CHEV IMPALA

The car was exactly as Gabriel had described it: solid with good paint and an OK interior. That car is the car you see here now, yet it’s also entirely different — but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Being a decent driver, it didn’t need much for compliance — just the usual new brake shoes and the like and the car was on the road.

It wouldn’t be on the road for long, though, as Skoty and Caitlin soon had it in bits to receive a decent audio install. That install included no fewer than three sets of JBL mid-range speakers, three 10-inch subs, and a pair of JBL amps, so, while it may not have made much engine noise from its 283ci small block, at least it sounded good at Repco Beach Hop 17.

Another trip back to the States later in 2017 saw the pair meet up with more of the global low-rider familia, and a whole bunch of parts make the return trip home. Included in the purchases were countless engraved components along with a two-pump hydraulic set-up. Those new bits were enough to help the car win 2018 Lowrider of the Year at the 4&Rotary Nationals and receive much adulation from low-rider fans here and abroad.

Just two months later, in March 2018, the unimaginable happened: the car was crashed into by an unobservant local. The extent of the damage was enough to see the car written off by the insurance company, and Skoty was left scratching his head as to what to do next. He already had a 1964 Impala convertible project on the go, so the logical solution was to pour the insurance payout into that. However, logic took a back seat when Skoty did the maths on how much he could buy the wreck back for and how much it would cost him to get it back on the road. Remember how the low-rider family are there for each other? Now was the time to put that ideology to the test, as the only way to make the whole plan work was to call in favours from friends and family, blood or not.

One of the key people called in to help was