Words and Photos: Chadly Johnson
I think we’ve all heard the old country and western song “I was country when country wasn’t cool.” I can’t help but think of that song when I look at this gorgeous 61 bubble top built by Mark Moriarity of Minneapolis, MN. Now that I have you confused I will explain. Looking at Mark’s Impala you would most likely assume it is a fresh build with its flawless paint and spotless pearl white interior. It could also be assumed that Mark built his 61 with hard to find era correct parts that he painstakingly sought out and paid top dollar for to achieve its perfect early 60s mild custom look. No matter when the Chevy was built, one thing is for sure, this Impala is timeless, which is a difficult task to pull off for most builders. The interesting part is that Mark’s 60s themed bubble top is not a recent restoration, it was built in the mid 90s when early styled customs were not popular.
Mark has always been a fan of 58-62 Chevys, but 30 years ago these cars were still considered the ugly ducklings and not many people were paying attention to them. Mark placed a want ad in the local paper for a bubble top after a lucky night at the bingo hall earned him $5000.00. Mark’s ad was answered by a gentleman who had a 61 Bel Air to sell so he went to check it out. When Mark arrived he saw the Bel Air, but he also found the guy had a 61 Impala that really interested him. Unfortunately the Impala was not for sale as the owner had big plans to pro-street it. The story on the Impala was that the guy had bought it from Bakersfield, CA as an original 60,000 mile car still wearing its factory Honduras Maroon paint. Mark just couldn’t stand to see the car put through a tub job so after much convincing got the owner to agree to sell him the Impala instead of the Bel Air.
Mark purchased the 61 in 1984 and occasionally drove it with stock paint for several years until the funds were available to build it. In the mid 90’s Mark set out to build the 61 into his vision paying no attention to the current fads of the decade. I think we can all sigh a breath of relief for that or the bubble top would have ended up fuchsia pink with teal heart beat graphics down the side, 20” inch Mickey Thompsons stuffed underneath, and a light grey tweed interior. Mark has definitely never been one to follow any trends or worry about what is cool “this” week, he builds to his personal style and his cars come out amazing.
Mark said what he had in mind for the look of the Impala was if you spotted a rich kids car sitting in a high school parking lot in the early 60s. Being an original California car the 61 needed very little in the form of rust repair, but was treated to mild mods while the metal work was being performed. The body was shaved, nosed, decked, the mirrors were removed, and the gun sight trim deleted from the tops of the front fenders. The smoothed body was then shot in layers of 1985 Oldsmobile Maple Autumn paint by Brian Claire of Lakeland Auto Body. The Olds paint closely resembles the factory color of the 61 and really glows in the sunlight. While the paint work was being done Mark rebuilt the 348 which is the original engine to the car. The W engine was then topped with an early Edelbrock 6 deuce intake with Rochester 2gc carbs. Mark picked the manifold up at a swap meet in the 80s before they became popular for $50.
When the paint had dried the 61 was sent to Bob Holland for upholstery. The still new looking 15+ year old interior work is done in a pearl white tuck-n-roll. Mark said he stole the pattern for the seats from a Steve Sanford drawing which was in a magazine as a concept for a 58 Chevy. The interior is topped off with a 59 Impala steering wheel and a set of laminated acrylic dash knobs that Mark made up himself.
With the bubble top starting to look fine Mark added some more of his swap meet goodies. Mark travels the nation year round seeking out rare and NOS parts for his builds and has been doing so for decades with many of his top parts being stashed away long before anyone though of them as desirable. I do not think there is a major swap he has not attended and his eye for rare and era correct pieces shine through in his cars. For example check out the Impala’s set of Lee’s Plastics tail lights, when was the last time you saw a set of them? Mark added a finishing touch by having some pinstriping work done to them as well. Mark also made use of a NOS Cal Custom tube grille purchased at a KKOA swap meet. Original 7.50×14 BF Goodrich Silvertown white wall tires surrounding chrome reverse wheels with authentic Cal Custom 2 bar knock-offs finish the Impala perfectly.
Yeah, Mark definitely pulled of his vision of a rich kid’s high school car. Perhaps you knew a guy in high school with a car like it, maybe you were that kid, either way, Mark has that kid’s car now.
