1958 Chevrolet Chevy Impala All Original 37k Original Miles With Factory Level Air Suspension Air Ride Power Steering Power Brakes Like New Original Bill Of Sale
I'm 13 and i have a appreciation for the older cars. It shows that now they don't care about car design anymore, back then they cared about it and they were meant to last!
People born after the 60s do not know the joy you felt when finally, the radios tubes warmed up and the #1 song in the country was playing on the car radio.
I am in awe. I was 7 in 58 and remember these cars well but not one with all these amazing bells and whistles! Congratulations to this gentleman for keeping this car as stock and original as possible.
I was 6 in 58. My uncle had a 58 Roadmaster. I remember riding in the back seat at night falling asleep. My uncle smoked good cigars and I loved the smell even as a young boy. I thought it was magic.
My Dad bought a brand new 1957 Chevrolet Bel Aire 4 door sedan with a 283 cubic inch V-8. Oh how I loved it. Then, next year, they came out with the 1958 Chevys and I fell in love wit that model. AND THEN, in 1959, they came out with yet another NEW style Chevrolet, and I loved it even more! How could they just keep doin' this to me!
I bought a new 58 Impala in 1957 from the Chevy dealer in Van Nuys, Calif I took delivery 2 days before the first showing. It had the air suspension feature which made it sit lower to the ground than the spring model. It was too beautiful to pass up so I traded in my 54 Belair (bought from the same dealer.) I first saw the impala in a warehouse because it was two days from the showing. I like to think I owned the very first Impala delivered., as the GM assembly plant was also in Van Nuys. I was 21 years old and in the Air Force, stationed in Riverside Calif which meant I came home several time a month. The car was a real eye-catcher. People stopped me all the time and stared it was so ahead of it's time. Then the trouble started. 1, 2 or all 4 air bags would lose air while driving. It looked very strange driving with the left side of the car on the ground and the right in it's normal position. Every time I came home from the AF base I went to the dealer. They would work on it for a couple of days, but it would happen again and again. After a few months of this, the general mgr at the dealership said they would give me all my money back, I just had to choose another Chevy They could not fix the problem. This is of course before the recall. (I just learned there had been a recall watching your show with the yellow impala.) I told them what could I get in place of my 58 since I had the top of the line model, and they weren't offering the exchange to springs and I never even thought that possible. So the end of this story is the dealer said how about a Corvette instead, and I ended up with a new '58 red Corvettle which gave me great joy for several years. Sorry to be so lengthy, and by the way, I never would have considered skirts on the Impala.
Pollard-Ravenscroft Chevrolet on Van Nuys Blvd. We bought all our Chevys there. In ‘59 our salesman gave me a ride in a new ‘59 ‘Vette up and down Van Nuys. We bought a new ‘58 Impala right after their roll-out and then parked it out in front of Bob’s Big Boy. You should have seen all the rubber-necking at that car. I still like the ‘58s and bought my first one in ‘66 for $300 and kept it till it was stolen in ‘ 73. You don’t expect to own a Chevy in L.A. for very long before someone liberated from you! In my case mine was stolen in Hollywood while I was watching “Grease” at the Pantages!
@J.P.SeeburgEandKTSpecial wow! That's a step back in time. I gotta say, I've been to L.A. a couple of times, and I do really like it out there. However, I could never give up my country living for that city life 24-7. Thank you very much for watching and commenting! I appreciate it.
I owned a beautiful 58 Chevy Delray 2 door for years. My ex sold it years ago but the memories..... Well, It really was a great car to own and drive back in the 1980's. Love the 58 Chevy body style. I own a 89 Chevy Cheyenne 1 ton now. So easy to work on and maintain, even though it rarely has problems.
I was born in 1958 and this is my all-time favorite car made by G.M....Thanks to you Tony for showcasing it in this video and thanks to Art for allowing you to show it off.
