Marco decided to take a course less traveled.Does the term "dare to be different" ring a bell? how about "Project Low Rod," does that ring any? Well, if you've been a reader of LRM since the late '90s, these terms were used to describe a certain photographer's lowrider, namely Marco A. Patifo's '65 buick Rivera Gran Sport named after his favorite Stevie Ray Vaughan song, "Riviera Paradise." back then, Marco had been looking to get a tradition '64 Chevy Impala, but it seemed that everyone was after the same animal, so he then recalled how his dad used to have a '59 buick electra, a rare car to find then as well as now.
Having been a fan of General Motors' buick line, Marco decided to take a course less traveled. having his feelers out, he talked to buddy and the editor of Classic Truck Magazine, Rob Fortier who had a line on a '65 Riviera out in Santa Ana, California. The former owner really didn't see himself using the car anymore and was asking $1,100 for it. After a couple of calls and a visit to his home, Marco fell for the car, oxidized red paint job and all.
After getting it home and going through the trunk and discarding what wasn't needed and keeping the extra parts, it was time to evaluate what it was going to take to make the car his ideal ride. having done some homework, Marco decided he needed help with his vision; a rendering was worked up by friend and extraordinary automotive artist Steve Stanford from orange County, California, who advised the use of a candy green and pearl finish, white tuck and roll, and 17-inch wires.
The dare to be different low-rod was starting to shape up, but then "delays" began to happen. Marco's workload kept him more on the road than available to get the car done. A few tech articles were geared towards lowriders that weren't traditional GM models, but then people within the custom car community started mimicking the rendering that was presented in an issue of Lowrider Magazine announcing the project. This left a bad taste in Marco's mouth and he felt that he needed help with fresh ideas and some inspiration.
That help came in the form of two people, Larry daisy of Rancho Riviera in Riverside, California, and Mike Ramos of the old Car Parts Store in Whittier, California. Larry was a huge help in piecing the Riviera back together. Throughout the years, between moving the '65 buick from shop to shop, parts fell through the cracks and needed to be replaced. daisy had an extensive stock of oeM parts and his words of wisdom would usually start off with, "now, son, this is the last one I got and there's just not that many of them out there to get, so if you lose this part I'm gonna have to kill you." of course, Mr. daisy was half joking, well, the killing part, at least. but if you're a buick guy, you know what he's talking about. buicks are hot and getting more scarce to build, especially the '63-'65 years.
As for Mike, his connections and savvy saved some time and money when getting all of the elements together during the latter stages of the build-up. during the years when the car was getting closer to completion, Marco would drool at every cool Riviera he saw and people were constantly asking him how the car was coming along, where is it now, etcetera, etcetera. Annoying, to say the least.
Fast forward to 2006, the car was not going to be a low-rod on big wheels, oh no. The car was lifted before, then it had airbags, but then it went to a two-pump hookup; tradition would be held up and Steve Stanford commissioned a new rendering.
Around July '06, Ramses Sanchez of Winning edge Customs in buena Park, California, hipped Marco on a tidbit. Sony uSA's car audio division was looking to have a lowrider as part of their Team xplod, which was to be on display at the worlds biggest aftermarket car show, SeMA, at the end of october. That meant two things, that the car would finally be completed with the help of sponsorships, with Sony being the main participant along with Sikkens paint, Coker Tires and the crew or should we say family at the drag n Shop, who happen to be the back bone of the Zombies Car Club and Marco's second family. If it weren't for them, "Paradise" wouldn't have been achieved.
Putting the car back together in just a few days is a whole other story, but for now Marco is content and grateful to all involved, from the staff and friends at LRM, Joe, Saul, edgar, Jeff, Rudy, Mike, Pat and everyone else there, to the Garcia family and the other Zombies, and especially his dear friend Liza Macawili for being there for him when he needed her most, a big "muchas gracias" to all!