1963 Chevrolet Impala SS - Green With Envy

Life can move in mysterious ways sometimes, and at the end of the day, it's funny how some things work out. Take the case of 28-year-old Tommy Garcia of Lexington, South Carolina. As a child, he grew up around classic cars, and at the age of sixteen, he realized that he had the passion to buy one. For four years, this dream of owning a classic car evaded him, until it finally became a reality when Tommy turned twenty. What's the reason behind the four year delay, you might ask? Well, finding a classic Impala in the South can prove to be easier said than done, as most frames are depleted with rust or simply falling apart from lack of care. In Monetta, South Carolina, Tommy found a '63 Chevrolet Impala SS that was ripe for a rebuild. It was originally purchased for a complete transformation, however, the car's owner had lost his passion and drive for the project.

Tommy stepped in, offering a respectable dollar amount as well as promises to provide updates on his rebuild for the previous owner. His sincerity and business sense swayed the owner, and he allowed Tommy to buy the vehicle. Ecstatic, Tommy put the Chevy on a trailer and brought it back home. The first step in the building process was to make sure the mechanics were in working order. The Impala was brought to Bernie Hajack, a very capable and certified Chevrolet mechanic. Bernie removed the stock motor and rebuilt it from the ground up, using the original factory specifications as his measuring stick. Supreme Plating, out of California, was the destination shop for the majority of the car's chrome additions.

With the help of his father, Tommy was able to focus his attention on the car's suspension. The Garcia men lifted the heavy Chevy frame in their family's garage, and built a perfect hydraulic set-up. Tommy and his dad installed a four-pump chrome setup with 17-inch Pro Hopper whammy tanks, ultimately finished off with polished Hi-Jacker blocks and stainless steel hard lines and also, four Deka batteries line the sides of the trunk for proper weight distribution.

The father and son combo sought out to give the Impala perfect detail, so they decided to strip the '63 down to the bare metal. The replacement parts necessary were taken with the Impala to Richard Wright, Jr.'s Custom Paint & Body in Lexington, South Carolina, where Chris "Goofy" Stewart completed the body work. Richard pulled the Chevy into the paint booth and laid down an Orion Silver basecoat, and several coats of House of Kolor Kandy Organic Green with a green flake. A friend, Mike Louder, added the finishing touches on the roof by spraying a similar mixture of paint to the basecoat, while Jeffrey Brewer went to work, laying down the patterns that Tommy had previously designed.