I used to own a 58 deray .I lost the car In a divorce.she parted the car out to hurt me .I offered her 5 thousand dollars.i think she made 4 hundred dollars. The 58 Impala is magnificent !
there was no need for remote mirrors back then, because when you got gas at the gas station, the attendant would not only pump your gas, top off fluids, add air to your tires, but he would also adjust The mirrors while you sat in the car - hard to imagine that today
Great car and beautiful yellow/ green color combination. Something you’d never see today. Also love how the “Level-Air” badging on the trunk. I knew GM offered air ride on certain Caddy’s of that era but didn’t know it was an option on the early Impala’s. Thanks for the cool post!
For years I have been watching the late 50's Chev's! I have a 59 myself! Of all I have seen over the years this 58 top's them all! I would give my left Nail for this Beauty! Oh! Yeah! And my first born too! lol 👍🏽
Then cave in and buy a Cadillac Brougham D’Elegance is my idea. 58 is a long fav of mine , too but the chassis X frame was a design flaw . I remember in 58 you coukd get three due CES, two fours, too 348 cid , power windows, AC OS PB great interior colors. Neighbor had three at their house with two adult kids and the parents : Impala, a BelAir and a greenish DelRay too. I practically lived there
@@tonyscarcare5657 The 58 Chevy is a beautiful car but it never received iconic status because it was overshadowed by the 57 Chevy but now they are coming into their own. I love the 58 Thunderbirds and the 58 Turnpike Cruiser not to mention all the 58 Chrysler letter cars.
They say the DeLorean will take you back in time to 1955 but this car will take you back in time to 1958. Beautiful car. Even the back seat was luxury.
Congratulations on owning an original “1958 Chevrolet Absolute Masterpiece!” I would absolutely love to be able to have one of these absolute beauties, but I don’t have the proper needed place to keep it! They definitely don’t make them like that anymore! What an absolute rolling gem!
My aunt had one of these in the late 50’s with the air ride. My dad hated the air ride. In his opinion it required too much maintenance . My cousin who had a new MG always wanted to borrow her car to go on dates. Her car had an interesting option. There was a square plate below the heater controls with a hole in the back. You could put your cigarette butt in it and the engine vacuum would suck it into a glass jar in the engine compartment.
I remember the manual mirrors on my parent’s 66 Dodge Monaco. Someone always had to stand outside and move the mirror “Just a little bit to the left!” That Impala is a real beauty!
That’s a beauty. My dad had a brand new 58 ‘ convertible with that same green interior . But had a dark green exterior . And in high school I had a green 58’ two door hard top all green . I think I had it until I went into the Navy .
Tony, a (sort of) grandfather of mine had a 1958 dark blue Chevy Delray 4-door sedan. I remember that car well, as well as the dark green 1952 Chevrolet DeLuxe before it! Art is a neat guy, and he's got a beautiful car.
I saw that Cameo of Art's other cars, and look forward to seeing them in more detail! They evoked no personal memories, but the Mopars hold a particular charm for me.
The 1958 Chevy Impala was the best car ever made. A lot of people hated it because of the styling, so people would not buy it and complained to Chevy that it was ugly and hoped to see a different car the following year. I just find gorgeous. I wish I had one.
The '58 was a gorgeous car in its own right to make that clear up front regardless of anything else. It definitely was the mos beautiful of all of GM's '58s. The use of chrome on the '58 was tasteful and restrained too compared to any of the other GM's. And why is it that people (even to this day) bitch about the '58, but never a word---never a word about the Pontiac??!
What 'things' specifically, Aaron? The '58 Impala? It has a name. Also 'way better than anything now' isn't much of a compliment in a world of SUV's and crossovers, etc. at all.
You're absolutely right. the 58 is a much better looking car than the 57. I never understood the fascination with the 57. This is a beautiful car and it didn't get the attention it deserved. I'm glad to know about the air ride suspension, I'd never heard of it on this car before.
The 57 Chevrolet is by far a better looking and built car ..the 58 had an hour glass frame. Back in the late 50's I saw a 57 Chevy t-bone a 58 Chevrolet it knocked the 58 on its side you could see the 58 frame. I like both but the 57 alot more.
@@williamgmunson3146 The Turboglide was available from 57 to 61. In 62 it was replaced by the Powerglide,which was changed from a cast iron case to aluminum. That same year the 348 was replaced by the new 327.
