'63 Chevy History

This 1963 Chevrolet  Impala SS has been featured in several car enthusiast magazines including Super Chevy, Chevy Rumble, Popular Hot Rodding, All Chevy, Late Great Chevy and Chevy Classics Magazine.

Super Chevy Magazine (in January 2011) began it's 30 year anniversary celebration by honoring it's "Winners from the First 30 Years" series.  This 1963  Impala was picked for the first of the series.  The Super Chevy 2011 show in Ennis Texas garnered a modified class win and Best Big Car honors, it was also voted AMSOIL's Best of the Best in the full size category.

In addition to the Super Chevy successes, the car has won multiple "gold" awards and first place trophies in the Late Great Chevy national and regional shows.  In June 2011 at the International Convention in Springfield MO, it received a "platinum" certificate, best paint and scored 996 in the 1000 point judging.

The owner ("Bird" Johnson) bought a brand new 1963  Chevy  Impala in Wayne Michigan, it was black on black and was ordered with tinted glass and a 327 with standard transmission.  I waited 8 weeks for those tinted windows, the car was driven, raced and loved until 1971 when it was destroyed by fire.

When I moved to Tulsa Oklahoma in 1974, I started looking for a rust free '63 Impala SS.  I found and purchased this car in Coweta Oklahoma in 1975 and drove it home burning oil and in need of synronizers, it then sat for 12 years.  The car was white with black interior and a black vinyl top (first year for vinyl tops), it was a factory A/C car with tinted windows, padded dash, power  steering and brakes with a 327 motor, it had been converted to a 4 speed before I bought it.

When I got the means to restore it (in 1987 and 1988), it was made to match my original.  Charlie Smith of "Charlies Custom Colors" in Broken Arrow, OK sprayed the lacquer paint and "Yogi" Hayes of Inola, OK built the original 327 sporting dual four barrels and a 4 speed.  The car has been shown since with modifications along the way.

The original car had a 45 rpm record player (which was also destroyed by fire).  A longtime friend (Glen Williams) read a Super Chevy Magazine article about the '63 indicating a desire for chrome  wheels and a record player to finish the restoration.  Glen still had an RCA record player from his '62 Impala SS and donated it to the cause.  The 409 motor (built by Bob's Machine Shop in Hulbert, OK) found its way between the fender wells in 1997,  new interior was also installed at that time by Chuck Rowland.   

In May 2010, with the lacquer paint getting weak and having to be striped, I decided to do a frame off restoration.  Friends Doyle and Linda Groat owned a body shop in Sand Springs, OK and we made a commitment to return the '63 to its glory.  The second week in October, it was on its way to the Goodguys Rod & Custom show at the Texas Motor Speedway.  Bob Walla Racing aluminum heads were added in February 2022.