Would you Junk a 95 Impala SS?
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- čas přidán 4. 04. 2024
- How many times have you driven past a vehicle and said... Man, what a shame, if only I had that at my shop! I see it all the time and it makes me wonder if I could restore, refurbish, repaint, or just reimagine a vehicle back onto the road. That's what I'm doing with this series... "what would it take? It's a simple question, so I give you my best guess! Please subscribe to my channel, let other people know that we've got some great videos coming your way!!!
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I have to try SOOOOO hard not to buy every car I daydream about... This one is surprisingly complete and solid... despite the crust on it.
lol. I feel the same.
Would be great to see you fix it up. Great entertainment
If it at least runs and the price was decent I would take a chance on it and give it a make over. The condition of the interior alone (minus headliner) would make it worthwhile, usually the seats are shredded by now. I could never find a good one of these in my price range but made myself a poor mans SS, I had a dark cherry 95 caprice that I swapped a set of leather roadmaster limited seats in, similar design to the SS but they were split bench. 5.7L is definitely the LT1 V8, the caprices also had the 4.3L L99 V8,, engines look the same but have smaller internals, the RPO sticker in the trunk would call out the LT1 denotation.
@@mattcasoniya, I own 8 cars I really know the feeling
You checked the oil, but you didn't check the frame.
Did you buy ?
That car deserves to be saved while there's still time.
Agreed!!
You are not being serious, best car for the crusher by far (Montey Carlo NEXT)
@@bradzimmerman3171you clearly have no appreciation for rare cars.
90s Impalas are 💩 wouldn't have an Impala! Newer than the 60s! And for Monte Carlos! First Gen only!
I had a 96 and loved that car. I wish I still had it
So, 21K views in a week tells me you guys like this style video! 10-4 Buddies! More coming! :)
The most common faulty engineering design is the bad opti spark distributor and that's why they're in the junkyard, most of them.
the optispark just weeds out the puzzys.
Those Impalas were 9c1 police package csrs in a sexy dress!!
1995 Impala SS is one of my all time favorite cars and I would love to get one someday
Kevin … you should fix that one.
My 96' came from the factory with a replaced driver door. I was told they had some fitment issue on the production line early in the 96' model and they had to either replace the door and or realign them. Mine was replaced and the paint did not match very well. I wasn't sure if this was BS or not. Either way I didn't care because these cars were order only and you waited 3-4 months for delivery. If you did find one on the lot you paid the customary dealer mark up of 3-5K. I was all in for 24k tax license and registration. I did full exhaust, intake and tune and it made 305 hp at the tires, which was impressive for the day. I sold it 4 years later back to the same dealer for 23k.. My son is sill pissed at me for selling it. I have to remind him, he was the reason the Impala had to go.
Keep up the great work Kevin....!!!
Ignition distributor is an Opti-spark. It is expensive and a tough job for most people because of one seal.
Just replace it with an aftermarket high performance ignition.
@@craighansen7594 the optical sensor on most aftermarket Optispark distributors are junk. Best to rebuild the original Optispark before it goes bad
I had a 95 and 96 new from dealer they were incredible cars for the money they drovebeutifully at high speeds im talking 120 140 plus and just planted onthe highway very aurodynamic design it was rated way low at 260hp back rhen a chip, yes a pgysical chip, a driiled iut air box and hollowed out cat converters with stock duals chop of the factory mufflers install flomaster 3 chambers, install so bolt on headers these cars put down 300hp rear wheels dyno all day. Nothing like the LT1 wind at 4000 to 5000 rpm it was a blast to be part of history owning 2 new ones in my lifetime.
I grew up watching you on tv. Didn’t know you had a CZcams channel
Same...lol
The power actually was 260HP and 330 Lb ft of torque. The B Bodies had cast iron heads with the iron block. The Vettes, Camaro and firebirds had aluminum heads which gave them the 300 plus horsepower depending which vehicle.
I had a 1994 Roadmaster which had the same LT 1 engine that I modified some , it was a quick smooth riding boat.
