Rescued From A Field: 63 Chevy Impala Convertible

[vaporlock]

There is a theme to our story, progress has always been slow so why change that now. By the end of February they started working on putting her back together again, a lot of new and old parts going back on, wiring and exhaust. A mix of old and new trim, emblems, bumpers, glass and so on. In the middle of everything I realized I had a rear bumper for a 64 and back then when every year model was actually different, the thing didn't look right. I know I could order a new one from the states but took a look at Blocket which is our version of Craigslist and found a guy right in my area selling an original 63 rear bumper in really good shape. I gave him a call and swung by after work. Turns out he had been working on his 63 at home in the garage when one day the car rolled down his pretty steep driveway and hit another car. The insurance co gave him a check to repair the damage and he decided to buy a new rear bumper and sell the original. If I don't remember this completely wrong I think I paid like $100 for it, insane!

I don't think I mentioned this before but I named her Maybellene, Belle for short, because of the song by Chuck Berry. "Maybellene, why can't you be true?" While I suspect that it's about a girl who can't stay faithful, to me it was literal, like why can't my dream be true and I had my dreamcar. My friend calls her Pimpy tho, because she looks like a pimpmobile...

When I ordered these taillights they didn't mention that the beautiful chrome trim wouldn't work with them. Once I figured that out I instantly hated them...

64 rear bumper...

 

[vaporlock]

Team SlowProgress! I'm not even sure what they were doing at this point, but by now we were at the end of Mars... I think they were probably struggling with the wiring... you know that one thing I told them I'd help out with... because Adam doesn't understand Swedish or English and there are alot of words in the instructions...
(If I could go back I would never have let them touch the wiring and then I'd done it myself.)

Between the first and second photo is a month... I don't even know how you make such a mess!

Aaah! Look at that, the correct bumper is mounted and looks amazing! (Back on the torture device)

 

[vaporlock]

Over the next couple months they seamed to work on her when they had time or felt like it, if I thought it was going slow before... it took them almost 2 months to install a few trim pieces in the front! It took me about 1-2 hours by myself, taking it slow to not scratch the paint...

Photo taken April 15th, 2009: Faceparts where finally going back on, starting to look like herself again.

April 20th, 2009.

April 28th, 2009

June 11th, 2009

 

[vaporlock]

They also got started on the true dual 2.5" exhaust, not super easy to fit on a vehicle that was never meant to have it. This was not the final install, it was hanging way to low and not straight.

Test fitting the exhaust.

Somewhat installed exhaustsystem... first attempt, fail.

Oh look! All taillights, rear trim and side trim installed.

 

[vaporlock]

Towards the end of 2009 we were, yet again, at an almost complete stand still. I was fed up with the bosses BS, he was constantly bitching about parts, mostly parts I knew existed and parts I'd already brought them, which I pointed out and told him to go find. I spent so much time researching this car, identifying and finding parts, ordering/buying/picking up parts, I knew pretty much everything about this car. At this point you could show me almost any part and I could tell you if it belonged on a 63 or not. He had nothing to argue with which small men like him can't stand.

More "wiring" or possibly trying to figure out how fast they can burn it to the ground.

Parts of the interior installed, they attempted to install the convertible top to but couldn't figure it out. At least the boss admitted that, I'll give him credit for that.

More exhaust, these are the last photos I have where you can see the exhaust but it doesn't look like this anymore...

 

[vaporlock]

December 3rd I walked into the shop and was pretty much greeted by the boss at the door, which never happen... He said he needed to show me something and had that uncomfortable look on his face that you have when you know you royally fvcked up. The Impala was standing on the little lift so when I walked in I saw the drinker side first, we walked around the front and down the captain side and he showed me this...
I was so upset, I bought parts for 10's of thousands of dollars and people working in a freaking body shop does this! He said one of the guys had opened a door and (clearly being stupid as hell) "accidentally" slammed it into my Impala. How do you not see it, it's been right there in your eyeballs for years!? It's fvcking BRIGHT PURPLE!
To some it's just a trim piece, you can just buy a new one... to me it was just the top of the proverbial ice berg, I'd had it. Because of the length of this piece it had like double oversize and fragile fright to it, it can't be bought separate and it wasn't cheap to begin with...

I hope I don't break any forum rules with this but I wanted to kill him... the years of BS had pushed me so far I was on the edge of breaking. I hate feeling so powerless!
When I left I sat in my truck and cried...

 

[centexk5]

That sucks big time.

 

[6872xtc]

That would be very difficult to handle, especially with the huge delays in getting anything done. Prime example of why they should have gotten it done and out.
But you already know this.
Sorry for you, had to have been rough!

 

[Wes Harden]

So many here would feel the same way.

 

[imiceman44]

Pulling an Impala with an S10 sounds fun!

Please keep posting.

Martin

I guess you haven't seen what I have pulled with my s15 Jimmy.
And yes it was fun everytime

 

[imiceman44]

So even after you sell it to someone else they keep the same plate? Craziness lol

It's this way here in California.
Plates for life unless they are stolen or lost

 

[vaporlock]

@centexk5 @6872xtc and @Wes Harden Thanks guys! Yeah it was rough, still hurts looking at it.

