Man, we’ve been talking a lot about Chevy Impalas lately. There’s something about the cars that just inspires creativity, whether you’re writing about them, dreaming about them, or, in the case of Chris Bailey, restomodding them. The project manager from Illinois has created an awesome 1965 Impala SS restomod, and oh boy, does it deserve to be talked about. Chris has been a fan of the ’65 Impala for many years, the natural result of his father owning one when he was a kid. There’s certainly a lot to love about the ’65 SS. There were 243,114 of them made that year, in both coupe and convertible guises. They got SS fender badging, a new center console with vacuum gauge, and a wide choice of engines, some of them legendary. These could be paired with a Powerglide automatic or a three or four speed Synchromesh manual. But that’s enough about the original car. We already know about those, we know how cool they are. Let’s look at Chris’ resto, and discover what makes it so great.

So, very obviously from the above picture, the engine’s changed somewhat. This particular Impala SS originally came with a 396 Turbo Jet, but that’s gone the way of the dinosaurs. In its place, there’s a Gen IV 454 that’s been bored out by 40 over stock. Add to this Edelbrock heads, Hilborn Electronic fuel injection, and a Tremec five-speed transmission. To keep this thirsty beast from draining the fuel tank too quickly, there’s a fuel management computer too.

Take a look at that pristine, beautiful body. The car’s been lowered fairly dramatically. This is thanks to the new Ridetech tubular suspension, complete with coilovers, which has allowed for the body to be dropped by four inches. The rear axle is a shortened three-incher with 373 gears and a TruTracker differential. Another feature that’s easy to spot are the new wheels. They’re Rushforths in 305-35-20 at the rear and 295-40-18 up front, creating a delicately tubbed stance. Attached to all four of the wheels are Wilwood 6-inch piston disc brakes.

All in all, the car took four and a half years for Chris to restore after he bought it from St. Louis’ Craigslist. The Impala was in decent condition, but the paint was in bad shape and the engine had gone kaput. He isn’t a professional mechanic, but a gifted hobbyist with very evident technical skills. He’s also a one resto man at the moment, with the Impala his only car. According to Chris, he takes the car out to shows and cruise nights, with him describing it as being far from a trailer queen.

The hardest part of the restoration process for Chris was upgrading the suspension. He worked out of his own garage with no lift, which I can only imagine would have made it a task and a half, with another difficult task proving to be the modification of the tunnel to fit the new transmission. In the future, he’s planning on upgrading the interior, with plans to remove the vinyl seat covers and replace them with full leather upholstery. He also intends to modernize the sound system and replace the carpet. As it is, the original dash panel has already been replaced, alongside other pieces of trim including the original gauges that have been replaced with new ones by Dakota Digital.

Chris is a big fan of the classics. While some may just love cars, with no real specificity, he loves classic cars more than moderns by far. In his own words, “anyone can go buy a new Challenger SVT or a Z06.” That comes across vividly when you look at the car. It’s a work of art, and there’s no other real way to describe it, with, he tells me, the car never being short of an enraptured audience.

“The car has been very well received in car shows and has won Best Chevy a few times. Also, in the Big Rock Classic – 60 Years of Impalas Show the car won 1st place Impala in the 1961 to 1970 Class. The car always seems to draw a crowd at shows.”

Many thanks to Chris for his time and for showing us his awesome car! Do you have a restomod that you’d like to see featured on the site? If you do, we’d love to hear from you. Whether you drive an Impala, a Mustang, an AMC Pacer, a Caddy, or anything else. If it’s retro and you’ve given it a fresh new lease on life, shoot us a message on Facebook!

Check out the spec sheet and pictures below for more details on Chris’ Impala. The gallery shows the Impala’s bodywork from beginning to end, as well as the interior and dash’s restoration.

• Full roller 454 Gen IV bored 40 over stock
• Edelbrock Heads
• Hilborn Electronic fuel injection
• Holley HP Fuel Management Computer
• RideTech Tubular suspension with coilovers lowered by four inches
• Antisway bars from RideTech
• Tremec 5 speed
• Rear axle shortened 3″ w/373 Gears in rear end and TruTracker Differential
• Dakota Digital Dash
• Rushforth Wheels w/ 305-35-20 in rear and 295-40-18 in front
• Wilwood 14” 6 piston disc brakes