In high school, everyone’s got a rep; everyone is known for something. In stereotypical fashion, you may fall under one of the following categories: a jock, a nerd, a weirdo, or, perhaps, a loner. But not for Keo Sanh, he was in a category of his own.
He was known all throughout high school as a lowriding enthusiast. Students became familiar with seeing him create lowrider model cars and lowrider bicycles—and if he wasn’t building them, he was drawing them.
Fast-forward to present day and he’s taken that same love and that same passion, but he’s graduated to the next level and traded in models for the real thing.
The Impala you see here he’s owned for nearly 20 years. It’s been revamped five times over with each build exceeding the prior; and while the car has given him plenty of headaches, it’s also created many precious moments, all the while laying the foundation for some lifelong friends. But when asked how he found the car, it became one of those stories that left me wondering why I’ve never had that kind of luck.
“My friend Denny Ly spotted the car,” Keo says. As soon as his friend spotted the car he informed Keo. “He told me that the Impala had been sitting there for a long time and that it might be for sale.” At first, Keo had thought his friend had probably gotten confused with another older car, but not wanting to be left in doubt he went to check.
As luck would have it, he got to the location and there sat an ivory 1963 Impala. The car was all stock with the exception of a few odds and ends. Out of curiosity, Keo walked up to the door and asked the owner if the car was for sale. Initially it wasn’t, but since it was just sitting there, and Keo stood in front of him with an offer, the owner decided to sell it to him. In the end the owner sold it to Keo for $2,200 under the promise that he was not going to just flip it. A man of his word, Keo promised the older gentlemen his word and the deal was done. “I honored that deal and I’ve had this car since 1997,” Keo says.
As soon as he got it back home, he started on it right away. With plenty of wear and tear on the vehicle, he really had no choice but to start handling business – especially since the Impala was his daily driver. Back then, Keo would be the first to admit that his skill level, and access to resources, may have been limited, to say the least, but it wouldn’t stop him from pulling all-nighters in the backyard.
When asked about his experience building the car, he says, “I shared a lot of good times with friends and family and made a lot of priceless memories.” When asked if there was anything he’d change, he replied with a grin, “I wouldn’t change a thing, even if I could. Without the struggles in the build, I would have never met the lifelong friends that I have now and I have to thank lowriding for that.” Proof once again that lowriding has—and always will—revolve around camaraderie and respect.
1963 Chevrolet Impala
Vehicle Nickname
Lickwid Funk
Owner
Keo Sanh
City/State
Seattle, WA
Club
Eazy Duz It
Engine
With a smooth firewall Vilo and Chris of Real Time Resto dropped the TPI fuel-injected 350-crate motor with Street & Performance corvette pulley kit, K&N filter, Block Huggers headers, glasspacks, polished high-flow water pump, Accel wires, aluminum radiator with electric fan, and Optima red top battery.
Body/Paint
Pitra Poeng in Everett, WA, draped the Dupont copper and mandarin pearl on the 1963. Dave Austin and Chavo laid the striping, Wallace P. did the chrome, and Show Quality Metal Finish the gold plating
Suspension
Real Time Resto installed the three hi-low pumps, three Adex dumps with cannon plugs, nine accumax solenoids, steel tubing, and eight deep-cycle Marine batteries
Interior
Amos Quartinom of Central Family Upholstery stitched the vinyl and suede copper interior in an original pattern
Sound
Real Time Reto installed the Kenwood stereo, Rockford Fosgate amps, Sony 6.5-inch mids, Kenwood 6×9-inch mids, and Rockford Fosgate 10-inch subwoofers
Wheels/Tires
13×7 72-spoke triple gold Daytons on Premium Sportway 5.20s
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