The 1967-68 Chevrolet Impala hardtop coupe is easily my favorite automotive body design of all time. I love the semi-fastback roof line, and the saucy kick-up at the bottom of the rear passenger windows, and how that kick-up matches the rear hip line. It’s the classic car I’ve always wanted to own. I almost owned one once, in the late 1990s, except that while I was gathering funds it was badly damaged in an accident. They are (unsurprisingly) far less common now than they were 25 years ago, so I was happy to come upon this one while visiting my hometown of South Bend, Indiana, last year. I hadn’t seen one on the street in at least a decade!
A few months later, incredibly I came upon another one while passing through Logansport, Indiana. This is probably the kind of condition the first one was in before its owner restored it.
I’m thrilled that the time and effort was put into refreshing this Impala, but I don’t think this shade of red works on this car. Chevy offered a red paint in 1967, Bolero Red, that was deeper and slightly brownish. It’s a better fit, I think. But only if you like red cars. I don’t.
That said, this shade of green isn’t exactly stunning. Chevrolet called this color Granada Gold, but it always reminded me of my mom’s split-pea soup. I don’t like split-pea soup. This was the color of that Impala I wanted to buy, and it was the car’s only demerit in my mind.
I think these look best in blue, actually. Assuming this is an original paint color, it’s probably Nantucket Blue or Marina Blue. In 1968, Chevrolet offered Tripoli Turquoise on the Impala, and it was stunning. My mom’s best friend had a ’68 Impala hardtop sedan in that color and it was positively arresting. I had designs on painting that Impala-that-got-away in that 1968 color, purists be damned.
Paint preferences being entirely subjective, let’s turn to something less so, namely engines. Assuming this Impala still has its original engine underhood, the 327 was the workaday V8. I’m pretty sure the one I almost bought all those years ago had its original 327 in it. On my test drive, I found its power to be adequate for around-town driving, but nothing about it said “fire breathing.”
Who knows what engine is inside the red Impala. There’s a V badge on the fender’s leading edge, but after a restoration that’s essentially meaningless. Perhaps there’s a crate 350 inside. Or maybe a roaring 427, not called out with badging for an owner who knows what he has but doesn’t need to advertise.
Sidebar: I’d forgotten all about the stick-on blue tail light dots that were sort of popular 25 years ago. Weren’t they supposed to have some sort of benefit?
The red Impala is a Michigan car with a year-of-issue license plate. The gold Impala is not plated. It was parked in front of a repair garage, so perhaps it is about to get some love and attention. Here’s hoping so, even if in the end it does retain that sickly goldish green.
What’s the car design that has always captured your attention? What about it makes your heart go pitter-pat?
We haven’t featured many 1967 Chevrolets on CC. Here’s an Impala hardtop sedan with loads of patina, and here’s a Caprice Estate that needs some love. Here also is a Caprice hardtop sedan in that split-pea green, and here’s a Caprice coupe that was GM’s 100 millionth vehicle.
My personal favourite ´67 Chevrolet, without question would be a dark red or maroon 1967 Chevrolet Caprice Sport Sedan (4 door pillarless hardtop) with black vinyl top and matching black interior.
´67 Chevrolet Impala and Caprice 4 door pillarless hardtops had an incredible ´Buick Electra 225’ feel about their styling. The more common 2 door hardtops side profile looked strange with their over size doors that are simply out of scale.
Sadly, the common view however is that cars have to have just 2 doors to be worthy. Heavens knows why??
The usual Four-Door Discount doesn’t really apply to the ’67 Caprice-Impala Sport Sedan because of its’ star turn in Supernatural…
That being said, I second your choices but the early Caprice interiors look better in blue or gold imo. Maybe I’m burned out on black interiors from modern cars.
My favorite car ever was my ’67 Impala Super Sport.
Butternut yellow with a black vinyl top.
327, automatic, ps, pb, ac.
Loved the car!
While I think the somewhat similar looking 65 Impala just oozes sex appeal, the more mature 67 is not quite up to that standard.
For me, looking at these photos, I think of how much better a 67 Mercury handles this attempt to be sporty. I am probably biased, but the full-sized Mercury is much better looking in all it’s different body styles.
That said, I wouldn’t have turned down a Caprice 2 door hardtop, with or without a vinyl roof if I had the desire to exchange one of my mid-sized or large Fords back in my younger days.
Impalas were everywhere around back then, there were at least a half dozen on my street alone, ranging from ugly gray to that misty blue and green I have always hated on any car or truck. My friends had a black ’68 with the mighty 307 in it, and it had the “tick” exhaust leak so many of them had back then.
My car that I lusted after was the ’68 Charger. A neighbor came home with a red 440 R/T, no vinyl top and no stripes. It had decent wheels on it, and I remember the idle as it passed by some friends and I as it went home the first time. The owner’s best friend went out and bought a 440 Road Runner, in whatever they called what is now B5 Blue. I lusted after it too, but the Charger was my pick of the two. I rode in both of them and saw them race on “The Trail”, which the real name of was “The Anthony Wayne Parkway” that was built on the route of the old Miami and Erie Canal. There were and almost certainly still both a start line at Copland Ave and a finish line 1/4 mile towards town near Sherwood Ave. Every time the city/county wiped the start/finish lines off the road, they came back almost instantly. Many street races were run at night, and my street dead ended at “The Trail” near the finish line and we would often hear cars scream past the end of our street and then back off or shut down. There were often trailered cars racing at night. The two Mopars were very evenly matched and I don’t remember who had more wins, but it was close. I wanted my dad to go buy a Charger or Roadrunner when he instead bought his ugly, IMHO, ’68 Imperial. He was friends with an Olds/Caddy dealer, a Dodge, and a Chrysler/Plymouth dealers, so the Imperial really disappointed me, Both by what it was, an old man’s car, and it’s color, bronze, with, of course, a black vinyl top. I nearly got what I wanted in 1973, my cousin had a black ’70 Road Runner, in almost showroom condtion that I was promised first crack at when he sold it, but he forgot and sold it to a kid I went to school with. I was beyond upset with him. Most of the cars I really lusted after were Mopars, but a Chevelle SS would have made me happy, as would a 442 or a GTO. But the Charger is still my “If just had the cash to get one!”. Only hitting the lottery would make it possible at this point.
Just in terms of lust for the styling, I could stare at a 1993 Mazda RX-7 all day (in yellow, please). And staring is probably all I could do, considering the fragility of the engine. That said I think it’s absolutely beautiful from every angle and even more beautiful in person where the curves can play tricks with the light. The fact that it’s about 12% smaller than it seems to look in pictures makes it all the more delicate-seeming. I’d consider it just about perfect in terms of styling.
I won’t shut up about it, so it’s clear that the early Riviera is my favorite design.
But 20 years ago, a ’67 Impala was on my radar twice. When I started my car-hoarding journey, my old car budget was no more than $4000, and I narrowed “cars to look at” in the Auto Trader down to two: my ’65 Skylark and a red ’67 Impala. It came down partially to the color; like you, I didn’t love the red on the Impala. I probably like the Skylark a little better on its own merits, as well, but if the Impala had been a ’65, it might have been a tough call.
In 2001 or 2, a year or two earlier, I was looking for an older car to drive as a daily driver, and a ’67 Impala hardtop popped up in another free auto trader. The owner was asking $500 or $1000 or something low, but it needed an engine. It was winter, however, and I didn’t have the tools I have now, so after talking to the owner, I decided it was too much for me at that point of my life.
It’s been a while since I’ve thought about my being behind the wheel of one; thanks for the trip down memory lane, Jim!
It is so nice to see the small group of people coming out of the closet against The Red Menace on old cars. That was my first thought on seeing the feature shot – why did it have to be red?!? The silver-blue car is not Marina Blue, as that one was a little more vibrant. And I am also right there with you on that not-attractive green/gold. Or is it gold/green?
I will agree that the 67 Impala hardtop is a beauty. Back in high school, I got to drive one – I think it was an SS, navy blue with that off-white interior with buckets and a console. I cannot remember the powertrain, it might have been a 283/glide. Someone had asked me to drive it and give impressions – I remember that it wasn’t running 100%. I also remember really liking it despite the deep aversion I had to Chevrolets at the time. I wish I had it now, right down to the color combo.
There are so many cars with styling that makes my heart sing, so it depends on the day you ask. I will say that I really loved the 2-door hardtops from each of the big 3 (Chevy, Ford, Plymouth) of 1967, each for different reasons.
