Muscle Car Review – September 2019

wouldn’t meet my requirements, so I
couldn’t wait to buy my own car. My
choices came down to a 1966 Impala SS for
$1,600 or a 1963 SS for $775. I chose the lat-
ter and to this day have no regrets.”
Right from the beginning, Pagliocca
had a deep appreciation for stock muscle
cars, but he did make a few minor altera-
tions to his car shortly after buying it. The
original 14x5-inch steel wheels and SS

hubcaps gave way to 1969 Corvette–spec

15x8 Rally wheels. In an effort to tighten

up the car’s handling, he also replaced the

front antisway bar with a larger-diameter

bar, anchored to the chassis with polyure-

thane bushings instead of rubber ones.

At the other end, he removed the factory

springs and installed higher-rate springs

sourced from a Chevy station wagon, and

installed Gabriel HiJackers air shocks in

place of the stock Delco oil shocks.

For the first few years he owned the

Impala, it was Pagliocca’s only car, and

he used it every day. “I spent many hours

enjoying driving the Impala everywhere on

Long Island and on trips to Massachusetts

to visit family. Much of the time my best

friend Karen and her best friend Susan,

who was my girlfriend back in the day,

could be found driving around with me.

Pagliocca and

his pals used white

shoe polish to

decorate their cars

before heading to the

dragstrip. On this

occasion in 1969 it

is adorned with his

nickname, Poch.