SP Rides: Good enough to cruise in
By Michael Kitchens
Owner: Garrett Perreira
Age: 34
Occupation: Instrument Tech, Queens Medical Center
Hobbies: Watching my kids and lowriding
Year/Make/Model: 1964 Chevrolet Impala, Two-Door Hardtop
Color: Two-Tone Creme and Black
Interior: Re-upholstered front and rear seats, gauges, AirRide switch box
Suspension: Air Ride suspension, two five-gallon tanks, three lines, two 480 ViAir compressors
Exterior: Color-matched, two-tone chrome details, black hardtop
Wheels and Tires: 13-inch 100-spoke Galaxies with white-walled Milestar P155/80R13s in the front and rear
Some people know immediately what they like and what they want in an instant of discovery.
Garrett Perreira is one of those types. When he was a teenager, he happened upon a lowrider magazine in a gift shop. He didn’t even know what a lowrider was at the time, but he fell in love at first glance with the lowrider lifestyle.
“The way the cars looked and the way everything flowed together was what did it for me,” Garrett says.
He professes to have learned quite a bit from his dad about mechanics. His father lived and breathed Corvettes, so it’s somewhat of a surprise that Garrett’s first ride was a Buick Regal. Although his father encouraged him to follow in his footsteps, he also spurred Garrett’s passions by purchasing his first lowrider for him.
Garrett spent much time in the lowrider scene, but eventually became interested in custom bikes, of which he had several. But with the birth of his son, he felt that riding a motorcycle wouldn’t be the right thing to do. Happily, he returned to the lowrider community.
“My wife was happy when I got back into lowriding because we could bring the family,” he says. With his focus on lowriders again, he immediately purchased a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, which is currently being restored as a two-year frame-off project and a complete rebuild from the ground up. Like his father, Garrett believes in doing things right the first time.
Although Garrett was back in the scene, he had no car to cruise in, thanks to the extensive rebuild and his quest to have that perfect ride. As the pressure built, Garrett soon realized he couldn’t handle not being able “to lay and play,” so he found this 1964 Chevrolet Impala 2-Door to temporarily scratch his itch. The ride was in decent shape, but there were several things he needed to take care of before he could run the Good Times Car Club plaque. His goal was to keep the cost down while enhancing the little details to make the car his own.
Garrett smoothed over the rust spots, fixed the bumps and added a two-tone look to the already smooth crème color with a solid black roofline done by Nunes Autobody. The trim was polished and a fresh coat of black paint was added to give it additional contrast. The look is quite flattering and matches the scheme well.
Although the Impala came with a decent set of 20-inch hotrod wheels, it didn’t fit the lowrider profile so Garrett replaced them with 13-inch 100-spoke Galaxies. The outer rims were color-matched with a glossy black and feature white-walled Milestar P155/80R13s in the front and rear. It’s not a lowrider if it’s not low, so the suspension setup features Air Ride suspension with two five-gallon tanks, three lines and two 480 ViAir compressors in the trunk.
Eventually, this ride will be rebuilt from the ground up just like Garrett’s ’67, but for now he’s happy with just being able to hit up the scene and cruise with his club.
“Out of all the Impalas I’ve had, this one runs the best,” he says. “It’s never overheated and I’ve got cool A/C. It runs perfect.”
Sounds like the car is definitely good enough to cruise in.