Yup – red cars, fuzzy dice, Continental spare tires, “necker” knobs, Betty Boop, I don’t even want to stop and look at a car with that crap on it. I’m a classic car snob, a librarian, and I don’t like seeing what could be a museum piece, turned into a senior Sunday coffee cruiser.
I grew up in a blue-collar suburb and these were very popular rides back then. Grew up riding in a lot of them. Solid cars, but well used up within the decade. Rusted too. Those hardtops sagged, the windows leaked, and the doors didn’t always seal. I wish they were made as well as rides today.
As to how they drove – they were actually pretty damn good. Hats off to GM during this time regarding handling and performance. There is a real reason GM dominated the market during this decade.
Yep, I’ll join you! Red works on Italian Iron (I know, its a cliche!), but not on most other cars, especially ones as large as the pictured Chevy. My favorite car ever is the C2 Corvette (see comment below) and red just makes them look…plasticky. Unless its metallic maroon, which works…
I think a nice metallic, maybe blue would work just fine on that Impala.
I used to own an Olympic Gold 1969 Caprice hardtop sport sedan. It had the camel hump heads and camshaft from a 1967 Camaro, a new intake, and a four barrel carburetor added to it’s 327.
The Camaro parts were added sometime in the 70’s and the intake and carb were done a year before I bought the car.
It breathed through dual exhaust that ended in quad tips from a Firebird. It sounded absolutely amazing. It was the most reliable old car I’ve ever owned, bar none.
The only things I didn’t like about it were the massive size (it didn’t play nice in Fort Worth traffic and parking lots) and the non power, single master cylinder brake system. That was A LOT of car to stop.
Dixie was from Alabama originally. I traded my 1961 Corvair for her. I miss that car so much. I’d love one day to find a smaller car of that same time period that captures that raw brutal roar of that old beast.
I quite like the ’69-’70 4-door hardtops.
Your Impala should not have had a single-pot master cylinder, unless it suffered from some Bubba-wrenching before you got it. The dual master cylinder and dual-circuit brake system was industry-wide by Federal law by the 1967 models.
That’s a very nice gold.
I don’t have an answer to the QOTD, but I liked this piece. That Granada Gold is the color I remember on many of these examples. I don’t find it offensive, but yes – I like that blue a lot. I think the only thing about the brightness of the shade of red on the first car is that I think more subdued shades work best on larger cars, and this one is like Camaro-red. It looks good, but the Bolero Red you described sounds like it would work better.
I also like the fastback profile of the ’67 and ’68 coupes, with a slight preference for the ’67 because the taillamps aren’t in the bumper (not my absolute favorite look).
My ’67 Impala was my first car, I drove it to school on nice days and cruised around town in it on the weekends. My uncle helped me fix it up once I decided I wanted to restore it instead of getting a new car when I turned 16. So the summer before I traveled from my house in Virginia to my uncle’s shop in New Hampshire and spent the summer working on it. Before that, it was my step-dad’s car but it was parked in our driveway for 10 years rotting. It was Granada gold with a white top and white interior. It was really rough and rusty. He kept it because it was his brother’s last car before he took his own life in 1980. He bought it in about 1972 from his boss who bought it new. It was back on the road as my car in 1995, we painted the body dark bright teal – which came on early ’90s Firebirds and top warm silver – a Cadillac color. It’s been a long and interesting adventure, but I still have it.
Here it was before. Keep in mind, my uncle and his buddies put tires on it and Bondoed up the larger rust holes before getting it running and drove it 500 miles back to NH from our house in VA. The picture was taken on the day they left.
Nice; I like the colors. Quite the transformation.
Terrific color choices on your 67!
Oh yes, hats off to you! This one is beautiful – so tastefully done. Love the color and the stance…
I’m okay (or much more than just okay) with the gold/green color mainly due to that they are now more rarely seen and thus, far more interesting than that red or even the blues. Unless you’re taking the entire thing down to the bare metal, a color change always (to me) looks worse once you find the original color lurking somewhere.
Nice finds, especially for your neck o’ the woods!
Chevy Impalas from 1961 to 1970 are some of my favorite cars ever of all time. I like them all, the converts, wagons, four door hardtops and two door hardtops. But of all of these, I think my favorite is the 1967 Caprice formal coupe. Preferably without vinyl top. All of these cars were great when equipped with the V8. However, on the earlier models, the two speed powerglide auto was not well mated to the V8. In ’67 you could order the SS 427 with the turbo hydramatic transmission which was much better.