I should have kept it, always miss it when I think about it. It would be great to fix this Impala up 😊
Thanks for the clarification Jeff... You're right Impala had 260, but I had a 94 Vette smany years ago and it had 300... it was a great car too!
The cam too was different in the B & D bodies and while it gave them 40 less hp they had more low end. Which in a heavier car and honestly in most city driving, it's often a better choice. @paintucation
Yup... same grind as what became the 305 and 350 Vortec truck cam specs. That iron LT1 is very much a Vortec 350 performance wise lol. Always makes people big mad when that is pointed out@@cardinaloflannagancr8929
I'm pretty sure stock lt1 4 bolt with aluminum heads is 325hp. But I could be wrong.
I've owned a 95 impala ss for almost 20 years. When I popped the original engine I decided to buy the 4 bolt lt1 from a 95 Corvette a guy had wrecked. I had it built and put in. Pretty fast for a 🛋️.
Love the '94-'96 B-bodies! I had a '95 SS and I currently have a '94 wagon. Kevin is right on the Alternator. Small alternator almost always means a 4.3 V8. When checking Marketplace, always look there first.
I really like this format of walking around the car and pointing out each issue
Car is definitely worth restoring. Neat vehicle. Thanks for your insights, Kevin.
Thanks for watching! I want to BUY THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!!! LOL!
Good to see you back! I liked the styling of this era Impalas, and the SS models were very cool.
Check the trunk for code sticker. WX3 is what will tell you it’s a true SS. The radio looks wrong unless it’s a replacement. The power steering reservoir looks out of place. It was very easy to create an SS out of a Caprice. Door sticker should show 17” wheels. Seats look like replacements. Seats wear out way before the head liner.
Good luck.
Good eye! If I snap this one up I'll check those details. :)
I like the DIY videos. As times go on we are losing our simple traditions. We need to stick to basics.
I loved those GM Road masters, Cadillacs, Caprices and Impalas.
I find it hard to believe unless that car just showed up no fluid is that clean. It breaks down.
Everyone of the impala SS’s I have looked at buying the interiors are always trashed.
The light grey always shows really bad stains etc. They still want big bucks for them too.
Ok one more comment, man Kevin you're totally on top of it, the roundup at the end of cost both ways, man I was thinking exactly those same numbers. Great job and this car is probably 100% worth doing the work on!
Love those Impala SS's. If I didn't have an 84 Olds Custom Cruiser I would probably be looking for one of those.
My biggest ever regret. Sold my 95 SS and have been kicking myself ever since. It was fast, rode great and was always a head turner. Kevin, I’ve been watching you in one form or another for years, glad I found your channel.
Thanks man! GOt some more fun stuff on the way!! glad you're subscribed!!!!
So not hard to buy another one in nice condition to fix the worst mistake of your life.
@@JetFire9 true, but that one I bought new off the showroom floor. Should have kept it.
Mine too! Sold mine to put down payment on a home lot just to find out we couldn’t build on it. I offered guy $1k more to buy it back and he said no way as it was the cleanest he had seen. 😭
I count myself as one who would pay 24 grand to get an Impala SS. And I will also say that the column shifter in this is more special to me than the console mounted shifter they used in 1996. The reason is that the appeal of this car for me that it's a traditional big American sedan like the Bluesmobile. Those cars usually had the column shifter.
Recently i came across Kevin again on an episode of Vice Grip Garage where he provided Derrick with tutorial on autobody repairs..
I have been working my way through your inventory of videos since subscribing, and I really like this format of video content from your channel. Lewarning a lot, purely for my intellectual pleasure.
P.s. I'm enjoying the educational content he is sharing. I wonder if he has saw the learn to sprayway 2k4 bringing ol General Motors vehicles like this Impala shown here. He restores them with candy paint and swaps the sun/moon roofs from Pontiac G6's very talented Guy
I own one of these I bought brand new in October of 1995. But mine is a '96 so it has the console shifter and the analog gauges. I used it as an every day driver until about 2007 when a bunch of little things that were wrong with started adding up. When the A/C died that was the last straw and I parked it. It has about 185,000 miles on it. I still want to get it back on the road at some point but just haven't had the money to put in it and now my health is failing so it continues to sit. I have probably had 10 people over the years stop and knock on my door asking if it was for sale. No it's not for sale. It was driving when parked and I intend to get it going again one of these days.
