eBay Find of the Week: 1966 Impala Wagon and Shasta trailer


1966 Impala Wagon and Shasta trailer

The classic car hobby is about experiences. Some enjoy collecting as many classics as they can afford, some love the restoration process, some even manage to make a bit of money along the way. But there’s nothing like a family road trip—a long cross-country adventure, seeing new places and meeting new people, and making memories to last a lifetime. Those are the drives that we remember long after the cars have moved on to their next owners.

What better way to answer the call of the road than taking a nostalgic trip in a vintage station wagon and a matching camper? That’s the promise of this week’s eBay find.

The trailer is a retro Shasta Airflyte 12, itself a fairly rare unit, with only about 100 built. The one-year-only camper was built in 2009 to look like a vintage model but with some modern upgrades. It is a small, lightweight trailer that appears period correct and is color-matched to its tow vehicle, a 1966 Chevrolet Impala wagon. Since the original Airflyte was introduced in 1961, this combination would have been a fairly common sight back in the day.

The family wagon has a nice, clean look, and it was upgraded, according to the seller, to optimize reliability and trailering capabilities. Fuel injection, upgraded cooling components, and an air-ride suspension are included in the comprehensive list of updates.

This is an attractive duo, and we can understand why the seller wants to keep the two together. Let’s hope the next owner keeps them that way and makes some fun family memories.

Click below for more about
Read next Up next: 10 supercars from non-luxury brands
Your daily pit stop for automotive news.

Sign up to receive our Daily Driver newsletter

Subject to Hagerty's Privacy Policy and Terms of Conditions

Thanks for signing up.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

eBay Find of the Week: Family fun in a 1966 Chevrolet Impala wagon

Family transporters have gone through plenty of popularity swings over the years. Station wagons used to be the default option for family trips. Based primarily on rear-wheel-drive, body-on-frame platforms, they could tow motorhomes or boats, cruise comfortably, and carry kids with their necessary detritus while providing drivers the feel of a normal sedan or muscle car.

They were popular into the 1980s, when Chrysler’s front-wheel-drive minivan seemingly rewrote the book on suburban fashion. Forgive us for ignoring the Volkswagen van for the purpose of this discussion. We’re fans, but it never sold in huge volume.

Minivans have since ceded ground to SUVs and crossovers as the fashion accessory of responsible parents everywhere, although minivans still sell in the hundreds of thousands every year. Meanwhile, wagons have been relegated to niche status with European brands or disguised as pseudo SUVs with body cladding and a bit of added ride height. The days of full-sized wagons essentially ended in 1996, when the GM B-Body (Caprice and Roadmaster) was discontinued.

1966-Chevrolet-Impala-Wagon-396-side
bi728 (eBay)
1966-Chevrolet-Impala-Wagon-396-rear
bi728 (eBay)

1966-Chevrolet-Impala-Wagon-396-engine
bi728 (eBay)
1966-Chevrolet-Impala-Wagon-396-steering-wheel
bi728 (eBay)

Which brings us to today’s eBay find. Classic wagons like this 1966 Chevrolet Impala 396 have always promised the rumble of a pre-emissions-restricted V-8, dosed with bit of added practicality. Usually used and abused during their time as “work vehicles,” nice examples are perhaps even rarer than their original production numbers would suggest.

This one is located in Michigan, but the owner claims its first 40 years were spent in California. It appears to be an honest, rust-free, and slightly modified car with only 80,000 miles since new. The seller adds that the factory air conditioning blows cold, and the original wheels and hubcaps are included (although the car now has Torque Thrust rims with new tires. Always a good choice, no?). There are a few mechanical updates, included hardened valve seats, larger pistons, an Edelbrock carburetor, and electronic ignition promising improved reliability.

This isn’t a show car, there a few dings and bruises, but for family fun in a classic vehicle, this looks like a cool option. With that big-block engine, this could even make a fun tow vehicle for a vintage Shasta trailer. Go ahead and lead the charge on bringing wagons back into fashion.

Click below for more about
Read next Up next: Buying lunch in Atlanta is a small price to see these rare Porsches

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *