[wizzonial]

I’m in need of Options here, this a 65 Impala my daughter found in a field down the street.

She’s in love!! But I have know idea what it’s worth or what size motor I’ll need to find. I had her take some pictures and get the vin so I could do some looking into it. I guess all the extra chromes in the back seat and it all appears to be in good shape.

The vin is “164375L136399”, so what’s she worth???????

The owner wants around $800.00 to the right person NO ENGINE, I hear she’s already turned down some people just because she didn’t like the looks of um, lol.

Rick.

[lowROLLERchevy]

engine: anything chevy will fit ... inline 6, small v8 or big block .... they will all bolt in, so thats just a matter of personal choice

value, it appears to be mostly there, and if the roof in any indication as to the amout of rust, it should be decently solid, so 800 seams plenty fair to me, unless your looking for a car that is rare and will be worth alot after a full resto ... if thats the case it depends on how the vin translates, it might just be a "worthless" 6 cylinder car

as for the owner not liking people, i noticed that theres a girl standing in front of the car in the one pic, send her to the womans door with the money ... have her say "my daddy is lettimg me buy your car, heres 8 hundred dollars i made selling lemonade, can i have it"

if the old lady says no, time for "plan B" ... have her steal the old ladies cane and her life alert remote, lol

[Bad Rat]

Looks pretty solid to me,, isn't eastern Washington rather high desert country,? is this around Yakama by chance? I think 800 bucks is a very good price, of course I am speaking in terms of what that car would be worth around here [ Portland ore,]
a small block and t/H 350 would be perfect, go for it. Roller has a good idea there on the process for getting the ole lady to sell it,, Good luck,, Bill

[mlhopkins]

164375L136399 broken down

164 - 8cylinder
37 - model
5 - 1965
L - Los Angeles California
136399 - sequential production number

I hope this helps Impalas came with either a 283 or 327 smallblock in 65 the only way to tell would be to trace some of the other numbers on the car. This car looks to be in good shape from the pictures and of course there are numerous magazines for parts to restore Impalas. I don't think 800 is a bad price.
Mitchell

[roger1]

I'm not sure why everyone is talking about the $800 initial price.
That's a drop in the bucket next to what you'd have in the car after restoring it.

I suspect the rear window channel is rusted out and water has gotten to the trunk pan also.

Also look for rust around the rear wheel wells. It there is, this could mean that the quarters and inner wheel houses need replacing. Also look at the rockers, lower doors, and lower front fenders for rust. The bubbled look of rust in these areas is usually rust from the inside out and leads to costly replacement.
If this stuff is OK and the frame is relatively clean, then I would say it might be a candidate for restoring. However, even if rust isn't all that bad, having the work professionally done would have you with more money in this car than it is worth when complete.
If you do all the work yourself, I still think it is possible that you might have too much in it. With the cost of parts these days it is extremely difficult to come out on cars like this unless they are very special. I really like 65 Impalas but they are not all that unusual.

Roger

[1957plymouthhemi]

65 was a change over year, and depending on the time of manufacture you could also get the 409 (until about Dec 64) or the 396.

[wizzonial]

Thanks everyone for the input! I’ll have to go and check this thing out myself now I guess.

Thankfully I do body and paint for a living and I already have most of the need materials so as far as that goes, it’s covered. I’m just ignorant to the value of some of those old dinosaur bones, lol.

Well I know she’s not a SS, the vin code for a 65 SS was either 65,66,67,68, and it 64


Rick.

[adtkart]

Rick
If you do body and paint for a living, and are relative competant with metal, you should be able to assess the condition relatively well. As far as the value, that would depend on the "attachment value" of the car, meaning how bad does she want it. There are some around, depending on your location, of course. Most that I have seen that are driveable, or atleast some what solid, the prople think are made of gold. If GM had gotten as much for them new, as some people want for them "trashed", I can only imagine how big GM would be. LOL

If you are looking for something to "restore" to original condition, and make money on it, forget it. If you are looking for a project car to enjoy building, and she will drive, that sounds reasonable to me. Then again, I am a Ford man, so Chebbys don't have much value to me. LOL

Aaron

[Beenaway2long]

Rick-
I'd take a trailer to the desert. I think you will find alot better car for alot less money. Check the frame over CAREFULLY. Its been sitting for who knows how long, and I would bet that the frame is touching or near touching the ground. And there is no grillework. I would pass. I passed on a better looking Nova for $750.00 this weekend.

[wizzonial]

Originally Posted by Beenaway2long

And there is no grillework.

Ya I was thinking about the grill myself, my daughter seems to think that’s what she saw in the back though. So for a father daughter project I’ll at least give it a look this weekend.
And noway would I ever try and restore this peace all the way, it would just be a fun project for a flamed out driver,lol.

Rick.

[baddbob]

I gotta tell ya that looks like a $1500-$2000 car if it were in this area. Look at the underside and see how bad the rust is, if the frame and floors look good I'd say go for it. Parted out that car would bring double the asking price. Check if it has a 12 bolt rear axle, these came in smallblock and bigblock cars and is easily worth $500 or more. A full out restoration would definately cost more than what it is worth but if you pick up a part here and there and build a driver out of it I think the build cost would be reasonable. Bob

[redsdad]

Look a little closer at that front fender. It had the "V" with the crossed flags. 327, 396, or 409 car. It looks like you may be able to see the outline of the numbers. Or the other fender may still have the trim piece intact.

[rventure]

check the frame over the axle. these 65's where notorious for rusted frames

[MARTINSR]

Ok, here is mister get back to the facts. Don't EVER let your wife, daughter, son, wife, girlfriends, etc. "love" of a car dictate how you feel about what YOU know is right or wrong. Someone who knows nothing about fixing up an old dinasour like that can really get you into trouble.

I have seen some real bad mistakes made when doing this. Mistakes that cost a LOT of money. If you have that cute little girl with the puppy eyes looking at you it is real easy to make some stupid decision you will regret.

Check this thing out THOROUGHLY, without the daughter there. If you have never done an old car like this, it is no walk in the park. There are HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of hours involved. That is a lot of weekends my friend.

If she wants an old car, there are tons of real nice ones that may only cost a few more dollars. One that is less popular is always the way to go. Pick another GM model like a Buick or Olds and the price for a NICE one isn't much more than that Chevy. Hell, I sold a 65 Skylark last year for $2700 that still had its original shiny paint on the frame and under body! It was a daily driver with all perfect brakes, near new tires, etc. It had ZERO rust (it NEVER had any rust, bought it from original owner) just a paint job and some interior work it would be a dazzler. You will spend WAY, WAY more than that $2700 to get that Chevy any where near what you would want for daughter to be in.

That old Chevy will need a thousand bucks in brakes alone!

I would start showing her around a Hemmings motor news or something.

Heres a few for you to show her.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Buick...10289854QQrdZ1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1965-...11976026QQrdZ1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Buick...10223288QQrdZ1 (It is really a 66 with a 401, they don't know Buicks very well)


Brian

[adtkart]

As an addition to what Brian just said. Make sure it is a project that you can enjoy. I have a 67 Mustang that both of my kids wanted. That is, until I got it close to ready. Then they decided that they didn't want it because it didn't have AC, and all of their friend's cars did. If I had wanted to do it for myself, it would probably be done by now. It has been sitting for sometime now, because I have other projects that I am more interested in getting done.

Aaron