Impala SS

I was hunting for some 17” impala SS wheels for my truck, when I came across a beat up example of a 1995 impala SS. The car runs, but it’s beat up. It’s priced very low, if I can pick the car up for cheap, are there any engine parts that are compatible with my 5.7?

It looks like the impala Lt1 engine has a different intake manifold, and I was wondering if it’s similar to the marine manifold that some people upgrade to.

Also I think the impala had a positrack differential. Not sure if that would be something to use as well.

Basiacally seeing if this car is worth the $1500 I think I can snag it for.


Thanks for the help!

If I remember correctly, people pull those rear ends out for disc brake conversions. I know you can use one from a caprice, not sure about the impala. There's a post in here somewhere that says what rear ends mate with the c1500. I'd check wikipedia and find out when the impala made the swap to vortec, or ask the seller for a pic of the heads. If you're TBI and it's a vortec you've got about $300 worth of heads and intake depending on condition, not to mention you could pull the block and stroke it out to a 383 while your current truck is running. Swap engines and sell the old one to recoup your money. A rear disc swap plus the posi is worth some coin as well. I'd talk him down if possible, all of those parts are worth a cumulative 1000 to me, and that's if they all work with what you're trying to do.

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It's an LT1 and almost nothing on the engine is compatible with your truck's engine. They never used a Vortec. Caprices also offered an LT1-style 4.3 V8 called the L99... prior to the B-bodies getting the LT1 style engines, they were TBI. The TBI era also predates the actual Impala SS, those were just Caprices.

The rear should be an Auburn-style posi, IIRC.

At that price it may be worth it just to pick up as a fun beater. The interior is usually the first thing to suffer the most on those cars, particularly the door panels and seats. Clusters were bad about crapping out on the digital display (if it's a model with one) but those are usually just bad solder joints and can be fixed DIY.

Richard

LT1. Reverse flow water pump. Opti-spark ignition.
The rear ends are about 1 5/8" narrower per side. But...coil spring/4-link style suspension. It can & has been made to work. Have to cut off the upper link mount points cast into the housing, remove the coil perches & weld on a pair of leaf perches, with the proper pinion angles.

Some came with discs. SSs & 9C1's (cop cars) They can be made to work on the truck's diff. Have to change the banjo bolt, or run an adaptor (yuck!) due to Impala's being of a different size & thread. Easier to have new lines made from the junction box with Impala ends to fit, on the other end.
I'd buy new rotors/pads.
The only reason I haven't done mine yet is beacuse I need the E-brake & I am still trying to find what is required as far as a proper cable length & if the Impala has a different end on the brake side from the 400's.

Many did come with Eaton Limited Slip carriers. They will fit the 400's factory diff. Same axle spline count as well. But they usually come with stupid tall gear ratios. 3.23, 3.08, 2.73, etc. You can use the gear set you have now (3.42's?)
Look for the metal 'Posi Fluid Only' tag. Some may have that removed over the years. Popping the cover off is easy enough. Take a good look at the fluid. Smell it too. Usually a pretty good indicator as to the condition of the clutches & bearings.

someotherguy said:

At that price it may be worth it just to pick up as a fun beater. The interior is usually the first thing to suffer the most on those cars, particularly the door panels and seats. Clusters were bad about crapping out on the digital display (if it's a model with one) but those are usually just bad solder joints and can be fixed DIY.

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Hell yes! I had a '95 9C1 LT1 with SS wheels, grille, and spoiler. I wish I would have kept mine. It was a damn good daily.....



The cluster is an extremely easy fix, and you can swap in whatever seats and console you want. I had Bonneville buckets with an S10 Blazer console.

If the car isn't completely beat to death and runs halfway decent, $1500 for an SS is worth it IMO.

I'd avoid the LT1. Too much of a bassturd engine. Throttle bodies, manifolds, opti-spark, water pump, reverse flow etc. etc. all oddball stuff. I don't even know why they made it. You'd be better off with a Vortec in a truck especially. I had a LT1 in a 1995 Z28.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=vortec+vs.+lt1

sewlow said:

Some came with discs. SSs & 9C1's (cop cars) They can be made to work on the truck's diff. Have to change the banjo bolt, or run an adaptor (yuck!) due to Impala's being of a different size & thread. Easier to have new lines made from the junction box with Impala ends to fit, on the other end.
I'd buy new rotors/pads.
The only reason I haven't done mine yet is beacuse I need the E-brake & I am still trying to find what is required as far as a proper cable length & if the Impala has a different end on the brake side from the 400's.

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I don't want to talk out my *** but my hours and hours of research showed the disc stuff won't bolt to the truck housings because it's a different spread and pattern at the flange. I would love to be wrong, do you have any links showing it worked?

Thanks for all the great info guys. I think i’ll probably pass on the car. Not worth it if all i’m going to use is the wheels.

Knuckle Dragger said:

I don't want to talk out my *** but my hours and hours of research showed the disc stuff won't bolt to the truck housings because it's a different spread and pattern at the flange. I would love to be wrong, do you have any links showing it worked?

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It's been a while since I've researched this, but I believe that you're right on the flange difference. IIRC, the guys that have done the swap had to enlarge the holes slightly.
There's a thread on GMFS (yea-yea. I know. Lol!) with the specifics on the swap. Probably over 5 years since I went through it, though. The memory just ain't what it used to be! #oldtimersdisease

Uncle Ben said:

Thanks for all the great info guys. I think i’ll probably pass on the car. Not worth it if all i’m going to use is the wheels.

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It's worth more as parts. Even without the wheels.

I like my SS wheels!