IT’S ORIGINAL, NOT RESTORED

This 1958 Impala has an interesting history. It was first purchased new by the late Mr LA Edwards of Crawfordville, Georgia, US, in 1958. According to his niece, Mrs Alice Thornton of Crawfordville, he loved the car and seldom used it. In 1975, it was traded and sold to a collector, who is understood to have been Mr Benny Bootle, past president of the Antique Automobile Club of America and a collector of automobiles.

This 1958 Chevrolet Impala two-door coupé is equipped with the original 5.7-litre (348– cubic inch) tri-power engine mated to a Turboglide transmission and shows just 23,194 miles (37,327km) on the odometer. The striking exterior colour combination, Rio Red and Arctic White, is totally original, as is the interior, which is in excellent condition. You can still see the remains of the clear plastic protection around the door panel edges that was removed by the first owner when he purchased the car. Even the original factory seat tag is under the rear seat.

The bumpers have never been re-chromed nor has the stainless been buffed or any of the emblems replaced. Even the original newsprint label is stuck inside the boot lid, showing the instructions on how to use the tyre jack, and the current owner has the original whitewall cross-ply tyres.

In 2009, the car was judged and awarded the HPOF (Historic Preservation of Original Features) badge, which is not an easy award to achieve. The badge is fitted to the front grille of the car. Appropriately, the car featured in a number of American magazines and spent some time in a collector’s auto museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, not far from the famous Nascar race track, before it was shipped to New Zealand.