Impala SS Hall of Fame

Legend had it that his next door neighbor had a hot rodded 1991 Caprice station wagon that was lowered, had blacked out bright work and some wider tires on fancy chrome wheels. Actually, Rob Powers of Bloomfield Hills, MI was often seen commuting in the other direction from Jon's own commute and they finally met. Powers' car was hard not to notice and after some spit balling and brain storming meetings at Chevrolet, Rob and his car were invited in for lunch and gave Jim Perkins the General Manager of Chevrolet at the time, a ride he would never forget. While the other Jon, Moss, would go on to be tasked with making sure the LT1 engine power being made was applied to the ground for that unmistakable seat of the pants performance, Jon Albert and his team made sure the interior was befitting of the SS badge. We are all very happy he was one of the fathers of a great success instead of being saddled with the blame for a sad orphan.

In GM's case more than a few were part of the The GM North American Heritage Collection that has had through the years between 300 and 500 vehicles of various marques, models and pedigree. Some are straight up concept cars while others were assembled from various parts like Frankenstein's Monster and abused as part of a research program but have some automotive historical significance. Instead of being crushed outright, they are put on display in Sterling Heights, MI at the Heritage Center. To make matters more confusing, they also have a Heritage Fleet and in 2009 about 200 of those close to 1,000 cars were taken to the Barrett-Jackson auction is Scottsdale, AZ as part of normal housekeeping and collection turn over. You can read Jalopnik's write up of the sale of the only factory 6-speed T56 1994 Impala SS (VIN = 1G1BN52P4RR100024) read the AutoWeek article on the auction or watch this video. A check of the VIN shows it is earlier in the known production run of 1994 Impala SS' that were between 101891 to 199759 (nonconsecutive).

The ongoing East Coast vs. West Coast hip hop beef heated up with the shooting death of Tupac Shakur while he was riding in a BMW with Death Row chief Marion "Suge" Knight after leaving a Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas on September 7th, 1996. One intriguing theory was that Biggie was killed by gang members in cahoots with "rogue members of the Los Angeles police department". Investigators point to corrupt LAPD officer David Mack who was among other things, a body guard for Suge Knight when he was off duty as a police officer at the Rampart Division's C.R.A.S.H. (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) unit. Later, police seized an Impala SS owned by Dwayne Keith “Keefee D” Davis after a drug raid. We may never know exactly which Impala SS was used in the hit on Biggie but it's an odd historic fact that it is either still out there being driven around or was junked as an incriminating piece of evidence.

For Perkins, being in the right place at the right time paid off in many ways, including him and a small, dedicated team to help the general public be able to enjoy one of the best cars of the 1990s. He passed away on December 28th, 2018, in Charlotte, NC at the age of 83.

An experiment in “What if?” from GM. Since 1959, Chevrolet had a vehicle that was half car and half pick-up truck that made a new type, the coupe utility. The best of both worlds and a way to sell more cars with another option package. The top photo even includes a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. First made in response to the Ford Ranchero, after the first two years the El Camino returned in 1964 based on the Chevelle model. This unique 1995 custom one-off concept built by Wheel to Wheel for GM was based on the LT1 powered full-size Caprice station wagon using the grille of a 1994–96 Impala SS. Once destined for production, it was canceled when GM decided to discontinue the B-body platform at the end of 1996.

VIN # 1G1BN52P1RR101891 has survived all these years and is still out there somewhere. The relative and symbolic importance of the “first” or “last” of anything collectible is hard to gauge and quantify. Word on the street is that it is being well taken care of in a car museum and a Carfax report shows it has never been sold or registered.

Hailing from the Indianapolis Indiana area, Chino was a fixture in the Impala SS scene and was instrumental in both the formation of the Impala SS Club of America as a founding Director from the Indipala SS Club. He also served as the ISSCA Treasurer and as photographer for the Impala SScene magazine. He was a professional photographer by trade and the car hobby provided a fertile hunting ground for his documenting of the people and cars in it. He passed away too soon at the age of 48 on July, 2, 2011. His memory lives on in The Spirit of ISSCA/Chino Barreto Award, the people's choice honor bestowed upon a lucky participant of the annual ISSCA Nationals car show and racing convention. Among his cars he was the proud owner of “Bricky”, a replica of one of the three 1995 Brickyard 400 “Pace Cars” (aka Special Track Vehicle) as the actual pace vehicles for that race that year were White Chevy C/K 1500 pick up trucks. There was also a DGGM “One of one Brickyard 400 Impala SS Pace Cars GM sanctioned certified replica” according to the Mecum car auction catalog for the 2009 Indianapolis sale (Lot F102). From Chino’s printed obituary, "In the future, let no tears come to your eyes, but yet a smile."

