[ED: Our moratorium on American land yachts has been lifted. Enjoy!]
It’s amazing to think of how the Impala went from top of the line luxo-cruiser in 1958 to the bottom of the barrel “economy” big car by the late ’70s and early ’80s. Granted, that is no longer the case today, but in 1982 this was the cheapest B-body one could purchase. With all of the 1980-85 Impalas crashed and blown up by Hollywood as police cars, contemporary Caprices far outnumber these Impalas.
This one has survived rather well for being an original Flint-purchased, up north living car. I captured this car the same day as the ’91 Caprice wagon (coming soon), but this one was up the road a ways, in West Branch, MI.
I would have taken more pics, including interior shots, but there were a lot of people around, and the keys were in it! I have enough problems, I don’t need the cops following me around too!
Great car but the 1977-79 cars were a lot better. This model was cheapened out quite a bit with lighter doors, smaller brakes and lower quality interior materials. The V-6 was a dog, really rough and gutless and the 267 V-8 was not much better. The 77-79 cars could be used as taxis but after 1980 it had to be a 9C1, which had the 350 and its fuel habit. We switched to Olds Delta 88s for taxi use.
I remember my dad test driving a new 1980 Impala and as soon as we left the lot it backfired. He then said, “Well, it’s not going to win any races!” It was a total contrast to the 1979 Impala F-41 with 350 he had custom ordered the year before. Although the fit and finish of that car was atrocious, at least it drove well and had excellent power for the day.
An Impala with three tail-lights per side (although square) what an amazing concept! (Sarcasm off.)
The title really says it all “Basic B-body Goodness”.
If I bought a fleet model current W-body Impala and put “Biscane” on the back of it would anybody get it except me? 😛
Sorry I’m having one of those “totally random” thought sort of days.
Honestly, in my 84 Cavalier Conv. , I put SS subtle enough,under the 2.0 FI plaque that no one ever seemed to notice, nor ask, or josh me about it. Weird. I did go One Step That got some teasing. I Updated The Taillights to an 86-87 with thin black tape i bought at autozone
“An Impala with three tail-lights per side (although square) what an amazing concept!”
Dan, you beat me to it!
I had a love/hate with these cars. After my Chevy truck fiasco – my fault, I admit – the experience soured me on GM for years until I bought my Impala. 1977 to 2004 is a l-o-n-g time to hate a company!
Still wanted a 1977 Impala coupe, though – that wrap-around rear glass just drew me in and I always wanted one of those.
I guess with the F41, the Impala would still be fun to drive like the 1977-79.
Sadly, in the Great White North, it was the final lap for the BelAir name in Canada in 1981, when the 1982 model year arrived, it was gone. Here a picture of the 1980 Canadian BelAir
http://www.productioncars.com/gallery.php?car=15730&make=Chevrolet&model=Bel
It played the same role as the Impala.
The Impala wasn’t the only police car crashed during those years, lots of remaining Chrysler B-body 1977-78 Fury/Monaco as well as a couple of R-bodies St.Regis and some Ford LTD was tortured by Hollywood as well.
I have never seen an F-41 Impala of this era and no, they did not drive as well due to smaller brakes and less responsive steering. The biggest problem was the 35 PSI tires.
Yes, we did get the occasional BelAir but I have only seen like one.
I’ve always been thoroughly confused by the Canadian car industry. I get that there are laws in place restricting purchase of furrin cars, but why did the Canadian cars have to be different (different names, trim) than American ones? bel Air, Parisienne, whatever the Chevette/T1000 was called, etc.
We have never, at least since the Auto Pact in 1967, had any laws preventing the importation of anything. It is just a different market and a much smaller one. A town in Saskatchewan may have and a Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealer and no Chev-Olds-Cadillac equivalent for a very long distance so the Pontiac dealers needed a full line. Hence cars like the T1000 to give small car shoppers something to buy without a long drive.
The Parisienne was throwback to the pre-Auto Pact days when Canadian Pontiacs were built on a Chevrolet chassis. The name was well known and loved in Canada so after 1964 it was simply kept. I might add that all Canadian built 1977 and on B-Body Pontiacs had Chevrolet engines in them. The rest of the car was identical except for the speedometer in kilometres per hour.
