Lowriding is a culture and passion unlike any other, and sometimes being able to find the style of car that you like is half the challenge. From body style to make and model, from paintjob to chrome, some people will hold out months, even years to find the car that has the stance and attitude they are looking for to complete their vision of the perfect lowrider. This was the case for Sin City's "Sin Sixty" that has been years in the making, and truly shows that good things come to those who wait.
Michael Grey of Las Vegas, Nevada has always wanted to own and do a 1960 Impala. He feels its uniqueness and style is unmatched, and often overlooked within the lowrider world. "They are by far the least popular year and I knew if I did one up right, it would really earn the respect," he says. Aware that it would face severe competition from the more popular six treys and '64s, he remained undaunted. "Let's face it, it doesn't take too much work to make a '63 look good, but if you can put together a '60 that will make most people take a second look, you know you've really pulled something off," he volunteers confidently. He had the ideal model as his inspiration, but now he had the difficult task of forming his own blueprint of just how he wanted to modify and restore it. Most importantly, the even tougher task that lay ahead of him was finding one in the first place that would serve as the perfect canvas.
"I already had the car built in my head with every detail thought out," he says, "from the look of the OG engine to the 2 knob Bowman under the dash." "To start the build I needed to locate a clean rust-free car," he explains. "I can tell you from years of experience that is nothing less than a daunting task; particularly if you are looking for a convertible." "Since the '60 Impala is not a coveted vehicle, most of them were left to rot in a field somewhere," he says in a melancholy tone. His determination led him to the promised land. "I looked at least at 20 prospects over two years before I found a suitable core," grins a proud Mike. Patience serving as his strength at this point, he was rewarded with the ultimate project car.
"The car I found was a beautiful un-restored vehicle with 26K original miles, it even had its original paint and interior in almost perfect condition," he notes excitedly. "I brought the car home, cleaned it up and got it back on the road. Being the car enthusiast that I am I drove it around as it was, for a few months." The love affair with the car was so strong, it instantly formed a bond with him, giving him some guidance on what he should and, more importantly, shouldn't do to this big body beauty. "The more I got to know the car, I quickly realized I couldn't cut this car. If I did, and there was a "Car Hell" I would certainly be destined to spend an eternity there," he says jokingly. The car itself quickly took on its own identity to Michael, so much so that he had a change of heart.
"I decided I needed to sell this one and find a less pristine part of Chevrolet history to use for my build," he sighs. A couple months later, with his garage empty and his pockets full of cash, the search was on again for a car to start the '60 project. "I remembered a nicely restored Impala that I came across in my previous search that belonged to a friend of mine that would be a perfect candidate," he recalls. "At that time, he was not interested in selling the car, but I reached out to him, just in case he had a change of heart," says Mike. "After a little persuasion the car was mine." "He had taken the original California car to a nicely restored original condition, now this was a nice car, but no where near the quality or vision I had for the build," he explains. Michael had finally found his canvas.
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