chance to buy back my grandfathers car 45 years after he bought it new

I talked to my mother the other day, and she told me that an old childhood friend of the family had called her to say that he was taking the car he bought from my grandfather back around 1978 out of storage and putting it up for sale.

He wanted someone in the family to get first crack at it before offering it to the general public. Definitely a nice thing to do - he always was a nice guy.

Now I'm wondering if I should go for it.

I just found out the other day, so I don't have all the details yet, but this is what I remember;

It was a 1968 Chevy Impala - 2 dr sedan. Exterior was kind of a pale yellow with a black vinyl top.

I definitely remember the interior being all black. I can remember the big black seats flopping forward to crawl in the back seat as a little kid. The way I remember it, the front seat was a split bench.

I think the engine was a 283, but may have been a 327. I kind of remember my friend being most interested in the car because of the 327, but I may be mistaken.

My friends pride and joy is a 1965 Chevy Nova 2 -dr sedan, but I think this impala was his no. 2. And, Im sure he has taken good care of it.

I doubt if he ever drove it in winter so it probably has never seen salt. When my gransfather owned it (68-78) they were spending summers in NH and winters in FL, so it definitely didn't see salt during his tenure.

Anbody have any idea what this car would be worth in good shape? I suspect its probably in good shape since the owner is kind of a car nut.

I'll find out in the next few days what condition its in and maybe what he wants for it.

I'm tempted to go for it just for sentimental reasons.

Would be kind of cool to drive it down to FL over the same route my grandfather would have taken so many years ago. Maybe stop at a couple of the tourist traps from thet era that are still around, knowing that the car probably made the same stops around 45 years ago.

Also, I could drive it over to Kennedy Space Center, knowing that its the very same care we used to rumble over to what was then Cape Canaveral 40+ years ago.

If I dug around a bit, I could probably find some old photos of the car in some of the tacky Florida landmarks that still exist today - Like Gatorland or Reptile World and take some then and now shots.

Might be pretty cool.

 

If it were the car my grandfather had just prior to this one - I believe it was a 62 Buick LeSabre two-door convertible - I'd be all over it.

That was a cool car - what I remember most was the color was some kind of lavender.

Does anyone else remember any GM products in sime kind of pale lavender color in that era ? I've never seen it since. I remember it being very metallic looking.

 

That's a rare opportunity. Great car, too. Hope it works out so you can get it.

 

Certainly could be a neat car to drive around it. One thing - if it's an Impala, it's probably a 2-door hardtop (no post), not a sedan. Could be one of two different roof lines.
Either fastback:


or formal:

 

That's it!

The Formal looks exactly like it - even the same color

 

I need to learn the definitions of what makes a sedan, a coupe, a hardtop etc. I always thought anything tha wasnt a wagon or a truck was a sedan. Shows you how little I know.

 

The other thing that would be kind of weird about the whole thing is that my grandfather bought the car new in Melbourne Florida which is about 10 miles from where I now live. The car would be coming home if I were to get it.

 

It's not always straightforward.

A hardtop is easy. It's a car, either two or four-door, without a center pillar between the front and rear windows on each side. It's supposed to mimic the look of a convertible with the top up, and that's where the name comes from. It's a hardtop...convertible.

A coupe is generally a two-door car whereas a sedan is a four-door car. But I have seen cars with two-doors referred to as sedans if there is a pillar between the front and rear windows. Also, sedan sometimes simply means a closed car, which is consistent with the definition you have used.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sedan


Two-door hardtop, also often called a hardtop coupe:





Four-door hardtop, also often called a hardtop sedan:






Here's a two-door coupe with a center pillar, also often called a "post" coupe. In some instances, this car might be referred to as a two-door sedan, although I rarely see this.




Here's a four-door sedan. Note the center pillar. This is pretty much the style of any four-door car sold nowadays. I don't know of any manufacturer making four-door hardtops, or even two-door hardtops, for that matter.

 

Good luck on this once in a life time opportunity. I have no idea what I would do. I suppose it all depends on if I had room for it and the car was in nice driveable condition. I'm sure I'd buy it and sell something else or store it elsewhere if it were a turnkey driver.:confused:

 

The Old Cars Price Guide puts the value of a '68 Impala two-door hardtop in "car show" but not showroom condition (#3 on their scale) at around $9500. In #4 condition (runs and drives but needs complete restoration), the value shown is about $4,000.

If you're right about the current being a car nut and thus likely having the car in good condition, it's probably closer to or (at #3) than it is to #4. Post some photos of it if you decide to go for it.

 

The only year that GM offered a car in the color that you describe is 1965. It was called Evening Orchard.

 

How exciting, good luck with your decision.

 

very cool !!
it would be a great heirloom to have

 

1961 and '62 Oldsmobile had a metallic lavender called Heather Mist Metallic. The 1965 version is a good addition to all the GM lines.