Seeing as how I'm horribly far away from affording a new GTO, I've been looking at things that a are a bit more attainable. The 1994-96 Impala SS has caught my eye. In some ways, it's just like the GTO:

-Big Corvette V8 power
-Sleek, sedated looks (sleeper-like)

I'm still not in the market for another car yet but I wanted to get an idea of how good these are (reliability, modability, etc.).

This particular one looks pretty damn clean. B)

The LT1 has a pretty good aftermarket, though I've heard it's not as good as the aftermarket for the LS1, and some of the GM Performance Parts for it are being discontinued. In any case, 400hp is easily achievable with basic heads/intake/cam/exhaust upgrades. You'd definitely need to beef up the tranny, though, since the old 4L60s weren't meant to handle that much power. You'd also need to look at the suspension. A B-body Impala SS won't take the turns nearly as well as a GTO. At the minimum I'd say get a spring/shock upgrade, though you might want to check the hot rod mags to see how difficult it is to fit an IRS from a Corvette in there. If you're handy and can do the mods yourself, you might be talking about $10K in upgrades to get it to hang with a GTO (probably about 2-3K of that is for the engine). Depending on how much you get the car for, it may or may not be worth doing over a GTO.

depending on how important looks are to you, there are the police versions available for 5000 or less. they have the same mechanical parts, (engine tranny suspension brakes) but not the leather interior or nice wheels and paint.

do a web search, look for code 9c1 and make sure it is the 5.7 not the 4.3 V8
and be sure its a 94-96 for the LT-1

Edited December 13, 200519 yr by thedriver

You KNOW taht I will give you two thumbs up and an official Sixty8 seal of approval! These cars are the best and last of their breed... untill Chevy finally get's their crap togeather.

Yea, if there is one GM car that would've made my list when buying my car (besides camaro/GTO/vette) the mid 90's impala SS would've been right up there. I love the SS. Makes for a great lowrider too!

Great choice! :D Don't know that I can add too much, you guys have covered most of it.

Impala/Caprice prices are dropping right now. I'm not to happy about it but good for you.

I've seen a few sub-1,000 mile SS's still going for high dollar but typical cars are approaching 100K now. Not that 100K is really anything on these cars, my daily driver is an LT1 Roadmaster Wagon. Over 214K on the clock. Original engine, 2nd trans.

Trans is really the weak point on these cars. Mine was replaced at 180K-ish but wasn't driven hard in its early years either. Trans in my SS was replaced under warranty by the previous owner, hmmmm.

There are tons of cheap mods that can be done to these cars. True however that mods are more readily available for the LSx engines. LT1's were only made for, what 4 years though so considering that, there's still bunches of stuff available.

I'll also suggest looking at B4U and 9C1 caprices. Both can be found with most of the SS performance goodies at about half the price if you're willing to sacrifice some of the SS 'look'.

A couple resources to check out:
http://www.goissca.org
http://www.9c1.net
http://www.impalassforum.com
http://www.impalasuperstore.com

Good luck!
Oh, and a number of people who bought SS's new are trading them for GTO's now. Just to give you an idea of some of the owners interests. :)

Edited December 13, 200519 yr by DBeaSSt

DBeaSSt i see you have done a lot of work on yours, do you think an Atlas Inline-6 would fit under the hood of a wagon? always seemed like a unique replacement for the early weak engines. . .

DBeaSSt i see you have done a lot of work on yours, do you think an Atlas
Inline-6 would fit under the hood of a wagon?

always seemed like a unique replacement for the early weak engines. . .

[post="58652"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I like the way this guy thinks! :D

DBeaSSt i see you have done a lot of work on yours, do you think an Atlas
Inline-6 would fit under the hood of a wagon?

always seemed like a unique replacement for the early weak engines. . .

[post="58652"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Thanks. A straight 6? Hmmmm. Anything will fit, given enough time and money. :) It would be tight though, those V8's are kinda crammed back against the firewall. I've actually been pondering a big block but who knows......
Custom Cruiser 442? :D

DBeaSSt i see you have done a lot of work on yours, do you think an Atlas
Inline-6 would fit under the hood of a wagon?

always seemed like a unique replacement for the early weak engines. . .

[post="58652"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

The Atlas 6 is like 2 inches longer than the LS1, which will easily fit. The Big Block fits, but engine mounts need to be made. The I6 is rather tall but no taller than the LQ4 truck 6.0L. As you can tell I have thought about this swap as well as a turbo I6 in a 3rd gen Camaro.