If you were going to get around to it, you would have already. Just sell it and let someone else save it. You've got 180k miles of memories out of it.
The LT1 installed in the Impala was rated at 260 net hp; it was rated 275hp in the Camaro and 300hp only in the Vette.
Yeah due to a milder cam, iron heads and 2 bolt main. But it did produce more torque than the corvette and the Camaro.
Yeah, I got excited and stopped reading. LOL!
Yes Kevin, buy it and put some love into it and yes it should run as long as the opti No Spark is working 😊
I had a 95 like this one, best all around car I ever had. Fast, good handling, enough room for the family, etc. Interesting to note, my brother in law had a Roadmaster with the LT1, couldn't keep up with my Impala. Thanks for taking us along on this review ~ Chuck
I wonder what the weight difference is between the Roadmaster and Impala? Maybe it's the rear gear? I think Roadmaster had 270-ish? Impala is 3:10 or close and that makes a big difference accessing powerband and RPM
@@paintucation Indeed. I also think, based sound, the exhaust was more restrictive on the Roadmaster.
The impalas had different aluminum head from the corvette performance exhaust police pack 9C1 deferential. And it didn’t have the air pump I think… Roadmaster had cast heads low geared diff to tow and had a bunch of restricting stuff to make it fuel efficient and quiet. Put a 9c1 diff on a Roadmaster and you think you lost 2000lbs off the car.
@@pigidly Very true, except the Impalas had the iron heads as well.
Impala ss came with 3.08 gears.
Always liked these. I had the pleasure of doing a tube up on one. Was a great car to drive. Mike c
Fun story about how these cars were made.
John moss gave an interview once and disclosed the following. He was out one day driving and a modified caprice passed by. Modified exhaust etc. He followed it. When the car stopped, he chatted up the owner.
After that, he tried convincing GM to build it. They said if he could get 2000 orders, he could build it. In just 2 weeks time, he built the SS.
They went into the archives for badging etc.
It was shown at a dealer network event and got 12,000 plus orders from dealers.
It was cemented and GM approved the 2 year run of the car.
Those stories are amazing!! Back when car companies were steered by true enthusiasts.
Yeah man this was a dream car of mine, I was in high school back then (end of it at least) and when these things were around Chevy was SO lacking in muscle.. I wanted one of these SO bad for years.. I'd love to see this baby restored and ripping again!!
Absence of a standard cap and rotor is another way to tell if it's an LT1. Based on the wing depth of the water pump would lead me to believe this is an LT1 with the sometimes dreaded "opti-spark" distrubutor. Always loved these cars.
Not necessarily. The 4.3L 'baby LT1 had that too. Terrible engine, known for weak connecting rods.
Great video! Interesting to see your take on getting it rolling again.
Thanks!! I used to covet these cars big-time... I think it could be a diamond!
@paintucation It would be interesting to know it's story and see it come back to life. They have a real sinister look. Enjoying the channel and the paintucation university course I'm working through. Look forward to what's next.
GREAT GREAT Video, very informative and damn good advice !!!
Thanks man! sorry it took so long to see this comment, I try to go through and read them all.
KT
wait a sec...I JUST saw these in the showroom!
Me too!!!! I just worked on one that was a year old!
Used call that the four corvette, my cousin had one he never any issues!
Few tips as well the non lt1 cars had the 7.5 rear not the 8.5 iirc right. the 95-96 cars have different quarter windows and mirrors. Also 94 ss where only black. 95-96 had the cherry red and the gray green option. Also i think the 96 had the shifter in the console.
Enjoyed the video, I like those as well, hopefully it will make it out of that storage lot for someone to fix up and drive, the chevy truck too. Thanks for the info/details on what you think it would take to save it. 🍻
Love those cars. Especially that had the 9800 cherry code
This one is BLACK, I love that Cherry color too!
