This car has become as much a character in Supernatural as Dean and Sam Winchester. As my buddy said, “If I saw a car like that in my town, I’d think we had demons. At the end of season one, when a truck crashed into a black Impala, fans flooded the show’s producer and writer, Eric Kripke, with letters. Everyone cared about the fate of the black car, everyone wanted to see it in the future.
I think it’s not an exaggeration to say that the 1967 Impala became a symbol of the Supernatural series. But Eric Kripke had originally intended to use a 1965 Mustang for filming. He changed his mind after a neighbor said so. He said that the Mustang had to be a 1967 Impala, because a dead body could easily fit in the trunk of a Mustang. This is exactly the kind of car that, just by stopping next to it, makes you close the inside of your car.
Thanks to the series, the 1967 Chevrolet Impala, which belonged to the fourth generation, became known all over the world. The car became a cult not only in the U.S., but also wherever there is television, or the Internet.
The car got its name after the African antelope. According to the idea of the founders, it should be a large, capacious, but sporty car. Of course, the Impala could not turn into a lightweight Porsche, but how for such a large and heavy American car of those years, it could actually be considered a sports car.
There were five cars in the movie. All were in a four-door hardtop type body. A hardtop is a car which looks like a sedan, but does not have a central body pillar and metal door frames. The absence of these elements gave a special appeal. But such hardtop has the lowest rigidity of the body, and in a frontal impact, it is prone to severe deformation in the central part. But of course this type of body is the most attractive externally. And after the release of the movie, fans want to buy exactly this type of car.
The cost of a 1967 Chevrolet Impala.
In ’67, it was possible to buy a new Chevrolet Impala with a basic, inline six for $2,780. The price of a car with a powerful 427 V8 was $5,000. The mass modification with a 327 V8 and a two-speed automatic was $3,300. Which is the equivalent of $27,000 today.
These days, these cars are undergoing restorations, much helped by the movie. Some people want not just the experience of driving an American classic, but to feel like a vampire and monster slayer. The cost of a restored car can exceed $70,000. Of course, today a four-door hardtop is more often bought for restoration.
Exterior and photo.
This car was produced after the fin era. The rectangular shapes at the time were very modern. The body trim uses a lot of chrome, which became less and less in the next generations of the model.
In addition to the four-door hardtop, there was a two-door hardtop, coupe, sedan and a four-door station wagon called the Station Wagon.
The rear of the ’67 model is easily recognized by the horizontally stretched lamps. In ’65, the lights were round. The base car with an inline six-cylinder engine in a four door hardtop, at a length of 5,415 mm, width of 2029 mm and wheelbase of 3023 mm (119d), has a curb weight of 706 kg. The same car but with a 427 V8 has curb weight in 1969kg.
Even in the photo you can see how the front turn signal indicators are hidden behind the grille, which is stylized as an extension of the radiator grille.
Ground clearance of 163mm with such a large wheelbase is not good for off-roading.
It is noteworthy that the white color was in the highest demand. Chevrolet offered more than 10 colors.
Interior.
The ’67 model got a steering wheel with a folding steering column. For the first time, the Impala received three-point safety belts. Both upgrades significantly improved the vehicle’s active safety. Two air conditioning modifications were offered as options.
The default interior trim was a combination of cloth and vinyl. Vinyl trim was available as an option. An eight-station radio was also available as an option. The common, rectangular styling is transferred to the interior. A square clock dial is built into the dashboard.
A huge trunk holds 518 liters. So – the words of neighbor Eric Kripke about carrying a corpse in the trunk are not unreasonable at all.
Engine and features of 1967 Chevrolet Impala.
The base machine, which was not much in demand, was the 250 cubic inch, 4.1 liter inline six. It had 155 horsepower and 319 Nm of torque.
The 283d cubic inch V8 (4.6 liters) had a cylinder diameter of 98.42 mm and a stroke of 76.2 mm. Judging by how long the stroke makes the piston, it can be concluded that this is a tractive, power unit. Maximum power of 195hp is reached at 4,600 rpm, and 285Nm of thrust is available at 2,400 rpm.
The next in the range was 327th V8 (5.4L). With this engine was available a new three speed Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission. This engine has a power of 250 horses.
The 396 V8 (6.5L) had a high compression ratio of 10.25:1. It itself contributed to the increase of the power ratings. And with this motor, under the name L35, the Big Block line began. This power unit was equipped with a dynamic supercharging system – Turbo Jet. In this system the supercharging is made by counter air pressure. With 340 horsepower, the Impala can go 60 miles in 8.5 seconds.
The most powerful 427 cubic inch V8 (6990 cc), even with the three-speed automatic, will take the four-door hardtop to 60 miles in 7 seconds. Such dynamics became possible thanks to the power of 390 horses and 677 N.M. Just imagine these figures! 677 Newtons, – these are impressive figures even today.
There was even more powerful modification with 425 hp engine from Convette.
The Impala ’67 could be equipped with two or three speed automatic, or 3x/4x speed manual. 90% of sold vehicles were automatic. The truck had disc brakes on the front, which can be considered an innovation, as drum brakes were used for a long time in the USA. In most cases, disc brakes are more efficient, but the brake pads in drums last longer than in discs. Adjustable, pneumatic rear shock absorbers were available as an option.
The Impala was, and still is, in the families of many Americans. And these people have loved their car forever, even before the Supernatural movie came out. But the TV series has shrouded this car in an extra aura. In spite of all sign and cultishness of the Mustang ’65, today it is the Impala that can be accepted into the restoration project. Somebody who bought such a car could even carry in the trunk a set of guns, as the Winchester brothers did. I wouldn’t be surprised if the owner of a four-door hardtop would find an aspen stake and holy water in the trunk. In spite of all of the Impala’s good points, it was the series that made it an object of cult and desire among millions of fans. Viewers were concerned that their favorite car might not appear again in season two. In fact, she is a member of the Hunter team. And if I were the Demons, I would be thrilled at the sight of a black hardtop.
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