If you ever take a trip to Southern California, you might just want to take a lunch break in Riverside, California, at the famous Taco Station diner (tacostation.com). This '50s-style diner not only serves some yummy Mexican food, but also boasts a classic car theme, inside and out. In fact, a few nights out of the every month, they hold a get-together for car enthusiasts, from VWs to hot-rods to lowriders.
It just so happens that that's where LRM found Oscar Segura, chilling with some of his fellow De Aquellas Car Club members from the city of Anaheim, California. The sexy model featured with Oscar's '66 Chevy Impala convertible is Rosie and she also just happened to be in the area. So, with all of the ingredients for a hot photo shoot simmering, how could this situation be resisted?
See, Oscar's not afraid to drive his full-custom convertible outside of his home area for a car show, get-together, family reunion or a simple food run. No matter what the event may be, it's when he actually cruises his topless ride down the streets that he gets the most joy and satisfaction out of it.
Oscar is a hard-working realtor who works every weekday (even sometimes on weekends) helping sell well-priced to multi-million dollar homes within one of the country's most costliest counties to live in: Orange County. Now, don't get it twisted, "The O.C." is not all what they show on the TV show with the same name, featuring beaches, nice weather and spoiled rich kids. There's the urban side to it, too. About 50-percent of Anaheim and about three-quarters of the population of neighboring city, Santa Ana, are made up of Latinos/Hispanics. That's where you will find a rich lowriding community with some of the best custom low-lows ever built.
Oscar does his part well to represent his county's lowriders, especially with this latest candy tangerine-colored creation. In just three years, he turned this classic Impala from ordinary to extraordinary, investing close to $21,000; much higher than the $5,600 he spent on purchasing the car.
Oscar plans on continuing to show his '66 at upcoming car shows (and there's no doubt that he'll continue to collect trophies for it at those shows). He tells us that, in regards to future plans, to be on the lookout for his next creation. He wouldn't go into too many details, but did say that he's bringing out another Cadillac, much like the last one that he owned a few years ago-a memorable black and gray coupe with the custom Euro clip. Residents of "OC" will be waiting on Oscar to bust out with this new ride and LRM will be sure to catch him cruising in it and do another feature!
Orange County '66
Owner: Oscar Segura
Vehicle: '66 Chevrolet Impala convertible
City/State: Anaheim, California
Club: De Aquellas C.C.
Engine/Drivetrain: The stock 327-c.i.d. V-8 was rebuilt and cleaned up by the owner's friend, Joaquin Rodriguez of Anaheim.
Body/Paint: Good friend Edgar Villegas at Choice of Colors in Garden Grove, California, took this topless ride under his wing, doing all of the bodywork and paint. Edgar sanded down the body, applied a basecoat and proceeded to spray eye-catching candy tangerine paint over all. The well-known, self-employed Mike Lamberson in Ontario, California, added the finishing touches with some elegant, subtle pinstriping.
Interior: Oscar had the right person in mind to go with doing up a color-matched custom interior. Juan Valdez of Santa Ana, California, got his backyard boogie on and stitched up the interior with tweed and vinyl materials. Even the convertible top received a special touch of tweed in eye-catching tangerine.
Sound System: "Spanky" at Gold Star in Irvine, California, added some tunes for Oscar, choosing a high-power Pioneer head unit flowing the music to a pair of tweeters and midrange speakers and one 10-inch woofer.
Setup: "Riji" at Asco Performance in Anaheim installed a Pro-Hopper hydraulic setup with a set of Red's cylinders. Four batteries power the system controlled by four switches found by the driver's seat. Although the stock frame was left untouched, the A-arms were extended to allow easier up-and-down travel on the front suspension. Fellow lowriding friend Julio of Sueos Car Club handled the minor chassis work.
Tires: P155/80-R13 Remington whitewall
Wheels: 13x7 chrome Dayton with color-matched spokes