Wheels Galleries

You would never know it by running your eyes along the sleek flanks of Bob Kennedy's 1962 Impala SS, but the sides of the car looked like `a sack of potatoes' when he brought the car home 2-1/2 years ago. Dave Betthauser straightened out the sheetmetal, which was drenched in multiple coats of Roman Red single-stage urethane paint by Bright Built Hot Rods in Salina.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

Bob and Connie Kennedy have all the performance, convenience and reliability of a brand new car, plus the classic styling of a 1962 Impala Super Sport when they decide to take a road trip.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

The distinctive front end of the '62 SS has been brought about three inches closer to the pavement than the stock stance with a set of dropped spindles.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

Power disc brakes bring the 17-inch American Racing Torq-Thrust II wheels to a halt. Kennedy resisted the temptation to add `LT-1' badging to the classic crossed-flags logo.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

One of the things that has always drawn Kennedy to the '62 Chevy is `the way they knocked the corners off the car and just made it smooth.' This view illustrates that perspective.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

Kennedy had to replace the entire rear cove panel on his SS. The engine-turned reproduction piece set him back a pretty penny, but the look is priceless, as is his clever vanity tag.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

A single rear antenna is the factory piece; some cars received a dealer-installed second antenna, but Kennedy opted for originality.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

The Super Sport coupe received engine-turned side trim, the Impala script and the coveted SS rear fender badge.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

For power, Kennedy relies on a '74 Corvette LT-1 engine with a minimum of dress-up goodies, the idea being to make the engine compartment look as original as the rest of the car.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

Rear storage is kept simple, with factory gray paint contrasting with the Roman Red body color.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

Original red vinyl bucket seats separated by a thin center console received new upholstery from Cars Inc.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

The back seat also was upgraded with the Cars Inc. upholstery kit, which included a new headliner.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

Kennedy retained the stock two-spoke Impala steering wheel, adding the appropriate 700-R shift indicator. The SS also got a vintage column-mounted tachometer and a set of Stewart-Warner under-dash gauges.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

Kennedy updated to a Vintage Air heating and air conditioning unit, but kept the iconic SS grab bar on the stainless-trimmed dashboard.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry

Even a pattern of shadows cast by tree limbs can't break up the classic lines of Kennedy's super-straight '62 Impala SS coupe.

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Mike Berry / Mike Berry