1965 was a great year for Chevrolet. Their full-size cars had got bigger, sales were up and they were still the number one car manufacturer. They actually sold over 1 million Impalas that year – pretty impressive.
The new bodies were more rounded than the previous year and had less trim giving them a cleaner look. The SS or ‘Super Sport’ version was Chevrolet’s prestige Impala and offered some extra refinements. It was only available in two body styles: a 2-door hardtop and a convertible with the latter being the most expensive Impala available at the time.
The rather striking Evening Orchid paint on this frame-off restored Impala is very rare and a one year only color.
![front view of a 65 Chevrolet Impala SS](https://www.carsandstripes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1965-chevrolet-impala-ss-front.jpg)
Outside, the SS had “Super Sport” and “SS” trim, special wheel covers and bright wheelhouse moldings but interestingly, no lower body molding as the standard Impala had.
![rear view of a 65 Impala showing the triple taillights](https://www.carsandstripes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1965-chevrolet-impala-ss-convertible-rear.jpg)
Distinctive door panels with the SS emblem were a feature of SS cars. Bucket seats with a center console were standard too. The white interior compliments the exterior perfectly.
![Impala SS interior from 1965](https://www.carsandstripes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1965-chevrolet-impala-ss-convertible-interior.jpg)
Under the hood a 140 horsepower six cylinder engine was standard even for a SS model. However, only 3,600 buyers opted for this. For just $108 extra you could get the base V8 – a 283 cubic inch engine that output 195 horsepower. However the original opted for the more powerful 325 horsepower 396 cubic inch Turbo-Jet paired with a 4-speed manual transmission.
![1965 Chevy 396 cubic inch V8 engine in an Impala](https://www.carsandstripes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1965-chevrolet396-v8.jpg)
Chevrolet produced 239,500 V8 Impala Super Sports for the 1965 model year. This figure includes both the Hardtop and Convertible models. If you wanted to order a convertible back then the base price was $3,212 for the (283 cubic inch) base V8.
This ’65 Impala SS Convertible is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for even more photos)
My Mom got a new ss 396 Impala convertible in Evening Orchid with the white vinyl bucket seats in the fall of 1964 when the new year model came out. Hers had A/C and automatic. She had the black top instead of white which does not look as good but won’t turn yellow with age as the white top does.
I thought 1965 was the prettiest year of the Impala SS !!! I wish I had a picture of it.
I thought that vacuum power gauge to the right of the radio was absolutely useless. Why didn’t GM put a tach there instead?