Way back in the mid-1970s, the 13 year-old version of your faithful reporter got his mind blown.
Riding my bike past a shopping center, I saw a 1962 Chevy Impala hardtop. It was triple-white and gleamed in the afternoon sun. That car seared itself into my impressionable brain, and the memory is as vivid as the day I saw it. 50-odd years later, the full size ’62 Chevy is my favorite car, hands down.
And judging by the numbers of X-frames at the 2025 Goodguys Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, we’re not alone. Wherever we pointed our camera around the vast Ohio State Fairgrounds, there was a 1961, 1962, or 1963 full size Chevy on display.
While these cars have been enthusiast favorites for decades (especially on the lowrider scene), perhaps a new generation of gearheads have discovered the awesomeness that is the X-frame Chevy. A certain 13-year old kid would heartily agree.
Have you seen more 1961-64 Chevys are your local shows or is what we found in Columbus an anomaly? Let us know what you think!
There are plenty of Goodguys shows on tap for the rest of 2025, including the Summit Racing Equipment Lone Star Nationals, September 26-28 at Texas Motor Speedway. Check out the Goodguys event calendar and find one near you.
The first indication that it was going to be a Chevy X-frame day was seeing this black 1961 wagon at the Johnsons Hot Rods display. All we know about it is that it looks so, so right. We’ll post some more info on the wagon soon. (Image/OnAllCylinders)This 1962 Impala hardtop was super-sharp in its two-tone paint and 10-spoke wheels. A small block provides the power and Wilwood four-wheel disc brakes provide the whoa. (Image/OnAllCylinders)This ’62 two-door post runs a small block 350 backed by a Turbo 350 automatic. The wheels are Billet Specialties five-spokes—always a solid choice. (Image/OnAllCylinders)This 1963 Biscayne looks like Grandma’s grocery-getter, but it will leave you in the dust thanks to the legendary 409 CID V8 backed by a four-speed stick. We’d wager there’s a positraction and a steep set of gears in the rear axle, too. (Image/OnAllCylinders)This 1962 Bel Air sports a 6.0L LS engine and a 4L60 four-speed automatic. The Goodguys judges gave it a Best Patina award. We think it’s well-deserved. (Image/OnAllCylinders)We have our doubts as to whether this 1963 Impala more-door was a genuine courtesy vehicle for Jim Reed Chevrolet in Nashville, TN. But who knows? Jim Reed was Nashville’s first Chevy dealer, opening in 1917. We dig the American Racing Salt Flat wheels. (Image/OnAllCylinders)Other than the modest lowering job, you’d think this 1962 Impala sedan was bone stock. Not sure what’s under the hood, but our guess would be the workhorse 283 CID small block, probably connected to a two-speed Powerglide automatic. (Image/OnAllCylinders)Who wouldn’t want to cruise to the malt shop in this 1961 Impala four-door hardtop? It runs a 283/Powerglide drivetrain and looks great on those two-piece gold wheels with polished rims. (Image/OnAllCylinders)This is a perfect example of a 409-powered 1962 Bel Air bubbletop. The body style was offered on 1961 Impalas and on 1962 Bel Airs for a very short time. Just shy of 6,000 bubbletop Bel Airs were built in 1962. (Image/OnAllCylinders)Here’s another ’62 Bel Air that packs 409 power. Where the red bubbletop looks like a street brawler, this two-door sedan looks built for cruising—at least under the owner slams the gas pedal to the floor. (Image/OnAllCylinders) Who knew 1963 Impalas were hill-climbers? OK, it’s more of a molehill than a mountain, but it’s probably all this lowrider-style two-door hardtop on 14-inch Cragars can handle. (Image/OnAllCylinders)It doesn’t take much to make an X-frame Chevy—even a 1961 Impala four-door sedan—look cool. Just lower it, bolt on some big rims, and you’re ready to go. (Image/OnAllCylinders)Don’t let that six-cylinder fender badge fool ya—this ’63 Bel Air rocks serious small block power. It also rocks American Racing Salt Flat wheels. (Image/OnAllCylinders)Debadge it, lose the door handles, and paint it black. The result is a smooth 1962 Impala hardtop. A lowering job and some polished hoops complete the transformation. (Image/OnAllCylinders)The owner of this 1962 bubbletop ain’t afraid of a little rain—or in the case of Saturday afternoon in Columbus, a torrential downpour. The 2025 Hot Rod Power Tour ‘Long Hauler’ sticker was also a tipoff that the owner drives the wheels off this thing. (Image/OnAllCylinders)
Editor, author, PR man—Alan Rebescher has done it all in a 37 year career in the high performance industry. He has written and photographed many feature stories and tech articles for Summit Racing and various magazines including Hot Rod, Car Craft, and Popular Hot Rodding, and edited Summit Racing’s Street & Strip magazine in the 1990s. His garage is currently occupied by a a 1996 Mustang GT ragtop.
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