95-96 Impala SS

Well I need another car like ..... 

well We all know the deal. After getting rid of my LS430 and Tundra, my need for a V8 is barking loud again 

I always wanted an Impala SS/Grand National/Cyclone type vehicle but never had one. So trying to focus and looking for a 95-96 impala SS - preferably dark cherry or green. Basically non black 

can GRM educate me a bit on these, as far as ownership goes? Prices are all over the map locally on CL from $7k—$38k. I am not looking for a museum piece but a driver. 

Mine thing that comes up on ads are “rebuilt” motors at less than 125k miles. Why is that? I thought GM v8s are bulletproof? 

Appreciate  a bit of knowledge on these machines ..... 

Maybe Curtis would sell you his SS, but it's black iirc. 

I had a 96 DCM. Absolutely loved that car and regret getting rid of it. 

The optispark can be a little  problematic but I never had any issues with mine. 

In reply to Nick Comstock :

Thanks Nick! Anything to particularly look for when checking one out ? 

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

It's been so long since I had mine I don't really remember all the particulars. 94&95 were column shift so if you want a console and floor shifter look for a 96. 

It's from the dexcool years so look that the cooling system has been maintained at least.  Things can get really nasty with that stuff. 

Good tires in the stock size were non existent when I had mine so that may be an issue if you want to keep the stock wheels on it. 

It was the first car that I autocrossed and I found it to be competent and predictable when driven hard. They are big heavy cars but capable. 

In reply to Nick Comstock :

Thank you kindly 

Mine is a 95, and black.  With an ls1.

They are basic, the interiors aren’t holding up to age, and the styling is very dated in a non classic way.  That’s coming from someone whose dream car was a black SS

basic parts are gm dirt cheap.  I’d rather have a grand national.

In reply to mr2s2000elise : the 95-97 will be the old 350 not the newer LS type. Now my 350 went 371,000 miles and was in excellent condition. Barely used a quart of oil between oil changes.  

But! I maintained it well. Oil was changed every 3000 miles with synthetic oil.  Plugs were changed every 100,000 miles, distributor went 60,000 miles between new cap rotor and plug wires.  

I also drove it properly. No short drives. The engine always reached full operating temperature @ least 20-30 minutes. 

Short runs are killers! Using  oil too long is a killer. Running low on oil is a killer of timing chains and sprockets.  

The LS is a little more tolerant but still all of the above is true.  The LS will survive as long changing oil at 5000 miles rather than 3000 miles  .

In reply to Patrick :

That doesn’t sound very encouraging :( 

In reply to frenchyd :

thank you. Means maintenance records are a must 

Disagree.  The styling is holding up just fine. The bolt pattern in bigger than other B-bodys. 5x5, just like the 9C1 cop cars. Also the same as half ton pickups. 96 got you a floor shifter. I'd avoid any "rebuilt" engine. The LT1 is anvil reliable.  The 4L60E transmission seems to want to pop around 130,000mi. Not a garuntee, but something to be aware of. A blind grandma can rebuilt them, though.

I had a 96 in dark cherry.  I miss it and wish I had kept it,   but at the time it wouldn't fit in the garage and was too nice to sit out.   I should have built a bigger garage and kept the car.

Appleseed said:

Disagree.  The styling is holding up just fine. The bolt pattern in bigger than other B-bodys. 5x5, just like the 9C1 cop cars. Also the same as half ton pickups. 96 got you a floor shifter. I'd avoid any "rebuilt" engine. The LT1 is anvil reliable.  The 4L60E transmission seems to want to pop around 130,000mi. Not a garuntee, but something to be aware of. A blind grandma can rebuilt them, though.

Personal opinion.  I look at mine and just don’t see the cool anymore and when i see them on the road they just look bloated.  It was awesome when it was “the last” rwd v8 performance sedan, but now a 4 cylinder (insert korean turd here) is faster and between the g8/new impala/charger there are fast big rwd v8 sedans everywhere.  260hp in 2 tons plus driver is not fun.  My ls1 swapped car has about 400hp and it’s still not all that fun. 

Maybe as i get older my tastes are changing, but i’m just not into them anymore.  I’m either going to sell mine as a zero rust roller or part it out

also all 91-96 b bodies are 5x5 and share the same 12” front brakes.  

In reply to Patrick :

Sell your car to me. I will give it a good home :)

In reply to Appleseed :

Thank you. I found two clean ones asking 9-12K, and both are under 130K miles and both had rebuilt engines (1 owner cars). Which seemed weird to me, given how reliable I assume they were. 

Have you checked the for sale section of impalassforum.com ?

I’d expect to pay 6-7k for a very nice 100k+ mile car, but that could be the difference between Ohio and California 

In reply to Patrick :

Thank you. I haven not. I will look there now. 

I was looking at local CL 

mr2s2000elise said:

In reply to Appleseed :

Thank you. I found two clean ones asking 9-12K, and both are under 130K miles and both had rebuilt engines (1 owner cars). Which seemed weird to me, given how reliable I assume they were. 