The hang on of the Belair is hangover of Canadian Stripper Syndrome, (CSS) where strippers were popular in Canada, due to the more harsh conditions killing cars faster and the lower purchasing power Canadians had at the time. After about 1973 they were extremely rare, usually only sold to government and police agencies. I can only recall ever seeing one post 1977 Belair in my life, but they were advertised in the brochures.
WRT to a small town in Saskatchewan only having one dealer: I remember some (really loaded) Canadian acquaintance at a bar in Toronto telling this (quite loaded) American that Pontiac was like the national car of Canada. Not until you posted this have I ever thought to posit that to a Canadian.
Was he just pulling my leg or trying to sell me a Chevy with a dart on the nose?
I don’t know if Pointiacs were the “national car” of Canada per se, but come to think of it, there were loads of around me as a kid. My grandpa had a 1963 Laurention, my uncle a 1968 Laurention and my dad a 1970 Strato-Chief and another uncle a 1970 Catalina (does this count?). Later my brother and a 1979 Pariesenne. Pontiacs were seen as “better” than Chevrolets, even if the Canadian ones were basically the same car, with Chevrolet drivetrains. They only cost a few dollars more too.
After 1967, all the American models became available in Canada but when I was a kid the Canadian cars were still by far the most common. In fact, when my Uncle Bill bought his 1970 Catalina, he was acutely proud of the fact it was built in the USA and had a Pontiac block 350. He was later acutely embarrassed that it turned out to be a lemon, whereas the Canadian cars were always praised for their quality and reliability.
Perhaps then, the Pontiac really was the “national car” of Canada!
Just from my two years as a teenager in Niagara Falls, it seemed like Pontiacs were more popular up there than in the lower 48. I was there 1969 and 70 when Pontiac started to replace Beaumonts with Tempests/LeMans. The first Canadian Grand Prix was the 1969 A-body…previous models were Grande Parisiennes.
What I don’t remember…were GTO’s sold up there 1964-69? I remember seeing a Judge up there but it may have been a ’70. I also remember Beaumont’s SD396, hard to imagine Pontiac selling both it and a GTO, which in the 1964-69 time frame would’ve been a completely unique model.
Crashed police cars? Try the Blues Brothers movie. I lost count of how many police vehicles were destroyed in that flick. Most of them were the Mopar cop cruisers, though.
My good friend had a Catalina with the v6. it drove forever and ever, if however slowly and roughly
The fact that this car could live so long in Michigan shows how well GM got the anti-rusting design down at the time. Unfortunately, subsequent cars have not been so rust-free (I’m thinking 90s LeSabres and Park Avenues in the rocker panels).
A friend had a 77 Impala. Notably downmarket from the Caprice, but still a nice car. 1982 was a tough time. These were on the way down, Panthers were on the way up but not quite there yet. Maybe a Plymouth R body for me.
I’ve seen a 1977-80 baby blue Pontiac Bonneville coupe hanging in Flint recently.
Ah, the memories, the memories. In 1977 two buddies of mine and myself picked up a brand new Impala at Avis in Seattle (it only had 28 miles on the odo) and headed south for a cruise through Oregon, California, Arizona and back to The Emerald City. Boy, were we kings of the road, we were in our early twenties, and for 3 kids from Europe to enter a real American Land Cruiser and head for the open road was beyond words, we all were high on this for years. “Our” Impala was the usual rental stripper with cranks on the doors and a front bench, but we didn’t care, it was a great car, and it confirmed all the reports I had read in Car and Driver about the new B-body! Long live the B!
9C1 9C1 9C1 9C1 9C1 9C1 9C1 9C1
Always loved saying that. Sad that the new Caprice cruiser isn’t called the Caprice 9C1
Owing a loaded 1990 9C1 Canadian spec that was used as a detective car was an even better experience. It was even on LPG when I got it and fuel was 23 cents a litre.
I just looked it up in the GM fleet brochure…it’s still option code 9C1, And the detective pkg is 9C3. Its new name is Caprice PPV though, for police pursuit vehicle.
