Still Rapping

Oh man, this past Super Show featured some of the very best rides in the lowrider scene from all over the circuit and it was hard to point out a favorite. But when we saw this gorgeous '50 Chevy DeLuxe ragtop on one of the main aisles and who the owner was, Hector "Oso" Rivera of Norwalk, California. Oso's previous claim to fame, "Rapper's Delight II," was a '48 Chevy Custom Cab trokita with a candy paint scheme and delightful details. The truck had already appeared in the pages of LRM as a feature way back in '82 and again recently in issue number five of Lowrider Magazine's Best-Of Classics.

Being the president of Thee Artistics Car Club in Southern California, Oso moved into a "newer" model bowtie. As luck would have it, a friend told Oso about this cherry ride. "My friend Vince told me about this car. Vince was in Northern California and spotted a "for sale" sign at a local body shop," says Oso. "The original owner had it taken apart with intentions of restoring the car, but was unable to finish it due to failing health, so I brought it back home in pieces. The chassis, body, engine and most of the parts were in boxes. Then came the fun part of putting it back together."

The original frame was shipped off to Chisholm Powdercoating in Santa Fe Springs, California, for a thorough cleaning and new powdercoat finish on the front suspension. Once the chassis was back, Oso and his son Ricardo freshened up the underpinnings for the body and driveline by adding a rearend from a Chevy Nova. Mario's Auto Works in Montclair, California, did the bodywork on the Chevy, which went through a few mild cosmetic changes. The engine firewall was smoothed, as were the inner fenders and the rest of the body before being painted by Mario DeAlba, Jr.

The tan color that Oso chose for the ragtop comes off a 2000 Ford Navigator, which is two-stage polyurethane. The murals were done up in fine style by artist "Fonzy," who owns Murals by Fonzy in East LA. With the body back, it was time to get the electric wiring changed over to a 12-volt system. Hernandez Electrical in Cypress Park, California, did this. This would come in handy for the sound system and new electronic ignition.

As far as the powerplant, Oso inherited a '54 235-c.i.d. straight-six engine, built and dressed to the hilt by "Richard" at Abel's Performance in Los Angeles, California. This thing is a beauty with chrome valve covers, water pump, starter and fuel lines all plated by Javier at Bumper Choice in Santa Fe Springs. The engine also features a Fenton header that has been given a coating of porcelain, a very classic way of finishing materials on such a ride as hot as this. Joe Epstein of Epstein's Mufflers in Montebello, California, welded up a tight stainless steel exhaust, tucked under the car so as to not scrape when rolling on those classic 13x7 classic Zenith wheels wrapped in Premium Sportway treads.

Slowly but steadily the car was coming together; the suspension still needed to be assembled and the hydraulics system installed. Oso and his brother-in-law Ismael Vega rebuilt the suspension components and then proceeded to install the Hi-Low Hydraulics-sponsored setup. Three Elite 2000 pumps are used, two in the trunk and one under the hood on the firewall. The plumbing is a combo of hand-bent stainless steel tubing and #6 hoses. Oso chose to use 8-inch cylinders at all corners with 1/4-ton coils giving the Chevy a little more spring in its step. Three heavy-duty marine batteries sit in a chrome-plated battery rack inside the trunk.

Speaking of the trunk, "Tony" at Covina Auto Trim in Covina, California did the material in there as well as the interior upholstery. Oso had Tony import tan Connelly leather, the type found on Mercedes Benz cars, for the convertible. The beautiful leather is matched to the OG plaid material used as the inserts on the seating. The carpet is that of broad weave, which flow smoothly with the color scheme. Other original features include a butterfly steering wheel, working gauges, compass and NOS glare shields purchased from Vince's Chevy Parts Company in Norwalk, California. Other choice highlights are the NOS front and rear wrap-around bumpers, and GM spotlight and fog light assemblies.

"Joe" at Auto Innovations of Glendora, California, installed sounds on the Chevy by hooking up a Yamaha cassette receiver, Clarion equalizer beneath the dash grille, custom kick panels with 5-inch mids in each side. A pair of 1-inch tweeters for highs and three 10-inch subwoofers were added for bass.

All of this work was done in time for the Super Show where Still Rapping placed First in its class that fateful day, It looks to us that Oso has another hit on his hand. We can't wait to see you go platinum, Oso!