When the Chevy El Camino was released in the late '50s, its primary use was for work. It was also Chevrolet's response to the Ford Ranchero. When 28-year-old Larry Zamora of La Junta, Colorado, first found his '81 Chevy El Camino, it had a camper top and was being used to pull a boat. With grandiose dreams, Larry purchased the Chevy in Cheraw, Colorado, and "Boulevard Bully" was created.
Larry's brother Joe insisted that the El Camino be turned into a full-show lowrider and, after months of advice, Larry brought his Chevy into the paint booth. Joseph Montoya from Rocky Ford, Colorado, stripped the Chevy to bare metal and coated it with a blend of Candyapple Red. George Weldon from Pueblo, Colorado, added the custom gold leaf pinstripe down each side and added custom painted stripes along the body.
As a diesel operator in La Junta, Larry knows his way around high-performance machinery. In his garage he added a two-pump, hard-lined Pro Hopper hydraulic setup that lifts and lowers the El Camino to new heights for the snowy Colorado roads. The Chevy bed was smoothed and molded and a Volkswagen Jetta sunroof was cut into the roof. Cadillac door handles were inserted into the doors for a more custom feel.
Allen at La Junta Auto Service built the powerful V-8 305 that was taken from an '86 Camaro. Larry received the motor from his brother and mounted it into the engine bay with a turbo 350 transmission. The gold and chrome plating was done by Electro Plating in El Paso, Texas. The interior was completed to match the exterior with black vinyl and red inserts on the bench seat, and red piping was added along the edges.
Once Boulevard Bully was finished, Larry got together with his brother Joe and they decided to start a custom car club in Colorado. Most Hated Car Club in La Junta is a force throughout the state of Colorado, taking home trophies for all their cars. "I couldn't have done any of this without the motivation from my brother," Larry says. "My main goal was to create something I could be proud of." Larry's wife, Soledad, and daughter, Yolanda, can often be seen cruising in the Chevy; Larry expects to have the lowrider culture passed down to his family like it was for him.