Pinky passed away on January 9th, 2022.

Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. was a NASCAR driver of some skill, and allegedly a runner of moonshine that helped him hone his fast driving prowess. He was immortalized in the 1973 film, The Last American Hero, which based the character of “Junior Jackson” on him and was played by Jeff Bridges. The script was adapted from a short story by Tom Wolfe that appeared in Esquire magazine in 1965. The real life Junior piloted a very fast 1963 Impala SS equipped with a rare 427 ci Mk II engine of which it is said only 50 were built and some account have that as low as 18 units. Chevrolet stopped their factory race support and owners of the rare engines were left to fend for themselves. The elusive “Mystery Motor” name came about as its performance eclipsed many that year since it recorded seven wins, nine pole positions, 13 top 5 finishes, and 14 top 10s all in the 33 races in the 1963 season. In 1964 Chevrolet got back into racing and with the new Mk IV 427, the 650 hp Mk II was ineligible in NASCAR which reduced Johnson’s wins to less than half. In 2012 the famous race car was up for sale by RK Motors based in Charlotte, NC as the original motor was found literally in a barn prior to its freshening up to “as raced” condition, dents, scuffs and period correct decals making this time capsule a unique rarity.

Many of us might imagine what it would be like to be out on the Bonneville Utah salt flats running top speed both ways to set a record but John Madeley of St. Charles, IL actually did it, a few times. He campaigned the #864 in the AA/GALT and C/FALT classes going 189.11864 mph in 2004 and 203.255 mph in 2006. All with a naturally aspirated 572 ci fuel-injected Dart big block motor making 700 hp. As there's “no replacement for displacement” this monster breathes fire out on the salt. John was also an avid drag racer, participated in the 2000 and 2002 Michelin One Lap of America and the 2001 GoldRush Challenge road race. RIP John.

I of 5. Low number cars reign in the car collector world, and the rarer the better. In 1965 you could go into a car dealership like Gray Chevrolet in Tannersville, PA near where Harry lived in Mount Pocono and custom order a car or just buy one off the lot as many did. Manufacturers had assisted dealers by offering up as many possible options as one could imagine and that led to some odd ducks rolling off the assembly lines. This restrained example features the 396 ci, 425 hp Turbo-Jet V8 with the close-ratio Muncie M21 4-speed transmission mated to a tall 4.11:1 Positraction rear end. This car also had a paint matching white top, red interior, tinted glass, padded dash, power brakes, power steering, “Comfort-Tilt” steering wheel and a push button AM radio. As noted in Russo & Steele's 17th Annual (2017) Scottsdale Arizona car auction catalog for lot #8289, “The second owner was Harry’s son John Stegner who owned the car until 2004 when he sold it to Impala collector Warren West of Olympia, WA... until 2016 when the current owner bought it. It has 84,000 original miles”, VIN# 166675Y201165 is a sweet ride any way you look at it.

Ordered new in 1968 from Funston Chevrolet in Detroit, MI, the dealership was familiar with high-performance big-block cars and the Central Office Production Order (COPO) system GM ran at the time. This fleet ordering office was used as a “back door”  to make it possible for savvy dealerships to special order muscle cars with factory race engines ordered as service parts and allegedly installed at the dealerships (or at the factory depending on who you asked). The RPO Z24 option code included a blacked out front grill, front disc brakes, 15” wheels with Firestone Wide Oval G70 tires and the massive 427 ci engine. Turned out that conveniently across the street was a small company called "The Pit Stop" where Funston Chevy General Sales Manager Bob Hirsch and Performance Sales Manager Joe Clark had a special performance shop ready to help with any needed improvements. Bob's car was ordered with the L36 390 hp engine with an equal number of horse power and an amazing 470 ft. lbs. of metal flexing torque, a Turbo 400 3 speed automatic trans backed up with a 12 bolt 3.07:1 rear gear. Bob's order sheet also checked off the AM-FM radio, black vinyl roof and power steering option codes. As the story goes, Bob being under 21 years of age and needing to borrow much of the $3,700+ price tag, he had his dear mother sign the loan paperwork so, technically and legally for a few years the car was hers. Time flew by and the car was relegated to the back of the garage where it sat until Bob pulled out all the stops for a restoration in 2007 that included an upgrade to a 3.73:1 rear gear. This amazing survivor one-owner car appeared in the June, 2017 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines magazine. 

