Impala Geddon

Barnaby Lester Wanted A Reliable, Big-Horsepower Ride, And Dalton Automotive Delivered The Goods With This Fine 700Hp ’66 Ss Impala.

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A SUPER-clean black ’66 SS Impala packing 700hp wasn’t on Barnaby Lester’s radar. He was chuffed with the red one he had, with a stout 383ci pumping out 500hp, built by his go-to guy, Chris Dalton from Dalton Automotive in South Geelong. Having owned a string of locally built rides, he was pretty satisfied with his first

American car. Then this glistening black version caught his eye on eBay. It had copped a body-off-chassis rebuild a decade prior, with both the externals and interior exceeding the quality of his current ride. “So I sold off the red one and took a gamble,” Barnaby says. “I bought it from Chicago, based on one video and 60 photos. I took a punt and it paid off.” Even shipping it to Oz was a dream thanks to Darren from HTX International in Sunbury, Victoria.

Upon arrival it was sent straight to Dalton Automotive. “It rolled in on slicks, with NOS and some undercarriage work, so we knew it had definitely been raced,” Chris Dalton says. Up front was a 427ci big-block Chev, with Dart Pro 1 heads and an Edelbrock Victor Jr single-plane manifold.

“They advertised it as 650hp,” Barnaby says, “but Chris stuck it on the dyno and it was only about 450hp!”