I love any impala but especially SS. It’s like a corvette for the whole family!
I wonder if anyone ever did the Corvette head swap on one.... Personally I think a roots blower would be awesome!
As a transmission guy - R&R I'd be actually a little nervous to find that transmission fluid THAT red and clean. Often times can mean it was changed recently, which can be good of course but, could also mean they were trying to get a burned up transmission to stop slipping.
Great comfortable cars with some power.
I remember in my heydays of working at a car rental company during the 80's and 90's I drove those Caprices. They had the 305 engines, big long car that floated down the roads almost like a caddy. But even with the smaller engine they got up and hustled down the road really good. Great car to drive.
They are so smooth in the road! Lotsa room for those beefy cops too! Lol!
@@paintucation yeah they run on donuts..
New subscriber, I loved the video! Another thing to keep in mind with an unknown car like this, is that you really need to make an effort to see underneath before buying. Who know what surprises might be waiting.
Thanks for the sub!
Fast forward to the 280ZX..... daaaaang!! it's bad underneath.
Love these cars! Too cool!
I'd be interested in asking Kevin "paintucation" what he thinks about vinyl wrapping cars perhaps I'll catch a Q&A or a give a FAQ or not
Love the car build it on your Chanel
New subscriber , looking forward to your content on CZcams,,,,,,Yeee!
Kevin my understand this. I almost traded in a 1989 buick lesabre 2 door T-type for a 95 impala ss around 1999.
I would add another 4 grand for unexpected problems.
Yeah, I tend to be overly optimistic!! 😅
its next too your obs truck you went over keep going kevin so much energy
Thanks man!!! I wanna buy BOTH these!
@@paintucation as long as the price is right I'm not telling you anything you don't already know just don't over reach on them especially the SS that yr. wasnt very popular ITS still a4 dr too
I've got a 96 Buick Roadmaster sedan. I would love to have that car. The LT1 is very underappreciated. And the Impala SS has a better rear end than my Roadmaster
There are a lot of posers out there with shows. Pretty obvious you are hard working,knowledgable car guy. Enjoyed you on VGG. (Ive been painting the past 50yrs). Your takes are right on the money.
Thanks man! That means alot coming from a vet like you! These estimates are fun to do... I've got several more planned as well as some fun projects you might like... restoration refinish, stuff like that. Thanks for watching :)
The Impala SS came with a LT1 engine but it had iron heads instead of aluminum and was given a HP rating of 260. The LT1 in the Corvette of the same vintage had aluminum heads and a 300 HP rating.
Best ways to tell a difference from the 94-96 Impala SS
1994 Impala emblem by the 1/4 glass is on a lil panel
1995 no panel like 94 and has column shifter
1996 shifter in the center console
When buying these cars, you have to make sure to know the differences betwen the L99 4.3 V8 & the LT1 5.7. That was a big scam alert back in the day when buying B-body caprice/impalas. Save this one please. Will make great content. Welcome back
I used a 3M eraser wheel to get the decals off my outboard motor cowling and it did a great job took all the old stickers off and did not hurt the paint at all its a great product
I LOVE my eraser wheels!!! Great product!
I've been a paint and body man for 40 years now . and I'll add this . if you're going to go back black . make sure your body works straight because black shows every imperfection lol
I'm shocked to see that Impala SS there but the Hyundai Sonata next to it not at all.
Yeah, I'm surprised it was so nice inside too!
My 1994 9c1 Police Caprice lasted over 300,000 miles. I bought it with 90,000 straight off of fleet service. It was admin specifications so it had a nice real rear seat. It is one of the vehicles I sold and immediately regretted selling.
It took me a decade or more to find a solid 96 ss. Dont let this slide!
I had a 95 Impala SS, bought it new after the 96 models were out. I test drove the 96 first but settled on the 95 bc it had a column shift and desirable (to me) cup holders in the center console. The 96 had a floor shift in the center console which looked cool but I need a place to set my coffee. 😂 My 95 SS was Dark Cherry Metalic (DCM to the trade) with the Gray interior.
dark Cherry was the BEST color for them! This one is Black, I'd still take it.
