Hello all from newbie Reckless Eric

[Reckless Eric]

Hi folks.
I'm new to the site and new to restoration.
I have a 66 Impala 4 door that I bought so I could use it as a learning experience and not worry about making mistakes since it does not have the original engine and is has had other work done to it. My goal is to get it running so I can drive it around. I have to decide whether to restore it or part it out since it's been in my driveway for a while. I can't seen to let her go...

Maybe someone can offer me some guidance. I sure need it!
My next post will be about the numbers I have discovered in the car...
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Nuts]

Eric,

Welcome to the "Zoo" !!! There are lots of experts here and guy like me who will give you opinions about almost everything !!! Great site and you will enjoy the ride. Ask away about any projects or goals you might need help with, someone will have correct answer...

Again, welcome

Bill

 

[Brent Hall]

Welcome to the program!

 

[Reckless Eric]

Eric,

Welcome to the "Zoo" !!! There are lots of experts here and guy like me who will give you opinions about almost everything !!! Great site and you will enjoy the ride. Ask away about any projects or goals you might need help with, someone will have correct answer...

Again, welcome

Bill

 

[Reckless Eric]

This is great. I'm usually not a fan of social media, but I like the site already. It may take some time to figure out how to use it properly. I posted a question on the general thread about cowl tags. There is a lot to learn since the Impala was an impulse buy and all I know at this point is how to change the oil... Do you have a bigger picture of your ride? I need an after picture to inspire me. All I have is a before picture and it looks pretty bad.
Thanks for the warm welcome and I'll share what I can as I work on the resto.

 

[k9hotrodder409]

Welcome to the site Eric. Lots of info on the "W" engine. Enjoy the ride.

 

[Reckless Eric]

Welcome to the site Eric. Lots of info on the "W" engine. Enjoy the ride.

 

[Reckless Eric]

Thank you. She came with a straight 6 and I have a V8 5.0 for it that ran when it was in the 89 Caprice. Friends say chuck it and look for the 327, but I don't have much $. Whattya think?

 

[Reckless Eric]

Welcome to the program!

 

[Reckless Eric]

Thanks. 6-4 is nice. I'll take a picture of my heap soon... My profile picture is the cat that lived in the Impala until we adopted him. At least the car has served a purpose so far...

 

[k9hotrodder409]

Hey Eric, If you are going to use that car as a test project to sharpen your resto skills,keep the original motor in it and drive the car.If you are going to keep it then build it the way you want and let your friends build their own .

 

[bobs409]

Love the cat! I hope you named it "Impala".

I own a 66 Impala 2 door coupe with the factory 327 and I love it! You want some inspirational pics? Ok, here's a few pics of that car: This one is a shot of it when it's last owner got it:



And here it is shortly after I got it home:



And here it is all done:



I did ALL the work myself and at that time it was right in my back yard. Painted it in the front yard while cars were driving by! This is the car I learned how to wet sand and buff out paint on. An 18 wheel truck driver stopped about a week after asking me to paint his car! He said he was driving by when I was spraying it. lol

This is also the car I taught myself reupholstering seats and my first headliner install.

She's a real sweet heart and loves to cruise! Future plans are to rebuild the engine as it does use oil. Car has 106K on it and I believe even has it's original spiral shocks! (and they are still good too!)

You'll learn a little here and there, I've learned on everyone of my cars/trucks. I've come a long way, all it takes is an interest in it.

 

[409newby]

You know Eric that a W motor will slide right into your 66 with a few available parts!

 

[Reckless Eric]

You know Eric that a W motor will slide right into your 66 with a few available parts!

Nice. Good to know. Right now I got the 5.0 to finish and the straight 6 as a backup. I guess my next step would be to prep the "engine well" so I can eventually drop it in so I can move it around the backyard... I spent all day researching this thing. Still haven't figured out the accessory code. Right now I'm trying to decipher the remaining bits of the build sheet I found behind the back seat. I'm discovering more original parts than expected.

Thanks.