I knew a guy I had worked for that had traded a truck load of trees for an old american muscle car. The car had spent its life on a tree farm in Alachua.  I thought about it for two years and then parted with some cash. A 1968 Chevy Impala convertible with a Reese Hitch, "you might be a redneck"... the car was black on black on black and though rusty and peeling paint, itbrought compliments and stares.  This old barnfish just felt good to drive.

The starter sounded worse than nails on a chalkboard and it made its mark in the garage just like a harley. It was festooned with stickers like "its all fun and games until someone loses an eye". I threw a stereo in it and drove it, talking to people and finally found someone who would strip and rebuild it for a set amount if I bought the parts...

Little did I know sheetmetal is not readily available for this car, despite being the top selling american car in the history of GM, no one bought or picked up the molds for the panels.  I tracked down a "Year One" representative and gave him "what for" for not offering sheet metal and learned that little tib-bit.  So I turned to ebay.  I have found interior panels complete, seat covers, used sheet metal panels, the whole weatherstriping package, convertible tops and components, and finally posted a note at the front door, "packages may be left without a signature". The UPS man gained some muscles at my house!

Back to EBAY, I bought carpet, found people that build grills, blast and rechrome, one guy I bought a bumper from, sent me two and a set of lights.  Car people on Ebay are more than willing to help.  I sent people to their garages and barns to find stuff to sell me. 

Even though it said 327 on the side bezels, when we got into the engine, I had a 350 truck motor from 1971. I learned to read the casing numbers to find out what parts I needed. The lobes were worn off the cam, and she was running good. Kinda scary.  We sent the engine out locally to be cleaned and bored and stepped it up a tad with a hotter cam and all new innards, added a new radiator, new electric fan, new water pump, edelbrock 650 carb, new edelbrock manifold, new oil pump (cha ching..... then I bought full length headers, floor pans, trunk pans, a new gas tank, a chevrolet interchange book, and radiator supports. The House of Kolor Paint " midnight blue" is available as well. 

Everytime the guy gave me a list, I knew the price.  I set my favorite searches for "newly listed" and got a daily update. When searching for parts, don't limit your searches to 1968 Impala, go for GM full size, or B body, don't be afraid to ask sellers questions, or request measurements.  Caveman Performance, NorthCoast Muscle Cars, Gilette Classics, Rock Auto, Summit Racing, and Proctors Metal Finishing are a few of the sites that I visit regularly. 

The guy working on my car got a excited about the way it was turning out as I am... now we are looking at March conversion pulleys and Dakota Digital.... money is made round to keep rolling..... We are 3 weeks to finish and this car was 75% bought on EBAY!  

I know this car inside and out, so do a few of my EBAY friends.  Gas, Tires and Oil..... Happy rebuilding!