MyStarCollectorCar

JULY 2025: THIS 1961 CHEVY IMPALA RESTO MOD WAS BUILT FOR THE LONG RUN

Jerry Admin

Terry Gouliquer is the proud owner of a 1961 Chevy Impala resto mod that he built to tackle the open road.

In a nutshell, Terry wanted to keep his two-door sedan flat-top true to its original style while upgrading the car’s performance.

Jim Sutherland

The 1961 Chevy Impala was a bridge car between the Fabulous Fifties and Sensational Sixties because of its overall design. The 1959-60 Chevy models had radical horizontal rear fins that set them apart from other cars from that era, while the 1961 Chevy had very subtle rear fins that blended in with the rear quarters and advanced the car’s design into a cleaner early 1960s look.

This era of Impala design always appealed to Terry who added “I grew up around them”, consequently he was influenced by his days as a young car guy. Terry purchased his ’61 Impala from the original owner’s son about 20 years ago and drove it for a few years while he mapped out his game plan for the car.

Terry’s final decision was clear: keep the car looking stock while boosting its overall performance and comfort levels to a more modern era.

Terry wanted to use his ’61 Impala for long road trips and enjoy the best of both worlds (retro style with major upgrades) along the way.

Terry replaced the Impala’s original steering components with a nimbler package that “replaced 15 steering wheel turns with just a couple of turns”, in his words. The car is also equipped with power steering, power brakes and an aftermarket air conditioning system that looks like it was made for the ’61 Chevy. Terry also added a hidden sound system to enhance the road trip experience in his Impala.

A 1961 Chevy Impala two-door sedan flat-top is a rare beast because very few of these models were made that year. For the record, General Motors built an unusual flat roof design that extended over the rear window and provided a unique style known as a “flattop” by car guys.

Flat-tops are generally associated with various 1959-60 GM models (including Impalas), but the 1961 Chevys also offered the style for its buyers. Terry told MyStarCollectorCar one of the more unusual features on a 1961 Chevy two-door sedan was the rear passenger windows because they rolled all the way down on Impalas, unlike lesser models in the ‘61 Chevy stable.

1961 Chevy Impalas also featured more brightwork and rear taillights to place the cars at the top end of the lineup and Terry decided to keep them on his car. As mentioned, he wanted to keep the car’s original style as much as possible, including a repaint in two-tone colors.

The car now has a 350 Chevy small block mated up to a Turbo 400 3-speed automatic transmission; a very reliable powertrain combination that can handle the long road trips with ease while delivering solid MPG numbers along the way.

Terry has logged over 45,000 miles in his ’61 Chevy, including a long road trip to Route 66 from his home in western Canada, so we will leave the final words to him.

”I built it to drive it”.       

Terry Gouliquer

BY: Jim Sutherland

Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section. 

Exit mobile version