Just Like High School

          "In high school I had a 1963 Impala SS," said Don Stepp of his current classic Chevy. "I bought it from a doctor my mom worked for."
          That was reason enough for Don to go looking for a '63 Impala which he found five years ago in Louisville. "It was a solid car but needed a lot of work," he said. While he painted, re-did the chrome trim and the carpets among other minor fixes, he claimed the bones of the car were in good shape.

          "It was a good, solid car. The frame, the motor, the floor boards were all in good shape. The car had been taken care of. It just showed some basic wear," he said. "What you see on the car is all original except for the rally wheels that I put on. But I have the original hub caps at home if I wanted to use them."

          Chevy introduced the full sized Impala in 1958 to compete against rivals such as the Ford Galaxy 500 and the Plymouth Fury. It was to be a "prestige car that would be within the reach of the average American," according to General Motors brass. And it was.
          Though the car was at the top of Chevy's Bel Air line it's price tag when first introduced was just over $2500 for the V6 version and just under $3000 for the V 8.
          Don's Impala is part of the car's third generation. Re-styled on the company's B platform in 1961, which was trim and boxy and, by the time the '63s rolled off the line, all signs of the once prominent body fins were gone.

          While a 348 cubic inch V 8 was available by 1963, Don's model sports the 283 small block. "It was the basic SS model, the low end Super Sport," he said.
          Among collectors the 1963 Impala is perhaps the most popular. Even though the 1963 Impala body is all but identical to the previous year's model, it does have cleaner lines and a low slung styling that is accentuated by the pointed front and rear bumpers.

          "This is my favorite," said Don of the styling. "The body has a little more character."

          And the car rides well, too, according to Don. "It handles well but it's not a 'slot car,'" he explained of the nearly 18 foot long vehicle. "It's more of a straight line car."
          Though Don enjoys driving this car it really us just a car show car. "I drive it about 500 miles a season," he said, looking in to note that the car has 74,000 original miles.