I suppose you could blow up an LT1. They are 3/4 of a traditional small block Chevy, so anyone could reliably rebuild one. I might pick the owners brain as to why they were rebuilt. Also the front 3 body mounts were never actually attached like they were on the 9C1. I think they left off the top biscuits. The Impalass.com forum was the place to back in the day. The might have more info on the mounts.

clutchsmoke said:

Maybe Curtis would sell you his SS, but it's black iirc. 

Yup.  Mine is black.

Not sure why you're seeing so many rebuilt motors.  Mine has 149k and aside from a couple external things like power steering pumps, one alternator, and a couple water pumps, it is bulletproof.  It's a small block chevy with good heads, killer optical ignition trigger, and great fuel control.

I'd let mine go cheap-ish.  It's pretty beat cosmetically, but mechanically it runs like a top.  PM me if you have any interest.  It is a 50-state car and was titled there for 6 years when I lived in LA, and I'm quite certain it would make the trip if you did a fly and drive, but being a CA person, seeing a car that spent a fair part of its miles as a PA car might make you vomit.  To me, it's pretty good in the rust department, but to you it would probably cause seizures and twitching.

Not much to know about them.  They are pretty much the 9C1 option package to which they added better shocks, lower springs, wheels, badges, 3.08 posi, and leather buckets.  If you want the standard list of things we all do to them, hit me up.  GM decided to not use some of the body bushings to cut down on NVH in the cabin and some folks swear by adding them back in.  Bryan Herter at PCMforless.com does budget ECM tuning in whatever configuration you want.  LT1s REALLY don't like Dexcool, so flush and fill with standard green stuff right away.  When you look at one, make sure the heater blows hot.  If it doesn't, you'll likely need a more extensive flush, probably a water pump soon, and (as Nick mentioned) if the water pump is going, it leaks on the optispark.  The Optispark will last a very long time as long as the weep hole from the water pump doesn't drip on it.

If it hasn't already, the plastic clips that hold the windows in the regulators likes to fall apart allowing the window to fall into the door.  The fix is an upgraded beefier plastic part that isn't too bad to install.

There are plenty of kits out there to drop in a T56 if that suits your fancy.

The lower trailing arms for the rear are fine, but they are a bit wimpy.  It is a pretty good upgrade to get aftermarket trailing arms.  You'll notice that many SS owners complain that the wheels aren't centered in the openings.  They're about 1" forward.  It looks almost like you put a body on a frame with a 1" shorter wheelbase.  The aftermarket responded with longer trailing arms to fix it, but you either have to do a 1" longer driveshaft, or just do the kit with longer upper arms which throws off the u-joint angle and makes the geometry wonky.  Do what I did; lower it and no one cares.

Brakes are fantastic for any spirited driving you can imagine.  Lots of guys autox on stock brakes just fine.  12" rotors do a nice job.

There are also a ton of snake-oil things that many of us do, like bypass the TB coolant passage because we think it will make so much cooler air coming in, but it hasn't shown any dyno-proven HP.

Resist the urge to swap to aluminum LT1 heads unless you go aftermarket.  The iron LT1 head flowed so well that they copied the intake port for the 96-up Vortec head.  The aluminum LT1 head is only marginally better than the wheezer TPI head it replaced.  The iron head will make more power in stock form.  Its one of the reasons the F-body needed a good bit more cam to make 275hp compared to the iron-head LT1 with 260hp.  Many guys do the LT4 "hot" cam upgrade and pick up nice power, or there are plenty of cams out there that will pass a sniffer.  One guy in the Riverside SS club had an LT1 making nearly 500hp and he passed.

When test driving one, make sure to do at least one throttle stab in a corner.  While I don't normally suggest that, the stock Posi is a cone-style that is not rebuildable.  If it is worn out you'll get an inside wheel light up.  If it isn't worn out, you'll spin 180 and be looking at the dump truck behind you.  Plenty of aftermarket Posi units for the 8.5".

I have been tossing around the idea of buying one. I loved all of my many Roadmasters and this is tougher and betterer.

I can’t decide whether to go with an Impala or a Marauder. 

In reply to Appleseed :

Thank you. ONce I saw they were "rebuilt," I decided to move on. It isn't as rare I initially thought. In a 30 mile radius, there are 16 for sale.

Lugnut said:

I have been tossing around the idea of buying one. I loved all of my many Roadmasters and this is tougher and betterer.

I can’t decide whether to go with an Impala or a Marauder. 

Funny. I used to love the Marauder. My neighbor bought one new. Still has it (under 10K miles). Guy is 90 years old. After staring at it all the time, I don't like them anymore. Doesn't seem special enough, as the ImpalaSS seems to me.

In reply to Curtis :

Message sent. Thank you SO much for the detailed info!!! 

Sent a message back. :)

Aaaaaaaaaaaand I'm off to Craigslist.

Damn it.