I have mixed feelings about this big red Chevy. The ’68 Impala is my favorite car of all time. And top-down driving can be such a pleasure. But so much of the styling zest of the ’68 Chevy lies in the hardtop roofs.
Ah, there; that’s better. Such smooth lines! And that kickup on the rear passenger window: bliss. I almost bought one like this about 15 years ago, except that between the time I said I’d buy it and the time I scraped together the money, the seller managed to destroy it in a stupid accident. Sigh.
Not that I’d turn down this Impala. If I could afford it, that is; it’s probably worth more than my house. That’s because it isn’t just any Impala convertible, but a fire-breathing SS 427. Just check RPO Z-24 on your build sheet! This one comes with Positraction and a 4-speed gearbox. It’s a fairly rare beast: one of 1,778 built in 1968. By the time these came along, people were looking much more to mid-size platforms to satisfy their performance lust.
Ooh, looky: strato-buckets! You could apparently order these with a cloth-covered bench seat. Good lord, why would anybody do that? If you’re going to own the most powerful ’68 Impala, go all the way.
That’s what I liked on my dad’s ’67 Impala fastback too (same hardtop roof line)- that kickup and the beautiful curvature of the quarter panel “fins”.
That Coupe…..
-Nate
Yessir, hardtop roofline is the way to go on these, I used to walk by one on my way to highschool. It was very ratty and that magnificent quarter panel was smeared with unsanded bondo, but still very compelling.
Don’t care for the color, the roof, or the engine here. Make mine a black hardtop with a 327/4 speed.
So, what did you bid on at the auction Jim??
No mixed feelings here, JG. Oh look, another perfect red Chevy convertible with a great big engine and Rally wheels! Oh well, at least it isn’t a Camaro.
I like the 68 well enough in style, though I rank it behind the 66 and 67. For one of these to be interesting to me, it about has to be a wagon or a low-trim sedan with a six and a 3 speed. I guess I do have some good memories of the one owned by my mother’s friend, a pewter-colored Caprice 4 door hardtop with matching interior. It was a very elegant car, at least until I drove it, and then it felt just like every other Chevy.
Sigh. I guess I have too much history with the Plymouth and Ford of these years and the space in my heart to love a car like this is pretty much occupied already. My, don’t I sound grouchy after lunch. 😐
JP ;
You may be right but as a Chevrolet Fanboi , I must say I don’t care , one of these in Coupe with big i6 and TH350 would be a nice road burner if not much good in Canyon Carving .
.
-Nate
You got me dreaming of a low-trimmed Bel Air wagon with column shift now… deep teal green color, parked at a rustic lakeside resort or maybe at the beach : )
W.G.C. ~
*Perfect* .
I even know what lake =8-) .
-Nate
A ’68 Impala was the first brand new car my grandfather ever bought. It was a 2-door hardtop, but a “Custom Coupe” with the notchback roofline. Turquoise with a black vinyl roof, 327/automatic. It eventually went to my Mom, and was (probably) the car I came home from the hospital in. So I have kind of a soft spot for the ’68s. I agree that they look better in coupe form than open-topped, and I don’t care for Resale Red, but I’d have a hard time turning down that convertible. 427, white leather and the wind in your hair? Hard combo to beat.
My ’68 Chevy was a bondo special Impala Custom coupe with a tirrrrred 307/PG. Owned it for less than a year in 1978 and it was scrapped.
One of these 427’s? I could enjoy that. These cars had style.
Bringing back great memories of these cars. Although growing up in a Ford household, I loved every full-sized Chevy for the first eight years of the 60’s. And they were so ubiquitous that everyone from the day has lots of personal stories about them. A good friend had a new 67 Impala SS coupe in red with black vinyl top and interior. It had the fastback roof. My cousin’s fiancé factory ordered a new 68 SS coupe that arrived upon his return from Vietnam. It was burgundy with a white vinyl top and interior – a fairly distinctive combination at the time. I had to look it up to make sure it was available in notchback because I distinctly remember their car had that roof. Both of these cars were 327s and automatics as were the vast majority in my acquaintance. It is amazing to remember the variety of ways you could personalize these cars with options and color combinations and roof styles. A different time.
My distinct recollection is that quality began to decline somewhat after the 1966 models. Whereas most of my family’s and friends’ 63-66 Impalas were largely well built and trouble free, both the 67 and 68 models mentioned above had some quality issues from day one. Great looking cars, nonetheless.
When I came back from Iceland in 1977-78 and needed to buy a car, my mother tried to steer me to a car in our local newspaper…a 68 Impala SS 427 hardtop. It was a medium blue with a white top and I thought it looked like an upturned, beached whale. To a guy who a few years earlier almost bought a 67 Camaro SS, that Impala epitomized excessive sheetmetal and a shortage of “sportiness”.
Of all the 60s big Chevys, I rate the 60 as the worst, followed by the 69, with the 68 taking 3rd spot. However, when painted a solid color….ANY color, they are striking cars.
It’s like someone took a straw and inflated the sleek ’66 model to make the ’67 and ’68. We had a ’68 Caprice Estate wagon for many years, fond memories of being banished to the “way back”…
In College, in ’83, classmate had a ’68 Impala SS convertible, but with a 327/auto. To him it was just a ‘beater’. It got rained on with the top down and he was like ‘I’m going to junk it anyway’.
