When you’re the VP of your car club chapter, there’s a certain amount of pressure that sits on your shoulders. It’s a pressure that comes from within, and not one imposed upon you by fellow members. That pressure to lead and build by cars by example comes naturally, so when it came time for Pete Beltran, the VP of the Westside Chapter of Goodtimes Car Club, to build his 1962 Impala, he went full force and never looked back.
At the time of his build, he was the owner of two 1962 Impalas—both of which needed a lot of work. He decided at the start of his build to use one of the Impalas as a donor car in order to speed up the process. Along with the help of plenty of friends it took him 2 1/2 years to get it running, and a total of five years to get it how it sits today.
To begin, he started by purchasing an original X-Frame, which was wrapped and reinforced by Augie Gomez. Aside from the reinforcements, he had the rear of the frame modified to accept a wishbone suspension, and then removed all weathered and rusted suspension components, which were then revamped and reinforced. Once complete, the frame was color-matched to the body, while the accompanying accessories, like A-arms were either powdercoated, painted, or chromed. To get to this point was a grueling process, which involved his longtime friend Anthony Macias, putting in countless amount of hours stripping the car down to nuts and bolts.
Meanwhile, the body of the vehicle was dropped off to Adolfo at Saticoy Auto Body & Painting. Once there, the interior was gutted, the glass was removed, and then they went to town straightening all the panels and working out any kinks or cosmetic blemishes. Once complete, the vehicle was laced with PPG Candy Copper paint, all the while having the interior worked on at the same time by Rene Rivera from R.R. Designs.
Inside, you’ll find custom door panels and headliner along with refinished interior accent pieces that adorn the guts of this Impala. With the vehicle slowly coming together, many of the chrome parts were picked up from Peter Tapia at Anaheim Plating and then delivered to famed engraver, David Renteria, where he engraved the bumper guards, A-arms, lower arms, handles, and much more.
With the frame and body reunited, they got working on the 383 stroker and engine bay and shortly thereafter it was dropped off to Pete Becerra at Krazy Petes where it was literally topped off with a patterned and flaked-out roof to add that extra little punch.
In all, this short story does no justice to the time, sweat, and money poured into this build. As with any lowrider, it’s a labor of love that tests the strength of your friends, family, and finances, and it’s safe to say that we can expect more exciting builds from Mr. Beltran sometime in the future.
1962 Chevrolet Impala
Vehicle Nickname
El Chicano
Owner
Pete Beltran
City/State
Oxnard, CA
Club
Goodtimes, Westside Chapter
Engine
383-strocker engine with a short Chevy chrome water pump, 110-amp chrome alternator, Demon double-pump carburetor, Edelbrock endurashine intake, flex fan with additional electric push fan for the three-row aluminum radiator, stainless steel headers, and glasspack exhaust
Body/Paint
Adolfo of Saticoy Auto Body & Painting in Ventura, CA, used candy copper PPG paint on the 1962. Pete Becerra at Krazy Petes added the multi-pattern on the car’s roof while Gabriel Frias of South Gate, CA, added the murals on the hood, trunk and doorjambs. Leo “LG” of Simi Valley, CA, added leafing and ‘striping while David Renteria added the engraving and Anaheim Plating and SGV Plating did all the chrome work
Suspension
Augie Gomez of Lugo’s Hydraulics in Oxnard, CA, installed 2-Lugo chrome pumps with 4-Delta dumps, 2-Delco solenoid blocks, stainless steel hard lines and 8-Centenial 31-series batteries. The X-frame was full wrapped, the stock A-arms were extended 1 inch molded, chromed, and engraved. Eight-inch cylinders in the front and 14-inch cylinders in the rear were installed.
Interior
R.R. Designs in Oxnard used sand and copper-colored allante vinyl to reupholster the stock seats. A custom center console and a chrome tilt ididit steering column were added.
Sound
Sony CD player, Kenwood 404ZA equalizer, 2-Alpine PDX-type amps, two 8-inch Alpine Type-R suboofers, and Alpine Type-R mids
Wheels/Tires
13×7 Dayton 72-spoke straight-lace wire wheels on Travelstar 155/80/R13 skinny whitewalls
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