This is a 1968 Chevrolet Impala SS convertible with a desirable and powerful 427 under the hood. It was the year that saw a change to the SS, rather than a separate series, in ’68 the SS was once again returned to an optional equipment package and certainly wasn’t quite as distinctive as it had been in previous years.
1968 was also the year that full-sized Chevys received a facelift with new sheet metal and bumpers together with hidden windshield wipers. It was also the year the Sport Coupe, with its pronounced sloping roofline, was joined by another 2-door, the Custom Coupe which had a formal (notchback) roofline taken from the Caprice.
Continuing with the tradition, Impala still had triple taillights on each side rather than a dual configuration found in the Biscayne and Bel Air.
The SS package included all-vinyl bucket seats and center console. It also included Console shift, SS wheel covers and various body and interior trim.
Primary competition for the Impala would have been from cars like Dodge’s Polara, the Plymouth Fury and Ford’s Custom, Galaxie and LTD.
Power comes from a freshly rebuilt, 427 cubic inch Turbo-Jet V8 (L36) producing 385 horsepower. It’s mounted to a Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission.
This Impala is also equipped with the rare, Comfortron air conditioning that would have cost an additional $384 when ordered new. Other options include power windows, power steering, power brakes, AM/FM radio and a padded dash.
All full-size Chevrolets had a wheelbase of 119″, overall length of 214.7″ and 79.6″ wide.
Chevrolet made 710,900 Impalas for the 1968 model year and it was actually their best selling full-size car for this year. The convertible had a base price of $3,197 for the base six cylinder and a further $105 for the V8.
The SS-427 package (RPO Z24) came in at an extra $358.10 resulting in Chevrolet selling 1,778 coupes and convertibles equipped with it. It is likely that around 10 percent of this number were convertibles making this a pretty rare car. Considering all the options listed above it would be a highly desirable addition to anyone’s garage.
This ’68 Impala SS-427 is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for even more photos)
1968 full size cars came with 15 inch rally wheels if you ordered disc brakes. It was one of the two rims with correct back-spacing that fit the brakes. Also came with the same center derby center cap as Corvette.