I was looking at them when the '94's came out. Was not happy with the column shifter and digital gauges with no tach.. Kept looking when the '95's came out. Same story. Then they rolled the '96's out and I picked one up off the show room floor in October of '95. I still have it. Hasn't run since 2007 but I still plan to get it going again someday. I love it. My favorite car I have ever owned. Also owned a 2005 Impala SS with the blown 3.8 but it didn't even compare to my '96 and I sold it when it got over 100,000.
You’re one passionate fella for your cars. You fall in love with them. You’ll probably die poor! 😉
A person can only keep up and fix up so many cars/trucks. U have to really want that car.
I had a 96 impala and loved the look and roominess. Hated the optispark. Sold it and got a 2012 Caprice with the 6.0L
I had a 2009 G8GT for a couple years.... 6.0 also. It was such a good car!!! I mist it these days. :)
I've got the 77 Impala first year of the box it's a shame they didn't come out with the SS package for it
GM called that rear fender Impala SS decal a "holograph". The exhaust system was stainless steel. I ordered that very car for my wife in 1995 and she only put 43,000 KM's on that car in the entire time she owned it as she preferred driving her Enclave for reasons of parking and ease of handling . The car went into storage every Nov. here in Canada. No accidents, no rust anywhere but all the exterior plastic bits shed their clear coating. The only thing I did to that car was replace that water pump that leaked out the back seal and ran coolant into the Opti-Spark unit. The one memory I have of that car was using it once in 1999 to carry a golf foursome and their big tourney bags to keep a "T" time and hitting 185 kph (115mph) on the 400 highway for a long straight stretch. Those boys were impressed! They were chip limited to 126mph by California regs.
It sat in storage for the last 8 years of it's life with us. In 2018 we gave it to a friend whose son was attending Conestoga College here in Ontario. He got rid of it because he couldn't keep his license demerit point free with the fines and insurance killing his school budget.
Lol, it only had like 260hp! You can get tickets in any car sold. Such a silly thing to stay for clout chasing!
I own this car, and in that shape I would not take that project on. Theres alot more than meets the eye, I can just tell by the battery tray your looking at serious problems underneath, all the suspension needs replaced, brake and fuel lines, etc etc etc etc etc youll end up replacing the whole car. Find one in better shape, this one would make a nice parts car with the clean interior…
I think there is a RPO sticker on the trunk lid, that will tell you LT1. Regardless, 5.7=LT1 for these and Caprice. Other option for the Caprice was 265ci L99 V8(baby LT1) that never went into an Impala SS.
WX3 is the code to look for
You should do this car justice and bring it back to life Kevin.
Just asked the Impala community. Need the VIN to confirm if you have a true “SS”.
All other usual visual ways, stickers etc were very easy to produce.
Id get it running and clean it up and drive it like it is,Roadkill style. Change the doors when i find them and have it painted. Minty interior and good driveline. Its a keeper.
I work at Pull a Parts in Duluth GA. Best place to get deals on parts.
I love me some Pull-A-Part!!! Great prices, great resources!!
That cars ao awesome!
These are some of the few cars it's cool to LS swap because dealing with LT1s is a nightmare sometimes. They're fine engines, it's they didn't make enough of them to still get parts easily, especially locally.
This car is like mine it has/ had the ultra rare junky standard radio. My 95 SS was one of 5 like it when I ran the vin maybe this one is too
Makes me miss my road masters
I have a 94 ss and it gets attention everywhere I go.
Kevin, If a person wanted a nice rare daily driver like this 1995 Impala SS and as long as the LT1 Engine wasn't blown. It could be a fun investment for a talented weekend autobody person. If you farmed it out the repairs with and your estimate is approximately 27,000 U.S .Dollars when you add in 10 % for the incidentals. If you look at the market for this rare jewels . What can a person buy for $ 27,000 U.S. in today's crazy automobile market. The 2 things that would concern me is the mileage and the complete powertrain. I personally owned and drove a 1993 Chevrolet Caprice LS with a 5 liter V8 over 250.000 highway miles and it was a great running and reliable car, Your right Kevin since I reside in Atlantic Canada if i needed interior exterior parts and etc. The retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cruisers were mostly Chevrolet Caprices and their interior were a medium blue color the same as my old Caprice. Thank You for the entertaining video.
