1968 Chevy Impala SS

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

68 Impala SS427 Custom coupe, Canadian-built in Toronto!

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Shes a good one, we've seen and talked about it many times. I even ordered the GMVVS documents on this because the owner indicated that the hideaways were original. What we found was that an inordinate number of the 12 Ste. Therese cars had hideaway lights but never showed up on build documents.

timbuk · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

perfect rake

bigdreams · Poncho Master!

The president of the local car club in Gimli owns this one - not sure if it is Canadian made

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

The black one in Gimli is beautiful. My kind of car.

I saw the one in Ontario once at the Barrie flea market, at least 15 years ago. The owner parked it on the show field. He saw my camera and said he didn't want anyone to take pictures. At a car show! Go figure.

On the issue of the hideaway headlights: all of the experts on these cars in the US say none were delivered with this option. But in Canada, who knows? Maybe they were. It would be great to see paperwork if it exists.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

As I mentioned I have the documents on this car and T83 does not show up on the build list. I have no skin in the game not ever owning a SS427 or being a Chevrolet aficionado but it sort of bothered me that a guy would say this is how the car came from the factory if it didn't. So I did my research on this and found an assembly manual reference for 1968 that lists the Z24 package and it includes retractable headlight covers. That being the case the individual T83 would not have to show up because Z24 does. It also seems that more often than not these cars equipped with retractable headlight covers are Ste.Therese cars. Again I am no SS427 expert but it is one of those things that has never been cleared up. I can't imagine the cost and trouble involved of adding this after the car was made. So I guess what I'm saying is I don't buy into the "experts" theory that no SS427 left the factory with retractable headlight covers or at least there is a reasonable doubt and I couldn't convict the guy for saying so. Again I'm not an expert just a guy who sees what he sees, does research and draws a conclusion. Has no one ever stopped to think that every time we find one of these cars it was built at Ste. Therese?

I also learned in this little research journey that the engine call-out background is usually black on these SS427 cars but the photo below will show a red background with 427, not so much of an area of contention but yet another anomaly with this car.

Here are photos I took on August 12, 2019, the last time I had my hands on this beauty.

-- Edited by 73SC on Monday 17th of August 2020 02:32:10 PM

Howmac · Guru

I'll add .... the red foil background on the 427 call out ,is correct for the factory production line .... I came across 68 Biscayne that was a wreck but all original still with the faded red foil . Not reproduced and extremely hard to find these days and you will pay big $$$ if you find a pair .

I believe the Gimli car discussed is a clone , as i remember the current owner telling me so . He also owned an almost identical 68 427 Caprice (Black on Black) that was real and #'s match. What a sight when they were parked at a show side by side .... stunning

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

I'm going to have to dig up the documents on this car, I seem to remember it was GM Canada Head Office ordered which could go a long way to explaining it all. I also believe the red call-outs are early production and you can see by my photo these are indeed original.

NOS · Poncho Master!

there was a Blue one in Forest Ontario owned by the GM dealers son. It seems to me that the hood had a more pronounced hump ?? The last time I saw it; it had the GM Canada print out displayed.

Dale @ NOS

Todd may remember the yellow one with black vinyl top in east London at I believe Golden Mile auto sales ? It was a import with New Jersey plates.

-- Edited by NOS on Monday 17th of August 2020 05:49:45 PM

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

I do remember the yellow one Dale.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I thought the foil markers were early, the textured version came later; meanwhile in Canada the 427 cars had red rather than black background. It almost mirrors what was happening with the Canadian Pontiacs, using red paint fill on the badges except yellow-orange (i.e. different) on the 427 version.

You remember the turquoise SS427 convertible posted on here about 4 years ago, it had a smooth 427 marker on one side, ribbed on the opposite side. The fading made it difficult to tell if there was any red on the badges.

It's funny but I also saw that black Custom coupe at Barrie on the show field, looking back it may have been around 1990. The last time I saw it in person around 2017 the owner was not keen on photos under the hood. Given the sneaky way the MOE operates, I can't blame him.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

I had the hood up and took a photo of the data plate one time I saw it. Owner was cool with me. I used that and VIN to get the documents.

65 SD L79 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

73SC wrote:
I had the hood up and took a photo of the data plate one time I saw it. Owner was cool with me. I used that and VIN to get the documents.

Ray do you remember if it had factory a/c ?

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

73SC wrote:
I'm going to have to dig up the documents on this car, I seem to remember it was GM Canada Head Office ordered which could go a long way to explaining it all. I also believe the red call-outs are early production and you can see by my photo these are indeed original.

That would be cool to see. I would expect that if there was an exception to the generally held view that the concealed headlamp option was Caprice-only, it could very well have happened in Canada.

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

CdnGMfan wrote:

You remember the turquoise SS427 convertible posted on here about 4 years ago, it had a smooth 427 marker on one side, ribbed on the opposite side. The fading made it difficult to tell if there was any red on the badges.

