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Hi folks, I'm considering getting a 1970 Impala. I've found one for sale for $3700. Rust behind wheel wells, but new motor with less than 40k on it. Is it still possible to get parts for this car? Can rust spots on a car like that be fixed? How does that price sound? When I go to look at this car, what should I look for? Thanks!
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Jan 17, 2015 03:35
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 00:29 |
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http://www.classicindustries.com/shop/1970/impala/parts/
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Jan 17, 2015 03:38
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Anything can be fixed with lots of money. Or little money, depending on amount of rust. A picture would help answer a LOT of questions.
BoostCreep fucked around with this message at 03:45 on Jan 17, 2015 |
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Jan 17, 2015 03:42
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Remains Unseen posted:Is it still possible to get parts for this car? Can rust spots on a car like that be fixed? How does that price sound? Yes (engine especially, interior/trim pieces may be harder but the Impala's a pretty popular model), depends how bad they are (surface rust or swiss cheese), absolutely reasonable if it's in good condition and you want it. A better question is, how "new" is the new motor? New factory-spec engine? New crate motor? Rebuilt used motor? Junkyard pull? Who did the work and how thorough were they? (These are questions you ask the seller, and ask for receipts). How did the old engine fail? Will this be a daily driver, weekend toy, future drag car, or just something to wrench on? "What to look for" depends pretty heavily on that. In general, look for signs of abuse/neglect (trashed/falling apart interior, lots of dents and scratches, panels with newer paint than the rest of the car, old dry rotted tires). Take it for a test drive; if the seller refuses, walk unless you're fine redoing every system on the car (brakes, suspension, powertrain, steering, etc).
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Jan 17, 2015 03:44
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Fucknag posted:Yes (engine especially, interior/trim pieces may be harder but the Impala's a pretty popular model), depends how bad they are (surface rust or swiss cheese), absolutely reasonable if it's in good condition and you want it. Thank you! I'm planning on this being a weekend toy pretty much. It would be nice to be able to take it camping, although I don't know how well it would do in the snow. The seller has agreed to a test drive. The motor is a new crate motor from a dealership. The dealership also did the install. The seller has receipts for the purchase and installation, but it was done in 2003 so I don't think it is still under warranty. The interior looks a little bit ratty, but still fine. The exterior has a bit of clear coat peeling on the trunk, but the rest of the paint looks like it's in decent shape. I was considering offering $3200 for it, but I don't want to be that lowballing rear end in a top hat.
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Jan 17, 2015 03:52
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That's not lowballing, that's a reasonable starting point for negotiations imo. Lowballing would be asking $2k and refusing to budge. Check for good brake feel (should be firm, not spongy, and no pull to either side), though performance will probably be lower than a newer car. Ditto steering, obviously if you turn the wheel a half turn and nothing happens something's up, but a little slop is acceptable (and to be expected on an American car of that vintage). In the end, though, it's from an era where cars were still dead simple mechanically, so you should be able to fix just about anything on it with a little guidance and fairly basic tools. That said, if your gut tells you to walk, listen. Impalas are everywhere, another one will pop up.
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Jan 17, 2015 04:54
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Having a dealer install a new crate engine is an easy $3k (actually a lot more) by itself. As long as the rest of the car feels good, I'd be all over it. It should also be exempt from emissions in most states, so you should be able to go hog wild with upgrades. I doubt it even had catalytic converters from the factory, unless it was a California model. Everything Fucknag says is definitely something to look for. That car is from an era when cars had a steering box and simple rods connecting the entire suspension to the steering, instead of a modern rack and pinion setup. Expect some slop in the steering; don't expect it to accelerate, handle, or stop like a modern car; expect it to be more like driving a (gigantic) couch, but the brakes should be react decently, and it shouldn't pull when braking. You can expect a little more pull on a modern crowned road than you'd notice in a modern car, while driving in a straight line (I'm talking major roads, not residential - major roads tend to be slightly sloped to let rain runoff to the side). If the transmission is original, it may or may not be in great shape, but a TH350 transmission (which is probably what it has now) is dirt cheap... so is getting a shift kit installed. And you can do EVERYTHING on this car with nothing more than a jack, jack stands, and the most basic of tools. Fixing the rust PROPERLY will cost you quite a bit, if you want it to look like it never had rust. Just preventing it from spreading won't be a huge deal. Get it on a lift, or get under it, and make sure the rust is only in the wheel wells; if you have structural rust (i.e. you can see the carpet from below), run.
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Jan 17, 2015 11:20
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The engine isn't a "new crate motor" anymore if it was installed 12 years ago and then driven for 40K. That doesn't mean that it's not in good shape, but it's just a replacement engine now and it's not worth paying more for. As for the rust, it might not be that bad but from my experience there's probably a lot more that you can't see. If it's behind the wheel wells then it's probably affecting the inside of the quarter panels, too. Make sure to open up the trunk and look under any carpet or matting that's in there. If you can see the ground then it's probably best to pass. If you post some pics or a link to the ad we might be able to give you some better advice.
