Some surfing and smart shopping helped this rider from down South land the ideal '64 Chevy Impala SS to build his dreams upon. Since he was young, Curtis Pivot of Louisville, Kentucky, has been hanging around the store at Smart Shoppers, the family store for everything cars. This helped to influence his love for the automotive culture and eventually lowriders.
As is the case for many, the '64 Impala has always been something special to Curtis. That's why when it was time to look for a ride, the pictures of this '64 from Cleveland, Ohio, on LayItLow.com got Curtis out of Kentucky and up to Ohio to purchase what was intended to be a daily driver. It never really goes as planned, though, does it?
Three years later, the candy blue Chevy has earned enough of Curtis' attention and money to provide the labor and craftsmanship worthy of a show-quality lowrider. The custom paint, patterned top, 13x7 chrome Daytons, chrome undercarriage, sounds, interior and trunk setup speak volumes about his commitment to "Tears Of A Clown."
Tears Of A ClownOwner: Curtis PivotVehicle: '64 Chevrolet Impala SSCity/State: Louisville, KentuckyClub: Uce C.C.
Engine/Drivetrain: Powering the '64 is a fully chromed 350-c.i.d. Chevy engine of 1980 vintage that's been bored .030 over and mated to a 350 Turbo transmission with a three-speed shifter and a custom-bent Flowmaster exhaust system. Mike Charlet at Charlet Racing in Louisville is the engine builder.
Body/Paint: Keenan and Jesse at G&S Autobody in Lexington, Kentucky, did a fine job on the body work, which included shaving the firewall and adding a second antenna, and applying the House of Kolor candy blue paint with a flaked and patterned white top. Kirby at Kirby's Stripes in Danville, Kentucky, added pinstriping details. All chrome plating was provided by Larry Blakley at Blakley's Polishing in Dayton, Ohio.
Interior: Mike Sweeney at Sweeney's Upholstery in Louisville redid the white interior with a kit from Hubbard's Impala Parts. Other touches include a chrome Ididit steering column and a custom painted dash.
Sound System: Dale Jackson at Smart Shoppers in Louisville installed a Clarion head unit (in the glove box) with Profile amps and a range of Clarion speakers, including a pair of 10-inch subs.
Setup: Working at "The Lab" in Louisville, Jason Caranto equipped the SS with a hard-lined Pitbull Hydraulics setup featuring a pair of chrome competition pumps, two dumps, six Optima blue top batteries and four switches. The partially wrapped X-frame was reinforced at the stress points.
Tires: 5.20 Coker Premium Sports
Wheels: 13x7 all-chrome 100-spoke Dayton wires