Rear  - Screw Adjustable Coils Springs, truck arms and Panhard Bar

By the late seventies, Detroit had finally responded to buyer's demands and began downsizing their fleets.  The Impala/Caprice model had long been the flagship of the Chevrolet line and in 1979, the car was downsized and updated.   This process would result in the Impala becoming the Motor Trend Car of the Year as well becoming the largest selling America car of 1979.  NASCAR Winston Cup teams soon began constructing their own versions of America's best selling car for competition.  Under the supervision of James Hylton,  Terry Strange, Kirk Shelmeridine and Will Lind, Hylton Motorsports constructed their own 1979 Chevrolet Impala using a fully fabricated chassis from Banjo Matthews.

The 1979 Firecracker 400 served as the maiden voyage for the Impala and James Hylton piloted the car  to a 19th place finish.  The Impala would be campaigned along with the 1977 Monte Carlo and the 1977 Olds 442 throughout both the 1979 and 1980 seasons.  Hylton had considerable success during those two season with a 14th place finish in Winston Cup points in 1979 and a 13th place finish in the 1980 points totals.  The Impala made its final start in the 1981 Winston Western 500 as NASCAR mandated that only 110" wheelbase cars would be eligible for competition beginning with the 1981 Daytona 500.

In 1981, the Impala body was removed from the car and the chassis wheelbase was cut to the NASCAR mandated 110".  The car received Grand Prix sheet metal for the 1981 season and competed in its first race at Talladega's Winston 500.  The car would be converted to a Chevrolet Monte Carlo for 1982 and would end its career at Hylton Motorsports as a 1985 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS.  In 1985, the car was sold to ARCA competitor Leroy Maybry of Landrum SC.  The car competed in three ARCA RE/MAX Series events with its best performance being a fifth place finish at the 1986 ARCA 200 at Daytona with Trevor Boys behind the wheel.