Arguably, one of the best things from watching a Steve Magnante junkyard crawl video is walking away with a new bit of classic car knowledge. In his most recent YouTube presentation, he does precisely that by explaining what made the engine so unique in this latest find, a rusting 1970 Chevrolet Impala.

This Chevy model represents the heyday for the automaker, as nearly two million bowtie-badged vehicles rolled off the assembly. Magnante remarks that almost half of this production run came from full-sized cars like the Impala.

First Year For Small-Black 400 Power In A Chevrolet Impala

Impala aficionados will appreciate that the 1970 edition came with an abundance of engine choices, including the option in this corroding Chevy. It’s the first model year for the 400 small-block, which traces its origins back to a 265 cubic-inch powerplant from 1955.

Over the years, displacement crew to 283, 327, and eventually 350, before expanding to 400 cubic inches, like what’s under the hood of this Chevrolet Impala. Magnante explains that General Motors engineers had to mate the bores together to create the larger engine. The design resulted in reduced coolant flow and a tendency for the engine to overheat during robust use.

Many V8 Engine Choices Options For The 1970 Chevrolet Impala

The 400 cubic-inch V8 in this 1970 Chevrolet Impala
We learn that a 350 cubic-inch V8 making 250 horsepower was the standard powerplant. But buyers had other options, beyond the base engine, including the 400 V8 and a beefier 350, making 265 horsepower and 300 horsepower, respectively.

The modest horsepower for the 400 gets explained by it being a strictly two-barrel carburetor setup. A four-barrel arrangement wouldn’t appear until 1975. For those that found these powerplants insufficient in the 1970 Impala, Chevrolet offered a big-block 454 with either 345 or 390 horsepower (an engine appearing in the legendary Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454).

Other Characteristics Of This 1970 Chevrolet Impala

A 1970 Chevrolet Impala sitting in a junkyard
1970 closed out the final year of the fourth-generation Chevy Impala. Among the tweaks for this model year is the introduction of a front grille that combined metal and plastic, a change that ushered in cheaper components more than 50 years ago.

Magnante also points out the pitfalls of vinyl tops, as evidenced by the visible decay of this coupe. The bottom edge of the vinyl got secured by a series of holes and fasteners, but this method served as the starting point for corrosion.

If you’re looking to purchase a 1970 Chevrolet Impala, expect to pay anywhere from $20,000 to $45,000 according to Classic Cars.com. However, examples like the ones Steve show in his junkyard crawls can be had for less than $10,000