My SS427 came with one red foil marker and one black diecast. I believe the red one was original. There had been some old collision damage on the other fender, which I think used the black one as a replacement.

I was very fortunate to source a pair of slightly faded red foil ones on e-bay at a very reasonable price. I plan to use them on my car.

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

CdnGMfan wrote:
Not mine, but I've seen this car numerous times over the years. A Canadian-built, 1 of 16 SS427s built in Canada (I'm not sure of the breakdown, but 12 were convertibles).

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I wonder where the number 16 came from? And the number of 12 for convertibles? I'm aware of two custom coupes including the one shown here, one other convertible besides mine, and two fastbacks. I would assume that Canada had more than 16 of the total 1778 produced in 1968. But I have never seen a documented Canadian production total.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Give me some time to dig out the documents, I liked the car so much and the headlight deal intrigued me so much I just got the Docs from George at GMVVS. I can post them once I find them.

I don't recall the car having air conditioning, that would be remarkable and I don;t see any comments about that in prior threads.

bigdreams · Poncho Master!

Howmac wrote:
I'll add .... the red foil background on the 427 call out ,is correct for the factory production line .... I came across 68 Biscayne that was a wreck but all original still with the faded red foil . Not reproduced and extremely hard to find these days and you will pay big $$$ if you find a pair .

I believe the Gimli car discussed is a clone , as i remember the current owner telling me so . He also owned an almost identical 68 427 Caprice (Black on Black) that was real and #'s match. What a sight when they were parked at a show side by side .... stunning

here's a picture pf the 2 cars from a couple of years ago

I asked him about it last year and it was sold to someone in west Winnipeg

268 chevs.JPG

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

CdnGMfan wrote:
Not mine, but I've seen this car numerous times over the years. A Canadian-built, 1 of 16 SS427s built in Canada (I'm not sure of the breakdown, but 12 were convertibles).

https://www2.carsonline.com/col3/col?use=visitor.BrowseVehicles&cmd=showVehicle&posting_id=62349

"
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Price $ 60,000 Please no trades

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So, 16 SS427s, 12 of which were convertibles, minimum 1 coupe. That would leave a maximum of 3 fastbacks, but maybe less?

That surprises me as I would expect the fastbacks to be the highest number.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I seem to recall many year's ago a conversation at Impalass427 about the Canadian production figures, though I don't remember the numbers. I seem to recall that there were 14 Impala convertibles with L36 427s built in Canada, of those 12 were SS427s.

I'm not sure of the total # of Z24 (SS427) option cars (Sport Coupe, Custom Coupe plus convertible) that were built in Canada.

Personally I always liked the slippery fastback, even when these cars were new.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

CdnGMfan wrote:
I seem to recall many year's ago a conversation at Impalass427 about the Canadian production figures, though I don't remember the numbers. I seem to recall that there were 14 Impala convertibles with L36 427s built in Canada, of those 12 were SS427s.
I'm not sure of the total # of Z24 (SS427) option cars (Sport Coupe, Custom Coupe plus convertible) that were built in Canada.
Personally I always liked the slippery fastback, even when these cars were new.

I prefer the fastback hugely over the coupe, to the point that I would probably not buy a coupe just because I would always be disappointed that I didn't have the fastback... lol.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

For the formal roofline I'd rather go with a Caprice. Ventless front glass with standard Astro Ventilation.

Hacking around years back I modified a picture of a Caprice into what I would have liked to see. I would have gone all Caprice except for the SS427 hood & grille detail. SS427 marker light foils would be spec'd. The fender gills would give way to the Caprice moldings. I made the tires wider & the tire stripes narrower like the 70-series were that year, and added a hint of rear stabilizer.

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

My favorite body style in these cars is the custom coupe, hence my ownership of a 68 Caprice. So if I could, I'd have an SS427 custom coupe. Next favorite is the convertible. As much as I love the 67-68 Impala however, the fastback is my least favorite style. Which is not to say I wouldn't buy one. In the past I have seriously considered a couple of them, it's just that the fastback is not my first choice. I'm probably in a minority on this one though as people seem to love that long sloping roof.

65 SD L79 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

gparis7 wrote:
My favorite body style in these cars is the custom coupe, hence my ownership of a 68 Caprice. So if I could, I'd have an SS427 custom coupe. Next favorite is the convertible. As much as I love the 67-68 Impala however, the fastback is my least favorite style. Which is not to say I wouldn't buy one. In the past I have seriously considered a couple of them, it's just that the fastback is not my first choice. I'm probably in a minority on this one though as people seem to love that long sloping roof.

X2 like the coupes and verts way better than fast back

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

The beauty is that there is no wrong answer there, you like what you like! :)

FWIW, the reason I've been a fan of the '67-'68 fastbacks for as long as I can remember, is that those were the only 2 years that they didn't have a 'notch' between roof and trunk lid, just uninterrupted flow from the roof to the trunk. They took the fastback to the extreme and then hauled it back again for '69, but obviously it wasn't everyone's favourite.