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1961 Chevy Impala Hot Rod Sells At Barrett Jackson For $90k

Those of you who have been following my articles for the last few years may remember stories about my 1961 Chevy Impala hot rod, AKA Vlad the Impala. I sold it over the summer to a gentleman from Iowa. The new owner took it to the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale sale last week, where she hammered sold for $90k, inclusive of fees.

Originally finished in white, the Chevy Impala is now finished in a glossy brilliant red with a black stripe down either side above the beltline trim, and custom pinstripes on the hood and deck lid. It sits quite close to the ground, riding on a lowered Global West tubular A-arm suspension with front and rear sway bars and Schott Bullet polished billet wheels shod in low-profile Goodyear rubber. The car was accompanied with sparse information when I got it, but what is clear is someone spared no expense on the parts building it.

When it left the factory, the Chevy Impala was powered by a 283 cubic-inch Small Block backed by a two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. Now, thrust comes courtesy of a 409 cubic-inch Big Block mill with dual Edelbrock 500 CFM carbs, a healthy cam, MSD ignition, Tru Trac serpentine belt drive system, Tru Trac air conditioning, and a Champion four-core aluminum radiator to keep everything cool. Other items of note are the electric power steering and power disc brakes. The Big Block is backed by a four-speed close-ratio manual transmission and a rather stiff clutch. Everything under the hood is polished to a fault, with the engine framed by gloss black fenders, firewall, and underhood.

Inside, the Chevy Impala hot rod sports tuck-and-roll black vinyl, deep black carpets, and a dash that is the same glossy red as the exterior. The dash is full of Dakota Digital VHX white-faced gauges, and the stock AM radio. The red-painted cascade in the center of the back seat that used to be a speaker now houses a hidden subwoofer that is part of the Custom Autosound secret audio system. That system consists of the aforementioned subwoofer, AM/FM/CD/USB ports, amp, all hidden beneath the rear deck. Control comes from a remote unit. It’s nice to have the tunes available, but you won’t be able to hear much over that monstrous 409 beneath the hood or the Flowmaster exhaust. The steering column is of the chrome tilting variety. The steering wheel is a custom creation in the same black-and-red hues as the rest of the car with Chevy crossed flags on the horn button. Sticking up from the transmission tunnel is a chrome Hurst shifter topped with a white shift ball.

This multiple show-winning 1961 Chevy Impala hot rod sold at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale, Arizona event January 21st through the 29th .

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Comments

  1. An upgraded version of when cars had style… The selling price wasn’t too bad considering what a ’70 LS6 SS Chevelle goes for these days but still way out of my budget.

    Reply
  2. Wow, what a beauty! My aunt had a 61 when I was very young.

    Reply
  3. My (older) best friend had a black 409…..
    Two words
    Damn SHARP
    PS ….and was faster than h_ll !!!!

    Reply
  4. Manual transmission. Bad @ss!

    Reply
  5. Beautiful car. Terrible full shot photography. Who photograps a beautiful car in the shadows?

    Photograph this Beautiful car in the sunlight and the colors will really stand out.

    Reply
  6. Genuinely hoping for the return of the Impala.

    Reply
  7. The car itself is beautiful. What destroys it is the big clown circus type wheels on it. And the fact that it is too low. That’s all I see today it’s cars with giant wheels on then that look like chandeliers with rubber bands on them. Absolutely pathetic and ruins the car entirely. And the fact that it’s lowered adds to the demise of its originality.

    Reply
  8. Resto circus car.

    Reply
  9. A true classic , love those early Impalas.

    Reply

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