Restoring a 1963 Chevrolet Impala

Currently an Arizona transplant, this former SoCal resident may have left Cali behind, but what he wasn’t able to shake was the lifestyle he had become accustomed to. As a kid, Arthur Hamilton vividly remembers the days growing up in Pacoima. He remembers how his neighbors owned lowriders and how their almost daily interaction and the sights and sounds of lowriders were enough to get him hooked.

This story starts off like many, but then again, lowriding isn’t a lifestyle that’s learned in a book. Lowriding is a tradition that’s typically handed down from one generation to the next and a lifestyle that revolves around tradition, culture, and pride.

That said, Arthur wanted to following in their footsteps, so in 1977 he was finally able to purchase his first lowrider, a 1964 Chevrolet Impala. Though it was his first, it definitely wasn’t going to be his last; he’s since changed hands on a few projects that’s he’s already built, enjoyed, and flipped.

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This time around, his current situation has him dippin’ in a 1963 Chevrolet Impala-but the car wasn’t always this impeccable. Arthur first bought the Impala from his brother-in-law back in 1996 and it needed much more than just a little TLC. The car needed a full restoration, and he still remembers the condition it was in when it was dropped off.

“When the tow truck pulled up with it for the first time it had a Cadillac seat, both doors looked like they had been introduced to a pole, and the quarter-panels were ruined.” He further adds, “When my kids first saw it they began laughing and thought it was a joke to bring life back to it.” Needless to say, this did nothing to deter Arthur from bringing it back to life.

The first step to reviving the wreck was to have Ramon Matta work on the body and bring it back to its original state. After plenty of massaging body panels and ironing out the kinks, Ramon then sprayed an organic candy green and followed it up with a stripe job. From there, Arthur had fellow club member “Earn One” add some colored murals and then it was off to get it juiced. The car went over to Ultimate Hydraulics where V-Max and his crew did a heart transplant and dropped in an LS3 with everything chromed or painted. While there, V-Max also had his guys install the hydraulics and stereo system.

As with most serious project cars, the car was finished up right before the Las Vegas Super Show and the fellas figured that there was no better place to deliver Arthur his car than at the show.

So what was Arthur’s response when he finally saw the car at the Lowrider Super Show? Well, he can tell your firsthand that he was floored to finally have a lowrider that he could truly be proud of, and with a final product this clean it’s only appropriate that we tip our hats to all involved in the creation of this masterpiece.