Scalped '61 Catalina
 

I found this while looking for something else. This guy scalped a '61 Catalina bubbletop and made himself a '62 Impala SS bubbletop.

1962 Impala SS Bubbletop Conversion

http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/b...albumview=grid

Then he wrecked it!

http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/b...iew=slideshow#

car kinda reminds me of that plimo in Christine.

Following too close? Crappy drum brakes? Forgot to replace the brake hoses? Didn't convert to dual master? Passing a blunt? Mifflin' with the radio? Dropped a ciggy in his lap? Bikini roadside car wash?.. Blammmo!.. Another Indian avenges it's scalp.

may be I'm confused but its a 62 impala right? not a pontiac? the other car is a ford.

and the first set of pictures is a 61 ss impala.

whats the pontiac connection

The car started life as a '62 Impala SS, they found a '61 Cat body which appears to be pretty well shot, cut the top off and graffed it on the Impala to create the "bubbletop". The '62 "bubbletops were Bel-Air's, what he has now is a Impala SS bubbletop.

In the first slide show, about one third through it, there are a couple of photos of the '61 Catalina.
I thought it would be relevent to some fellas that want to chop the roof off of the much more plentiful '61 Impala to make a '62 Catalina or Bonneville bubbletop. That first slide show is a step by step conversion minus the welding and grinding sparks

The Ford (Taurus?) that it ended up next to didn't get a scratch on it either. Those Fords are pretty tough!

Probably the insurance adjuster...

Following too close? Crappy drum brakes? Forgot to replace the brake hoses? Didn't convert to dual master? Passing a blunt? Mifflin' with the radio? Dropped a ciggy in his lap? Bikini roadside car wash?

My guess would be it's much more likely that some dumb ass uninsured mexican who can't read pulled out in front of him. That is much more common than anything else...at least around here

Kept trying to see the other car - couldn't find it.

Terrible loss for him. That was a beutiful car.

I remember years ago seeing a '64 in demo derby near here 90s; The car crushed really easily.

Trying to gauge what kinda reinforments one needs to keep the classics both safe and repairable against the newer easy to find cars. I'm gonna cage mine - damned if I'll let a Taurus wipe out half of my car.

Good thing he welded on that Pontiac roof - the chevy one probably would have teepeed.

All Pre 71 fullsize GM's make a poor demo car, except the 68-70 caddy's:first:

Yep, they look good, but in the early years, the crashworthiness was terrible.

There is a film in the GM archives that shows a staged crash test of a '61 Impala going into a late '50's GM C-Body (fergit which) and the force of the impact is so great, the Chevy body shears away from the X frame and goes sailing into the obstacle making a hideous wreck that would have been a certain fatality if it were not at Milford.

The great Pontiac perimiter frame was a partial answer to this, instead of perching on the frame like the X-frame cars did, it is nestled down in the frame, and you have pretty heavy steel beams on either side of you.

In racing, when these cars wrecked, it was spectacular. Fireball wadded up the '61 Catalina that came within three gallons of winning Daytona a few races later, and it was such a mess that Smokey had it crushed into a cube and delivered to Knudsen.

Here's a collision of a 2009 Chevy Malibu and a 1959 Chevy Bel Air.

http://online.wsj.com/video/chevy-cr...91DE4035D.html

It demonstrates not only the advances in safety technology but also how fast your life can end and how much trust we place in that he other guy will stay on his side of yellow line in the middle of the road.

I cringe when I see it because my '60 Catalina is the same color scheme and everyone always asks me, "Is that a '59 Chevy like in the CARS movie?"

Wow...that was inappropriate. :focus:

Here the link to show you the difference!

http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/30443226

Don't multi-task!
 

If I remember correctly, the female driver of the Taurus was texting and caused the collision. I know the owner of the "converted" 1962 Impala, and like Tommy said, he "saved" the remaining Pontiac parts for "re-distribution". If I am lucky, I will find a way to get the hood over to Missouri for a project I would like to finish some day.

Brian, the owner of the converted "bubbletop" (now dressed as an SS and boasting an awesome 409 engine) has just opened his own shop in the Denton, TX area. If you want to see the vehicle in person, he lives in the Dallas area.

Cheers!
Tom Kochtanek

That is crazy! wonder how fast the cars were going.