Long Island Man’s First Car Restored After Nearly 40 Years, Set For Public Debut

NESCONSET, NY — For most of Nicholas Renna’s life, the 1966 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport in his father Robert's garage was not a gleaming classic car.

But after decades of waiting, the car that Robert Renna first owned as a teenager has been restored from a long-idled project into a showpiece.

Robert, who grew up in Kings Park and now lives in Smithtown, recently completed a full restoration of his 1966 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport 396 Turbo-Jet.

The car, his first, had last been registered in 1983 and sat in his garage until 2024, when Nick Giordano of Unique Performance in Medford took it in for a complete frame-off restoration, Nicholas Renna told Patch.

Robert Renna, 67, got the car as a teenager after a neighbor in Kings Park was getting rid of it and gave it to him instead of junking it, Nicholas Renna said.

The restored Impala is set to make its public debut Sunday at the Paws of War Car Show in Nesconset.

The car stayed with Robert Renna for decades, even as life, work and time pushed the restoration further into the future.

“He parked it in his garage in 1983 with the hopes of bringing it back to its original glory,” Nicholas said to Patch. “And throughout his career, he never had the opportunity to do so. He took it apart himself; he just couldn’t put it back together because of time constraints. Now that he’s retired, he said, got it done by the right guys, and he picked it up for final delivery.”

For Nicholas Renna, of Shoreham, the car was part of his childhood long before it was a restored classic.

“We used to play in it, pretend to be driving, turn the wheel, play with the blinker and honk the horn,” Nicholas said. “I think in my lifetime it was only started twice and I had only ridden in it once. It’s really cool to see it back in action again.”

He remembered the car as rusted, rotted and rough, with holes in it and years of garage life built around it.

“I just remember we used to store scooters and bicycles in the trunk,” Nicholas said. “The car was basically a dropping place in the garage. It was our primary source of kids’ toys. Now, now the thing is a showpiece.”

Nicholas said his father talked about restoring the car for years.

“I even remember him saying he would fix it up so I could drive it to high school,” Nicholas said. “Well, I graduated in 2008 from high school. Better late than never.”

The Impala Super Sport was Chevrolet’s sportier version of one of its best-known full-size cars. The “396” refers to the size of the big-block V8 engine, the kind of powerful motor that helped define American muscle cars of that era.

The car was originally Willow Green, Nicholas Renna said, but Robert Renna had it painted black decades ago. During the restoration, he chose to keep the car in factory Tuxedo Black.

“The original color of the car was called Willow Green,” Nicholas Renna said. “And then Dad had it painted back in, like, the ’70s or ’80s, maybe, to factory color Tuxedo Black. So, when he had it restored, he brought it back to the Tuxedo Black color, just because the Willow Green color is not a great color, but the Tuxedo Black color is a classic muscle car look.”

Nicholas said the car was completely disassembled, the frame was powder-coated, and the vehicle received all new stainless steel hardware, wiring, hoses and interior. The motor was rebuilt to factory specifications, as was every mechanical component, he said.

The goal was not simply to make the car look new, but to bring back as much of its original character as possible.

“A man’s hard work and dedication has finally paid off all these years to bring something back to its original factory-correct stance,” Nicholas said. " It's a work of pure craftsmanship that Nick Giordano and his team over at Unique Performance did.”

The car will debut at the Paws of War 2026 Car Show, scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Paws of War, 127 Smithtown Boulevard in Nesconset. The event is being held as part of the organization’s America 250 celebration.

Paws of War works with veterans, first responders and rescued animals. The Nesconset-based nonprofit’s programs include training rescued dogs as service dogs for veterans and first responders, helping veterans with pets, supporting military working dogs and providing mobile veterinary care.

For the Renna family, Sunday’s show will mark the first public chapter for a car that spent decades waiting in a garage.

“My father worked tirelessly throughout his accounting career, and now, newly retired, he can enjoy the next chapter with his new/old ride,” Nicholas said.