Me too! First favorite cars when growing up, and I’d point out SS trimmed ones riding with family. Wanted a 65-70 when I got license, but did at least get a ’78 Impala as a beater in the 80’s.
I believe the ‘blue dots’ on the tail light lenses were intended to enhance the brilliance of the brake lights…you had to drill a hole in the existing lens for the blue dot to get unfiltered light from the bulb. I find it odd that they are only on the right-hand side tail light and not the other…?
Favorite is my 2nd car. owned from age 19 to 22. Would love to have it back. Loved all early cougars, 67 through 70. 71 to 73, the convertible only as not a fan of the flying buttress roof line.
My first car was a 67, 283/ glide trans. I paid $350.00 when I was 16. The dash was cracked so my sister got a neon green bath mat and cut it for the dashboard. I picked up a Mr. gasket floor shifter and made my own linkage for $5. Finally a discount muffler shop put used glass pack muffler on for $35, loved that car. But it wasn’t my dream car a 68 Road Runner that finally after 40 years I’ve got sitting in my garage.
I’ve always had an unnatural pull toward the ’71-’75 GM B-body convertibles, specifically the Pontiac Grand Ville. I don’t really consider these the height of GM’s styling prowess, but as the last of a dying breed they’ve always called to me.
According to the third photo, that’s a Chevy Imp! Pretty big Imp to my way of thinking. 🙂
I’ve always been interested how some colours really suit certain shapes, others do nothing special for it, while some just plain don’t suit. There must be quite some science in the interrelationship between form and colour. Surely it’s not just subjective. You’re right about that red not quite working on the Impala. I think it needs something more like this.
I know its cliche but I’m a sucker for bright red, this looks good to me, though I think a white vinyl top would look better with it. 67s were the last hurrah for a convincingly sporty looking big Chevy, after that they looked more appropriate in broughamy Caprice trim, for me I waver between the 67 and 65, both have great lines.
I couldn’t pick just one car that always captured my attention, I’d have a different answer today than the next. Most of my favorites are from this roughly 67-70 time period though.
While I’ve had plenty of converts and 2 dr hardtops, imo some of GM’s late ’60s 4 door hardtops were as beautiful as they were practical and became my favorite body style. I looked for a ’67 or ’68 full size Chev 4 dr hdtp for quite a while and ended up with this ’68 Caprice 327. After a few years decided to move down a bit in size and sold the Chev to buy my favorite A body of that era, this ’69 Cutlass, which still resides in my garage, and at my age, my last vintage car. And yes, I do like green.
The ’69 Cutlass: 4 door hardtops are tops!
4 door hardtops are lovely and your Cutlass is one of the nicest. I love how clean this year’s styling was and how nicely the wheel arch area is sculpted. Nice!
It’s amazing how a TV show that features a particular car can make that car attractive to many. Can’t understand that.
Your ´68 Caprice Sport Sedan looks great but my personal choice would be a 1965 Caprice Sport Sedan or a 1967 Caprice Sport Sedan.
With the 1968 models, Chevrolet dropped the interior polished roof rail and window frame trim as well as the twin interior lights. But your ´68 Sport Sedan looks great.
I prefer the straight-across front of the ’67, but the ’68 has hidden wipers and separate taillights.
I see this as a nicely styled car. The forward angled egg-crate grille works well and gives this car a personality. It’s nicely swept as a fastback, and has distinctive taillights.
I think this car holds up well in comparison with other offerings in that year from the General, and versus Ford also. They really evolved the style from the clunkiness of the 65, and the plain-er jane look of the 66. I might have given this a look had I not still been just a kid.
I love seeing these cars, but for the life of me, I just cannot stand vinyl roofs. It is probably due to having grown up during that era, but vinyl roofs rarely enhance any car, imo. Especially during this late 60s-70s time when cars were styled with sporty lines. The “LTD” effect that hit during this time caused a lot of brands to add vinyl roofs to where they were not designed to be. Any fastback should never have a vinyl roof. Even the hardtop sedans of this era look better without a vinyl roof, imo.
It isn’t until the Brougham epoch that specialty roofs like these work better. Brougham cars don’t have sporty lines.
So, while I really like this era’s big cars – hold the damn vinly roofs, please.
