slipped Through Your Fingers


Roadtrippin’: The One That Slipped Through Your Fingers

(Words and Photos by Scott Liggett) There are many stories we gearheads tell while bench racing and sipping cold ones. Our first cars are always amongst the stories we tell. These often lead to stories about the ones we never should have sold. Other stories about the cars we lusted after when we first got our driver’s licenses. The other day my buddy and were doing some story telling about cars we wanted badly and tried to buy; but for one reason or another, it got away from our grasp. It is often a hard lesson we learn when it comes buying hot rods.

For me, it was sometime during my junior year of high school. I don’t remember when exactly, but it was cold and the trees did not have leaves. The car was a 1967 Impala SS 427 that was priced stupid cheap, even for the mid 1980’s.

For those of you who do not know about the ’67 Impala SS 427, it was not the same model as the other Super Sports of 1967. The SS 427 was a separate model. It even had a different VIN than the other Super Sports. The distinctiveness didn’t end with a number on a plate. The SS 427 had unique emblems all over the car, including one on the glove box. It also sported a single Camaro SS “ice tray” grate right in the middle of the hood. On top of the hood’s central spear.

The standard engine of the SS 427 was stolen from the Corvette line, the L36 which was rated at 385 hp and 460 ft lbs of torque. The rest of the car was near identical to the other Super Sports of 1967. For the Impala, the SS was nothing more than a trim package from 1963 until it ended in 1969. It included bucket seats, console, floor shifter, full gauges, and various SS emblems here and there on the car. The lowly six cylinder was still the standard engine. At near $5000, this giant Super Sport full size didn’t sell very well at only 2250 units sold.

At the time I found this particular car in the classifieds of the Omaha World Herald, I had no idea how rare these cars were. The collector car market hadn’t taken notice yet either. The $400 price tag proved that. To me, it was an Impala SS with a big block and four speed. Yes, this one had a four speed. And, it was in the price range of a poor high school student. The ad stated the original 427 was long gone too. It had been replaced by a 70’s era 454, presumably from a truck. And, it had a knock. I still didn’t care. I was 17. What did I know any better.

I raced out to see this bright red beauty… and rust. It had some rust. I still wanted it badly. I even wanted it after he started it up and the engine sounded like a bag of hammers. It was bad. But, that fastback, those Coke bottle quarters and giant bald tires on 10 inch wide slots were as sexy as that poster I had of Heather Thomas in that pink bikini hanging on my bedroom wall. I wanted it. It was lust. And lust overpowers common freaking sense every minute, especially with a hormonal teenage boy.

I told the owner of the car, I wanted to buy it within 10 seconds of drooling all over the faded red paint and primer. But, and it was a big big BUT. I didn’t bring any cash with me. The owner said that the first guy that comes up with the $400 cash gets it. He isn’t holding for anyone.  I jumped back in my 77 Honda Accord and used all 83 hp it had to run to the nearest bank branch to raid my savings account. But, it was over 30 minutes away from this guy’s place in the weeds. I was racing back at near double the posted speed limit when I passed a truck and trailer, with that same Impala on the trailer. My heart sunk to the point I was depressed for weeks. Not even Heather Thomas smiling at me from that poster would console me.

The lesson I learned was not to ever go look at a car for sale without stopping at the bank first for the cash. If I don’t buy it, I could always deposit the money back in the bank if I didn’t buy anything.

Scott Liggett

 


  • Share This
  • Pinterest
  • 0

8 thoughts on “Roadtrippin’: The One That Slipped Through Your Fingers

  1. MGBChuck

    The one that got away from me was a ’58 Corvette that needed a left front fender, was a little rough elsewhere but ran that a friend wanted out of his back yard I could have for FREE, it was the ’70s, had a ’65 Malibu SS and was too distracted by the opposite sex to get involved in it. Classic if I knew then what I know now situation.

  2. bob

    ’66 Dodge Coronet 426 Hemi 4 speed. Hemi was long gone, but car was complete and rust free. Owner said he was crushing it, but I could have it for $90 bucks (going scrap price). I said it sure would be cool to have the Dana out of it, but it was the whole car or nothing. So to the crusher it went. 1980.

  3. Greg

    1965 GTO, 4 speed and a 455 out of who knows what. Bad ball joints and a little rust. $1200 in 1976, while I was trying to figure out how to replace ball joints it sold.

  4. MGBChuck

    a ’58 Corvette needing a left front fender, ran ok, for FREE, had a ’65 Malibu SS, it was the 70s and was too interested in chasing the opposite sex than a project—-OOPS.

  5. Rock On

    1969 Camaro Z28 with the RS package, running, driving car in 1978 with the original 302 engine, 4 speed Muncie and 3:73 12 bolt posi rear end. Sold for $750.00, but I was a poor high school student making $2.65 an hour minimum wage working part-time.

  6. 3nine6

    1978 or so. Real deal 1969 Yenko Camaro. Actually rode in it once or twice. Second owner side swiped a power pole. Motor gone, sold after the accident. Other body parts sold off piece by piece for about 6 months until just the body was left. Sat for a few more months and scrapped.

  7. Tim

    For me it was the 64 AC Cobra that had been owned by a local family then traded for a new 66 Country Squire. My father told me where it was after the trade and said it was on a Ford dealer’s lot 50 miles away for $2995. I got excited and said, “Dad! Can we” was as far as I got when he said, “What the “H” do you want a car like that for?” I answered, “Gee Dad, I’m 16. I want to get myself killed.” Well, maybe my reply was a bit different but the story is true and getting killed might have been the result. My father knew better and to never put an inexperienced and admittedly undisiplined kid like I was behind the wheel of a high performance car.
    Eight years later I had another slipped through when I didn’t buy a 58 Vette for $1000 because it had a burned intake valve. I needed a car to drive immediately and couldn’t wait to do the work. I ended up buying a 70 Cougar Eliminator wih a Boss 302. Dummy me sold that car a couple years later for chump change when I got myself into a scrape and needed money.

  8. BigDogSS

    FYI, 1) SS427 and Impala SS shared the same model numbers on the VIN 2) The hood ornament is NOT from a Camaro.

Comments are closed.