Lots of beloved 60’s cars were just ‘beaters’ to many back in the day.
OTOH, there was a mint ’68 SS427, THM400, fastback hardtop for sale at B-J a few years ago, so they are appreciating.
And you didn’t even photograph the Land Cruiser sitting next to it. Top comes off them, and frankly, I prefer them pretty much over any GM product.
These are supposed to be Marina Blue, in my mind, or opinion. I’ve always wondered whether the overtly sporty Impala SS’s stacked up against cars from other divisions with similar-sized engines, but less attention to a performance image. Like a Buick Wildcat, or a big MoPar with a 440…
I love my ’68. Even if it has too many doors.
It looks just fine to me. I’d love to have a four door hardtop almost as much as a two-door hardtop (NOT the formal roof Impala Custom coupe — yuck!)
I love it, especially with too many doors. We had a ’68 Biscayne 4 door in that same color. 250 straight 6 with a powerglide. Many good memories in that car. I’ve always felt that this was one of Chevy’s better designs. A good Curbside Classic feature would be the very very rare hidden headlight option on the full-size 68 and 69 Chevy’s. I’ve only seen about a dozen through the years and I was around when they were new.
I am an oddball since I typically prefer the longer roofline and profile of a 4 door. Some cars though, do look better as a 2 door. The 1968-72 Nova for example, those don’t wear 4 doors well at all.
How about a coupe with the optional hidden headlights?
Love that look but unfortunately, according to my literature, concealed headlamps were available only on the Caprice. No objections from me for adding them in though.
I think the availability of the concealed headlights might have been expanded during the model year to at least the Impala SS line due to lack of demand. I’ve seen pictures of several SS cars with the hidden lights. Mercury did something similar in ’68 when at mid-year they took the Marquis coupe roofline and started offering it on cheaper Montclairs.
I would respectfully disagree with Mr. Grey as I was never a big fan of the full sized fastback look of mid/late 60s two doors. IMHO a coke bottle full size convertible can’t be beat in the knockout looks department. And the notchback look of the Chevy with the top up was quite sweet as well as was the formal roof Impala and Caprice. A secret longing is for a ’68 Caprice convertible with concealed headlamps and skirts, console/strato bucket interior, all the buttons and the 427. Not sure if any like that were made but when my time machine is done I’m going back and ordering one!
The 68 front end always looked like a busier blockier interpretation of the 65, with the addition of wraparound side markers of course, and those triple taillights in the bumper just never looked good to me. 67 was much more cohesive to me and the round full instrumentation it had were so much better than the horizontal strip speedometer the 68 went back to(sorry, I hate those!).
Oh hellz yeah! Someone found my automotive joy button. Yeah, the fastback is smoother, but this is awesome.
SS, 427, shark gills. Thank you.
The 66 Caprice coupe debuted the formal roof line. It was also available on the Impala thru 68. Saw a nice one this week that was being converted into a low rider. Super straight body work and excellent paint. These big GM fastbacks start to grow on you. I saw a 67 or 68 Pontiac Ventura with those underswept quarter panel bulges parked in a small town near Merced. Maybe not beautiful but all Pontiac.
Something about that red is wrong. Seems like that color is better suited to a fancy, rather than sporty version of a full-size car of that era. That red would look good on a ’65 or ’66 Impala convert with white top, interior trim, period fancy wheel covers and white walls. Maybe the wheels and the color are what throw it off for me. Factory colors of the period (especially blues and greens) would make this ride more appealing and authentic IMHO.
red is not a good color for a full size anything. I always did like the ’68, and i agree the front reminds me of the ’65 (which i like). To me the thing that grabbed me the most when these came out were the tail lights in the bumper. Notice how the new Camaro (until recently) used the same round shape with the tops flattened off. that rear end with dual exhausts and a big rat motor sounding off is sublime. I think I only saw one ’68 with hidden headlights and agree it was available on SS. It’s curious that they offered hidden lamps on the ’69 when they were not big sellers.
1967-68, in my humble view, saw GM styling reach its absolute post-war peak. There wasn’t an unappealing vehicle across all five divisions.
Agree about the hardtop roof, but this does have a nice rear. Face isn’t too ugly either.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a 68 Impala for sale as an SS without the lower fender grills and the extra hood bulge that a true SS car for 68 should have. Nice SS here!
The SS didn’t receive the louvers and hood. That’s part of the SS 427 package.
I have a 1968 SS. Chevy. Impala Conv. Been trying to find ONE LIKE the one I have? Has HIDEAWAY HEADLIGHTS, came with the CAR. Have Owned for 31yrs. The Car is fully Loaded, 327 V8 50% Custom Build, No POWER SEATS. Been in Restoration for 7yrs. If Any One KNOWS of ANOTHER ONE OUT THERE this Model YEAR With HIDEAWAY HEADLIGHTS, or any INFORMATION ON THIS CAR Let me KNOW!! Found the Car in BAKERFIELD CA. Murray EMERSON Ph. 661-331-7391/ murraygloriaemerson@yahoo.com
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