Lay Low '58

Manuel Molina of Fullerton, California, has always loved building cars, and in the past he's come up with the "Mocha Frost" '63 Chevy Impala Lowrider Magazine feature car and a cool '53 Chevy convertible. Manuel wanted to add another classic to his collection, so after searching for a few months, he bought a '58 convertible that was advertised in the Hemmings Motor News book. The Impala was then shipped to Fullerton from Florida, and Manuel began undertaking his major plans for his first-generation Impala called "Lay Low '58." After acquiring the convertible, Manuel visited John Kennedy of John's Exports in Long Beach, California, who was hired to oversee the project. The car was complete, but it needed minor floorboard work. John started by having his crew disassemble the vehicle and prep it for the paint shop. This part of the prepping was done by shop technicians Mike Lopez and Jose "Big Huey" Ruvalcaba. The duo made sure that the car was a bare shell. They also pulled the car off of the frame and left it on a body cart before taking it to the paint shop.

Once the car was on a rolling cart it was ready to be worked on. John shipped the body to G's Auto Body in Long Beach, where they did all of the floorboard repairs and bodywork on the classic Impala. As for the frame, it was shipped to Anthony Fuentes at Homies Hydraulics in Paramount, California, who had Caesar and "Topo" fully wrap the frame and leave it ready for the body shop to mold smooth. Alfonso of G's then checked the fit of the body on the frame as all of the floorboards were molded smooth to match the frame. The body was then pulled back off of the frame one more time, before being treated with etch primer and built back up in blocking primer.

The '58 was now ready for shop painter Jose Franco to work his magic. Jose started off by prepping the car, and then followed up by spraying the Chevy with a two-stage PPG factory pastel green. Jose also sprayed the frame as well as the crate engine in a matching green color. The boys at G's then buffed out the car and shipped it back to John's Exports, where it was reassembled.

John's crew started off by bolting on the trim, including spotlight mirrors, factory Continental kit and cruising skirts. They also put factory power windows and vent windows back on the car. The frame received a chrome undercarriage that was later rolled under the body and bolted on. The painted frame featured a 605 gearbox and CPP disc brake kit, as well as a Ford 9-inch rearend. Having the body back on a rolling chassis made it easy to bolt in the 350-c.i.d. engine and transmission combo. The new crate engine had a few billet goodies bolted on, including a polished intake and Edelbrock carburetor. To set off the stock engine, Manuel had Miguel Martinez of Riverside, California, hard line the engine compartment.

Manuel's Impala was being built simultaneously and had a chrome hydraulic setup built by "Big Frank" of Homies. The setup consists of a chrome Whammy pump, three square dumps and four 31-series Trojan batteries. The batteries were painted to match and the setup was chrome plated in a show finish. Once it was complete, Miguel Martinez plumbed the setup in a stainless steel finish.The convertible was now ready for the interior that was done by Freddy at John's Exports. Freddy wrapped the power bench seat and rear convertible seat in a CARS, Inc. interior kit that complements the exterior of the car. Manuel also dressed up the interior with a set of NOS floor mats, which he purchased from an undisclosed source.

The great '58 was next shipped to Gordo and Frank at Auto Restylers in Downey, California. They installed an Alpine head unit powered by Rockford Fosgate amplifiers, and wired up to Alpine woofers and midrange speakers that play Manuel's favorite old school jams. The car was ready to roll, but not without a set of custom wheels. Manuel bought a set of 13x7 100-spoke LA Wire wheels and mounted them on Remington P155/80-R13s.

Lay Low '58 made its debut shortly after completion at the SouthGate (California) Azalea show, where it won Best Lowrider in show. The stock custom has since been turning heads as Manuel and his two boys have been cruising his new toy. Manuel mentioned that he's working on his new project, a '61 Impala convertible, so we're sure that we'll be hearing more from Mr. Molina.