1973 Chevrolet Impala Reviews, Pricing & Specs

I owned my 1973 Chevrolet Impala Custom Coupe for about three years, from 1991-94. Our relationship got off to a somewhat rocky start because the timing chain broke just a few weeks after I bought the car and had to be replaced. Once that had been accomplished, the engine, Chevrolet's ubiquitous 350 CID small-block V8 with a two-barrel carburetor, would always run smoothly and reliably, though. With a mere 145 net horsepower on hand to propel the huge full-size Chevrolet, I did not expect high performance and was not disappointed. For my quite modest everyday driving needs, mainly the daily commute to my workplace and back, power was completely adequate. I lived in Munich, Germany, at the time, and the sight of this big blue 223 inch long cruiser threading through dense urban traffic must have been rather intimidating to all those Golf or BMW drivers because they would always make way when they spotted the Chevy and heard its characteristic V8 throb that sounded like a lot more than just 145 horsepower. Managing those tight European city streets, let alone parking the monster Chevy was a real challenge every day of the week. I got used to parking several blocks away from where I needed to go simply because there were absolutely no parking spaces anywhere near my intended destination. The apartment building where I lived had its own underground parking garage, but the Impala with its 79.5 inches of width wouldn't even fit through the entrance gate. Tough bananas. As big as the Chevy was on the outside, it offered surprisingly little room on the inside. My 6'4" frame could have used some more legroom and headroom was barely adequate; my crewcut would habitually brush the headliner. As for hip and shoulder room, there was plenty for two people, but three was a crowd even if the two others sitting next to me were of average size. Likewise, the trunk was huge, but not in relation to the overall size of the Chevy. Space utilization was not a strong point in American automotive design in those days. In a big country with plentiful resources, nobody really cared. However, the writing was on the wall: The first fuel crisis in the winter of 1973/74 made America (and the rest of the Western world) painfully aware of its dependence on foreign oil. What followed is well-known: CAFE and the "Big Shrink" that downsized the next generation of American cars without sacrificing interior space. Therefore, my '73 Impala epitomized the American automobile industry's "bigger is better" mantra that would come to an end just a few years later. I must admit it kind of gave me a kick to drive a car with this "in your face" attitude, but there was a price to pay, as described above. Also, there were the fuel bills. Even driven conservatively and with the V8 in perfect tune, the Impala's thirst for expensive German gasoline was insatiable. Then, as now, a gallon of gas cost twice as much in Germany as in the US, and the Chevy routinely consumed 20 liters per 100 kilometers on average, that's approx. 12 miles per gallon. After all, what can you expect from a car with a curb weight of 4,244 pounds? As for dependability, the Impala was a fine specimen. The only serious defect other than the timing chain was a leaking heater core, quite common among older cars, but expensive to fix. After three years of faithful service, I decided to part with my Chevy that had become just too impractical and expensive to own and operate. Still, my memories of it are overwhelmingly positive.Apr 20, 2014