60 Impala help

[zoidberg]

Anyone out there know anything about these cars? I just picked up 2 60 Impala 2-dr hardtops sitting behind a shed for 30 years. One is nothing, I was told it's a 283 auto, but the other one might be special. It has the crossed flags on the trunk, which I understand indicates a 348. However, the old guy I bought them from swears it was a 348 Tri-Power. I don't think he'd lie to me about it, and he definitely wasn't in it for the money, he practically gave me the cars. Is there any way to I.D. a Tri-Power when the motors gone? Bigger fuel line, etc.? Oh, and the car appears to be a factory 4-speed. Is this unusual? I was under the impression that big cars didn't get the 4-speed until 61, when the 409 came out. Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me.

[Belair62]

Hellooooo Verne ........

[Norm reynolds]

try this site fot 60s chevys
http://www.chevytalk.org/threads/pos...amp;Board=UBB9

[Don_Lightfoot]

Two years ago a good friend of mine did up a 60 Impala Convertible he bought in PA. It had a 348/4V and a 4 speed. The tripower carbs were also available in that year.

On a side note, since he had helped me with some stuff in the past I offerred to buff all his stainless trim. Any idea how much trim is on a 60 Impala? Seemed like miles of the stuff

[Belair62]

Zoid...look up Verne Frantz in the users list and e-mail him....he will have some info for you I bet.

[4MyChevelles]

I own a 63 with a 409 I also happen to have sitting on a stand is a 348 core waiting for someone who needs it and if I have read the numbers right it is a 59 car engine which is close to what you may need ...if you find the car is a 348 4 speed car drop me a line I have the bell housing for the 4 speed too

[Verne_Frantz]

zoidberg,
The 4-speed was available in passenger cars beginning with the '59 model year. Easy checks to verify the 4-spd would be the steering column. There were no other floor shift combinations in '60, so if the column doesn't have a shifter on it, then that's pretty conclusive. Also, the 4-spd had a wiring harness for the back-up switch that ran from under the dash to a plug through the firewall, roughly behind the LH cylinder head, then down along the frame (2 metal clips to hold it) and onto to switch.
The 3/8" fuel line was also used on 4bbl 283 engines, so thats not conclusive evidence of a "W" motor. As for the tri-power, the coil bracket was mounted on the firewall, rather than the intake, so look for a bracket there, or evidence of one. The "W" engines also used an external ballast resistor before the points, rather than a resistance wire to the coil. The engine harness should have two wires trailing downward to this resistor, mounted a little outboard of the throttle arm on the firewall.

If the cars appear to fairly original, albiet missing a few items, I'd be interested in documenting them for a database I keep. If you're willing to spend some time filling out forms, PM me and I can send them to you.

Verne.

[Verne_Frantz]

Oh, and the thing about the '61 409 4-spd was that it was the first aluminum case (T10-1C) application.
Verne.

[zoidberg]

Hey, thanks alot for the responses, guys. You've all been a really big help. I'll let you know how it turns out.