This 1965 Chevy Impala still prowls the streets of Southern California, always ready for an impromptu sock hop or drive-in movie…
Driving through local Southern California neighborhoods, I come across a lot of classic American muscle cars. Every now and then I see one which makes me want to take a closer look. The color of this 1965 Chevrolet Impala caused me to swing my car around and talk to the owner, Doug Enfinger, just as he was finishing hosing off the car. Clearly a man who cares for his classic car, Doug agreed to a few questions and some pictures of this beautiful, very green Impala, which Doug has lovingly named "The Dill."
Mean, green, and not so lean…this Impala is a great piece of American automotive history.
Here is a little history on the car thanks to Doug:
"She was built at the South Gate, California, Chevy plant and somehow ended up in Ohio. The Impala was then bought and brought back home to California in the fall of 2006. This is the original color combo of the Willow Green exterior with the black Super Sport vinyl interior. The car has had only one known repaint. The wheels on the car are circa 1969 Rallye wheels which came on some of the Camaros and Vettes of the time. The 327 V8 engine has the original block and heads and was rebuilt last year for a more comfortable driving style to fit the speeds seen on the California highways. The Impala was purchased to be a daily driver so I wanted it to be ready for life here in SoCal. It has front and rear sway bars, and I added an Alpine head unit that is iPod compatible, as well as component speaker sets and a 15" JBL subwoofer. The whole system, which I designed myself, is setup to be non-intrusive to the interior style of the vehicle and can be removed and put back to stock if needed. The exhaust setup is the Dual Flowmaster Delta 40 series, so it sounds loud on the outside yet is nice and quiet on the inside, and both exhaust tips exit before the rear tires. I truly love this car as it is a joy to drive with my elbow out the window and my lady by my side. This car is a real SuperSport and not a clone. She has been my dream car for 15 years and I relish any chance to take her on road trips and show her off at local car shows."
I have to say, I am pretty jealous here…not just because Doug has a great Impala, but also because he somehow got his girlfriend to fall in love with classic cars as well. How is that even possible? My wife would look at this car and say "Too old, too loud and too cucumber green…" while I hear "…old…loud…cucumber green!"
Thanks for letting me take pictures of your car, Doug, and thanks for sharing your story!
See 1965 Chevrolet Impala values at NADAguides.com, the trusted authority on classic car values.