And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
My dad had a '74, almost the same color, but a four door with rear wheel skirts. It didn't have near the styling and chrome of this '59, but it was a great car. I remember driving from Philly to Vero Beach, FL in it. Mom, dad, and 6 of their 8 kids all piled into it in '75.
When I was a kid growing I had 4 young uncles who had the market cornered on these 59-60 beauties. White,black and sea green. They had 7 of them,3 of them were really sharp Impalas that were garage kept the other 4 were used for everyday life. As the cars got older and started to rust out and fall apart they would piece meal together what they could to salvage any of them. By the late 60's you should seen these things, they were different colors or primered and were loud as hell. We still joke about those beauties at family functions,although 2 of the uncles have passed
Still trying to understand how the geniuses of design in Detroit went from the classic 57' Chevy to this behemoth in just 2 short years...of the next 3, the '62 was the most beautiful, IMMHO....63' and 64'?...fuggeddaboutit...fugly...'65 got better...
Growing up, my family had a 59 Chevy station wagon. It was the same color, but after a few years the green dulled to a more "puke" color. The thing was a behemoth and only had a 6 cylinder engine with a "three on the tree". It could barely get out of its own way. But, it did haul around our large family for quite a few years.
Later, when I was in high school, a friend of mine's big brother had a 60 Impala similar to this one except his was blue. We used to tag along for a ride to and from school with him. His had a V8 engine and he scared the hell out of us more than once by getting the thing up to 80-90 mph on our little two lane country road. I stopped riding with him out of self preservation. He eventually wrapped it around a tree, but lucky for him, he walked away from the wreck.
There is an interesting video out there about GM doing a 50 year anniversary safety demonstration between a 1959 Impala and a 2009 Impala. They collided them head-on, but slightly offset. The 59 definitely came out the loser.
Worked with a guy back in the mid 80s who had this car only in Salmon. He rigged the windshield wiper pump(with motor oil in it) to squirt oil directly into the carb instead of fluid on the windshield. The results were a rather impressive smokescreen on demand. He was a nut.
neighbor guy had a 59 tourquoise ragtop. probably worth more than my new truck nowadays.
ReplyDeleteThat's the color of the kitchen I grew up in in the 1950s. My dad had a '59 4-dr Chev. sedan in dark blue.
ReplyDeleteYeah we had a stove that color…
DeleteMy dad had a '74, almost the same color, but a four door with rear wheel skirts. It didn't have near the styling and chrome of this '59, but it was a great car. I remember driving from Philly to Vero Beach, FL in it. Mom, dad, and 6 of their 8 kids all piled into it in '75.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid growing I had 4 young uncles who had the market cornered on these 59-60 beauties. White,black and sea green. They had 7 of them,3 of them were really sharp Impalas that were garage kept the other 4 were used for everyday life. As the cars got older and started to rust out and fall apart they would piece meal together what they could to salvage any of them. By the late 60's you should seen these things, they were different colors or primered and were loud as hell. We still joke about those beauties at family functions,although 2 of the uncles have passed
ReplyDeleteStill trying to understand how the geniuses of design in Detroit went from the classic 57' Chevy to this behemoth in just 2 short years...of the next 3, the '62 was the most beautiful, IMMHO....63' and 64'?...fuggeddaboutit...fugly...'65 got better...
ReplyDeleteit was the 61 that I couldn't stand and I believe it was Chevy's worst selling Impala
DeleteI owned a used one in 66, it was a very comfortable car to drive but 2 years later I totaled it.
ReplyDeleteWould that be called puke green?
ReplyDeleteBear Claw
Most cars today are white, black, silver, or gray. Boring.
ReplyDeletenot as boring as the cars themselves
DeleteGrowing up, my family had a 59 Chevy station wagon. It was the same color, but after a few years the green dulled to a more "puke" color. The thing was a behemoth and only had a 6 cylinder engine with a "three on the tree". It could barely get out of its own way. But, it did haul around our large family for quite a few years.
ReplyDeleteLater, when I was in high school, a friend of mine's big brother had a 60 Impala similar to this one except his was blue. We used to tag along for a ride to and from school with him. His had a V8 engine and he scared the hell out of us more than once by getting the thing up to 80-90 mph on our little two lane country road. I stopped riding with him out of self preservation. He eventually wrapped it around a tree, but lucky for him, he walked away from the wreck.
There is an interesting video out there about GM doing a 50 year anniversary safety demonstration between a 1959 Impala and a 2009 Impala. They collided them head-on, but slightly offset. The 59 definitely came out the loser.
Worked with a guy back in the mid 80s who had this car only in Salmon. He rigged the windshield wiper pump(with motor oil in it) to squirt oil directly into the carb instead of fluid on the windshield. The results were a rather impressive smokescreen on demand. He was a nut.
ReplyDeleteI owned one in '71-'72. It was nothing but a beater. Paid $75 for it but that was almost 1 1/2 weeks pay.
ReplyDelete