I bought my first used car, a 1953 chevy for $15 and eventually bought my light blue 58 chevy impala. 348, twin pipes, two door hard top before buying my 64 chevy impala low rider with chrome rims and baby moons. I wish i had foreseen the future and kept them all.
I appreciate and absolutely love this 1958 Chevy impala one of my all time favorite cars from GM I can’t wait to see the rest of arts classic car collection I didn’t know that Chevy had put the air ride option in these cars I thought it was just for the Cadillacs in those days I didn’t know Chevy did it to but that’s cool awesome beautiful car I love it thank you for letting us all see it I hope and can’t wait to see more from ya and art thank you:-)
the 58 chevy has always been my favorite from that era. My grandfather gave me a 58 Ford when I was 16 and although I liked the chevy better, I really did like the ford. I wish I had it today. I would think it could go for north of $150k today.
I never knew that the 1958 Chevrolets had the option of an air ride suspension. It seems like it's only a matter of time that they go bad. My current daily driver is a 2002 Lincoln Town Car that I bought in 2007. It came with the rear air ride suspension, but it went out in 2015, and I had it replaced with coil springs. I had to drive it six miles to the mechanic with the rear end sagging, and it was the most bumpy ride I ever had! 😢😢 Art sure has a beautiful car.
I wish more of these stock original cars of the 50's 60's 70's and 80's would be kept in their original state. Some of us like things the way they were meant to be at that time.
What a fantastic Impala! I wonder if the dealer while optioning the car, forgot power windows. It seems to have everything else. Art should lose the skirts, though. They just don’t match and don’t add anything. I thought that with the 348, there would be flags instead of a bow tie on the hood above the V badge. I guess that must have started in 1959. What an interesting guy and he has a diverse collection. Looking forward to getting a closer look at some of them.
Fender skirts are a matter of preference. If you don't prefer them, don't put them on your car. If someone else has them, it's not any concern of yours. Just don't look at them. The color match could be better.
@@ramblerdave1339 You’re right, they are a matter of preference. Reread my post. I said they don’t match meaning they add nothing to this car. They were popular in the 50s and lots of people liked them. A bad color match, as on this example, just doesn’t look good.
Absolutely, Gordon. Unfortunately they were an "option" back then. Still, it's (still) not as bad as the continental kit or the fender skirts. Hate those with a passion. Less IS more!
Wow! Simply gorgeous '58 Impala! What a stunning survivor. Love the color scheme. The only issue I see is the paint on the skirts - the yellow color could be matched so much better than what's on them now! Thank you, Tony, and Art for sharing this gem with us.
@barrysmith9407 as you can see in the comments, everyone has him talked into taking them off and we'll do another video on it. You also have to keep in mind that they were extremely popular in the 50s when Art was young.
If this '58 was mine, yes, I'd absolutely lose the skirts! The paint color is way off and the car would look far better without them! They were not original to the car anyway.
My dad got a new Impala in the fall of `57 at Martin Chevrolet in Canton,Missouri. His was Tropic Turquoise with a white top and had the 348, Turboglide, and Level Air just like this car has. It had the fender mounted mirrors too, but i think they were closer to the windshield on dad`s car. He had problems early on with the air suspension as it would raise the car on one side and lower it on the other, and also had to have the transmission torn down and have a upgrade kit installed,but both were fixed by the dealer under warranty. The engine never had any problems except for a water pump that started to leak after it had over 100,000 miles on it, which my dad kept and is still hanging on his garage wall! He also put clear plastic covers on the seats so the upholstery stayed perfectly clean. It had 130,000 miles on it and still looked great when he traded it in on a new `65 Impala SS from Ferrell Chevrolet in Augusta,Illinois.
@@tonyscarcare5657 Thank you for finding this incredible car! I would love to get Art and my dad together so they could share stories! I forgot to mention that he still has a can of Lucite acrylic lacquer paint that he used to repair rust that was on top of the fenders above the headlights,alot of those cars rusted there. He also has the dealer invoice and it looks exactly like Art`s, showing the cost of all the options and what he got for his trade in car,which was a `55 Bel Air hardtop with the 265 V-8.
