chevy59.com--Miss Ruby

Have you priced a `59 Impala hardtop lately? It's unbelievable how much these cars get when they are clean and/or restored! Miss Ruby, like Big Daddy, is not a perfect car. I can't afford perfect cars. I can, however, afford to put time and effort into a car that is marginal. And, in the end, I have revived an otherwise neglected car and personalized it in the process. Miss Ruby typifies this heavily.

Here's the bottom line about Miss Ruby: I rescued her from a fate worse than street racing. I saved her from becoming a hunk of rust. She was built in Kansas City and spent the next 30 years there, coming to Washington in the late 80s with 93,000 miles. Somewhere in its life it acquired a `75-vintage 350 truck engine. Why might someone install a truck motor in this car? Well, this engine block has 4-bolt mains, which means there's 4 big bolts holding each crankshaft bearing in place instead of just two. 4-bolt blocks have long been the staple of the high performance crowd, so it also means this engine is not likely to self-destruct in my lifetime. A different battle cry from the "300-horse 327" that the previous owner told me it had, but it's still great running engine with lots of sauce.

There have been many attempts at keeping this car roadworthy, but eventually someone gave up and let her sit in one of the worst places to let a car sit---a town that's overlooking salt water. That's when the elements started taking over. When I bought the car in June 1999 it was in need of some serious electrical work. Half the wiring was shot but the car purred and drove smooth and tight. Recently I discovered that Miss Ruby is still sportin' the ORIGINAL Idler Arm! Amazing...

After much effort, Miss Ruby is slowly proving herself as a reliable vehicle. I spent the better part of three months fixing things last year, only to have the wiring burn up on my wife in September. This came after it blew a metal brake line while I was driving her. And all this came AFTER it had a fit of starting problems all through July 1999. The year 2000 has been better, as I have found many things to repair before they cause the car to strand me. I'll get it right eventually; my goal is to drive this car to work for a month! By the way, I use Big Daddy as my parts chaser. The trunk is as big as a planet and there's something kind of cool about picking up `59 parts in another `59.

This car really cruises; she's quiet and runs clean. Although the Powerglide is a bit chunky on the downshift, 1st to 2nd gear is smooth and well applied. If you think that all `59s drive alike, think again. Big Daddy and Miss Ruby are very different cars and drive very different as well. Why? There are many reasons, including the following:

1. Miss Ruby has a front sway bar, and Big Daddy doesn't--Stabilizer bars make a big difference, and keep the car from "wallowing" down the road while driving at highway speeds.
2. Miss Ruby has power steering and Big Daddy doesn't--Power Steering tends to smooth out any road vibration that could make its way up the steering column.

Big Daddy drives very much like a machine, while Miss Ruby is very smooth. They may look similar and they both have fins, but their road personalities are as different as I am from you! The car's original color is Tuxedo Black. Frankly, I like the Snowcrest White that a previous owner chose for the repaint; it goes well with the red interior. Future projects for this car for aesthetic, and include new trunk pans, floorpans, rockers and quarter panels. These will be done one by one, in an effort to keep the car roadworthy. If I had the money, I'd drop it somewhere and have the whole thing restored frame up. That option is not in the near future, so off I go to buy a welder!

UPDATE -- December 2000: Dreams come true for those who believe. For Jose in Issaquah WA, the lifelong dream of owning a `59 Impala finally came to pass. Miss Ruby has gone to her new home, and Jose is wearing a grin ear to ear!

It all started when my wife and I were talking about our future in the classic car hobby. Officially, Miss Ruby was purchased for her. But because of the frequency of repairs, Sherry never had many chances to drive her. She was frustrated by this, because anytime she got behind the wheel something seemed to break. It was clear that Miss Ruby needed someone to give her the attention that I did not have time for. Through the summer Sherry did have many opportunities to drive and enjoy Big Daddy (there's just something ethereal about a beautiful woman driving a black car powered by a Big Block); those opportunities hooked her in two ways:

1. She realized that Big Daddy held a larger place in her heart than Miss Ruby, and that she was not interested in selling the big black Biscayne.
2. She realized that she liked having a classic car of her own to drive to shows and to cruise around town (we drive our classic cars year `round -- to work, to church, and on errands).
3. She realized that a 4-door classic car (or larger 2-door) would be a very interesting prospect, since we are adopting children and those kinds of cars are easier to get kids in-and-out of.

So, with those three points in mind, we decided to get another classic car and offer Miss Ruby for sale. In September 2000, Jose said to me "if you ever think of selling that car, please let me know." Jose was the first person I went to, and he was still interested. We struck a deal and that was that. Jose had his dream car and I had the funds with which to find classic family car! All in all, it worked out great. What kind of car will she get now? Only time will tell. We are in no rush to get another, since Big Daddy needs quarter panels and my `60 El Camino always needs something. I have enough to do!

Sherry and I consider ourselves to be Miss Ruby's caretakers; we saved her from a terrible fate at the hands of a punk, gave her the love she needed, and sent her on to someone who truly deserved her. Ride On, Miss Ruby, Ride On!