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Jan 17, 2015 19:44
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Just looked at it. It definitely drives like a boat, more so than any car I have driven, but that's fine. Rust spots are quite bad around the wheel wells, holes around 1-2 inches in diameter in places. The vinyl top is bumpy in places due to rust underneath it. The car stops well, the brakes don't feel spongy, but it pulls to the left. The owner does have receipts for the engine replacement, and about 5k of additional work over the past 10 years. The engine backfires when starting from a dead stop. I don't know too much about cars, but I figure that is a really bad sign. We couldn't determine if it's carbureted or not. I figure it's worth closer to $1500.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:41
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Remains Unseen posted:
If this is an issue, you might not want to jump into a 45 year old car without doing a LOT of soul searching.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:50
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BoostCreep posted:If this is an issue, you might not want to jump into a 45 year old car without doing a LOT of soul searching. Echoing this big time. You can seriously overwhelm yourself with something like this. It sounds like the rust is substantial as well. Is there anything drawing you to Impalas specifically?
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Jan 19, 2015 05:07
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If you dont know how to identify a carburetor walk the gently caress away from a car where even the roof is rusting, I guarantee there are hidden nightmares. Absolutely jump in and learn to wrench if it suits you but if youre that green pay the money up front for the cleanest one you can afford and find and thank me later
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Jan 19, 2015 05:12
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Yea this car sounds like bad news but if its a weekend toy and you are willing to learn then you should definitely get an old American car. They are cheap to fix and forgiving enough if you mess up a little while leaning how a carburetor works. Especially if its a Chevy.
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Jan 19, 2015 05:38
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Boaz MacPhereson posted:Echoing this big time. You can seriously overwhelm yourself with something like this. It sounds like the rust is substantial as well. My plan was to pay a shop to do all restoration work. I'm not pretending I know anything about cars, haha. I want a 4th gen Impala purely for style.
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Jan 19, 2015 06:04
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If youre paying a shop to do it then absolutely wait for the driest straightest car you can possibly afford because the hamds down costliest and most time consuming part of any restoration is bodywork rust repair and paint. By an exponential amount.
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Jan 19, 2015 06:09
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Remains Unseen posted:My plan was to pay a shop to do all restoration work. I'm not pretending I know anything about cars, haha. Buying a junked old car and paying someone else to restore it is hands-down the most expensive thing you could do. If what you really want is a 1970 Impala in restored condition, just look for one and buy it, because you'll almost certainly spend less.
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Jan 19, 2015 06:29
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Sagebrush posted:If what you really want is a 1970 Impala in restored condition, just look for one and buy it, because you'll almost certainly spend less. Do this. Maybe try to find one in a color that you like. You can always change other parts later, but a full resto of a car with as much rust as you're describing will be very costly. You can spend the same amount on a car that you can enjoy today.
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Jan 19, 2015 15:19
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Agreed. If you can find a great body with a less than perfect motor that's fine too. Engine work on those things is dead simple.
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Jan 19, 2015 15:26
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By someone elses money pit and laugh all the way to the bank. Hemmings classified is full of 20k 100k Invested turds. Or you could buy a 5 year old car that won't try to kill you as much. http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/?q=1970%20impala
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Jan 19, 2015 16:39
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Some times picking up a partially finished project isn't terrible. They did all the hard work of body repair, paint etc. But only do this if you have the eye for knowing what needs finished. Otherwise that's a deep rear end rabbit hole too. Edit: rust is a bitch. Remember if there's cancer coming from underneath the panel, there's a ton more behind it. By underneath I mean bubbling paint. BrokenKnucklez fucked around with this message at 16:48 on Jan 19, 2015 |
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Jan 19, 2015 16:43
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Echoing everyone else. Find a realtively finished on or find one with A CLEAN SHELL. You can swap or rebuild motors. You can paint a car. You can do the interior. But trying to unfuck a rusty shell is either A. miserable to do, especially as a novice or B. Expensive as gently caress.
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Jan 19, 2015 16:44
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My vintage car is an interesting case study for you if you don't know what you're getting into or have a budget in mind. A Previous owner didn't know a thing about cars and bought a running, 100% rust free 1966 Volvo for $5000 and decided to drive it daily. He then spent about $7000 more on shops doing repairs, and a couple of the more difficult repairs were done twice, apparently the shops he was taking it to weren't that good. Then he hit a deer and required $2500 worth of body and paint repair, which was done poorly. So in the end he had spent $14,500 in only 2 years and there was still a lot wrong with the car when I bought it. He sold it for $4500 to the guy who sold it to me. First things I had to do to it were: Rebuild brakes Rebuild Carburetors Fix minor rust due to shoddy bodywork Rebuild all suspension bushings Rewiring crappy wiring modifications Rebuild fuel pump Once I did all that all I had to deal with was a couple bad oil leaks. The parts alone cost me around $3000, if I was paying a shop for all this I'd be into it for another $5000-$10,000. So yeah, buy one that someone else has already done all the work to, and all you have to do is maintain it. It will absolutely cost you less overall.
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Jan 19, 2015 17:46
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