1960 Chevy with a rare Turboglide

Q: Greg, I need your help. I have a 1960 Chevy Imapla 4-door hardtop in very good condition for being 46 years old. It's all original except for the tires, and has a stock from the factory 283-cubic-inch V8 and a rare Turboglide automatic transmission instead of the usual Powerglide. It has power brakes and steering and an AM radio. I'd like some information on this model, how many were made, and other interesting facts, especially on the Turboglide. Thanks much, Vic Ambur, Akron, Ohio.

A: Glad to help, Vic. Your Impala hardtop was marketed in 1960 by Chevy as the 4-door Sport Hardtop Sedan, and had a base price of $2,769. This price was the most expensive of all Chevy coupe, sedan and hardtop models. The only more expensive Chevys that year were the V8 powered station wagons starting at $2,854 for the Parkwood) and rising up through Kingswood to the 6-cylinder and V8 Nomads, which topped out at $2,996. The only actual car more expensive was the Impala Convertibles ($2,847 for the 6-cyl. and $2,954 for the V8).

Unfortunately, Chevy did not break down the individual production numbers, but I can tell you that 169,011 Sport Hardtop Sedans were built in 1960, including the Bel-Air model. (Biscayne, popular with the Cab Companies) did not come in 4-door sport hardtop dress).

I would say of all the Impala models built, yours is indeed one of the rare ones for sure, especially with the Turboglide, a one forward speed automatic with a torque converter, and dissimilar to the two forward speed Powerglide. The Turboglide, available on the V8 models only, did have an "L" on the gear selector, but it was totally different than sister Powerglide. Turboglides feature a "Grade Retard" feature, similar to Chevy's heavy truck automatics that relied on gear reduction to help slow the huge vehicles on mountain downhill driving. Unlike Powerglide, the Turboglide's "L" location was noted by Chevy not to be a "low" gear and was to be used for slowing purposes only. Turboglides came in an all aluminum case, and first appeared in 1957. Turboglides are a member of the class of manufacturer forerunners to the now popular continuously variable designs out there, as was the Buick Dynaflow transmission that powered my 1951 Buick Special Straight-8. Turboglide's "Grade Retard," also known as the "Hill Retarder" activates when your car experiences a "drag" on the rear wheels, and is probably the most novel feature of your car.

Your small-block 283 puts out either 170 horses (2-Barrel) to 230-horses (4-Barrel), and is surpassed in power only by the big-block 348-V8 options. NADA price guides list your car's average retail at $9,950.

The year 1960 was a good one: gas cost 24.9 per gallon; the average family made $5,200 a year; bread was 19-cents a loaf; Fred and Wilma Flintstone began the first of their 163 TV episodes; Chubby Checker would vault to stardom with his hit single "The Twist;" and Vincent Price scared the bejeepers out of us at movie theaters with his Edgar Alan Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher."

Thanks for your question.

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