(first posted 4/21/2016) Spring is in the air. Having seen vintage cars aplenty the last few days, it was also time for the Mid-Missouri Old Car Club to fire up their chariots and take a field trip. On a recent Saturday, I met up with Todd, the owner of this 1958 Impala which debuted here last fall.
Taking the Impala on our club trip to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s main garage complex wasn’t Todd’s original plan. However, as his 1953 Plymouth had a flat tire, he fired up the Impala and came by my house. The Impala itself had had two flat tires on Todd’s recent excursion to a show in Nevada (the town, not the state). Let’s just say he hasn’t been thrilled with tires the last few weeks.
Upon leaving the Patrol’s facility, where we got to see all sorts of really groovy things including a parking lot full of brand new all-wheel drive Dodge Chargers awaiting up-fitting, Todd uttered one of my favorite three word phrases: “Jason, you drive.”
No need to twist my arm.
The Impala was beckoning; as a one year wonder in this body style, she’s quite the temptress. Just don’t get rambunctious climbing in from either side; one needs to be darn cognizant of the dogleg at the corner of the windshield if you appreciate pain-free knees. However, once in the drivers seat, everything falls quickly into place.
The ignition switch is directly to the right of the steering wheel, on the dashboard. In their January 1958 review, Motor Trend knocked the location as being less than ideal, as having the gear selector in neutral prevents access to the switch. While that is likely true, I never attempted the start the car in neutral.
Todd’s Impala does not require a key; just twist the unoccupied switch and its 348 cubic inch V8 fires right up with the familiar sound of a GM starter. Giving it a little gas reminds a person there are three two-barrel carburetors on that intake manifold.
Prior to riding in Todd’s Impala last fall, I was completely unaware of the charms of a Chevrolet Powerglide transmission. At the time its shift into high gear was imperceptible. After having driven the car, the shift is still imperceptible. The only time I noticed the shift was starting down a steep hill from a stop when I heard a distant “thunk” in the background at around 20 mph; I felt nothing.
As we left the parking lot of the garage complex, I realized the steering could have been (but likely wasn’t) one of Pink Floyd’s biggest inspirations; it was wonderfully and comfortably numb. While it took a lot of turns on the wheel to navigate some minor curves in the parking lot, the steering oddly felt just right and it reminded me of 1980s era GM power steering.
Yes, I say the steering felt right despite it being about five or six turns lock-to-lock. Had I been required to take evasive maneuvers at some point my opinion may be much different.
Thinking about it, a 1974 Oldsmobile Delta 88 is the oldest car I’ve ever driven prior to 2016 that was equipped with power steering. It was a profound difference from my preconceived notions, primarily that of my 1963 Galaxie. The Impala and my Ford don’t drive anything alike.
Speaking of steering feeling just right, the seating position in the Impala is just about ideal and could best be described as business casual. It was upright, but not of the formality of a few years earlier, such as the 1955 Chevrolet I had in the late 1990s. It was also reclined, but not very much. There is a reason Chevrolet was the top selling brand for so long in this country.
Leaving the Patrol’s new garage a few miles east of Jefferson City (the old one burned down), Todd told me to romp the accelerator to feel the triple deuces under the hood. As Todd had honored me, I felt it only right to oblige him. Pulling onto US 50, I hammered the happy pedal and was rewarded with a mechanical utopia that was an intoxicating mixture of happy engine and talkative exhaust. When Motor Trend tested their 348 powered Impala in 1958, it was equipped with the three-speed Super Turbine automatic that provided a zero-to-sixty mph time of a smidgeon over 9 seconds.
I don’t know how fast I hit 60 mph, but I now understand why the Powerglide is favored by some. There was nothing but smooth, steady acceleration free of upshifts, a scaled down version of taking off in a jet where the power simply keeps coming.
My enthusiasm had to be quickly truncated as I was rapidly approaching a Ford Model A that was also on the cruise. It would have been all sorts of bad manners to have plowed over him.
After stopping at the Patrol’s museum (covered here), Todd told me to drive on back to my house. It was on this leg of our journey I got to experience the Impala in low-speed around town driving and all that comes with it.
As you might surmise, this Impala attracts attention. While not an unwelcome thing, it also brings the added delight of distracted, ogling people doing stupid crap as I’m piloting a 58 year old car that simply handles inferior to modern ones.
For instance: I was driving down a city street toward a red signal. As I was going straight, I was in the right lane; someone behind me wanted to turn left and approached my left rear. Due to Todd having had two flats a few days prior, the right front tire was his bias-ply spare while the others were radials. The bias-ply tire discovered a rut in the asphalt pavement that started to roughly relocate me in my lane. With Mr. Gawker to my left, and rapidly drifting my way for a closer look, I was concerned about smacking him.
