The entirely red interior of Eric Reeves’ 1959 Chevrolet Impala is in pristine condition.
So is the shiny black exterior.
A few years ago, he got a call from his stepfather in Lebanon − the city in Indiana, not the Middle Eastern country. He and Reeves’ mother had lost their home and property to eminent domain. When they moved there wouldn’t be a heated garage in which to store the car he had purchased 20 years before in Minnesota.
“He called and said for me to come and get the car, that he wouldn’t have a place to put it,” Reeves said. “And he told me it would have been mine some day anyway.”
Reeves went to get the car the next day. Randy Price was sad to see his beautiful vintage Impala, which had been garage-parked decades before he bought it, drive away.
“It was hard for him to let it go,” Reeves said. But Price knew Reeves loved the car, maybe as much as he did.
It’s a four-door with a 283-motor and just 67,000 miles on the odometer. It drives like a dream, Reeves said.
Just about everything on the car is original. Although it does have a new gas tank, and tires of course.
Reeves drives the 65-year-old Impala often; some people around town recognize it, others do a double take as it cruises by.
“It’s a time piece,” he said with pride. And it’s a good-sized automobile. “In the trunk, well, you could fit six to 10 mafia guys.”
Speaking of the trunk, it still has the original sticker explaining how to change a flat tire.
You may see this classic Chevrolet again. It’s on the list for cars that will be used in an upcoming early-1960s-era movie being filmed in Bloomington.
And, stay tuned to My Favorite Ride in future weeks to read about more vehicles people are volunteering for the movie. The courthouse square will be taken back to 1962, and these cars will set the scene. I even know a guy with a 1959 Schwinn bicycle that might fit the bill. And I have a dress I could wear as a person on the street, if called on.
Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: My Favorite Ride: A pristine 1959 Chevy Impala bound for the big screen
Reporting by Laura Lane, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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