Family. It's an important ingredient in the lowrider community. Hydros and wire wheels are the heart of lowriding, but family is the backbone of any lowrider. Without their love, support and inspiration, most builders would be lost souls driving around in pretty cars with no one to really share the tragedy and triumph with. And because of family, sometimes a project takes a little longer than planned. Things like school clothes, Christmas presents and unexpected expenses can have a builder dipping into his car funds.
Marco Rodriguez is a happily married man with four children. For this reason, Marco, through necessity, became a do-it-yourselfer with his '47 Chevy Fleetline, "Siete Juice." During the two-year process of building this car, Marco learned about upholstering, stereo installs, polishing, engine work, bodywork and installing air-ride systems. Doing all of these things himself kept the cost of the project down considerably and allowed Marco to do things as he could afford to make them happen.
But let's regress for a moment and go back to the beginning for Marco. It all started at the age of 14 when Marco took a ride in his cousin's slammed Dodge on whitewalls. From that day forward, Marco was a fan of bombs and by 15 he had his first one. Over the years, he's owned a few bombs, including his '41 Chevy, "El Asesino," which was a centerfold car in 1995. Marco bought this '47 a couple of years after that car was featured, but put it away for awhile until he had the time and money to get started on it.
With a project of this magnitude, there are always people who help you along the way and, in this case, furthered Marco's knowledge base. "Big Rick" Chilton and Carl "Candy Man" Hernandez both played a large part in giving Marco help. The bodywork was handled by Marco with pointers from Candy Man. After getting it smooth, Marco stepped back and thought about the color he wanted to have the car painted. Even though he got a lot of flack about it from club members, Marco decided to go with a color other than the usual black. The two-tone orange paint job was laid on by Candy Man and is quite the eye-catcher.
Much of the car's undercarriage was also painted and the wire wheels were color-coded to match. A two-compressor air-ride system is located in the trunk and found Marco once again honing his building skills. He also reupholstered the interior with a Hampton Coach mohair kit.
Just about every part of the car was touched by Marco's hands and, in the end, this bomb build wound up being a very rewarding experience for him. There's nothing like being able to say that you did it yourself, and having family there to see it happen and help out makes it all worthwhile in the end. Cruising down the boulevard with the wife and kids is what it's all about anyway, isn't it?
Siete JuiceOwner: Marco RodriguezVehicle: '47 Chevrolet FleetlineCity/State: San Leandro, CaliforniaClub: Oldies C.C.-East Bay
Engine/Drivetrain: A '55 Chevy 235-c.i.d. "inline 6" was completely rebuilt by Wayne and features an Offenhauser dual intake, "beehive" oil filter, aluminum radiator and Fenton headers feeding into a stainless steel dual exhaust system. Additional work was performed by owner.
Body/Paint: Marco handled the bodywork and Carl "Candy Man" Hernandez in Napa, California, laid down the tangelo and sunset pearl paint.
Interior: An original Hampton Coach mohair interior with felt lining was installed by the owner.
Sound System: The juice gets flowing through a Kenwood head unit; Memphis Audio EQ, amps and speakers; two 12-inch subs, four tweeters and four 6-inch mids.
Suspension: The owner installed an airbag setup with some fabrication done by Carl Hernandez. Firestone bags, Viair compressors and a chrome 5-gallon tank along with electronic Parker valves give Marco's bomb the moves.
Tires: 5.20 Premium Sportway
Wheels: 14-inch Zenith wires