1963 Impala Sportsroof... Bringing a Drawing to Life
Penfound
Design cars begin as an illustration so that the craftsmen,
sponsors, media and customers can get a real understanding
of the car before any construction begins. It's a great way
to make changes to the car without doing metal work, or
worse, having to re-do work on a project.
In the case
of the Impala SportsRoof the drawing already existed, since
legendary illustrator Steve Stanford had drawn the car for a
magazine article in 1996. Penfound Design had suggested
the car when Ohio Chevrolet dealer Jack Matia asked for a
custom like LoSabre or Cambiar, but be "all Chevrolet". With
everyone on board to do the project, the drawing became the
"roadmap" to follow, with even the smallest detail examined
to make sure it reflected the illustration. Steve Stanford
himself confirmed the use of the 1960 Plymouth roof,
1964 Thunderbird interior, 1959 Oldsmobile steering, and
even the 1961 Thunderbird rear fender spears used as FRONT
fender trim on the SportsRoof.
Dave Rieger and his crew
at Classic Revivals in Lagrange, Ohio, came on board to
do construction and paint for the car. With a history of
work on Cambiar, and a reputation for Corvette restorations,
Dave saw the Impala as a unique challenge. His vision was to
restore the chassis and engine room as "Best Day Of
Production" for the car, using elements of restoration and
customizing along the way.
Chuck Grm of Chuck's
Custom Design worked to interpret the drawing's interior in
3D. His plan was to make the most of the orange, black and
white color scheme, while making the interior liveable in
the real world.
The drawing was a side
view of the "dream car", so Penfound Design added some
special elements to add to the effect. The black cloth for
the interior became reproduction 1963 Impala cloth, a
one-off square rod stainless steel grill was inspired by the
production unit, but brought a smooth, clean look to the
front of the Chevy. A 1962 front bumper was mixed with a
1963, parking lamps were moved into the headlamps, and other
hood and trunk trim was altered for a custom look. Since the
Impala used for the project was a Super Sport with
"engine-turned" swirled aluminum rear panel and side trim, a
sweep of the same material was used on the roof.
As the car
progressed many of the sponsors that have joined in Penfound
Design projects contributed to the Impala as well. GM
Performance Parts helped with the RamJet 350/350 crate motor
small block and 4L60E Turbohydramatic, PPG Industries
supplied the one-off three-part killer orange paint,
Goodyear provided Eagle F1 tires, and Air Ride Technologies
helped with the low look of the original sketch. Product
support was also provided by Wilwood brakes, American
Racing, Classic Industries, Year One, Custom Autosound,
Flaming River Industries, Currie Enterprises, Meguiar's and
others.
Following is a brief look at the construction of the
Impala SportsRoof as it was prepared for the Detroit
Autorama and 2006 events.
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