And occasionally they turn up for sale to the public. A link posted here a few weeks ago showed one in Lima, Ohio with 8,000(?) miles for $16,000 IIRC.
The current W-body was supposed to give way to a Zeta-based vehicle but when the CAFE standards were raised, Bob Lutz made the announcement that the next Impala (unveiled a week ago at NYC Auto Show) would remain FWD.
Although I understand a new RWD vehicle will roll out with the announcement of Chevy’s 2013 NASCAR Program…
Stepdaughter returned to Texas about 15 years ago and had to dump the station wagon for something that got better gas mileage. I took that 77 impala wagon off her hands and was real happy that I did. Drove it till the compression went away. Have spent no little amount of time reflecting that I should have dropped a long block 350 into it. Had already replaced a lot of the small stuff.
Turned out to be the best work car I can recall having. At that time I had a 57 210, a 67 El Camino and this 77 Impala. Something had to go. Second guessing is not so good but I sure did like that car.
For what it’s worth, after being so sick for the past couple of months, it sure feels good to get back in the game around here! Glad you all liked it.
Richard
Good to see you back and feeling better. Attached is a poor shot of my ’78 Bel Air, with the 305. According to the local garage, not only does it have the THM 350, but they believe that it has a Buick axle. They were replacing the rear axle seals, and after several tries, the Buick axle matched up. Proof positive that some of the Canadian cars raided the parts bins to come up with some odd models.
Thank you, I appreciate that. That’s a good looking old car there! Your story of the various parts makes me think of Johnny Cash’s song, “One Piece At A Time” for some reason…
We did the same thing with our B-body Chevrolets. It worked until all the scrap yards ran out of Buick rear ends! The rear end was a definite weak point of these cars and the axles were like $600 each in 1985 even.
When I was replacing the wheel bearings in my 77 impala wagon, I was told that the whole rearend was a pickup unit. Everything on the car was heavy duty and I don’t know if that was normal or not.
Yes, the wagon was heavy duty everything. The rear end was actually wider buy a couple of inches. We did one sedan with a wagon read end but it looked rather odd!
My friend has an `83 Impala in the same color with the 229 V6. It’s scary slow. I remember having to drive it home 40 miles on I90. It barely kept up with traffic.
I don’t get B-body RWD cars; at least anything other than the ’94-96 Impala SS. I understand why those are desirable at least.
Relatives had a big Caprice Wagon and it just seemed like an ill handling land yacht with an outdated interior and a mushy ride. Didn’t help that my parents were driving a W126 Benz and a Saab 900 at the time either.
It’s a highway car, plain and simple. Also, having a wagon means that I never have to borrow someone’s truck to move anything. I turn on my interior’s outdated A/C, use my iPod adapter for my antiquated radio, and set the cruise and wallow in the glory of my mushy suspension.
Just kidding. It’s not mushy.
Now if only I had a W126 as well…
[ED: Our moratorium on American land yachts has been lifted. Enjoy!]
“Our long national nightmare is over…” 😉
And welcome back, Richard!
Thank you!
love the faded front plate, whistling in the dark
Attached are a few photo’s of an Impala taken in my local scrappie about a month or so ago. Unfortunately, nobody got to it before they processed it and some moron wrecked the back window, etc., but at the current rates, where a car like this is worth $500 or more to scrappie, he’d need $750-$1000 just to part with it before the forklift does it’s magic. To scrappie, marginal old cars look just like another chicken to a poultry farmer, so on the pile it goes. This example was as straight as anything seen out in these parts, and I would have grabbed it if I could have.
#2 photo
#3 photo
Man, that hurts seeing it sitting there like that. You know that car had a lot of life left in it. It’s killing me that it was so nicely equipped too. It reminds me of back when I was nine years old my parents had to put the Dodge Aries in the shop for a week and the dealer gave us a ’78 Impala for a loaner. I thought that was the greatest car ever! I read almost every page of the owners manual several times over. It had a 305 and every time my mom would pull out from a stop the tires would squeal.
That’s a shame! Looks like it would have made a great cruise night car.
I had a couple just like this one, great cars. A real shame!
That brings back memories. My grandparents bought an identical (save for the electric windows) ’78 new and it hung around the family for nearly twenty years.