While not a Super Sport (the option was first offered on the Impala in 1961) this car was featured in the George Lucas/Francis Ford Coppola film American graffiti in 1973, the first Impala was a top of the line option on the Bel-Air. The white movie car was driven by actor Ron Howard in the film and is borrowed by his friend, stolen, recovered and has become a lasting part of American auto movie history alongside the yellow Deuce Coupe. After filming the car was sold by LucasFilms for $285 to a young man who would enlist in the Marine Corp and store it in his parent’s garage until 2004. In 2015 the car was to be auctioned off at the Profiles in History sale as lot# 1531 for an estimated $800,000 to $1,200,000. Fate would intervene when famed NASCAR team crew chief Ray Evernham negotiated a private sale. Motive power for the car had been contentious as in the film it is described as being a a 327 Chevy V8 with 6 Stromberg carbs. The car as bought from LucasFilms had a 348 which was replaced with a 283 ci sporting a standard four-barrel carb. Evernham restored the car in grand fashion and it was unveiled at the 2016 SEMA show much to the appreciation of car and movie fans around the world. When Jon Moss attended the inaugural GM Nationals at the Carlisle PA fairgrounds in 2001 and was asked to give an award in his name, he chose a `58 Impala as his favorite at the show.

“In the late ’90s the local Friday night spot was in Bellmore, Long Island…” his story begins when he saw the automotive equivalent of the Great White Whale, and in September of 2000 he bought the car and set about turning he stock street cruiser into something more, a lot more. An NHRA-certified chrome-moly 10 point roll cage was installed by T&W Welding & Fabrication in Deer Park, New York, a 9” rear with 4.88:1 gears from Montana Brothers Race Cars in Port Jefferson, American Racing Torq Thrust D aluminum wheels wrapped with Mickey Thompson DOT-approved tires over Wilwood disc brakes in front were just the beginning. Under the hood is 434 ci “small block” courtesy of B&B Machine Shop of Oceanside and JA Performance of Lynbrook. You can almost hear the car whisper, “We don’t care how they do it in California.” A dyno run showed “only” 600 hp and 526 ft. lbs. of torque so why not add on some nitrous to make 834 at 5,700 rpm and 777 ft. lbs. at 5,600! Good for 10.53 seconds at 129 mph all engine and 10.12 at 140+ mph on the bottle, all using DOT tires and pump gas. 

Winning a NASCAR Championship is a big deal. Winning four in a row is pretty amazing. He won his first in 2006 and won Driver of the Year as well. Chevy set a record in 2007 (the first year of the new Impala SS race car) with 26 wins in a 36 race season which is a modern era record in NASCAR. The records James Keith “Jimmie” Johnson has set go on and on… “Johnson became the first rookie in the Cup series to sweep both races at a track when he won both races at the Dover International Speedway. He became the first rookie ever to lead in the point standings. In addition, Johnson is the only driver to finish in the top five in the standings in his first five full seasons.” Race fans will say “It’s the driver, not the car that wins races.” But, it sure helps to have a great car! Some will also say the race cars they drive in NASCAR aren’t really much like the production cars they are named for, in this case a four-door sedan with a 5.3 liter V8 making 303 hp. The “Car of Tomorrow” replaced the Monte Carlo SS on the track and ran an R07 358 ci small-block V8. Johnson had approximately 18 cars at his disposal when the 2007 season began, Chassis No. 48-520 would make a fine addition to the Impala SS Hall of Fame Museum.