This Impala had been driven hard, as they were meant to be. After 17 years on the road racking up 164,000 miles, the body was showing signs of minor dents and dings, the interior is worn, and while the motor runs strong, it leaks and smells like burnt oil. Time for an update and good cleaning. This SS will be getting a custom two-tone paint job, all new interior, including a custom gauge panel, and a complete engine overhaul and upgrade.

First stop was the bodyshop to have the car painted bright silver from the beltline down, with a thin red pinstripe to separate. The frontend then received a facelift with a billet grille insert and clear headlight and signal lenses.

Next up was the interior. From top to bottom, it needed replaced, so it was. A new headliner, new carpet, custom two-tone leather seats, dash was repainted, lower dash panel was replaced, and custom Z28 gauge console installed.

The engine needed a lot of work. With a ton of miles on it, and regular maintenance, it seemed to run ok, but was very greasy and leaked like crazy. Then engine was pulled, completely rebuilt, given custom headers, full dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers, custom cold air intake, ACCEL ignition and a little dressing up - no more greasy mess.

The chassis on these cars is pretty solid, as they sit on a full perimeter frame. However, there is always room for improvement in some areas. In this case, the brakes were given an overhaul with new Baer components - including larger slotted and crossdrilled rotors with ceramic pads. The rear trailing arms were replaced with longer boxed units that relocated the rearend in the center of the wheel opening for a cleaner look and better ride. Bilstein shocks were added all around, and the rear stabilzer bar was upgraded. Now it's out terrorizing the steets.