Words: John Gunnell
Jim Cina’s ’64 Chevy Impala SS Sport Coupe could steal your heart today with its nostalgic appeal and good looks. But back in the day, those same good looks inspired thieves to steal the car from a previous owner named Mrs. Ford Leggett, who lived in Jackson, Mississippi.
Jim doesn’t know exactly how or when the car was swiped. “I tried to contact Mrs. Leggett to find out,” he told Hot Rod Hotline, “but my efforts to find her have been unsuccessful. I’d like to hear about how the car was stolen, whether any damage was done to it during the theft and how long she kept the car after the police returned it.”
Cina found a police recovery tag under the rugs inside the car while he was redoing it as a restoration project. The Jackson Police Department found the stolen Chevy on Dec. 15, 1974 at 1800 hours (6 pm). The car was found at Ridgeway and Albermarle Rd., but Officer F.M. Byrd (Badge No. 124) did not find anyone to arrest. In fact, Case No. 74-43246 was most likely never solved. Mrs. Ford Leggett did get her Chevrolet back, though.
The car eventually wound up in an auction at the annual Iola Old Car Show in Wisconsin. A man from Spencer, Wis., bought it. Ten years ago, the man brought it back to the Iola show to sell it in the Car Corral there. Cina looked the car over 17 times before he put down a $100 deposit to buy it. Then, he drove to Spencer to close the deal and get the car.
“When I bought it, the general condition was like it is now, except for the paint,” Cina explained. “I removed all the trim from the car and repainted it. The original grille was dented.” He found several other grilles with the same dent. Then, he eventually found the undented grille that’s on the car today.
Cina also bought reproduction parts for his project car, such as the Impala SS plate on the right-hand side of the trunk lid. It came from a vendor in a trailer at a swap meet. In addition to painting the Super Sport, Cina installed a new exhaust system with 2-1/2-inch pipes. He replaced the springs, put in a new power steering system and added aftermarket taillight lenses with the Chevy bowtie emblem outlined in white. He also had the front bucket seats reupholstered.
The car had a dent in the passenger side right where the rear wheel well is. That made it hard to access for the repair, but Cina got it fixed and refinished that area of the body. He also replaced the original 283-cid V-8 with the 350-cid V-8 that’s in the car now. The engine runs well and it sounds great thanks to a big, thick dual exhaust system.
Cina wanted a ’64 Chevy SS because he had previously owned the same type of car, except his first one had a 327-cid 300-hp engine and a four-speed manual gearbox. Cina says he thought it was funny that a woman named Ford drove a Chevy.