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The third-generation Impala arrived in 1961 looking like nothing Chevrolet had built before, and it produced two body styles that collectors now hunt specifically because almost nobody wanted them when they were new. It also produced a 409 that got its own hit song, a dashboard where the temperature gauge was replaced by a warning light, and a 1964 engine option good for 425 horsepower. Read on for what separates the good years from the great ones.
The Beach Boys wrote a hit song about it, but Chevrolet’s 409 was only the public face of a much bigger story. Behind the scenes, a secret 427-cubic-inch “mystery motor” was quietly setting records at Daytona in 1963 while Chevrolet stayed silent about what powered it. Read on to find out how a handful of aluminum-bodied drag cars evolved into the 427 that would eventually power Corvettes, Camaros, and Chevelles for years to come.