Chope

[Chope]

63' impala restoration project. I have a 63'impala 2 door sport coupe ,283 with a 3 on the tree w/overdrive.
Looking forward to talking to you all. The person I bought the car from took it all apart and now I have to figure out how to put it all back together . trim , moulding , interior, front end, etc...

 

[Don Jacks]

Welcome.theres a lot of knowledge here.One bit of advice... obtain a factory assembly manual to help re-assemble your "basket-case"283,stick with o/d.............neat.​

 

[k9hotrodder409]

Welcome to the site. Great group here and lots of info on the "W" engine . ( Which your '63 needs badly !!) Enjoy the ride.

 

[Nuts]

Chope,

Welcome.... I'll tell you the same thing I told my Grandson, while working on a 1970 Buick last winter. When it's time to put that part on, you'll know right where it goes. That is the nice thing about these old cars. Even an old guy like me can put them back together, because they are so simple to work on. I hope he tagged and bagged the bolts, that's the hard part...

Bill

 

[mike s]

Welcome Aboard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[63 Biscayne]

Welcome to this great site!

 

[Chope]

Welcome.theres a lot of knowledge here.One bit of advice... obtain a factory assembly manual to help re-assemble your "basket-case"283,stick with o/d.............neat.​

Thanks Don Jacks! got one last week, figured i'm going to need all the help i can get.

 

[Chope]

Chope,

Welcome.... I'll tell you the same thing I told my Grandson, while working on a 1970 Buick last winter. When it's time to put that part on, you'll know right where it goes. That is the nice thing about these old cars. Even an old guy like me can put them back together, because they are so simple to work on. I hope he tagged and bagged the bolts, that's the hard part...

Bill

Thanks for the encouragement Bill! But, those bolts are all in one big coffee can.

 

[Chope]

Welcome to this great site!

Nice Biscayne!

 

[Nuts]

Thanks for the encouragement Bill! But, those bolts are all in one big coffee can.

Well that will make things alittle slower, but most of the time you will be able to tell which bolt goes where !!! I might suggest, you purchase one of the bolt kits from Eckler's or Impala Bob's. That will be a whole lot better than the coffee can !!!

Bill

 

[Chope]

Well that will make things alittle slower, but most of the time you will be able to tell which bolt goes where !!! I might suggest, you purchase one of the bolt kits from Eckler's or Impala Bob's. That will be a whole lot better than the coffee can !!!

Bill

Yes , I was thinking the same thing. I never was really good with puzzles, haha.

 

[DonSSDD]

Buy the screw kits first, they are much easier to screw up than the bolts.

Don

 

[Alec Derrey]

Hey buddy, welcome to the forum! I love the looks of the 63 Impala. I got a little 63 Nova SS with a warmed-over 283, and I always thought my car looked like a baby Impala! We'd love to see some pics of your project if you got any. Thanks for joining!
-Alec

 

[Chope]

Well this the best picture I can get right now, Alec.
I was going to put the car back together, but I didn't like what I saw under the rear seat floor pan; the braces are rusted out a little, so since the car is just a shell I'm thinking of taking it off the frame and get a better look at frame too just in case. And do a frame off restoration. Any thoughts ? Anyone?

 

[Tom Kochtanek]

I know that your car as purchased is already "apart" somewhat, so going the "extra miles" to pull the body off the frame seems the next logical step. Just a word of caution that it's hard to know when to stop (I guess you could say "when you're out of nuts and bolts and fasteners to catalog") and you are entering a time warp in terms of hours of commitment. Note I said "extra miles" not "extra mile" .

When I took my 1962 Impala totally apart, it took me over 1200 hours and about 2-3 years of consistent effort (a few hours every day, lots of hours on the weekends). It also requires that you have multiple spaces to house and to clean and organize the various components. I had a lot of help, a shop with a lift, but was limited to a two car garage. Would have been nice to have had twice that space. Watch an episode of any car show on TV and you'll be envious of all the space and equipment that they have on hand. Just like Robert Shaw said in Jaws: "We're gonna need a bigger boat" -- that will be the case.

Don't mean to dissuade you but thought I'd pass along a little experience in doing a body off restoration. I'd go for it if I had the means. In fact I'm in the very beginnings of one right now, and I get stalled quite often. More like "side tracked" by the realities of work and social obligations .

I'm sure others will chime in with their opinions. Good luck!

TomK

 

[409newby]

Go for it Chope you will be glad you did when its all done, it will always take longer than expected and more money but well worth it. Pat

 

[63 Biscayne]

Nice Biscayne!

Thank's a lot .

 

[Phil Reed]

Welcome to the site!!! Pretty soon you'll be spending more time with us than your wife or grandkids!!!!