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Dan's Impala


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A mate of mine owned this very car in Brisbane in the early eighties......At that stage it had been converted to RHD and was fitted with a replacement 409.

The story goes that Dan sold it to a racer in Aus but CAMS didn, t like the fact it was a 2 door and wouldn,t issue a log book for it so it was used a street car.

Great to see it back to it,s original condition and making an appearance at Goodwood.

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  What a stunning looking car. Having owned 65 and 66 Chev's many years ago, I can't imagine what it would be like to race one, as they wallow and steer like a yacht in a force 10 gale! 

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1 hour ago, LeeM said:

  What a stunning looking car. Having owned 65 and 66 Chev's many years ago, I can't imagine what it would be like to race one, as they wallow and steer like a yacht in a force 10 gale! 

Norm Beechy raced a 4 door Impala in the 1960's. It handled like a chubby chic - but he loved her anyway:

"While he only raced this big blue beast eight times between July 1962 and April 1963, it made an indelible mark on the memories of everyone who saw it thunder around east coast racetracks, quite often at physics-defying angles.

It also left its mark on Beechey's psyche too. Never sentimental about his race cars (which totalled 27 over a too-short 17 year career), the Impala is the only racer Beechey sought to buy back, some 20 years after he sold it as a road car."

This is an interesting read - especially the bit about the extra shock absorber converted into a secret oil pump for the diff: 

https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/feature-cars/1302/chevrolet-impala-409-norm-beechey

 

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55 minutes ago, Peter M said:

FYI - The weight of '61 hardtop Impala is around 1650kg depending on who you believe.  So about the same as a  VE Commodore.

  Yet the length, width and handling characteristics of an Impala would be a tad different to a Commodore methinks 😁

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4 hours ago, Peter M said:

FYI - The weight of '61 hardtop Impala is around 1650kg depending on who you believe.  So about the same as a  VE Commodore.

With the most terrible 60's yank tank suspension set up ...and shit non boosted drum brakes and a steering box like the the SS Minnow

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