1958 Chevrolet Impala Convertible Photo: Bill Vance Click image to enlarge

1958 Chevrolet
by Bill Vance

Some cars seem to get overshadowed by events and therefore don't receive the recognition they deserve. The 1932-34 four cylinder Fords are a good example. They were good enough cars, much improved over previous Ford fours, but Ford's famous 1932 V-8 eclipsed them.

The 1958 Chevrolet is another example of an outshone model. Several trends conspired against the '58 Chevy. For one thing, the economy was in recession and buyers were in a conservative mood. The euphoric production-record year of 1955 was forgotten, and fuel economy now seemed to matter more than performance. American Motors' Rambler was the only American car to show higher sales that year.

Economical imported cars were becoming a threat; Volkswagen's North American sales shot up to well over 100,000. The Big Three's answer, the Chevrolet Corvair, Ford Falcon, and Chrysler's Valiant, were still two years away.

Then there was the fact that the '58 Chevy was a one-year model wedged between those almost instant classics, the popular 1955-57 Chevs, and the radical "bat-wing" Chevrolets of 1959. In spite of factors that seemed to be against it, the 1958 Chevrolet introduced some new trends and features, and even a new name, Impala, that would become one of the most popular badges ever.

During the late 1950s, traditional low-priced cars like Ford and Plymouth started to nudge up into the medium-price class, and Chevrolet could do nothing but follow.

The '58 Chev was, therefore, longer, lower, wider and heavier than the '57. Its wheelbase was stretched 64 mm (2.5 in.) to 2,985 mm (117.5 in.), and over-all length was up 229 mm (9 in.) to 5,309 (209).

It was also some 91 kg (200 lb) heavier than the '57, and to push this extra avoirdupois, Chevy engineers added a new, larger V-8 engine to the line.

This was the big-block 5.7 litre (348 cu in.), known as Turbo-Thrust (to distinguish it from the small-block Turbo-Fire), that had started its life as a truck powerplant, but had been switched over to accommodate the heavy Chevy.

It produced 250 horsepower in standard form and 280 when fitted with the Power Pack option, which included three two-barrel carburetors.

Earlier engines were also carried over. These were the 3.8 litre (235 cu in.) overhead valve, inline "Blue Flame" six, and the famous overhead valve smallblock V-8, now up to 4.6 litres (283 cu in.) from its original 4.3 (265).

The smaller eight came in various states of tune starting at 185 horsepower and culminating in the fuel-injected 283 horsepower version with the then revered one horsepower per cubic inch of displacement.

Under its stylish exterior, the '58 had some new features, too. To achieve a height reduction of up to 127 mm (5 in.), depending on body style, the conventional side-rail type frame was replaced with an X-shaped type. Rear leaf springs were supplanted by coil springs, and the rear axle was located by a new four-link control arm system.

Fitting coil springs all around made possible the installation of a new, optional, air suspension in which the springs were replaced by four air bladders inflated by an engine-driven compressor. It proved to be an ill-fated system that was troublesome in service; few were sold and it was withdrawn after only two years.

Another questionable option available in the '58 Chevy, although it had appeared during 1957, was the new Turboglide two-speed automatic transmission. It would prove to be more expensive and less reliable than the time-proved but slow Powerglide, and was discontinued after just a few years.

Chevy draped this changed hardware with a body that had rounder, softer contours than the '57. The quad headlamps and massive bumper and grille combination would have been expected only on a Cadillac a few years earlier. And the sculpted rear fenders gave a hint of the flamboyant wings that would make their appearance in 1959.

The Impala nameplate started out as a sub-model of the Bel Air, but Chevrolet made subtle changes that set the Impala apart. It came as a sport coupe and a convertible, and to give it a longer, lower look, the roof was made slightly shorter. The result was that the rear deck was longer, yielding a sleeker appearance.

Although overshadowed by its more popular '55 to '57 siblings, and the flamboyant winged '59s, the '58 Chevrolet was a tastefully styled car that set the tone for the bigger cars GM's largest division would build through to the downsized models of 1977.

Even though 1958 cars sales were down, the '58 Chev captured a record 30 per cent of the market. And it won back the sales race it had lost to Ford in 1957 for the first time since 1935. That's not a bad legacy for a "forgotten" Chevy.

Reflections on Automotive History by Bill Vance, Volumes I, II & III available through www.billvanceautohistory.ca

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