About the 62 Impala
Shoestring 62' project
Follow along as I do a restro-mod of a 1962 Impala SS.
I am a Architect by training, and this is my first car restoration. I will be doing as much of the work as I can. I will be learning new skills (welding, body work, etc.) This is my hobby project so there are no time constraints just the pure joy of building and . I have always loved old cars and always wanted to restore one.
The goal for the car is to make a nice cruiser for weekend outings, and local car shows. Also I am planning on finishing the car and taking my Dad who gave me the car on the Power tour.
My work bench & view from the rear of the shop
So I was thinking last weekend as I worked on my car that I would like a bigger shop, now I built my garage with a specific shop space to work on my car. It is about 12 feet wide by 35 feet long. Now if I did it all over I would have added at least 3 more feet to the garage to make it 15 feet wide. But as my dad told me hot rods have been built in smaller spaces then this. so here are some pictures of my garage space I tried to capture the space. The good thing about a small garage is that you are forced to be organized. So to all of you out there that are thinking of taking on a project but have a small garage I say go for it and do not let that stop you.
Birds eye of the Shop
Well I made it to a milestone this last weekend. I have everything out of the car (except for the
Windshields) and I am am ready to get it
blasted and start the restoration and putting parts back on. The plan is to remove the windows this weekend and be ready to go with the car. I also have purchased a welded and am working on a body cart for the car so I can take it off the frame
I finally made progress on the car this weekend with a number of sma
ller projects
. I first had to get the garage reorganized if you are going to undertake a restoration then be sure you have the space to store everything. Here is a shot of the garage with all of the boxes of stuff that I have removed. I am down to just the dash and the trim on one side of the car, and the windows. I had my Dad over and he helped me remove the trunk. So I am getting closer to pulling the car off the frame and I am still close on my schedule for my spring projects.
I also have started to pick up some parts for the 409 I purchased these heads for my 409 from a guy in Texas that I meat on the 348-409.com web page. I had to remove the valve springs so that required a purchase of a new tool. I picked up a good spring compressor at Sears for $20. So that was the other weekend project. The heads are going to a machine shop on Monday to get cleaned and checked for cracks.
The process is slow but soon I will have a major update as I get the frame off from under the car. As always my kid came out to help in his special way, but hey at least he is interested in the car, and some day he will get to enjoy it.
