Krazy 8

In the history of Lowrider Magazine, we've come across a lot of father and son teams who choose to build up a sweet ride, but we've never come in contact with a father and daughter team... until now that is. David Alarcon and his 14-year-old daughter Lola have built up one smokin' '68 Chevy Impala. "The car was given to me by my brother when I was 15 years old," relates David. "I told myself that one day I would fix it up and give it to my first child, which was Lola and she helps me a lot with it."

By day, David is a truck driver, but on the weekends, he likes to hang with fellow Estilo Car Club members. As a matter of fact, David had a helping hand in building Manuel Corbala's Lowrider of the Year '79 Olds Cutlass, "Strictly Business." But this time, it was David who received a little help from his fellow car club members as well as from his daughter. And now, this juiced-up ranfla that they dubbed "Krazy 8" is stopping traffic in the calles of Merced, California, where they reside.

Richard Martinez at Richard's Body Shop in Merced was the man in charge of making sure that the classic chunk of metal was free from any impurities before handing it over to his guys for a new paint scheme. The one and only Harvey Vera, the guy responsible for painting Manuel's award-winning ride, used a mixture of mouthwatering candy greens laid over a silver base for a custom color. After the paint had cured, as they say in the business, Rico took on the task of laying down some no less than perfect pinstripes and graphics throughout the car and on the doorjambs, as well.

Once the exterior was in superior condition, it was time for a little elbow grease inside of the car as well. The interior work was done up by Eddie Guerrero at Eddie's Garage in Merced, where more than 50 yards of gray velour (fashioned in the OG biscuit tuck and roll) were draped over the original seats. And just in case Lola wants to jam those tunes on the radio, he made sure to have a clean stereo setup installed. Greg Rodriguez put in a Sony CD head unit that's amplified by a pair of Kenwood amps. The system is rounded out by tweeters, mids and two power-surged woofers. Also within the car, you will see six switches to control three custom-built Lowrider pumps, three dumps, 8-inch cylinders in the front and rear, and six Sears DieHard batteries.

Now that that was all done, David also took a little time to make sure that what was under the hood looked just as good as the rest of the car. The 350-c.i.d. engine was simply spruced up with plenty of chrome-dipped parts, thanks to Moreno's Polishing in Fresno, California. While they were at it, the guys at Moreno's also gave the car the Midas touch, as you can see by a few other bits and pieces throughout the car that were dipped in gold. To match all of that chrome, the car now sits on chromed-out 13-inch Sinister wire wheels.

David says that it took him and his crew approximately 2 1/2 years to get the car looking like this, but he says that it's been worth every drop of sweat. David says that he wants to thank "Flaco" and Richard for helping him to build the car and never giving up, and Lola for the support, as well as sponsors like Bob's Auto Paint, Rico's Pinstriping and Punch 84 in Turlock, California. But most importantly, David wants to dedicate the car to his brother Junior, who originally gave the '68 to him and who passed away from cancer five years ago.