Found: 1960 Impala with all of the Chevy go-fast goodies
Unmolested ’60 Impala packs the 335hp 348 with a four-speed, Posi Long before the terms “pickers” and “flippers” were added to the American lexicon, there was Larry Fisette. For 63…
Unmolested '60 Impala packs the 335hp 348 with a four-speed, Posi
Long before the terms "pickers" and "flippers" were added to the American lexicon, there was Larry Fisette. For 63 years, the 75-year-old De Pere, Wis., gear head has bought and sold more than 1,000 vintage vehicles, the most famous being the highly publicized collection of 21 semi-trailers packed with muscle cars and parts that he found in his hometown. Of all his finds, Fisette's most recent find tugs at his heart strings most.
“It’s the car I always wanted,” Fisette said of the 1960 Chevrolet Impala two-door hardtop he recently found. The car is a rarity, being powered by the factory with the hot, solid-lifter 335-hp Tri-Power 348-cid V-8 with three two-barrels, a four-speed manual transmission, Positraction rear end and not much else. And it looks like this archaeologist just dug it out of the deepest, darkest warehouse in North Dakota, where its second owner had parked it in the early 1980s.
What Fisette digs most about this '60 Impala isn't just its drivetrain — it's that the car is untouched so he knows it was born with all of its performance goodies. This car’s only modification is the now-weathered under-dash Stewart-Warner gauges that monitor vitals under the hood — that’s it. Look on the carbs, there’s a factory tag. On top of the carburetors, there’s that garbage can lid-size air cleaner — not three individual chrome pots. Look on the rear end, there’s that Posi tag. Even the original spindly, “spaghetti handle” four-speeder shifter was spared replacement by a Hurst unit. It remains a true time capsule — just how it rolled off the Janesville, Wis., Chevrolet assembly plant, with a little patina tossed in for good measure.
Perhaps Fisette likes this find most of all because the Chevy dealer he worked for in 1960 talked him out of ordering the 335-hp and four-speed drivetrain, which he's always regret.
Read about other great automotive finds inLost and Found Volume 2
Fisette gave us a tour of his recently purchased Impala with the hottest drivetrain offered in a full-size Chevrolet for 1960. Check out the pictures:
Angelo Van Bogart is the editor of Old Cars magazine and wrote the column "Hot Wheels Hunting" for Toy Cars & Models magazine for several years. He has authored several books including "Hot Wheels 40 Years," "Hot Wheels Classics: The Redline Era" and "Cadillac: 100 Years of Innovation." His 2023 book "Inside the Duesenberg SSJ" is his latest. He can be reached at avanbogart@aimmedia.com
