Classic Hifi Care

I don't know if Chris has seen this or not. Our school bus driver, Ralph, bought a new '61 Impala 4-door hardtop with a 348. It was a nice-looking car with power windows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x48W5qOozdY

From the audio cues, this seems to have been either a slide or
filmstrip presentation.

I remember those from elementary school times.

Thanks for sending that. Some advertising copy writer spent a lot of time adding adjectives and nouns to explain the special distinction of things like the steering wheel. It's a wonder they didn't stop at the gas filler flap to gush over that too!

Chris Campbell

Only thing I remember about 61 Chevys is the rusted out front fenders behind the headlights ... finding them without rust is like finding a four leaf clover...

Over the headlights (the eyebrow). When I was driving the Chevy back to college for the very first time (1966?), I bought a patch panel for the R front fender. That did not work well so at the last moment I bought a new fender and put it on the last day before leaving. That cased a significant anxiety attack (welcome to adulthood). But I persisted and it went on and and I drove to school with it in primer, and had it painted there. That was in the age when Michigan cars almost always had perforation after 3 years. My Ranger had its first perforation at 15 years. Progress.

Chris Campbell

The 1954 to 1957 Buick models were known for rust over and under the headlights. There was a lip above the moustache bar that held mud and debris. Cars driven on gravel roads were the ones that rusted out over the headlights. Chevies rusted out over the headlights back to the late-1940 models. The shocks on the rear of the Tri-Five Chevies were mounted to the floor of the trunk. The trunk floor rusted out and released its grip on the shocks, which would then bang against the frame on a rough road. That worked out so well that Buick decided to mount the master cylinder directly to the floor boards in 1959. After the rust built up, you would stomp on the brake pedal, which would go all the way to the pavement.....

My dad bought a new '61 impala in red with white accents. The interior was red with red vinyl and redand black weave pattern insets. At the time, I thought it was a step down from his '57 Buick.

It was several steps down from a Buick. What model '57 Buick did he have?

I believe it was a Roadmaster. He had traded a '53 Buick in on it. That was the first car I can remember.

My grandfather had a 1961 Bel Air 4-door sedan, 6 cylinder / Powerglide. It was very trouble free and stayed in the family into the late 1970s.

I remember how wide and spacious the floors were. Now I understand that is because of the notorious X-frame design.

Dad had a '61 Biscayne four-door sedan, tan with blackwall tires and moonie hubcaps. Six with three-on-the-tree. He never washed it, never changed the oil, traded it on a '63 just like it. I'm sure all dad's traded-in cars went straight to the junkyard.

I'd bet a lot of folks back then would be flabbergasted to see how long we hang onto our cars and trucks now.

Dad could trade cars every two years for $100 "boot". Cash plus trade. This was a cheap "Shevallay", but, still, you couldn't perform much maintenance, even back then, for $100 for two years. You have to change the oil and do a grease job every 1000 miles. Now cars go sometimes 15,000 miles between oil changes. Gravel roads and road salt took their toll on bodies. Dad used his like a truck. The back seat in dad's traded in cars was like new. He took the back seat out so he could haul his hog feed and not get it wet. He would load the trunk and back seat to the roof. He put Kelly-Springfield mud and snow tires on the rear and used it like a truck. The only options he wanted were radio and heater. He'd go in to Mr. Hare and do the deal. He bought cars there for probably 40 years. His last new Chevy was a '67.