Appreciation for classic cars is often a trait that runs in the family. Sometimes, it's the result of a deliberate decision by a parent to use the car as a means of bonding with children. Many of us have childhood memories of helping our parents repair or restore their vehicles. In other cases, this enthusiasm arises naturally, as a result of simply riding in the passenger seat or seeing the car in the driveway. Michael Cohen, of Pacific Palisades, California, fell in love with this '65 Impala SS when it was owned by a family member. Eventually, he purchased it and became its second owner.

Most old car projects involve many obstacles and challenges along the way that wind up making the completed build that much more satisfying when the finish line is successfully crossed. On some occasions, there are daunting and unexpected build problems that occur right from the start. That’s the sort of fork in the road where some car caretakers might just scrap a project and sell the car down the road before they barely get started.

Restoring any classic car is a big undertaking, but Classic Industries is here to help you along the way. In addition to providing a huge selection of restoration parts, we've also created some DIY guides to show you how to replace common items in your own garage. Today, we'll be taking a look at how to remove and replace a 1963 Impala steering wheel. These steps will be similar for other Impala and Full Size Chevy vehicles of this era.

Classic cars often carry powerful memories of time spent together with family members. Whether it's the result of wrenching on the car, going to shows, or simply cruising together, these special vehicles develop into an extension of the bond between spouses, siblings, or parents and their children. This '57 Bel Air belonged to Louie Breceda's father for 45 years, so when he passed away, Louie inherited it and preserved it. In a way, Louie's dad lives on through this car.

The Chevy Impala is one of General Motors' most famous and recognizable vehicles, thanks to its widespread appeal. There's an Impala / Full Size Chevy model for almost everyone, from wagons and sedans with room for the whole family to two-door Super Sport models with exhilarating performance and handling. If you're not already an expert on the Impala, you might not know all the design cues and changes that separate one model year from the next, so we've created a simple 1958-64 Impala identification guide that shows the front, rear, and side profile of each year. With this guide, you should have a much easier time spotting Impalas in the wild!

"Full Size Chevy" is a term that's often mentioned by classic car enthusiasts, and it also appears throughout our Classic Industries web store and catalogs. However, the meaning of this term isn't always fully understood, especially by those who are new to working on classic cars, so we'd like to shed some light on it today. The short explanation is that it's a blanket identifier for Chevrolet's full-size passenger cars, including two-door, four-door, and wagon variants. This includes the Chevy Impala, Bel Air, Caprice, Biscayne, Delray, and several other models. It does not include the Chevy II / Nova, which was considered a compact or mid-size car.

We recently created a visual guide to identifying 1947-1959 Chevy trucks, including some of the subtle changes and options for each model year. In this article, let's take a look at more recent 1960-1972 GM trucks. If you've ever seen one of these classic trucks and wondered what year it is, or you're curious if the restoration parts on your truck match its original specifications, read through our 1960-72 Chevy truck model years identification guide below. As with the previous entry in this series, the images in this article have been scanned from original documentation, and show sub-models based on the Chevy C/K series truck platform for each model year.

The Chevy Impala and other Full Size Chevy models, such as the Delray, Biscayne, Bel Air, and Caprice, have garnered widespread popularity among classic car fans. Whether it's an original-style cruiser, modified low-rider, or a pavement-pounding hot rod, there are many ways these cars can be restored and modified. However, one of the first steps in buying or researching your classic Impala is to understand exactly what model you're working on. Our 1958, 1959, 1960-64, 1965-71, and 1972-80 Chevy Impala VIN decoders can help you determine the year, series, model, assembly plant, and other important details about your car.

A few days ago, we received a message from Crossroads Vintage Restorations in Texas regarding a customer's 1964 Impala SS convertible that the shop recently completed. Many parts from the Classic Industries Impala parts catalog were used in this build, and the results are stunning, but there's also a fascinating story behind this car. Russ, the owner, scraped together enough cash to buy it for $700 back when he was sixteen years old. Almost forty years later, it has been fully restored to the beautiful condition seen here.

Each one of us has a certain classic car that we've always wanted to restore. Maybe you've been fortunate enough to complete a full restoration already, or maybe you're in the initial stages of searching for a clean example. Either way, you've probably spent a lot of time thinking about the project, and looking forward to its completion. John R. Uba of Illinois told us that his dream was to finish restoring his 1967 Chevy Impala, and he was able to do just that. He wrote, "People said dream on. I say dream come true!"