Thankfully, that did not happen. And this Impala has the best acting four-wheel drum brakes I’ve ever experienced.
Given the preponderance of rubberneckers, this video is painfully short due to my concern about somebody doing something dumb with all the driveways on the boulevard. Shame on me for doing this, but I go to great lengths to give insightful coverage.
While there are rough spots aplenty on the city streets here in town, the Impala swallows them with only the occasional sensation making it to one’s bottom. Overall, it’s a very delightful car to drive.
Reviewing older cars is tough as there is always the temptation to compare them to newer cars. Doing so is an injustice and it misses the point. Times and automotive technology have changed so much since 1958 that any review must revolve around sensations and observations of the car as it is. It’s a variation of appreciating what you have and not worrying about anything else.
This 1958 Impala is a blast to drive, with uncommonly good power, terrific comfort, and head turning style as we received countless waves from other motorists. It is not a small car but neither is it some garage dwarfing monstrosity. Occupying that firm middle ground between nicely sized mid-1950s cars and the bloat that would soon start, the 1958 Impala sits in a happy place in automotive history. And it’s also quite talented in making its driver happy with its nice demeanor and 1950s era manners.
I suspect Todd will be keeping his Impala for many more years and it’s easy to see why.
Other CC Drive Reports:
A primary school friends parent had a 58 Chev a 283 three speed manual Bel Air the only variety assembled here, I always liked the shape and can see why they were popular new after the outdated 57 which didnt sell as well as the 56 at least here it didnt. Nice car that Impala theres a black one around locally still LHD so likely a recent import.
Bel Air 283 3 speed, what more could you need? (except perhaps overdrive)
Jason, Nice write up. I enjoy reading about cars from the 1950s and appreciating them for “what-was-then” rather than comparing them to “what-is-now”. And the concept of speed is different now than it was then. Remember when a type 1 VW Beetle could keep up with interstate traffic? (I’m now tempted to say get off my lawn, but I will not.)
I have no bad memories of bashing my knee on the dog leg windshield in my 1957 Oldsmobile. To me it was just a cool design with what I thought must have been rather complex glass making. And it made for neat vent window shapes.
The dogleg never connected with my knee, but it is prominent enough to make a person a wee bit more careful upon entry. I think that if I were in and out of such a car with regularity it would be a non-issue as I would have become accustomed to it.
Good point on the glass making; an added benefit is there was no door post to block my vision.
“There was nothing but smooth, steady acceleration free of upshifts, a scaled down version of taking off in a jet where the power simply keeps coming.”
Jason, thank you for describing something I experienced years ago, but didn’t understand.
In the late ’80s I rode several times in a friend’s ’68 Cutlass. I knew it had a two speed auto, but didn’t think to connect that with they way it just went from stopped to highway speeds so smoothly.
The “Jetaway” transmission was more sophisticated than Chevys powerglide. It had a variable pitch torque converter that allowed it to behave more like one with a higher stall when you mashed the throttle but would switch back to the normal stall during regular acceleration.
The “Super Turbine 400” (Buick speak for TH400 we are all familiar with) also had a “switch pitch” converter until the end of 1967 model year. They are somewhat sought after units in the Buick community.
The ’68 Cutlass no longer had the switch-pitch converter — the Jetaway/Super Turbine 300 dropped it after 1967.
Another experience I remember with the powerglide and Jetaway/Super Turbine 300 transmission was their characteristic whining sound in all the positions except Drive.
Brings back memories of dad’s, identical except it was the silver blue that was used in most of the promotional pictures that year, with a matching interior (identical to this car, but blue with the stripes being variants of blue rather than gold). Always felt this was one of the finest cars Chevrolet ever made, and definitely an improvement over the vastly overrated ’57.
Dad’s, of course, was a small block 283, not the 348. Whenever he ordered his cars, he would have them optioned out with whatever was the most popular options making his car (which was his company demo) the easiest to sell the following year as a used car. I don’t think he ordered a car the way HE wanted it until our ’67 Camaro RS – and even that was somewhat biased towards what would bring the most on trade in. The big sop to his kid was to go with the RS package.
The “one year only” status of the ’58s has always intrigued me, and I’ve wondered what the ’59s would have looked like, had the decision not been made to move to the B-body.
Smart move on your part, by driving with care. It amazes me how people would pull out of driveways and into the path of my older cars, assuming that they have the same braking technology of today’s vehicles.
Collectible Automobile showed some prototypes of ’59 GM’s using ’58 shell, and they were tanks.
