The Outlaw - 1962 Chevrolet Impala Convertible

"As a teenager back in the '70s, I remember looking at a Lowrider Magazine and in the centerfold there was a '62 Chevy Impala convertible, dark blue with a white top and a small gangster rear window. The car was laying on 5.20s. I thought that was the nicest car that I had ever seen," says Tony Montez of Bellflower, California. "For many of years, I had the centerfold hanging on my bedroom wall. Then, in the early '80s, there was another '62 Impala convertible, again in the centerfold. This one was red with a red interior, on 5.20s, and called 'Cold Blooded.' I knew that someday I would have a '62 Impala convertible."

Now a member of Classic Oldies Car Club, Tony explains how he came by that elusive '62. "I bought my first '62 Impala hardtop when I was 15 years old and since then I've owned eight of them. Out of the eight, this one here is my second convertible. I acquired it from a gentleman by the name of Rudy Munoz in Union City. California."

Now Tony is no "one-trick pony." His '39 Chevy Master Deluxe was featured in the November 2000 issue of LRM. "It was the lowest '39 on the ground with 15-inch whitewalls," Tony tells us. "I do have to say that it was and still is a nice car." Anyway, after the car ran in the magazine, Rudy, the owner of the '62, was after Tony to sell him the '39. To make a long story short, they worked out a deal (with a little cash to sweeten the deal) and the '62 Impala convertible belonged to Tony. As for the details of the deal, Tony says, "Well, let's just say that Rudy stepped up to the plate."

Tony got the Impala home and found out that it needed some work, so he went to a few friends and started asking questions. First he took the car to "Big Jack" Matamoros of Jack's Auto Services in Norwalk, California, where they tuned the car and "got it running right." Then Tony decided to juice the car, so he went to his oldest friend, Richard "Dungi" Mageno of Better Ride in Lynwood, California. Dungi and sons Chris and Richard Jr. went to work. They installed two old school hydraulic pumps, four dumps and four batteries. "The car only goes up and down," explains Tony. "I've always thought 'lay and display.' "

Tony then took the car to a friend, George Cuellar in Norwalk, and asked him about straightening the quarter panels and doing a little touch-up. George started taking off the moldings and decided to do the entire car. The Impala was factory black so Tony decided to leave it black. Six or eight months went by and he felt that the car needed something else, so Tony went to Bowtie Connection in Artesia, California, where Fredrico stitched up a new interior and top.

A year or so went by and the car was starting to smoke so it was back to Jack's Auto Service where Tony and Jack pulled the old 283-c.i.d. engine and replaced it with a rebuilt 350. Figuring that it was time to also change the transmission, Tony went to Jerry's Transmission in Norwalk, where Jerry replaced the old two-speed tranny with a new 350 transmission.

Tony always liked having a drivable and dependable car, and he now felt that he was at that point. "I drove the car to a few shows in Las Vegas and to Laughlin a few times, and had a good time," he says. "I did decide that it was time to rebuild the front suspension so I called another friend, Cisco Chacon of Norwalk. Over one weekend, Cisco and I rebuilt the front suspension so everything was tight again. The last thing done was that the car was hard-lined by Joe Montango and Ernie Flores of Joe/Ernie's Rod and Customs in Santa Fe Springs, California."

Tony thanks everyone who lent a hand with the makeover of this '62. "The Outlaw" came out so clean that maybe this inspiring deuce will be immortalized on some young lowrider fan's wall, que no?

The Outlaw
Owner: Tony Montez
Vehicle: '62 Chevrolet Impala convertible
City/State: Bellflower, California
Club: Classic Oldies C.C

Engine/Drivetrain: The engine, a '77 350-c.i.d. small-block, was dropped in by Jack's Auto Service in Norwalk, California. The engine is bolted up to a Turbo 350 transmission installed by Jerry's Transmission in Norwalk.

Body/Paint: Tony wanted to keep his "baby" factory fresh so he stayed with the OG black paint scheme with help from his compadre George Cuellar.

Interior: The car was pretty much a clean ride and Tony wanted to keep that traditional factory-look so he opted to have Bowtie Connection in Artesia, California, redo the upholstery and ragtop. If you look closely, you can see the rare color bar, a must for the traditional street lowrider.

Sound System: The simple but effective system is made up of a Custom Autosound head unit, which fits in the factory dash cavity. A pair of 6.5-inch midrange speakers can be found up front while a subwoofer sits hidden in the rear. A Kenwood CD shuttle hidden in the trunk rounds out Tony's tunes.

Setup: "Dungi" Mageno of Better Ride in Lynwood, California, is responsible for the hydro hook on the '62. Dungi used a couple of pumps with a quartet of dumps, four batteries and all of the necessary wiring and switches for the deuce.

Tires: P175/70-R14 Remington

Wheels: 14-inch Dayton wires