Model: Shantelle
Who could ever forget September 11? B.J. Kane of Pasadena, California, won't forget and he's for sure going to remind others with his tribute '63 Chevy Impala convertible, "My Heroes." B.J. was deeply affected by that terrible tragedy. "This car was built to memorialize the lives that were lost on September 11, 2001," says B.J. "So it will always be known that I will never forget my heroes."
B.J. doesn't mind admitting that he was "overwhelmed" by the project, giving it his all. And when B.J. gives his all, good things happen. We're talking about a founding member of Death Row Records who was responsible for pioneering the placement of lowrider vehicles in rap videos. These days, though, B.J. is a family man deeply involved with New Mt. Pleasant MBC (church) and his VP of operations job at STi Motorsports in Culver City, California. He still loves the lows, though.
Passion was the keyword for B.J. in building My Heroes. In fact, he says that some people scoffed at him when he was putting the '63 together. "They said, 'What're you doing making a car with a red body and blue frame?'," recalls B.J., who had the last laugh. "I recently turned down an offer for the car for $80,000." Offers to buy the star-covered car are matched by the number of First Place car show trophies that it has won.
B.J. is grateful for the support of his family and friends while he was involved with putting together this patriotic project, including legendary lowrider Ted Wells. He also wants to send out a few final words for his mother, Virginia Scott, a cancer survivor. "We're still here, mom."
| My Heroes |
| Owner: | B.J. Kane |
| Vehicle: | '63 Chevrolet Impala convertible |
| City/State: | Pasadena, California |
| Club: | No affiliation |
| Engine/Drivetrain: | '80 Chevy 400-c.i.d. small-block with Holley dual-feed 750-cfm. carb built by "Black John" at Super Natural in Los Angeles, California, with a transmission and billet pulleys from Steve Sharp Racing. |
| Body/Paint: | Jamie Andrews at Drew's Auto Body in Los Angeles applied 14 coats of Ferrari red paint with four coats of clear. Angelo applied the fine-line pinstriping to finish off the patriotic red, white and blue color scheme dreamed up by B.J. at STi Motorsports in Culver City, California. STi also handled the chrome plating and anodizing, and cooked up the star-covered convertible top. |
| Interior: | B.J. also shows his colors inside with navy blue leather seats with American flag cloth inserts, navy blue carpet, red and white steering wheel, red dashboard (with digital gauges), fiberglass kick panels and an OG Ted Wells color bar. Ben Medina and sons at Supreme Auto in Inglewood, California, did the stitching. |
| Sound System: | Bumping the beats is a sweet-sounding system including a Kenwood Excelon head unit, two 650-watt Zeuss amps, Rockford Fosgate crossovers, MB Quart tweeters, Rockford Fosgate mids and Cerwin-Vega Stroker subwoofers. Wiring it all up was Mike at Planet Stereo in Azusa, California. |
| Suspension: | "This car has no hydros," declares B.J., but it does have a Ford 9-inch rearend and a completely wrapped frame by Miguel Duran at Chevy Classic in South Gate, California. |
| Tires: | P255/35-R20 Goodyear |
| Wheels: | 20-inch 100-spoke anodized wire |