Topic: 70 Impala

[tool14]

had a70 impala convertible with 359 in it wish i still had it.

[Johnie]

Here's something to compare it to Don: https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1924136/1970-chevrolet-impala-for-sale-in-o-fallon-illinois-62269

[Johnie]

Don those motors are so easy to work on and tune. You have a ton of space under that hood. My father-in-law had one which then went to my wife. Actually easy to tune up that motor. Lots of room in the back seat for you and the Mrs. :-)  I'd like to see some pics when you pick it up.

[willbird]

had a70 impala convertible with 359 in it wish i still had it.

I grew up loving the GM engines in general and especially Chevy and must admit that I never heard of a 359.

Bill

[seanbarney41]

assume that is a typo

[willbird]

Don those motors are so easy to work on and tune. You have a ton of space under that hood. My father-in-law had one which then went to my wife. Actually easy to tune up that motor. Lots of room in the back seat for you and the Mrs. :-)  I'd like to see some pics when you pick it up.

IMHO there are some "things" about that generation of cars that some folks overlooked. That being the heat riser that would close when cold and open when warmed up, and all of the rest of the associated hardware to provide the engine with warm air in cold weather. Might not matter at all in GA though :-). Thinking the 1970 might have had the "window" in the distro that let you open it, reach in with an allen wrench and adjust dwell with the engine running. I was doing that once and a spark jumped to the allen wrench and me holding it and that allen wrench went far away from me LOL.

[willbird]

assume that is a typo

it could be but also I was a small block big block kinda "kid" and maybe there was a W head engine in the 409 family that I was never up to speed on it ?? The other W head was a 348 maybe not that I think on it a minute ?? They were really weird engines with the deck surface not square to the bore ?? The "wedge" was built into the cylinder maybe ??

[CycleRanger]

Many, many, years ago I briefly had a two-door '73 Caprice (upscale Impala).
The body and interior were really nice but the drive train was shot.
It smoked like a freight train, the transmission lost reverse, the gas tank leaked, I had to field strip the carb in the laundry mat parking lot one time because it was full of rust.

It was virtually impossible to change the left rear spark plug because it was so close to the brake booster and firewall. (I think it was a 350, might have been a 400?)
The transmission finally got stuck in second and I drove it out to the wrecking yard.
They gave me $75 and a ride back to town. 

[Don R]

 Well, I found it a ride to my house, located wheel trim and a front bumper and this morning the lady got sellers remorse and asked if she could back out.
 It would take up all of the space in my back garage from the door to the work bench anyway. No way to walk through. It's the most solid 70 I've seen in a long time.
 I was ready to roll out my 15x8 corvette rally wheels and have new tires mounted.

 It's the small horsepower, bench seat, 2 barrel 350 with the 3 speed turbo hydramatic, am radio, manual brakes, no AC. it's wearing olds wire wheel hub caps. 3 of the original caps are in the trunk which is perfect. Probably an axle ratio in the 2's.
  I was thinking of a stock 4 barrel and dual exhaust swap then leaving it mechanically as is. 

[seanbarney41]

Well, sounds like it's a moot point now anyway but that 2 Barrell 350 set up that sounds like a slug...well, mine ran really good and I don't think a 4 barrel actually gets you anywhere without further mods (I.e. cam compression head flow etc) than duals.  All I did with mine initially was dual exhaust and a stage 2 shift kit and it would squawk the tires shifting into second.  Super peppy, and awesome at freeway speeds.  And yeah, it was 2.73 rears

Also, that big old barge is a sad reminder of why we still can't have fast, roomy, cars with good fuel economy.  Mine weighed just 4100 pounds!  That's only 400 pounds more than an optioned out Honda Civic.

[Johnie]

Ask her to at least give you first dibs on it when she is ready to sell. Don would be okay to tell the guys here what her asking price was?

[Johnie]

Here’s a pic of the 348 willbird was talking about. Has the W shaped heads.

[Don R]

   Asking price was $5K, with an unknown seller fee going to my sister. I think the seller realized it's worth more and easy to sell in Atlanta where she lives. If they have to hire a mechanic to get it running, and ship it south, they might end up at a break even deal.
   I hope the boyfriend has a big ass trailer. We put a big Impala on one once, it barely cleared the fenders, the owner had to crawl out of a window to get out.

[grcamna2]

Here’s a pic of the 348 willbird was talking about. Has the W shaped heads.

Who's engine is that Johnie ?

[willbird]

Well, I found it a ride to my house, located wheel trim and a front bumper and this morning the lady got sellers remorse and asked if she could back out.
 It would take up all of the space in my back garage from the door to the work bench anyway. No way to walk through. It's the most solid 70 I've seen in a long time.
 I was ready to roll out my 15x8 corvette rally wheels and have new tires mounted.

