Finished in deep LeMans Blue, this 1969 Chevrolet Impala Custom SS looks like a stately cruiser until you discover the genuine 427 big-block under the hood. Owner Arnold Boris has kept it since 2007, and it’s a real Super Sport, not a tribute, restored to showroom-new condition. It’s proof that muscle came in full-size form, too. Hear the 427 and see why this Impala deserves a second look.
The muscle car conversation usually orbits the same few nameplates, and the big, dignified full-size Chevrolet rarely gets a seat at the table, which is exactly why this one is so easy to underestimate. Finished in deep LeMans Blue and wearing SS badges, this 1969 Chevrolet Impala Custom looks like a clean cruiser until you learn what’s breathing under that long hood. Its owner has held onto it since 2007, and there’s a reason he hasn’t let it go. This isn’t a tribute or a badge job; it’s the real thing, and the engine tells the whole story. What makes a genuine SS 427 Impala worth the decades-long devotion?
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In this My Car Story feature, Lou Costabile meets up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with owner Arnold Boris, who has cared for this Impala since 2007. As Lou highlights, the car is a real Super Sport 427, an important distinction in a hobby where clones and tributes are common, and it’s finished to a standard that looks like it just left the showroom floor.
The 1969 Impala rode on Chevrolet’s full-size B-body, a platform better known for family duty than street brawling. But order it as an SS 427 and it became a genuine performer, powered by the big-block 427-cubic-inch V8 that Chevy shared with its most serious muscle and Corvette applications. Depending on tune, the 427 delivered in the neighborhood of 335 to 390 horsepower, moving a heavy, elegant coupe with surprising authority. The SS 427 package was quietly discontinued after 1969, which makes an authentic example from this final year particularly meaningful.
What gives this car its charm is the contrast. It has the chrome, the room, and the comfortable presence of a full-size Chevrolet, paired with the muscle of a 427 that most people wouldn’t expect. LeMans Blue suits it perfectly, dignified rather than boy-racer, and the restoration quality means every detail, inside and out, reflects how the car would have appeared new. Long-term ownership like Arnold’s tends to produce the best-sorted cars, the ones that have been fussed over rather than flipped.
It’s a reminder that muscle came in more than one size in the late 1960s, and that some of the most satisfying cars are the ones the crowd walks right past. This Impala rewards a second look and an ear pointed at that 427.
Watch the full video and share your thoughts below.
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Miss my 72 impala
My parents had a ’66 and a ’72 impala but with two too many doors, but we were a family! I love the ’66 Impala shape, sturdy and mean
That is a handsome Chevy
this is what some people would call a sleeper, because it doesn’t have the muscle car look
I had one with a 327 3 on the tree
I like the fact it has the 427
Love my 68 with a 454 in it
Gorgeous
That is not. A 69
Keith Kenyon
66 was great 396
Awesome