(Pics) The story of a 1958 Chevrolet Impala

More wonderful family and treasured keepsakes, automobile-style!! Thanks so much for sharing Mike!!

Thanks, Tony ! As a kid, I really liked my family's 1958 Chevrolet, which was succeeded by Dad's 1960 Valiant. I had a promo model of the '58 Chevy back then. I always wondered where various family 1:1  cars ended up.

"longest, lowest, widest"! Great advertising copy. Thanks Mike

I also really liked the 1958 mild custom Impala in "American Graffiti", which has been done in 1/18 by Ertl, I believe.

Due to a lack of garage space I sold my 1/1 1958 Impala in 1993. I regretted it then and still do today. Mine was allover white with a turquoise/black/silver interior. The car had the 348 four barrel motor with power glide transmission, power steering and power brakes.  Accessories were a factory continental kit, skirts, dual antennas, spinner wheel covers, AM radio, tissue dispenser and white wall tires. When I sold the car it had 38,000 miles and the guy I sold it to still has the car today with 43,000 miles. The only change I made to the car was the glass pack mufflers I had installed.

Wow, that sounds like a really beautiful 1958 Chevrolet Impala with a strong V-8 under the hood. I always had wished that I could still actually have real the 1:1 automobiles that were in my family. I guess that's not really possible ..... so only in imagination, (or diecast scale models) can something like that happen ......  

When I was fifteen I spent the summer with my paternal grandparents, who lived in a nice little village in upstate New York, and a small river ran through the edge of the village.  There was a small dam built near the bridge that came into the village from the south and in the summer all of the local kids would swim next to the dam.  That was where I met a stunning young thing, about two years older than I, who had a penchant for whatever was 'new' (me, at that time) and I was enjoying my first two weeks, until a kid stepped over to me and pointed up, at the bridge, where an older teen was leaning against the railing, looking down at us.  Sandy, the 'older woman' was swimming with a girlfriend and I had just come out of the water, when the young boy approached me.

"That's Sandy's boyfriend, Kenny," the kid said.

"And, nobody thought to tell me before now, that she has a boyfriend?" I asked incredulously.

The kid grinned at me.

"Well, we could use some excitement around here," he replied, before he returned to his group of pals.

The guy on the bridge didn't seem to be in a hurry, so I figured he wasn't terribly angry, or I hoped he wasn't, so I headed up the bank to the bridge and did the 'deadman's' walk to about five feet away from the much taller and bigger teenager leaning against the railing.

"Are you gonna beat me up?" I asked.  It seemed logical, after all.

"She didn't tell you, did she?" he asked.

"About you?  No, she didn't."

He shook his head and a smile appeared, though it wasn't aimed in my direction.

"Yeah, that's Sandy," he said and he turned to me.

"I'm Kenny.  You wanna see my wheels?"

"Sure, what is it?"

'It' turned out to be the sharpest midnight black 1958 Impala convertible, with a white top, black interior, and every toy one could want, with the exception of the Continental kit, and a new friendship was forged.  Ken and I are still friends, today, and I have to say Sandy was something, but Ken and his car made the summer.

@bob-jackman As you say Bob, it's a shame you parted with the car but so nice to know the new owner takes such great care of it plus you still get to see it.

@gdh Love the story and your writing style.

Mike I have the American Graffiti 58.

@bob-jackman Whew!   That's a tuff one  Bob!    As I recall, it wasn't too long after that when these cars FINALLY found some appreciation among collectors; their popularity and values exploded in the mid to late 1990's.     Prior to that, as you know, '58 Chevys, including Impalas, were largely ignored.

I've never owned one.....  except in scale.    😉 

@chris When they came out people either loved them or hated them with very little in between. I happened to love them. The 1957 was so popular that the change in style for 1958 took many time to get used to it IMO. On top of that was the recession which was hurting the automobile business overall. I am still a fan of the 58 and am glad that I had the chance to own one.

@bob-jackman I agree Bob.  This change was no doubt quite a surprise after the tri-fives, but I really like the look of this one and the Pontiac; especially from the HT rear perspective.