Mike's delicious '67 fastback is one devil of a ride.
writer: Marco A. Patino
photographer: Marco A. Patino
We've known Mike Lopez of East Los Angeles, California, for a long time and we're accustomed to the outstanding rides that he's built over the years. From the now legendary '63 Chevy Impala, "Twilight Zone," to his two current '67 Impala fastbacks, each car is a stand-out. The stock, daily-driven crme yellow '67 is Mike's daily driver while the other is dark and lowered to the asphalt with a sinister profile when one pulls up next to it at a stoplight.
When we caught a glimpse of this '67 at a local function, we were just about floored. The way that it sat on the ground, low-slung and wired out with chrome "Ds," the car has a dark presence. It's almost as though a dark shadow has taken the form of a '67 fastback. "Devil's Chariot" is a quite befitting name for a sinister ride like this, but then there is a bit of chrome done by El Monte Plating to break up the dark silhouette.
Hop inside of the ride and you notice just about all of the accessories that were available to those who wanted the best GM offered back in the day. A lot of this ride came together by chance and by the help of friends like Oishi and Danny who were there for Mike. This ride is a driver and is fully hooked up with old school hydros; Bosch pumps and hardware are the heart of this bad boy. The setup is totally "street" and has about as much attitude as a pissed-off pitbull.
When trying to come up with a way to be different with this car, we thought not to do the traditional bikini-clad baby doll next to a shiny car, but something more nostalgic. Now, Mike can attest to how it was to low ride back in the late '70s and early '80s; homeboys cruising the boulevard or park looking for "hynas" (girls) who were just as tough, but sexy in the chola-style manner, and how they carried themselves back in the day.
So we had one of our favorite makeup and hair people doll up the model as a voluptuous gang girl and capture her as she would've looked back in the beginning of LRM's first run as the magazine that catered to the then mostly Chicano readership. Even during the session, Mike and his buddy commented how we captured the look, feel and essence, if you will, of how the '70s lowrider culture was to many of us "older" riders when we started out on the scene.
We even asked Mike if it'd be cool to run the car feature in a monochromatic fashion, emphasizing even more so the way that it might've looked back in '77. He gave us his approval with a thumb's up and we hope that you do as well. Oral, Compadr!