The Department Dedicated To The Hottest Engine Compartments.
Each month in "From the Hood" we bring you one of the sport's hottest-looking engine compartments. This section highlights an engine that's been customized and hooked up with performance parts as well as cosmetic components. From The Hood is broken down to include performance parts, pulleys and brackets, engine compartments, induction and ignition systems.
This month, we feature "Panty Raid," Danny Galvez' '66 Chevy Impala cruising out of Baldwin Park, California. At the most recent San Diego, California, Tour show, we spotted Danny's '66, a familiar car that we used for our display at the SEMA show one year. The pink Impala was actually the first lowrider to be recognized and receive an award at that prestigious annual event. The car still looks good as its engine compartment was far ahead of its time. We thought that we had to take a look at it one more time so you know what we're talking about.
Danny is no stranger to the lowrider world. At D&D Designs, he's done it all, from radical upholstery jobs to what he loves to do now, which is paint and pinstripe. This multitalented artist used his skills to help design and build the engine compartment of his "sexy six" Impala.
The stock 327 was painted in House of Kolor pink pearl paint and was dressed up with Zoops billet accessories, including valve covers and a serpentine kit. All of the aluminum accessories were taken to the chrome shop where they were chrome plated to give the engine compartment a "bling, bling" look. The firewall was shaved and molded, and the fenderwells received paint and graphics. This on and off one-year project turned out just the way that Danny wanted it to hot!
This car's one of the first lowriders with graphics in the engine compartment.
The compartment features custom ball-milled billet panels.
A Spal chrome electric fan and Cool Flex hoses keep the fluids flowing through the high-flow custom radiator.
An Optima gel battery with a billet cover powers up the vehicle.
A K&N air cleaner helps the Edelbrock 650-cfm carburetor breathe easier.
Master Power Brakes were used for better stopping of the big-body Impala.