Robert Robinson, of Fontana, California, landed a very good job with Union Pacific - one of America's largest transportation companies - over 15 years ago. His supervisory position has led to him working all over the Los Angeles basin, keeping him strolling over miles and miles of railroad tracks. Driving a special vehicle attached to the tracks, he looks out for breaks or defects along the rails. Although the pay is pretty decent, enough to allow him to support his family, consisting of his beautiful wife and two sons, it was also sufficient enough to help him in building the lowrider of his dreams.
Rob purchased this 1963 Impala Super Sport hardtop back in 2004, and on that same day, he received the grave news of his father's failing health: He had been diagnosed with cancer, so Rob quickly made the trip out-of-state to visit him so he could be by his father's side. Unfortunately, Rob's father ultimately passed, but because the news of his father's diagnosis came on the same day as the Impala purchase, the goal of fixing up this ride to an eye-catching, show-stopping wonder became very personal for him. Using his relationship with his father as motivation, and, thanks to the loving and emotional support of his family and car club (Traffic CC), Rob created one of Southern California's baddest Impalas!
Rob has been into lowriding since '85 when he had his first lowrider, a 1979 Monte Carlo. Rob had customized that MC like crazy, but when his first son was born, car customizing was put on hold until he came across the Impala almost a decade later. Although it had been quite some time since Rob was behind the wheel of a low-low, he was still very familiar with what he had to do, in order to get it to an honorable street worthy ride.
Rob estimates that he has invested over forty thousand dollars into his '63, known as "Alize", but you can tell it was worth every penny to him. Rob doesn't just trailer his car from show to show; he actually drives it to the car club functions, local car shows and (once in a great while) will even drive it to work. He is a true old-school lowrider who takes pride in his ride, and is not afraid to drive it while occasionally hitting some switches!
Alize
Vehicle: 1963 Chevy Impala
Owner: Robert Robinson
City/State: Fontana, CA
Club: Traffic Car Club
Engine: 1963 Chevrolet V8 327-c.i.d. with the 383 heads. Javier over at the O & M Shop in Pomona, California, took care of the engine rebuilding. Many parts under the hood were chrome plated by Big John at Bowtie Classics in Long Beach, California.
Interior: Bowtie Connection also handled all interior needs: Big John hooked up Rob with a white leather Impala interior with blue trim and blue carpet. The trunk was also upholstered in the same fashion.
Body: Paco Jr. at A-Universal in Gardena, California, painted the Impala's body a unique wedge wood blue, which contrasted perfectly with the white hardtop.
System: Sonny over at Big Rob's shop in Lavern, California, installed two Rockford Fosgate amps, which power the speaker system (consisting of two Bose tweeters, two Bose mid-range speakers, and two Cerwin Vega woofers).
Setup: Art over at Hoppos Hydraulics in Ontario, California, was captain of the hydraulic installation. Two Hoppos pumps are powered by 8 deep-cycle marine batteries and controlled by four dash-mounted switches. Underneath the ride there are many suspension parts chrome plated, including the A-arms, thanks to Bowtie Connection.
Wheels: Dayton chrome 100-spoke
Tires: Cooper whitewall