I always liked the cop cars.
Same as the ss but with a lower gear and less options.
They were lighter and slightly quicker.
Had 3 or 4 of them when you could get them at auction for $400. Bucks or so.
Last year Chevy made a V-8 "muscle car" rear wheel drive. I've wanted one of these for 15 years or so...
Not true my friend here's why I was lucky to know about the 2015 Chevrolet SS and owned one. czcams.com/video/QfJjH4oZDTA/video.htmlsi=HzgzlwXmGMB9V933
It comes with a donut discount sticker right?
Old cop car... still a cop car.
Put a canoe rack on top with blue pads and everyone slows down.
Well, if they are not texting.
I had to put a 95 LT1 in my 96 impala ss,but the 96 requires a reluctor ring on crank shaft so I had to grind down the woodriff key to accept the ring and I saved myself about $600 because that’s how much more the wrecker wanted for the 96 LT1.
That's the ticket! Nice work!
At least some of the 9C1 cop cars had rear disc brakes as well.
I bought a wrecked 9C1 New York State Police Cruiser at auction in 2004 that had rear discs. I don't remember if it had a limited slip, it might have it might not have.
Would make a nice cruiser, definitely take some time and cash to get there.
Agreed, but she's a solid old boat!
$4000 for THAT?? I guess I really don't know the value of those things AT ALL. I thought between $500 to $2500 and the $2500 would be for one that grandpa drove pampered kept in the garage and polished with a diaper every weekend. But I guess I'm out of the loop on these for sure. I bought my high mileage 2008 BMW 335XI with 186,000 Miles on it had been sitting for a year with a bad front wheel bearing and the High Pressure Fuel Pump was shot on it. The two front tires were completely flat and the owner didn't know what had caused it to stop running. He just wanted it gone. So I bought it for $1500. Yup. Now after pouring many hours and cash into it I'm driving it daily and it's pushing 730HP and around 700 Torque. All said and done that car cost me around $10,000 including the price of the car. Once I'm done up grading the suspension which I'm doing right now it will probably be closer the the $15,000 mark. What a deal!!
Kevin, I’m just getting into airbrushing I would like a recommendation on cleaning solvent and paints to use in the airbrush. Can you please give me a recommendation on what kind of paint and solvent
I win the lottery tonight and that puppy will be mine...except for that LT1...I worked on 2 of them for both of my sons...that dura spark is more trouble than it is worth.. imho.
Not being a jerk or trying to be rude, but “Dura Spark” is the Ford ignition box. I think you’re talking about the “Opti-Spark” system, which was the distributor underneath the water pump that always got leaked on and went bad.
Both of them I called the never start system😂
I like too use refrigerator door magnets...that way you can ck whole panels top too bottom and they hang when you encounter Bondo/filler and no bending over lol
Huge movement and following with those B Bodies, as well as people who specialize in repurposing parts from wrecked ones. #INCaffiliated 😏
If you don't personalize it and make a good effort to restore that car as original as possible it'll fetch a better resale. These left the factory with Z rated tires (BFG Comp T/A) and will climb right up to a buck 60 on the open road.
I agree! They were impressive for the mid 90's For me, I'm still a big fan of them.
You had a choice 3 Colors back then!
if you open the trunk and check the rpo tag on the lid, you want to look for wx3 and make sure the vin matches the front vin.
So hard to find these now, I think the 94 and the 96 yrs are the hardest since 94 was the first year and 96 was the last and had the floor shifter, I’ve noticed though a lot of caprice’s from the 80’s are getting cheaper again.
Yes! I junked an 03 Impala it was a financial nightmare!
A retired police donor car is probably going to need all 4 door skins at least as well, but you can get those for a nickel at least
You should buy it