 It's the small horsepower, bench seat, 2 barrel 350 with the 3 speed turbo hydramatic, am radio, manual brakes, no AC. it's wearing olds wire wheel hub caps. 3 of the original caps are in the trunk which is perfect. Probably an axle ratio in the 2's.
  I was thinking of a stock 4 barrel and dual exhaust swap then leaving it mechanically as is.

Well if I were you i’d regretfully express your love for it and desire to have and preserve it.

I really liked the Edelbrock Performer carbs I have used, an AFB carter pretty much, strip kits of tuning parts, tuning makes sense too. Coupled with a manifold that tested well if you search. Drop in a vac advance HEI. Everybody picks their own poison tho :-).

[Don R]

 I have a fresh 4 bolt main 350 bored .040 that has ported Vortec heads with a 4 barrel Edelbrock intake and 780 double pumper sitting in my garage waiting to be assembled.
 
  I'd have been more likely to swap to the 1970 double hump performance heads and matching L79 cam from my 40 Chevy coupe, find an aluminum Chevrolet intake and quadrajet, paint it to match the motor and put the Vortec heads and retro fit roller cam on the 40. The 2.XX/1 rear gear in the Imp would make it a slug so that would need changed too. 

[Don R]

 My wife now says she wants a 65 Malibu, GTO or a 60's Nova.

[seanbarney41]

The 2,73's make it a slug in the quartermile....but if you want to go fast on the road they work pretty good.  Many fond memories of driving to Detroit or Chicago, a 2 and a half hour drive to either at legal speeds, just loafing through I94 traffic at 90 to 95mph. 

[Kelly E]

I used to have a 65' Chevelle 2dr post with a 283ci and a power glide. I lowered it 2" and put a SS interior in it. I never did get around to installing the 427ci and M22 transmission in it that I had scrounged up. It's one of the cars I regret selling. 

[Mark1976]

My wife now says she wants a 65 Malibu, GTO or a 60's Nova.

   All good choices, I like all of the nova's, yet all of them turn into money pits these days... a fortune to paint, small fortune to build a decent engine, then there's suspension, exhausts, interiors, wheels, tires and insurance... it just never ends. At least with an old bike its only half as much sans the interior. And they're both fair weather vehicles....

[Don R]

I used to have a 65' Chevelle 2dr post with a 283ci and a power glide. I lowered it 2" and put a SS interior in it. I never did get around to installing the 427ci and M22 transmission in it that I had scrounged up. It's one of the cars I regret selling. 

 A friend owned a real Z11 65 Chevelle, they held a stock class NHRA record for so long that it finally went off the books when NHRA put a time limit on records. A few decades back, he found it and it had been converted to a stock car. Then he built a clone since real ones were more $$ than he was willing to part with.
  Alzheimer's got him recently, he did small engine carburetor engineering work out of his house and was exposed to a lot of carbon monoxide, as was an automotive shop owner I knew who suffered the same fate. Anecdotal evidence, but I avoid breathing exhaust whenever possible.

[Johnie]

grcamna...the 348 could've been mine, but I didn't have a display area for it. It was owned by my buddy that I bought the 70 Chevelle SS from a few years ago. He passed away last April and in the fall his wife asked me to help clean out his shop. One of my car club friends bought it from her and he will display it. I think it had a cracked block which is why he only used it for display. How do you like those carbs?

[grcamna2]

grcamna...the 348 could've been mine, but I didn't have a display area for it. It was owned by my buddy that I bought the 70 Chevelle SS from a few years ago. He passed away last April and in the fall his wife asked me to help clean out his shop. One of my car club friends bought it from her and he will display it. I think it had a cracked block which is why he only used it for display. How do you like those carbs?

I like the 3 deuces,are they made by Rochester ?

[Johnie]

I think you are correct. We took it out of the basement in pieces. No gaskets on it and it came apart pretty easy. We strapped the block to the dolly and muscled it into his truck. Pistons were already in a box for us. Cool motor. Came with the engine stand too.

[Tracksnblades1]

I used to have a 65' Chevelle 2dr post with a 283ci and a power glide. I lowered it 2" and put a SS interior in it. I never did get around to installing the 427ci and M22 transmission in it that I had scrounged up. It's one of the cars I regret selling. 

 A friend owned a real Z11 65 Chevelle, they held a stock class NHRA record for so long that it finally went off the books when NHRA put a time limit on records. A few decades back, he found it and it had been converted to a stock car. Then he built a clone since real ones were more $$ than he was willing to part with.
  Alzheimer's got him recently, he did small engine carburetor engineering work out of his house and was exposed to a lot of carbon monoxide, as was an automotive shop owner I knew who suffered the same fate. Anecdotal evidence, but I avoid breathing exhaust whenever possible.

Does that e85 smell as bad burning as Methanol…?
Some fuel you just can’t be in an enclosed area while it’s running..🤢