1958 Chevrolet Impala - A Numbers Guy

Several years back, Monty McClellan peered over his back fence to catch the latest in an ever-turning inventory of rust. One hulk instantly captured his attention. He was taken back to his youth and memories of his father's favorite ride: a sleek new '58 Impala.

Monty's fond memories of the trips he and his dad took in that '58 got the juices flowing. A deal was struck over the back fence, and a very tired old orphan had a happy new owner. Now, Monty's not a car builder and didn't have the time if he were, but he knew Corey Conyers was just the guy to execute his vision of what he wanted the admittedly sorry-looking hulk to be.

Corey's credentials are pretty stout for someone who works at keeping a low profile. He got his start nearly 25 years ago, sweeping floors for Tom Hanna, who immediately recognized Corey's attention to detail and his work ethic. Over the years, he's worked with Hanna on several Porsche and Ferrari projects, clay styling in fifth and full scale, carbon/Kevlar fabrication, dragster restoration and recreation, and played a major role helping build Hanna's unbelievable Cacklefest dragster.

He became friends with Cole Foster somewhere in the middle of all this and spent four years on the West Coast assisting Cole.

Soon, a deal was struck, and Monty delivered the old Impala with only two directives-the color and the powertrain. The rest was left to Corey. Monty's input on the engine was for a full-dressed 350 small-block Chevy, so he purchased a crate motor from Street & Performance. Behind the motor, Monty called on Roy Sporleider of Auto Performance Plus to build up a 700-R4. This setup provides both performance and economy for maximum cruising.

The '58 Chevy Impala was one of the few cars that came customized from the factory. This car looked chopped, channeled, and sectioned when it left the factory compared to the Chevys produced before the '58 Impala; Corey wanted to expand on this look without disturbing the flow of the factory lines. He started by removing all the factory emblems. The trunk and doors are now activated by solenoids. He felt the front spears looked too heavy, so he took a pair of rear fender spears and shortened them for a thinner, cleaner look. The gun sights were removed from the top of the fender. Next to be removed were the louvers on the front fenders, and Corey reworked the metal for a smoother look. The lower gravel shields on the rockers were also removed. Since the louvers on the front fenders were removed, the same was done to the rear fenders. Around this time, the manufacturers tried to hide the gas fillers. The '58 Impala hid the gas filler behind a door in a panel just under the decklid. Corey moved the filler inside the trunk and filled the panel for a cleaner look. Back to the front, he then fabricated a tube grille. Both the front and rear bumpers were then reworked to fit closer to the body, and all the chrome work was sent to Sherm's Plating.

Corey wanted the interior to have the same impact as the exterior. Since Monty wanted to use a Vintage Air unit, Corey removed the heater controls and ashtray and smoothed the dash. The heat and air controls were moved to the glove compartment, along with the air-ride switches. Corey then fabricated an 0.020 aluminum insert and engine-turned it to fill in around the instruments, and United Speedometer Service modified the gauges. An ididit column topped with the stock steering wheel rounds out the dash. Secret Audio supplied the stereo in the dash unit, with a six-disc CD changer in the trunk feeding speakers from Rockford Fosgate, Kenwood, and Infinity. Pat Sullivan handled the wiring. Scott and John at Dowey's Upholstery stitched up the cream-colored leather upholstery. Terry Conyers handled all the installation of the glass.

The vision and hard work Corey has put into this car has made a dream come true for Monty and his wife, Suzi. As for Corey, the more this '58 is seen, the more opportunities he will have. And, although Corey built the car, he had considerable support from Terry Conyers and Pat Sullivan, and made Monty McClellan a very happy cruiser.