Honestly, as a kid at the time, I thought it was a pile of crap. It was old (amazing how tired and beat cars used to seem after less than a decade on the road, isn’t it?), it was ugly and it was embarrassing to ride in.
These B-body Chevys were everywhere in my part of the Midwest, and even the oldest ones still weren’t completely uncommon in my high school parking lot 8-10 years ago. A friend’s family had a gray ’82 wagon until fairly recently, and we used to bomb around in it a lot on weekends. Had a lot of fun in that car. Another guy I knew had a fairly mint red ’79 coupe that I was actually a little jealous of at the time; The only reason I still remember this is that he became very jealous of me after I “stole” a girl from him. In retrospect, I can’t remember the guy’s face or name, I vividly remember that car, and I ultimately blew it with the girl. Go figure.
The ubiquity and above-average survival rate of these cars has made them somewhat legendary and given damn near everyone multiple examples to wax nostalgic about. They’re academically notable for being last forward-thinking, well-timed, fully baked car GM put out for decades, and for being less crap than the competing Ford and Mopar fullsizers. Beyond that, they were the bland Camcords of the day. Every example I personally experienced was total crap for different reasons, both subjective and objective, at different times. Yet I still get more excited by a 35 year old blandmobile in a junkyard than I do about concours classics. These cars sucked, but I wouldn’t change the lifetime of experiences I’ve had riding in them for the world.
I bought my mother’s ’79 Caprice 305 for my wife in the mid ’80s. It did not have the F41 suspension package so I installed four Koni shocks, very thick Quickor sway bars (it came with no rear bar but the needed mounting holes were there), and a 13″ leather Momo steering wheel. The car went from a sloppy boat to a nice riding piece with very communicative steering. I left the springs alone in an effort to emulate Italian cars-lots of shock control, little lean, but supple ride with soft springs. It worked. I liked it better than my dad’s nearly identical ’78 with the F41 package. After five years or so I sold it to a guy that put it into taxi service in Washington, DC.
The first thing I ever did with any B-Body was replace the horrid GM shocks with good gas units. Transformed the way they drove.
When my dad got his F-41 Impala in 1979, he replaced the shocks in the first week, as well as the crappy tires.
Richard, what *is* the economy big car today, if not the Impala? (Accord, Camry?)
Well, with the recent demise of the Panther, it would appear that the top two would be the current Impala and possibly the Camry. Granted neither car comes close to what the B’s were, but that’s the age in which we live I guess.
Come next year it will be interesting to see how this will play out, seeing how the Impala appears to be going upscale.
As the old saying goes, “The one constant in life is change”…
Well, Richard, as much as I like to go on about B-Bodies, they were a product of their time and the end of an era for GM, the front-engine, rear drive V-8 body on frame sled. The basic formula came from the 1964 Chevelle so thirteen years later they kind of had the recipe right. For 1977 these cars drove excellently but thirty-five years later, they really cannot compare in dynamics to a modern car like a Camry.
I have spent a lot of wheel time in late model Carmys and they are a damned good car, in many ways like the Impala of 1977, and in the higher models the Caprice. They cost about the same in real terms, they drive well, handle well, have good quality and are quite economical to operate. The drivetrain is simply superb, too, with the twin cam engine and six speed transmission, they are much faster than any stock B-body and more economical at the same time.
The real issue here is now GM (and Ford and Chrysler) simply gave up on the family sedan market in the 1990s to focus on SUVs, which made them more money. This was an incredibly short sighted and dumb move because it gave away huge volume to Toyota and Honda, which have used this to their great advantage. The sudden hike in gasoline prices around 2006 destroyed the SUV, leaving GM with nothing to sell. At the same time, buyers got used to the Camry and Accord, which, no matter what any fanboi can say, are really good products.
Something like 660,000 Impalas and Caprices were sold in 1977. It was a very bad move to give up on that kind of market.
I just remembered a friend had an ’84 Impala – almond w/brown interior. It was a pretty nice car, but at the time we were all about economy – hence our K-Car life.
His wife was in an accident and the car was totaled, but she and her passengers were OK.
He bought another one…
I own one of these with 74 k on it and it runs better then some of the newer cars.