Impala SS / 85 pics / solid survivor / never in winter / beautiful

Description for Chevrolet Impala 1994

1994 Chevrolet Impala SS / 84k orig miles / 85 pics / never in winter / survivor
You are viewing a very nice example of a well kept, 94 Impala SS. It has just under 84,000 original miles, which is documented on the title. This is a fine example of the 1990’s renaissance of truly powerful cars reminiscent of the 1960’s. While difficult to compare the power of a modern muscle car from nowadays, this sure holds its own with its torque and is the last year of the OBD1 system, which is arguably simpler than OBD2 and some say has more power than the 95-96 models having OBD2. I don’t know about that, but I do know this car will run! The exterior is striking and gets many compliments. It has numerous options as part of the SS package, including leather interior, leather-wrapped steering wheel, 4 wheel disc ABS brakes, 17” wheels, heavy duty shocks, heavy duty cooling system, rear spoiler, and limited slip rear axle. In addition, it has 6-way power driver & passenger seats, rear defrost, heated sideview mirrors, keyless entry (factory dual remotes), automatic dimming day/night rearview mirror, power antenna, twilight sentinel headlamps, and the very smooth & powerful LT1 5.7 350. I have several documents since new, including factory manuals, several work invoices, including the original factory window sticker. The title documents the mileage as “actual”. This documentation traces back to the original owner. I purchased the car from the cousin of the original owner last year. At that time I ran a Carfax which came back “clean”. I hate to sell this car but I have too many and need to make some room.
Exterior: The paint is mostly original and is very presentable as-is, but with flaws. The top surfaces of the car have some minor checking here and there, as well as some minor scratches on the top and side surfaces. There are stone chips behind the tires on the lower rockers / lower sides of the rear quarter panels. There are some spider cracks on the front and rear bumpers from minor bumping over the years. There are some touch ups here and there for stone chips and other scratches. The lower part of the front bumper also has some marks from bugs/stone chips that have marred the original paint finish. The paint still retains a nice shine but the aforementioned imperfections do not readily show up in the pictures. Again, it is very presentable as is, so if you are looking for a nice survivor I think you would be happy….if you are looking for show-quality then you should be looking at a car with a fraction of the miles. There is a very slight/small indentation driver’s side rear quarter panel but is almost unnoticeable….I suppose a paintless dent removal process would eliminate it. There is also a fairly long but faint scratch in this same area. Otherwise the body panels are straight, no significant dings, dents, or scratches to speak of…and does not appear to have had any paint work or bondo repair to my knowledge, except the rear spoiler was repainted recently. The rest of the paint appears to be original and still in good condition. The wheels are nice and free of any significant pitting or road rash. Overall exterior is very well preserved and reflects the well-kept history of the car. It is in “survivor condition” which means it is not perfect, but nonetheless presentable and original.
Interior : The interior is also very presentable. No evidence of any smoke smell or any burn holes. Carpets are clean and free of wear, as floor mats have protected the carpets since new. As is common on the 90’s era GM cars, there is some minor fading on the plastic/leather in spots. There are no significant stains, rips, tears, or other holes to speak of. Vinyl dash and door panel armrests are in nice shape, other than some slight discoloration on the power switch panel portion of the door panels. Headliner does not sag. The interior is very nice and comfortable….like stepping back in time when you sit behind the wheel. All the power equipment works well, including the cassette player. The A/C was recently serviced including a new compressor, accumulator, air drier, and O-rings. This car came new with R-134 so no conversion was necessary. Another flaw to mention is the bottom, center portion of the windshield has an isolated area of some air bubbles that the prior owner said has been there for a long time; they are not in the line of vision and therefore not an issue from a safety inspection standpoint. I suppose it was a defect stemming from the manufacturing process.
Underneath: The undercarriage is almost unbelievable considering this car is from the Northeast. Obviously you can see from the pictures it probably saw little if any salt / winter weather. It is very solid underneath and any rust is limited to “surface scale”.
Mechanical: It is apparent from the prior owners it was very well cared for. I bought the car from the cousin of the original owner. The original owner was supposedly a female NY state trooper. Shortly before I bought it, the prior owner had a new optispark installed, including water pump, spark plugs, plug wires, and coil. I had the following done: A/C serviced with new compressor, accumulator, and drier; oil change; rear axle fluid change; rear window clips/guides; new front brake calipers. I have driven it almost 1,000 miles in the past year and would not hesitate to drive this car anywhere. The tires hold the road well and are smooth at highway speeds. The tires all match, however 2 of the tires are more worn than the other pair. The Chevy LT1 350 coupled with the Turbo-Hydramatic transmission power this car very well. Both the engine and transmission are smooth and drive like new. There is one goofy thing to mention: since the opti-spark was replaced, the car has a one-time, split-second hesitation at high RPM’s that occurs only once at high RPM’s, which then triggers the check-engine light, but after which it won’t do it again until the next time you start the car. It seems like it basically resets itself once you shut it off, at which point the check engine light goes away. In other words, the first time you hit a higher RPM and experience the split-second cut-out, you could then take do WOT as many times as you want without any issue. Then if you shut it off, restart it, then try WOT again, the hesitation will happen again only once, after which it is fine. If you drive the car like my wife or like most normal people you would never experience it at all. My mechanic believes the issue lies in the existing opti-spark, but considering the fact it runs well under normal driving conditions, and runs great at WOT after the first “blip”, I just never pursued re-replacing it. If looking for perfection then you’re probably looking at another opti-spark. The prior owner did not use genuine GM for this, so that’s probably why the issue is present. If you like an occasional stop-light drag, this is not an issue if you give it a good “rev” in neutral beforehand (if you haven’t already given it the boot previously). Overall, the car is in excellent mechanical shape, has no leaks to speak of; steering/suspension is tight, and brakes are smooth. A/C still blows cold.
Overall: If you are looking for a great example of the last of the traditional rear wheel drive Impala SS cars, this one’s for you. The car is beautiful and ready to be driven and taken to the local cruise-in. The average person on the street might think this car is show quality, but to a car-person it is not for the reasons mentioned above. For a car collector, there’s never anything 100% perfect unless it was restored. As such, this car was never restored and has almost 84,000 miles and has some trivial flaws. I have sold numerous cars on eBay and in all situations I had positive feedback. If you get the winning bid and are not completely satisfied upon your physical inspection (prior to purchase), you can walk away from the vehicle.