@@tonyscarcare5657 Dad lives near Quincy,Ill which is about 3 hrs. away from Art! I belong to the Vintage Chevy Club and in the April 2022 issue of our magazine there is a article about a `58 Biscayne with Level Air that has 458,000 miles on it and it still works and the owner still takes it on trips! The only other car i ever saw with this was a `58 Pontiac Bonneville,and the owner said it still worked perfectly.
I remember my 58 Chevy Biscayne which was black and white. And the radio had a distinct hum because there was a vibrator that generated the alternating current to step up the voltage to operate the vacuum tubes inside of it.
@@tonyscarcare5657 I'm a little older, was 10 when the 58's came out. Remember air ride was offered on Ford's top line cars. Never heard of anyone that ordered one that way. My dad's cousin had a '58 Ford Sunliner, hardtop convertible. It was converted to run on propane.
I believe "Turbo Thrust" was the name of that engine...the W series V-8. A $59.20 upcharge, possibly the price above and beyond the standard small block that would typically be found in most Impalas. An amazing car, and especially the air ride suspension. The best thing of all of course is the originality!
Now thats a car I would love to own, but there's so many others with deeper pockets than I. And of course i'm sure there's some nearby or neighbors who'll be all over Arts classic cars. I would love it to sit next to my 69 Impala I bought as a senor in 1972 after working at a Gulf gas station and an insurance co as a stock boy. My 69 impala just barely hit 52k original miles.
Chevy's "Turboglide" was a Buick 'Dynaflow,' a variable ratio torque converter XMSN bolted ahead of a modified Chevy 2-speed Powerglide. Tube-type radios of the day (playing Donna Summer disco, no less!) had to warm up before they would play. No instant-on. Ignition key was called "thieves' delight" since many folks never bothered to use key in daily use. Steering was recirculating ball and nut, not rank and pinion; the hydraulic servo you see is mounted to the tie rod.
I work at Chevrolet , Pontiac and Cadillac … Some Caddy’s used Oldsmobile engines back in the day and Chevy used Buick engines in some pick ups … Anyway I had never seen a Chev with Air Ride Suspension . Someone convinced that lady to get all those extras to get a bigger commission . That air compressor is as big as an A/C compressor . Bet it takes 20 HP off the engine 😅😅
This is an amazing automobile! I love the one-year-only body style of the 1958 Chevrolets. I am amazed that it still has the air suspension and that he has maintained it in excellent working condition! I also want to say what a number of others have said about the fender skirts; they have got to go!! I deplore aftermarket skirts being added to cars that didn't have them when new. It ruins the rear quarter's looks and makes it look way too heavy-handed. If I owned this extraordinary example, those skirts would be coming off immediately and taken out to an overgrown field, far out in a rural area, and thrown into said field as far as I could throw them!! LOL!! On a lighter note, I am very much looking forward to seeing the other autos in this Gentleman's diverse collection. Thanks for all of your great videos!!
You're welcome, and thank you very much for watching! Definitely stay tuned because I think you guys have him talked into removing them if we ever get a break from this heat of Satan!
@@tonyscarcare5657 Sorry, but they gotta go! This perfectly preserved gem deserves to be seen as it was in 1958. Plus, they aren't even the right color.
That's one beautiful Impala... It's always been funny to me, how people would order certain options and not others that would seem logical. I know that my grandparents bought a brand new 56 Chrysler... Crazy three-tone paint in pink, purple and white. Air Conditioning, power seat, deluxe radio... THE WORKS. Except for power windows... Why? Because my grandmother was convinced that they'd drive off the road into a pond and drown because they'd never get out of the car if the windows shorted out.🙄 Something else that comes to mind is that if I lived closer, I'd paint match those fender skirts for free.... They're driving me crazy not matching 🤣 Oh! I wanna know what's PINK in the garage that's attached to the house!
