1965 Chevrolet Impala SS

In 1978 I had a crazy idea that I would like to build a stock car. I had some spare parts but no car. My once brother-in-law Randy Vickhammer said I will give you a car without a title that was his late fathers car and it would make a great claimer stock car. A claimer stock car could be purchased by anyone for $300 so keeping the cost down was important.

BTW: This is not pictures of my car but the one I had was just as nice!!

I took look and I found a very nice yellow 1965 Chevrolet Impala SS with black interior, bucket seats, 327CID, automatic. Maybe a scratch or two but almost perfect condition.

I threw a battery in the car and it started and ran. I drove it 15 miles home and wow did the motor pump out blue smoke.

Now the work began!! Pulled the motor and started to rebuild it. There was a slight score in 1 cylinder and a slight taper but nothing serious. Ordered a speed-o-motive overhaul kit for $80which included timing gears and oil pump. Cleaned up the ridge and slapped the lower end together. I had high performance rebuild heads and a holly 4 barrel carb.

I had a flywheel, clutch, pressure plate and 3 speed manual transmission that were installed. I had a set of 3.55 gears. I was ready to go!! Well not quite. I removed all the glass, interior, door and window controls, heater core and hoses, most of the dash wiring, designed and installed a clutch peddle, head lights and tail lights. I was missing one thing which was the roll bars.

My brother Jon was not interested in my project to build a stock car but when I asked if I could buy some of the pipe he had in a pile he jumped in and fabricated and installed a roll cage and said that would be his donation.

I found a tow bar and pulled the claimer stockcar behind my 1977 Chevy 4×4. My first race I offered Jon to drive my stockcar and he did and he only allowed me ever to drive it in one other race. Which I got a first place by the way.

The following spring for economic reasons I sold my pickup and could not tow the stockcar anymore so I told Jon that I had an opportunity to sell the stock car and I was going to pull the motor and transmission. Jon lost it and said if I sold the car he wanted his roll cage back. (He previously said the roll cage was a donation and he he always drove my car!) Jon threatened me and said he was going to cut the roof off the car and remove the roll cage.

I threw up my hands and let Jon have his way. I was out of the stock car business. I look back and getting away from stock cars was the best thing I could have done. Money down a rat hole is what comes to mind. This was not the last time the Jon unjustly took finical advantage of me

Without my 4X4 to tow the stock car I fabricated a way for Jon to haul the car on a 1-ton truck and after that Jon towed with he 1984 s-10 4×4 pickup. BTW: I had to rebuild Jon’s s-10 4×4 transmission in 1987.