Kim King from Jacksonville, Florida, is an active automotive enthusiast. Turning his hobby into work and his work into fun, Kim owns a used car lot as well as a paint and body shop called Auto Techniques. That's where part of the custom work on his beautiful '69 Chevy Impala was accomplished. Initially, Kim bought the car to have something to enjoy with his children. Purchased almost a decade ago, the Chevy convertible has since become a solid member of the family.
Bone stock when he bought it, the bright green car was calling out for a new millennium update. While Kim opted to leave the body intact and let the original lines of the Chevy show through, there's nothing standard about the paint job. It's the most striking element when you first see the car and the beautiful House of Kolor Sunset Pearl always turns heads. Chris at G&G Auto Salon sprayed the paint, while Kim's own shop followed up by painting the interior pieces and new fiberglass enclosures for the stereo. Kim added 14x7 reversed Daytons, choosing painted-to-match orange spokes.
As pretty as the exterior is, the interior also attracts your eye, thanks to the talents of Roberto at Mike's Upholstery in Orange Park. He covered the seats and door panels with a combination of bright orange and white naugahyde. The car has a matching tonneau cover when the white convertible top is down. Music was important and the elaborate stereo done by Mike Ohren in Jacksonville begins with a Kenwood flip-face head unit, feeding the six five-way speakers. The real excitement occurs in the trunk with the four 12-inch Pioneer subs thumping in their own custom fiberglass enclosure. The car is also equipped with a Vintage Air A/C system, Dakota Digital dash, power windows and Combi steering wheel.
Kim has always been partial to lowriders and wanted his Chevy to get the full treatment. DG Hydraulics in Jacksonville created just the right profile for the Impala, using a pair of trunk-mounted Red's pumps that activate 8- and 10-inch cylinders. Dashboard-mounted switches control front to back and pancake moves.
Under the hood is equally unique with an aggressive 454-c.i.d. V-8 (bored out to 468), ensuring that this ride will never run short of power. Equipped with an Edelbrock high-rise intake, Holley 750 double-pumper carburetor, Crane roller cam and Hooker Headers dumping into Flowmaster mufflers, the vintage convertible gets up and goes.
What do you do once your dream car is complete? Kim enjoys taking the Impala to shows and going on Sunday cruises with his children. He's also working on two other lowriders so we may be seeing more King-size work soon.