Building a lowrider is what dreams are made of. It’s an automotive obsession that tickles the soul of those who have completed one—or an agonizing ordeal for those who have yet to realize their dreams.
From drawing out your concepts to envisioning how you’d customize it, lowriding isn’t an afterthought or a spur-of-the-moment decision. It’s a premeditated and calculated rite of passage that comes with plenty of planning—and requires even more patience. For Vilo Southichack he can attest to the struggle, as he too was once a dreamer.
His own desire to build a lowrider was one that haunted him for years. He had always dreamed about building a 1961 but the absorbent pricing and diminishing supply made it difficult for him to stomach the current market prices. Nonetheless Vilo kept that dream alive by becoming a spectator of the sport. From going to local car shows, to hanging out with new friends and acquaintances, he soon found himself in the company of the fellas from Eazy Duz It Car Club. He helped them build their rides and they soon became second family. Soon enough his immediate surroundings did little to help him extinguish his goals for owning his own. In short, Vilo could no longer ignore that dream and he knew that it was time to do something about it.
When he finally decided to take the leap he first approached his wife, Sara, who at the time was six months pregnant. Fortunately for him, his years of dragging her out to car shows made quite an impression as she was more excited about the idea than him.
Shortly thereafter, he began envisioning his dreams and managing his budget. After much thought, reality sunk in and though his heart was set on a 1961, he ultimately knew that his budget and time constraints kept him limited, so a compromise had to be made. “I knew the 1961 rag was out of my price range but I wasn’t going to compromise on building myself a ragtop,” Vilo explains.
In what almost seemed to be perfect timing, a member of Eazy Duz It had a running 1964 Impala convertible that Vilo wanted but it wasn’t for sale. His friend, however, did have another 1964 rag that he would be willing to part with so Vilo (along with longtime friend, Keo) drove almost three hours just to take a look at it. “It was just a shell in pieces and a frame but when I saw it sitting there it looked like it was just waiting for someone to bring it back to life, so I made the decision and bought it.”
That fall the duo made several trips to bring the pieces back to Seattle and Vilo’s goal was to bring this car back to life by next show season. But after getting all the parts back to home base, reality came back into play and as he stood there looking at all the parts, which is when he began thinking that his was mission was close to impossible—thus the moniker “Mission Impossible.”
Thanks to an ambitious start, persistence, and some great friends and acquaintances, Real Time Resto became a hub for the resurrection of his 1964. For the following 11 months people would come to help with the build and he vividly remembers the agonizing months that his wife would be there in full support, always bringing food and drinks while they worked on the Impala.
But ask Vic about the most memorable—or monumental—part of the build and he’d shy away from saying that it was the first time firing the motor, or playing with the switches. Rather, he’d insist that the most important parts of the build are the lifelong bonds, friendships, and memories they all created during the buildout. And while Vilo hasn’t technically built his dream ride as of yet, he’ll be the first to admit that the lifelong friendships he built during this project far outweighs the dream of owning a 1961.
Now that my friends is what lowriding is truly about. In essence, our cars are nothing more than the vessels of our creativity but what drives the soul and spirit of lowriding are the camaraderie, memories, and moments we create with friends and family, both old and new.
1964 Chevrolet Impala convertible
Vehicle Nickname
Mission Impossible
Owner
Vilo Southichack
City/State
Des Moines, WA
Club
Eazy Duz It
Engine
5.3 LS with polished water pump, 16-inch electric fan, polished radiator, Professional Products polished LS1 intake, S&P air cleaner, Speedway Motors headers, Borla exhaust, Dirty Dingo dress-up kit, and red top Optima battery
Body/Paint
With a shaved cowl and Frenched antennas Pitra Poeng got the body laser straight and sprayed the Sherwin-Williams Chrysler white gold over the patterns Keo Sanh had laid
Suspension
The 1964 has a fully wrapped, molded, and painted frame also molded and extended A-arms. Keo Sanh designed the setup to have similarity to the LS motor. The hydraulics consist of a HiLow piston pump to the front and two HiLow gravity-fed pumps with three chrome Adex super duty dumps, Accumax solenoids, 8-inch front cylinders, 12-inch rear cylinders, and eight 31-series batteries.
Interior
Shaved dash, Dakota Digital VHX gauges, chrome Banjo-style steering wheel, and Ciadellas interior kit
Sound
Pioneer deck, MTX amps, MB quarts, MTX subwoofers
Wheels/Tires
72-spoke 13×7 Daytons with Premium Sportway 5.20s
Special Thanks
Vilo would like to thank Duane Seseves, Big Chan, Lil Chan, Sergio Marquez, Bert Nolan, Thi Sok, Arturo Perez ,and everyone from RTR and EDI, and especially his biggest supporter, Sara.
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