@imiceman44 It's one hell of an unforgettable experience!
Even if the plates get stolen we keep the same LP number, which gives you a lot of problems. My cousin had his plates stolen and for as long as he own the car after, he'd get pulled over weekly having to explain/prove he was the rightful owner of the plates...

 

[vaporlock]

After new years 2009 I started working on the other side of town and spending 4 hours a day just driving back and forth to work meant I didn't have many chances to swing by the shop to check on things. That of course was a bad thing...

In late April 2010 I got a phone call from the boss, it went something like this:

Him: It needs to go now, I don't want it here anymore. I also want another $500 because the wiring was so difficult. (Eh, what the hell? Remember my offer..?)
Him: I'm gonna ship it to a barn in "random ass town" (hours away), and I'll send you the bill. (Again, what the fvck?)
Me: The hell you ain't! And you're sure as hell not getting any more money, I told you I'd help out with the wiring but that didn't suit you, so that's your problem!
Him: I don't care, (something about everything being my fault as usually) and I want it gone!
Me: Well, you ain't shipping it anywhere and I ain't paying for it either. Just give me a few days.
He agreed and we hung up. I called my dad right after and told him what had happen and that I was worried I might never see that car again. He said he had a friend that stored his car at this place and he'd see if they had any space for me.

The next day my dad called back and said there was a space available for me whenever I needed it, it wasn't big but it was safe. (Best dad award goes to...)

The day after that the boss called again and told me he shipped the Imp to said "random ass town" the day before. I cussed him out and yelled at him that if that car wasn't back at his shop the next day I'm calling the cops reporting it stolen and pointing them in his very direction. The next day it was back at his shop.
(In Sweden, moving a vehicle without the owners permission, even if it's on you property, is illegal. As a business owner working with insurance companies you don't want that on your record. There is only one government agency that can give permission to move it and it's a whole mess to make that happen. Not even the police can move a vehicle without said permission.)

Within a day or two I had it towed to the new location, far away from that a-hole. I never saw or spoke to him again.

This was the end of that era...

Quality work right there... How you gonna fix that with bondo!? It's polished aluminium!

 

[vaporlock]

Now comes probably the saddest part of our story, from April 2010 to October 2019 the Impala, my most priced and beloved possession, sat in that storage unit untouched.
Since it was behind a locked gate and it's own locked door access was a 5 day planing adventure since I didn't have my own key. At least I knew it was safe, the guy that owned the place was also a car guy and since this was his place of business there were people there almost everyday of the week, but not on weekends or after business hours...

In June 2014 my friend and I managed to get ours and their schedules to match so we could check on it and do a tiny bit of work on it. We had been searching for the shift linkage for forever and he had finally found it. It's funny how well I remember this day...

That is a "violence and vaseline" kinda tight fit! (I almost broke my back moving that Semitruck tailgate to the right...)

 

[vaporlock]

Press that ffwd button again and we are in July 2016. I can't remember why we where there but I remember we decided to try and start it... and it wouldn't.
I love this photo, even tho it's really sad to see her in this state, it's also really beautiful, dark and moody.

Looks like a true barnfind!

 

[vaporlock]

One day in August 2019 I got another phone call, well actually they called my BF, my phone number is unlisted because I've had a stalker problem that won't go away for the past 20 or so years. They had been trying to contact me for a couple of months because the guy I rented my storage space from had retired and sold the property. These where the new owners and while they where really nice I couldn't keep the Impala there anymore since they where tearing that building down.
Since finding a space is beyond difficult they where kind enough to let me keep the Imp there until I found a new place.
So I started searching and got really lucky, and that's how I ended up with my little shop I have now. It's not big but me and the Imp fit just fine in it. There is power, hot/cold water + drain, heat, a parking space and a shared kitchen and bathroom, all behind a locked gate. And it's located in my hometown 10 minutes from my house.

I got the key on October 1st. Welcome to Vapor Lock Garage!

 

[vaporlock]

Well, vacation made me lazy on the updates... but I'm back.

From now on the updates will be a bit slower becasue we're almost all caught up to present day. So a few weeks before I got the key to the shop I drove the hour and half south to check on the Impala and to talk to the new owner of the property, I told him I found a space but didn't get access to it until October 1st which wasn't a problem. He told me to just let him know when I was ready.

This was the end of Belle's involuntary confinement so for some closure I grabbed a couple photos.


Tight squeeze!

 

[Wes Harden]

That beautiful car deserves a car cover. I cringe when see that nice paint all dusty

 

[76zimmer]

Do you have any rodent issues in storage?
And I know that dust has to be bugging the hell out of you, but be careful to lightly pressure wash it off, then a use a high sudsing foaming car wash soap (not dish soap) with a high quality car wash mitt (not a rag or towel) to float away the remaining dirt While washing gently and rinsing frequently. Good luck, and push to get this thing road worthy again, Id love to see it cruising on the road!

 

[Cucv_M1008]

Sweet X frame, I think our Buick will be going to the paint booth after all mechanical is done.