La Otra – 1965 Chevy Impala
Purchase your copy of StreetSeen Magazine Vol. 37
by clicking this link: https://streetseen.com/shopstreetseen
Story by John Urrey
For your viewing pleasure we offer a sexy sugar mama, and we’re not just referring to our lovely model Lydia. Sugar Mama, or La Otra as it is known in Spanish, is the second Impala to be featured in StreetSeen recently. This Chevy belongs to Hector Quintanilla of Mission, Texas who rolls with the Rio Grande Valley Chapter of Latin Fantasy Car Club.
Hector has owned La Otra for three years. When he bought the vintage 1965 model from a friend it was no eye-catcher. Initially from San Francisco, the car looked rough when Quintanilla found it. The paint was white and dull, the interior was torn and there was a lot of rust in places like the trunk, but for Hector it was love at first sight.
“I was like ‘Dude, this is my car!’”
He bought it and took it home that very day. Some of his friends and relatives questioned the wisdom of buying the old junker, but Hector knew he would make it shine, and boy was he right. Later the friend he purchased it from was so impressed with Quintanilla’s work that he tried to buy the car back. No sale!
After spending a year and a half, a lot of money and a lot of TLC Hector wasn’t about to let La Otra go. “It stands out a lot”. The 1965 Impala thunders down Texas roads behind a muscle car’s favorite size power plant, a 350 that’s coupled to a 2-speed power-glide transmission that Hector installed himself. An impressive accomplishment for a guy who didn’t know much about do-it-yourself custom work. Hector calls it “…a learning process”. Judging by the looks of Sugar Mama, Hector learned enough to teach us a thing or two. In fact, Quintanilla is a teacher, we’ll leave it to you to guess what kind of teacher drives a tricked out custom muscle car.
The car’s exterior is an attention grabber, as Hector says, “It stands out.” The yellow paint and body work was tailored by Hugo in Bakersfield, California and is graced by several different shades of custom purple pin striping by Edgar Solis in Alamo, Texas. The yellow and purple theme is a reflection of Quintanilla’s love for the L.A. Lakers.
La Otra rolls on top of 13-inch chrome wire wheels with 72 spokes wrapped in white wall tires.
Inside, the Impala is simple and elegant. A white vinyl interior is accented with yellow tubing and was done by Art’s Upholstery in Wasco, California. Yellow carpet maintains the color scheme. Alfonso Marroquin of Simple Designs in Mission equipped the sound system with a CD/DVD player, two kicker amps and eight Kicker 6x9s. View screens for the DVD will eventually be installed in the visors and doors.
What lies beneath the Impala is a hydraulic system featuring two Shorty heavy-hitter series pumps and eight batteries, all controlled by ten switches. Raudel Medina of Cruiser’s Hydraulics of McFarland, California installed the system.
Under the hood you’ll find chrome valve covers and a chrome air filters housing, water pump and fuel pump.
La Otra is no trailer queen, Hector drives her to car shows and often on the weekends, but not every day. Quintanilla has taken the car to a local car show in Mission sponsored by Latin Fantasy and to the ‘09 Border Bash where he took third place in his first competitive show.
Are you still wondering what kind of teacher drives a sweet ride like this? A coach of course. Quintanilla recently moved to Texas in order to teach P.E. and to coach basketball. We say, let him pimp the school buses!