In 1971, my dad drove a 1971 chocolate brown T-Bird Brougham https://www.mecum.com/lots/CH1019-389542/1971-ford-thunderbird-landau/ IMO the vinyl roof MADE this car. The matching brown hub caps really helped too! I drove in it a few times and it was LUXURY! It was what’s called LOADED. It also had the sunroof.
Colour is subjective, and while the blue is fine, the red and black in IMHO stunning, perhaps because it’s clean wet and shiny.
Still, a neat looking car when tidy – I can see the attraction
I’m old enough to know these old Chevs. when they were released. I just wanted to share this ‘SLEEPER’ car that I may have gleaned here a few mos ago? I’m not a big fan of Japanese cars but this particular dressed up Nissan I find very attractive! https://www.motortrend.com/features/sstp-1211-1991-nissan-240sx/
C2 Corvette for me – it was my dream car from the age of about 14 and it changed the course of my life.
I am British, so my dream should have been the E-Type, right? Love them and owned one. But, being a typical lower class London kid, I always had a thing for American culture (especially Motown) and automobiles.
I had always wanted to be a car designer, but my school careers department told me the job didn’t exist. Anyway, I bought a book on Corvettes and, lo and behold, it showed clay styling models and sketches from car designers. Now I had evidence! To cut a long story short, I eventually did become a car designer and bought my first C2 in 1991 whilst working on the C5 under Tom Peters at the GM Tech Center Corvette Studio. One dream fulfilled!
All these years later I still have the black ’63 Split fuelie in the photo and am still designing cars….
Oh yes, hats off to you! This one is beautiful – so tastefully done. Love the color and the stance…
Oops!, this comment was meant for Landark’s blue ’67 Impala….
My mother had a 1967 Bel Air 2-door sedan in Tahoe Turquoise, looking similar to this one. I always thought the front end styling was derived from the 1963-64 Buick Riviera, certainly a great look. Our plain-jane Bel Air had the 250 six, 3-on-the-tree, and manual steering and brakes. It was the car in which I learned to drive.
I agree with the ’63-’64 Riviera reference. The ’68 Chevy’s do too to some degree as well. Both years offered optional lights in the little pontoons at the leading edge of the fenders.
Wow, my favorite best looking car is a tough one, I have so many, and as I get older the list keeps changing. But ever since I was a kid, I’m 67 now so do the math my favorite looking car is the 1959 Town Sedan. I love the entire car. The front end is classy and elegant, while the rear was bold and sexy. Compared with other cars of the late 50s it was pretty conservative. Number 2 would be the 1969 Mustang Mach I. I owned one for over 30 years. I’ll stop there.
Oh yes, that year Mach 1 is just great – the front fender is just wonderful!
The picture you show is a 1970 Mustang, not a 1969. The 1969 Mustang has quad headlights.
My bad! Its the top front part of the fender I love on both years ….
1960 Chevy Impala 4dr without the center post. Red lower body with white roof. Yes original red and white interior upholstery with the herring bone insets and 283 cubic inch engine 4 bbl carb coupled to the original 2 speed power glide transmission. That car had the best instrument cluster
I owned several late 60’s Impalas through the 80’s, including my grandfather’s ’67 Sport Coupe, 283 PG, white with black cloth interior and black vinyl roof. However, the one I wish I could have back was another ’67 Sport Coupe, 327 PG, black exterior with no vinyl top and the bright red vinyl interior. Outstanding color combination on this car, IMHO. Unfortunately, higher priorities intervened and it was sold to raise the funds necessary for a down payment on our first house, shortly after my wife and I were married. No regrets, but I would love to have that one back!
60s and 70s were interesting for color. 68 saw a huge rise of Avocado green with black vinyl top and interior. Metallic gold combined with black was also popular. Actually like red and black shown on Impala. Had a72 Caprice Metallic brown with creme vinyl top and interior. Next was a 74 GRAND VILLE cinnamon with black vinyl top and interior. I liked the combination, but friend called it my Halloween 🎃 car! Next up was 77 Buick white vinyl over red . Loved two tone AND the THREE tones of the 50s. Today’s vehicles colors are almost as sad as most of the SUVs and crossovers. My current Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited is complete monochromatic unique color called CASHMERE. Like it and gets a lot of attention! Car color is a very personal choice.
I drove a 1967 Buick Wildcat that has the exact same body style. How we ever convinced my mother to buy a 430ci 4 bbl is beyond me! I bought it from her used and drove it until the rust was so bad it rendered it no longer usable.