Well, facelifted tanks anyway.
I always flash back to driving my 40+ year old ’62 Lincoln on outer Market St/Portola Dr in San Francisco. There is a long straight and then some curves, somewhat downhill, and traffic tends to go well over the speed limit. Anyone familiar with the area can probably picture the spot.
Right in the middle of the curves someone pulled out right in front of me with traffic also coming in the other direction. 5000+ pounds, downhill, drum brakes, nowhere to evade.
I barely managed to not crush him, but it’s certainly imprinted on my memory.
“Enjoyed” the comments about the brakes, I wasn’t old enough to drive my family’s 58 Brookwood but I do remember my mother often complaining about how bad the brakes in that car were. But then, we lived in the mountains of northern Pennsylvania.
Still, these cars are quite beautiful, especially compared to their 58 competition.
I haven’t owned many cars with an automatic transmission, but a few were Chevys and I agree: that the transition from low to high gear is barely perceptible. I can understand why folks continued to buy cars with Powerglide after Chevy’s competition switched to 3 speed automatic transmissions.
Interesting to read and had to be a blast to experience. I would love to drive one back to back with a 57-59 Plymouth (to freshen up my 35 year old experience with those.) I say this because I vividly remember how much I hated my roommate’s 62 Bel Air after time in my 59 Plymouth. A 348 instead of the Blue Flame 6 might have made me more kindly disposed towards it.
Chevy did indeed build a popular car, and I like these 58s more and more. The interior is stunning.
As time marches forward, there are fewer and fewer folks that can remember what driving with four corner drum brakes is all about. My formative driving years were with such beasts. There is no, ‘stop right now’ attributes from four wheel drums, it’s all about the ‘fade’. I have constant reminders when I pilot the ’56 Dodge Regent. Driving the Regent in stop and go traffic is not my happy spot.
But as you say, it’s more about appreciating what you have and enjoying it, rather than comparing apples to oranges.
In high school, I had a 1968 Plymouth Fury III with power four wheel drums. You are correct about fade, but that was at highway speeds.
In town, it was: barely touch brake pedal, brakes grab like crazy, causing front end to dive, causing front end to bounce a few times before settling out.
Our 1969 F150 also had four wheel drums with power assist, but it wasn’t as grabby at low speeds as the Plymouth was.
All cars driven in my youth had drum brakes. The only one that I remember felt inadequate (for the time) was the ’65 Impala wagon without vacuum assist. That ’58 also lacks that option, but is several hundred pounds lighter.
My only real beef with the Powerglide was the lack of a middle gear for saving the brakes on downhill grades. Low was to low to use for that. The later aluminum PG in the ’65 was not as smooth on up shifts as the ’58 was described. Super Turbine was actually called Turboglide in Chevy-speak. I think it was an aluminum cased updated Dynaflow in concept.
I’m with you on the drum brakes. Unless you live in the mountains, a good set of drum brakes does the job 95% of the time. Yes, they will fade (and fade badly) with heavy use and you need to remember to ride the pedal to dry them off if they get wet in a deep puddle, but for almost all of the kind of driving I do, they would be fine.
The only two I ever had that were deficient were the small 9 inchers on my 71 Scamp that were simply too small for the car and the mechanical binders on my 29 Model A that had really small lining area compared with modern brakes. Those two made hard fast stops quite exciting. But the rest did their jobs with little drama.
Many cars of this era have been upgraded to front disks. There are even kits available for the rear, too. A double master cylinder is also a popular upgrade.
I remember reading how Buick’s brake performance was of great concern to their engineers in the fifties as the cars grew heavier and heavier. They would fade quite quickly especially on hilly highways. They soon developed finned aluminum drums that did a great job of dissipating heat and greatly reducing fade. Buick’s drum brakes of the late fifties and early sixties were touted to be as good as competing disc brakes….In fact Buick was one of the last companies to convert to front discs in the late sixties.
yup. The aluminum drums on my 68 Electra have zero problem stopping during repeated city driving. On the freeway they work much better than normal iron equipped cars. Not like a good set of discs kind of good but somewhere in between.
Eventually I will do a conversion but its just not a priority for the type of driving I do with my car.
but I do have this crazy idea of fabricating my own body panels out of carbon fiber and turning my car into a super sleeper 2.5 ton auto cross beast………….ah dreams
A big, heavy car such as this must be a little scary if you have to do a quick stop with those four drum brakes. Still, it’s nice looking and a fine example of late ’50s American auto design.
