Ron Oldfather was looking for a '62 Chevy to equal the 409-powered Impala he had many years ago. He found this one equipped with a 283 in Portland, Ore., and transformed it into a black-on-black 502 cubic inch beast that would have left the 409 in its dust.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The all-black theme continues inside the cabin of the car; even the headliner is black.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A lot of cars came off the line with black vinyl tops, but when was the last time you saw a black hardtop equipped with a black vinyl top? The approach works well with this classic Impala, which is also outfitted with a black bucket seat interior.
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Oldfather decided the best way to motivate the low-mileage Impala was a brand new big block crate engine producing one horsepower for each of its 502 cubic inches. Plans call for it to eventually be equipped with electronic fuel injection for increased drivability.
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A look inside the trunk reveals basic carpeting, a dust mop and a spare tire and not much else.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
One of the cleanest, most functional interior designs offered in the '60s, the '62 Impala has a pleasantly uncluttered look; no air conditioner controls, not even a floor console to compete with the lean, mean theme.
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The triple tail light treatment denotes the car is an Impala, but it is not a Super Sport. It does, however, have the less common one-piece California -style bumpers.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Stuffed under the rear wheel wells are a pair of 8-inch wide American Racing Salt Flats wheels mounting beefy Mickey Thompson 255/60R/15 street slicks.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A Tremec 5-speed transmission transmits 580 foot-pounds of torque to the 9-inch Mosier Positraction rear end loaded with 4:11 gears.
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The rear seat looks showroom-fresh, with plush black vinyl upholstery and the metal Impala insignia inset into the seat back.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Providing shift point warnings is a full-sized racing tachometer and a bright yellow shift light set to blink on at about 5,800 rpm.
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The classic 2-spoke Chevy sport wheel requires a bit of arm strength, as the car doesn't feature power steering. A set of marnine-style accessory gauges was added to the stock instrument panel.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The first thing that grabs the eye in this photo is the wheel/tire treatment -- a set of American Racing Salt Flats wheels wearing 225/60R/15 BF Goodrich TA's. But a closer look reveals the no-nonsense 502 V-8 fender badge and a set of electrically operated fender well dumps.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Oldfather wanted a cleaner look for his black Impala, so he used a heat gun to remove the red tape that someone had applied inside the side spears. It would be hard to improve on the profile of this beauty.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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