@@davidvogel6359 possibly... But the doors on a leaky Fifties hardtop would easily open, even in 150 feet of water... Of course, she was also against my brothers, cousins and friends and I making funny faces at each other.... Why? Because she was also convinced that "someone could come up behind you and hit you... And you're face MIGHT STAY THAT WAY! Yeah... She was"one of those ".🤣
My gave his ‘56 after he bought a ‘66 TORONADO (great dating car-no hump! LOL! The Chevy had factory air, power pack, power seats, power windows, wonder bar radio, padded dash, and continental kit!
I have to admit, it's styling grows on you. My first car was a 59 Impala white convertible, same 348 big block. Back in 1967, thought mine was twice as nice as 58. So sorry I crashed it and didn't realize, I should have repaired it! Drove it 50 miles back from crash site alright. Sturdy cars.
Only thing missing is factory A/C -- but WOW what an amazing example and SO rare--!! That "no shift" transmission is prpbably a variant of the twin turbine unit used in Buicks, instead of shifting gears it changed torque converter blade pitch
Air Ride Suspension in '58 !!!! Wow !!! Amazing !!! I hade Air Ride Suspension on my '78 Seville and I thought that was Amazing !!! I think Cadillac called it " Level Ride " !!
My father had this air suspension on his 58 Pontiac - had so many problems with it he traded it in for a 59 Bonneville He had to lift the car up to get the car over the bumps at the open-air theater.
Had one just like this in 1964. Light green, same dark,green interior. 348 v8, big 4 bbl carb. 348 came from a truck v8. I like the L green ext with 2 tone dark interior better. Mine sounded good, but I’d d rather have the 327v8.
Great car. My first car was a 58 chevy DelRay which was the base model. It was a 6 cyl stick. Did not have air ride. Only had coil springs and shocks. It only had a radio and a cigarette lighter. Drove it from Indiana to Ft.Lauderdale and back twice while in university. Drove it til 1973 with over 120,000 miles when it blew a rod and I traded it for a 66. It was built like a tank.
Not really. I only had one breakdown just south of Atlanta when the oil line to the filter case broke. Fortunately my friends in another car got to a shop and got a new ferule and got the line reconnected. The only other repair I did to it was replacing the generator. Great car for 8 years I had it. It was 8 years old when I bought it for $400.@@tonyscarcare5657
I believe that tube on the steering was the power steering cylinder that was basically a hydraulic cylinder driven by the power steering pump. Chevy's never had rack and pinion back then.
The reason GM would replace the air suspension if one part of it failed it would or could cause the car to go out if control. A friend of mine was driving one back in the day and suddenly the car went into a spin part of the system failed. Tubo thrust engine meant it had the 348 cu. In. Engine. Turbo glide trans was an automatic that was also problematic GM also offered to replace those with powerflide.
When I was young and growing up driving Fords with C6 transmissions, I couldn't stand getting in a Chevy with a powerglide. I was always waiting for the next and last shift that never came.
I had a white 58 Impala with the Turbo thrust engine and turboglide transmission. The Turboglide was actually a Buick Dynaflow transmission. The tranny was alright if you didn't hotrod it. I had a local transmission guru put a powerglide (out of a 57 Chevy) in it. It was a great car.
57s got all the love. I think the 58s should have some love too. That motor purrs like a kitten. It sounds like it has a valve ticking. He better get that thing out of the sun before it burns.
Wow talk about rare!! Chevys level air was the most complex and troublesome of all the GM systems what with having the leveling valves inside the airbags. Amazing it still exists today!!! I love rare options and accessories and I own a 1959 Rambler Ambassador with factory air ride. Had it 51 years now. AMC had a much simpler version of air ride using air bags only at the rear and only one leveling valve compared to Chevys four.
I had a 1958 Biscayne (bottom of the line as opposed to the Impala) when I was in college. I bought it in 1968, and it was a beater even then. Rust took a terrible toll on 1950s cars if you lived where winters were harsh. Cost me $75 and I drove it for 2 years until the transmission died.
Beautiful car I had a '64 Corvair Monza in the same color. Back in 1979 I parked it to go to a store and when I came back someone had unscrewed my drivers side mirror and stolen it. I would be afraid to park that '58 outside for fear of it getting stripped.