Sounds like you scored a ride just about the polar opposite opposite of the Subaru 360. Each of the cylinders of that 348 had over twice the displacement of that 360. And you complain about entry being compromised by that dog leg windshield? 🙂
Let’s say the dogleg runs counter to any preconceived notions about unimpeded accessibility into an otherwise sizable car! Thankfully I never connected with it.
Yes, these two are quite a contrast. Two doors, four wheels, and a steering wheel are about all they have in common.
Back in the 70’s, the Tri 5’s were taking off, but the 58’s were looked down on. There’s an episode of “3’s Company” doing such to Mr. Roper’s 58.
Glad to see them appreciated and collectible, 🙂
I had a model kit of a ’58, but destroyed it. Found another one at a swap meet, and I pretend it’s the same.
That entry is not compromised, speaking as someone who has experienced the same in a Vauxhall Victor F series of about the same age.
How many speeds does the Powerglide have?
DId you take the Galaxie on the cruise – perhaps we need to ask Todd to do a review of it against the Impala and see 10 years’ progress?
For info, your spring drive was in sunshine and shorts. Over here the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC, an umbrella club of clubs) is promoting “Drive it Day” and my club (www.cdccc.org.uk) is having a spring drive. Expected temperature is 6 deg C,with rain and sleet!. However, we are British!
How many speeds does the Powerglide have?
Roger, How many dozens of articles and thousands of comments have we had on the Powerglide here? And didn’t you just write about the Ventora having an optional Powerglide a few days ago? I know as a fact you’ve asked this very question here a number of times before. Do you actually read the articles here?
I hate to give you a hard time, but maybe you could just look it up in our archives or google it. The answer to your question is here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/powerglide-gms-greatest-hit-or-deadly-sin/
There will be a quiz on the PG next Friday 🙂
“How many speeds does the Powerglide have?”
None. But it’s got two *slows*, and reverse, neutral, and Park.
No matter how much power the engine has, the car merely glides along.
Count me as another whose appreciation for the ’58 Chevy has grown. I’ve never disliked it, just overlooked it in years past. The ’58 GM cars were certainly controversial (along with practically all other ’58 cars!), but the Chevy really works for me. (And I have a secret crush on the ’58 Buick Limited).
“Times and automotive technology have changed so much since 1958 that any review must revolve around sensations and observations of the car as it is. It’s a variation of appreciating what you have and not worrying about anything else.”
As others, I’m in complete agreement. When I purchased my then 18 year old Ford Galaxie 500, I was startled by what is was like to drive the old non-power drum brakes.
There was nothing wrong with the car, it was kept in daily driver condition. After about 5 minutes of driving the car, I learned its dynamics and understood why millions of buyers annually were quite satisfied with such cars in their times. I grew to the view that a decently designed brake system does not even need power assist.
One of my favorite things about ” American Graffiti” was that the star car of the
movie was a 58 chev not a 57 I guess the 57 chevy hot rodders looked on a
big 58 as all show no go !
I loved the ’58 Chevy at the time of its introduction, when I was a small boy. Then later I thought it was too overblown, but of course not as bad as the Buick, Olds, Mercury, and Edsel of the same year. Now I’ve come around full circle.
I was able to get a little seat time in the pictured turquoise beauty, even driving it a few hundred feet!
Brings back memories of our much loved ’58 Impala convertible in silver blue, 283 with Powerglide. I was much too young to drive it, but I remember it as being fast. Of course, that might have been the way my parents and brother drove it!
Such a great read, Jason – I could almost smell the “old GM car” smell as I read this. I’ll bet your grip on that steering wheel was super-strong while in traffic. (My fingers would probably had had to be pried from the steering wheel.)
You bring up an interesting point about power steering, which many of us (self included) probably take for granted. My ’76 Malibu Classic had power steering, but the only non-power steering car I’ve ever driven was my brother’s ’85 AMC/Renault Encore – a decidedly smaller car (and with rack-and-pinion steering). I wonder how comfortable I would be driving an older car in city traffic with the ol’ Armstrong Steering.
Once you are moving, you can’t tell a tangible difference between power and non-power although the non-power would generally have better road feel. Trying to navigate a parking lot or other confined area at barely moving speeds with no power steering on a larger vehicle can be a bicep builder.
Nice article Jason.
Can’t believe nobody commented on the 100mph indicated in the interior driving pix…
Hope that wasn’t the closing speed on the Model T.
A small correction: Chevrolet never used a Super Turbine transmission (a Buick trade name from the mid-sixties). The other optional automatic on ’58 Chevrolets was Turboglide, which was a three-turbine CVT, conceptually (though not mechanically) related to the contemporary Dynaflow series.
