“I really love old American cars and I was born in 1965, so I began looking for a ’65 Chevy Impala and was really fortunate to find one online,” Rick Hayes said. Hayes found his one owner Chevy Super Sport
“I really love old American cars and I was born in 1965, so I began looking for a ’65 Chevy Impala and was really fortunate to find one online,” Rick Hayes said.
Hayes found his one owner Chevy Super Sport five years ago and purchased it from a family in Long Beach. The Impala was bought brand new in 1965 and kept in very good condition by the elderly couple who owned it until grandpa passed away.
“When grandpa Greenblatt passed on, his wife needed to sell the car so she decided to sell it online, and that’s where I was lucky enough to discover my dream car,” Hayes said. Coincidentally, grandma had just moved from Long Beach, Calif. to the Big Island of Hawai‘i, and upon learning that Hayes was also resident of the 50th state, decided to keep grandpa’s spirit alive on Kaua‘i.
Because of this interesting little coincidence, Grandma turned away quite a few other offers to buy the beautiful classic. Lucky you live Hawai‘i.
With the arrival of the ‘65 Impala, Rick Hayes now surveyed the 40 years of wear and tear on and inside his nostalgic Impala and realized it was going to take a team effort to revive this old memory miler.
The Hayes family quickly rallied round the project and all pitched in to make the restoration a labor of love. It took five years of meticulous work to bring the firecracker red Super Sport back into cherry condition.
This meant sending the five piece front chrome bumper off to Honolulu for a re-chrome. You’ve really got to have a serious love-Jones for your old ’65 classic to drop 1,500 beans down on a re-chrome, but once the bumper was bolted in place, the outstanding gleam proved more than worth the expense.
Hayes decided to keep the original 283 cubic inch V8 engine, but replaced the two-barrel with a four-barrel intake carburetor. Next, he added state-of-the-art disk brakes and drop spindles to his classic, re-tooled the buttery-smooth custom vinyl interior, added a dynamic audio system, and topped it off with Flowmaster mufflers to give it that “bad-to-the-bone” growl.
As a final touch of class, Hayes added the custom 20 by 9 polished aluminum chrome alloy wheels. The chrome alloy wheels give the Impala a truly genuine super sport look.
Hayes used to be a full-time aircraft mechanic, but chose to start his own garage door business in Keapana valley in order to spend time with his family. When the Chevy Impala entered their lives it suddenly became the shiny red catalyst that brought them all together.
“I just want thank my wife Val, my son, Cameron and daughter Dina for all their support, patience and help,’” Hayes said as he proudly gazed over the family’s beautifully restored Impala.
Every time they drop the Impala’s ragtop and cruise Kaua‘i taking in the sun and trade winds, there is a love that is shared as a family and the spirit of ’65 shines on.
To view a short video of Rick Hayes 1965 Impala SS, click on the “TGI video” link at thegardenisland.com.
Anyone wishing to share their classic auto may find out more information by contacting Richard Aki at 482-0688 or Harvey Maeda at 651-2813 or via e-mail at harveyskoi@juno.com.
Watch video
footage online
of this classic 1965 Chevy Impala in action as part of The Garden Island’s recurring series on Kaua‘i’s Classic Car Club and check back each week for a new classic.
• Leo DuBois, contributor, can be reached via news editor Nathan Eagle at 245-3681 (ext. 227) or via e-mail at neagle@kauaipubco.com.
