Don't know if it was my grandmother's black '73 Caprice or many screenings of "Live and Let Die," but I've always had a soft spot for the '73 Chevys. That enormous rear bumper with the six taillights built in is a work of art. I know the '77-'90 is a superior car in nearly every way, but still.
Hemmings currently lists 54 1973 Chevrolets for sale, not one of which is a full-size sedan.
Tom, hard to believe that your favorite 73 Impala made it 52 years with the steel wheels and moon hubcaps. I was thinking that they were standard on the Biscayne and Bel-Air but would have thought full wheel cover would have been standard on the Impala, check you 73 full line brochure when you have a chance. Great show thanks for posting, glad to see all those nice cars are out of hibernation.
Lynn, lately I’ve been using Perplexity AI, the free online version, for automotive questions and factoids. It’s pretty good and mostly but not always right from what I can tell on things I know. Here’s some interesting 1973 Chevy details.
-last year for the Biscayne in the US was 1972, and 1975 in Canada
-last year for the Bel Air in the US was 1975, and 1981 in Canada. As usual it had only two lights on each side of the rear bumper as opposed to three for the Impala.
-the 1973 Bel Air is supposedly the last full size body on frame American car to offer a manual transmission. It was only available with the 250 cubic inch straight six, and it was a three on the tree!
-Perplexity is telling me that the standard Bel Air hubcap was a full disc cover, but it supplied enough photos of the moon hubcaps that I’m guessing they were also available, especially since the Bel Air was usually a fleet sale.
On a personal recollection of the 1973 Impala, because my Dad had a four door, this was the first year of the seat belt warning buzzer, and we hated it! The buzzer was obnoxious and there was a big red warning light in the dash. The solution back then, which was commonly used, was to permanently buckle the lap belt and stuff it into the back of the seat cushion. Problem solved!
I was half right--or half wrong, lol. THM was standard with all V8s, but three on the tree was standard on '73 Chevies with the Six. But only on Bel Airs, because Impalas and Caprices were all V8 only.
Yes 1973 was the first year of the seatbelt starter interlock that caused so many complaints to be sent to Congress that in 1974 the Democratic House and Senate voted overwhelmingly to void the DOT rule that implied it. Another way to defeat it was to cut the wires that were under the seat but I remember everyone latching the front seat belts and then siting on them or pushing them between the seat cushion and the back of the seat.
My other memory of my Dad’s car was the smell of Ziebart!
We traded the 73 in on the newly downsized 1977 Caprice, which was a fantastic car. I wish I could still buy a full size American car with the dimensions of the 1977 Caprice, inside and out.
That 54 Merc is a Mercury Sun Valley, a variant of the Mercury Monterey.
The front part of the roof, which is the dark part in the photo in front of the painted white roof section, is actually a green-tinted fixed piece of heavy plexiglass. It’s the first panoramic style roof on a car. The Ford version was the Crestline Skyliner.
These plexiglass models were only available in 1954-55. They were discontinued because the car cabins would get really hot in the sun and air conditioning wasn’t common back then.
I’ve been to many car shows over the years and have only seen one of these.
That Impala looks an awful lot like a police special. It’s so clean that it’s doubtful it saw any active duty, but these were also cop cars back in the day.
Don't know if it was my grandmother's black '73 Caprice or many screenings of "Live and Let Die," but I've always had a soft spot for the '73 Chevys. That enormous rear bumper with the six taillights built in is a work of art. I know the '77-'90 is a superior car in nearly every way, but still.
Hemmings currently lists 54 1973 Chevrolets for sale, not one of which is a full-size sedan.
I jokingly refer to that movie as "Live and Let's Drive '73 Chevys."
Probably my favorite Bond movie, love the boat chase.
Tom, hard to believe that your favorite 73 Impala made it 52 years with the steel wheels and moon hubcaps. I was thinking that they were standard on the Biscayne and Bel-Air but would have thought full wheel cover would have been standard on the Impala, check you 73 full line brochure when you have a chance. Great show thanks for posting, glad to see all those nice cars are out of hibernation.
Lynn, lately I’ve been using Perplexity AI, the free online version, for automotive questions and factoids. It’s pretty good and mostly but not always right from what I can tell on things I know. Here’s some interesting 1973 Chevy details.
-last year for the Biscayne in the US was 1972, and 1975 in Canada
-last year for the Bel Air in the US was 1975, and 1981 in Canada. As usual it had only two lights on each side of the rear bumper as opposed to three for the Impala.
-the 1973 Bel Air is supposedly the last full size body on frame American car to offer a manual transmission. It was only available with the 250 cubic inch straight six, and it was a three on the tree!
-Perplexity is telling me that the standard Bel Air hubcap was a full disc cover, but it supplied enough photos of the moon hubcaps that I’m guessing they were also available, especially since the Bel Air was usually a fleet sale.
On a personal recollection of the 1973 Impala, because my Dad had a four door, this was the first year of the seat belt warning buzzer, and we hated it! The buzzer was obnoxious and there was a big red warning light in the dash. The solution back then, which was commonly used, was to permanently buckle the lap belt and stuff it into the back of the seat cushion. Problem solved!
As I recall '71 was the only year you could get this gen with three on the tree.
I have a '73 Big Chevy brochure, I'll have to double check.
Great. Sometimes when I know the AI answer is definitely wrong I’ll ask again and sometimes get the right answer.
I was half right--or half wrong, lol. THM was standard with all V8s, but three on the tree was standard on '73 Chevies with the Six. But only on Bel Airs, because Impalas and Caprices were all V8 only.
Thanks for checking!
That 250 six Turbo Thrift was offered in Camaros, Novas, Chevelles, and only the 1970 Impala four door.
Yes 1973 was the first year of the seatbelt starter interlock that caused so many complaints to be sent to Congress that in 1974 the Democratic House and Senate voted overwhelmingly to void the DOT rule that implied it. Another way to defeat it was to cut the wires that were under the seat but I remember everyone latching the front seat belts and then siting on them or pushing them between the seat cushion and the back of the seat.
My other memory of my Dad’s car was the smell of Ziebart!
We traded the 73 in on the newly downsized 1977 Caprice, which was a fantastic car. I wish I could still buy a full size American car with the dimensions of the 1977 Caprice, inside and out.
A SCRAMBLER
HELL YEAH
also that 57 tbird is pretty tite too
so is that 54 merc kustom
That 54 Merc is a Mercury Sun Valley, a variant of the Mercury Monterey.
The front part of the roof, which is the dark part in the photo in front of the painted white roof section, is actually a green-tinted fixed piece of heavy plexiglass. It’s the first panoramic style roof on a car. The Ford version was the Crestline Skyliner.
These plexiglass models were only available in 1954-55. They were discontinued because the car cabins would get really hot in the sun and air conditioning wasn’t common back then.
I’ve been to many car shows over the years and have only seen one of these.
hey that is pretty neat
youve got one on me then because that pic is the only one ive ever seen of one
i bet that roof made a great greenhouse effect in the winter though
The owner told me they only made 1800 in '54.
The green glow inside in the sunlight was pretty cool. I remember the owner telling me how hot it got inside.
Is that a Hurst S/C Rambler?! Oh yeah baby, that's the good stuff.
barely anything wilder or bolder that rolled off an assembly line in the 60s
That Impala looks an awful lot like a police special. It’s so clean that it’s doubtful it saw any active duty, but these were also cop cars back in the day.
Wow, some stunners there .
I can't imagine having a beautiful RED Chevy like that and never driving it =8-^ .
? Was the ambulance a LaSalle ? .
-Nate
That was a Packard, '41 I think.
I can smell Rich Corinthian Leather wafting out of the final photo.
Nice variety of cars. Thanks for the report Tom.
Fun fact: it had velour.
Anybody want to spot some cars in a 2 minute news report?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFaQ_YXwuRI
white at 0:20
green at 1:33
white with blue roof at 1:50 (same as 0:20?)
If the Mercedes is steel, you made the deal of the year at only 45$.
'Twas. It's a Franklin Mint model, 1/24 scale.
Sweet. I've seen some of the Franklin made years ago and the detail was awesome.