I’m surprised to read that Todd’s ’58 had a turboglide transmission; maybe I’m mistaken but I have always understood that the turboglide was released in 1957 and quickly proved so unreliable it was dropped in the middle of the 1957 model year. I’m gradually coming to like the 1958 Chevy, but in my opinion it was the most tasteful of all the GM ’58 models, mot being encrusted in all the chrome like the rest of the GM lineup.
No, it seems pretty clear that this Impala has a Powerglide. The author mentions the Powerglide more than once, and comments more than once on the smoothness of its shifts. As for the Turboglide, it was available through the 1961 model year (a couple of years longer than Buick’s Triple Turbine transmission). Supposedly, Chevy had done a lot of work on the Turboglide to improve its reliability, but it couldn’t overcome its reputation from its first years.
Any truth to the often repeated story that the head of GM styling walked into a board meeting of his stylists, threw some 1957 Mopar brochures on the board room table and snarled out at them: “Why don’t you guys just QUIT?” and stalked out of the room?
Hence the wild and “In Your Face” 1959 models (my favorite GM model year) redesign; making the 1958 models a one-year-only body style.
Great to see this article.
For some reason, my late father hated the 1958 Chevrolet and all GM cars from the era. The felt they were overly ornate and ostentatious.
Dad’s first new car was a 1961 Biscayne with ZERO options. He waited for GM to make a car he wanted to buy. First, however, he had to blow up his 1957 Plymouth by driving it at 100 MPG.
In late 1957, my older brother was very will. We were in Ottawa and my grandma lived in Montreal. Dad went to get her. He claimed he had the speedo buried the whole time.
On the way back, he turned off the dash lights so Nanny couldn’t see how fast he was going. She took out her rosary and prayed the entire trip. Dad hit a bend flat out and the rear end was ticking against the guard ports.
When he got to the hospital, the Plymouth was running mighty rough. The week before, he’d had it appraised. He called his salesman, Art Sullivan and asked him, “How long is this appraisal good for? He was told seven days. He traded the knocking Plymouth on the seventh day, for his 1961 Chevrolet.
“1961 Biscayne with ZERO options”
So 235.5 straight six, three on the column and no heater? Here are the prices of ’61 Biscaynes
Being in Canada, it had a mandatory “option” heater.
It’s no doubt unusual for a top of the line Impala to have the no-preset button poverty spec radio. And no padded dash, although it’s possible it was removed. I think that GM cars were slower to adopt a much faster steering ratio for power steering equipped cars which didn’t need the leverage than others, although with GM that probably differed by division. Not positive, but I think Chrysler went to 3.5 turns with power steering in 1957.
For sure, I love the styling of the exterior ( the best of the ’58s IMO ) and interior, and the big-inch ( for then ) engine…but ugh, that bare metal dashboard. Honestly, I’d be afraid to ride or drive that thing, let alone open up all six barrels in a rush of speed. A collision at anything much above walking speed would have me bashed up and mangled.
If it were mine, I’d retrofit it with 3 point lap & shoulder belts. Then again there’s that rigid javelin of a steering column aimed squarely at my heart. 🙂
As was commented above, that A pillar would give a whole different view looking to make a left or right turn.
I like the position of the glove box – within easy reach of the driver.
Quite a nice looking car, this one is.
I have a very vague memory of having been in a car, maybe once, that did not require a key to activate the ignition. Amazing.
An update of sorts…sometime after Todd and I went on this adventure, he sold this ’58 Impala. It went to its new owner in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Regarding the ignition switch on the ’58’s, I believe there was a lock-off-on-start positions. The key could be removed with the switch in lock, off or on, so if it was removed in any position other than lock, you didn’t need the key to start or shut off. As far as the drum brakes, yes there was fade but it wasn’t an issue unless you made more than one stop from speed in succession. Heavy duty or metallic compound lined shoes were available in the aftermarket which did an adequate job. The frame and suspension was basically unchanged from 1958-1964 for the Chevrolet and Canadian Pontiacs.
That ignition switch was common in ’60’s GM cars. In the small town I lived in none of the owners bothered to use a key or lock the car.
In other locations GM cars became a target of thieves and “joy riders”. The joy rides often didn’t end well.
I think GM stopped using those for the 1965 model year. Probably for the better.
The ’58 Chevy would have been a really handsome car with fewer chrome ornaments, which is more than you can say about most other GM ’58s.
On our ’63 Impala wagon, you could pull out the key after starting without killing the engine, which was fortunate, because the optional child-proof rear door locks needed the key (or either key, I can’t remember) to unlock.
See my post about a ’58 Delray. I make that same observation.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/curbside-classic-1958-chevrolet-delray-two-dor-sedan/