1965 Impala Hell Project, Part 11: Son of Orange County

In Part 10, the Hell Project Impala got Fiat scoops on the hood and hit the I-5 trail again. By late 1993, the car looked more or less the way I’d planned when I started the project and had become a surprisingly good daily driver (thanks to more modern brakes and a reliable, HEI-equipped 350 engine). I still planned to do some suspension and horsepower upgrades, once the early 1990s recession relaxed its grip enough for me to land a decent-paying job, but the setup I had was fulfilling my driving needs very well. Then, in the spring of ’94, Richard Nixon died, and I decided to take the Nixon-hood-ornamented car down to his birthplace and mingle with the mourners.

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  • SCE to AUX Inflation adjusted $79k today (!), so I guess $28k is a bargain....This is another retro car that was trying too hard, but it is very nice.
  • EngineerfromBaja_1990 It might provide an edge in city driving but from what I've read elsewhere the Hybrid trucks are 600 lbs to 700 lbs heavier than the gas only trucks. That translates to a curb weight of around 5000 lbs which is not uncommon for a full size truck.And a test drive suggested the Hybrid is not quicker than the gas only trucks. So it looks like the Hybrid powertrain is pretty much compensating in power for all that added weight while not providing significant fuel savings. Not what many would expect after shelling out an extra $5K - $7K for the next step up in power.
  • Buickman DOA like no other!
  • 3-On-The-Tree Yes anything offroad or high performance isn’t cheap. My oldest son would do occasional burnouts in his Mustang GT then he had to buy tires for it. Needless to say he doesn’t do burnouts anymore.
  • Slavuta I recently was looking at some Toyota parts. I think this ebay user sells totally counterfeit Toyota parts. Check the negative reviews