1959 Chevy El Camino Loses Layer of Rust to Shine as a Lowrider

Money is not an issue; building the perfect garage would be challenging. I'd include a station wagon, a hot hatchback, a JDM sports car, a Porsche, a pickup truck, a race car, and a lowrider. That may sound like an odd mix, but I don't always want to drive with my right foot pinned to the floor. Cruising down the boulevard in a lowrider and bumping to some old-school beats are things I still dream about doing one day.

I could probably live without the hydraulics, but wouldn't that be something? Talking about it, I remembered Phil Morisson from Driftworks also has or had one at home (and he has a diverse collection of race cars and supercars to brag about). When I saw Jakarta Diecast Project's latest work, I knew I wanted to take a closer look.

For once, he didn't start with a Hot Wheels base. He did that twice over the past two weeks, building a "drift"-spec Tesla Cybertruck with a twin-turbo V12 and a Pikes-Peak-ready Toyota Starlet with an RB26 inside. I know that's a lot of information to take in. The beauty of diecast customization is that you don't need hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring a wild idea to life. You can afford to ruin multiple cars in the process, as it costs almost nothing to do it.

I have never paid too much attention to Jada products. Come to think of it, the only ones I've ever considered buying were part of the Fast & Furious series. Those are 1/32 scale models, but the American manufacturer also has smaller cars in its portfolio. One of them is this 1959 Chevy El Camino. It was originally part of a line that included items like the '57 Chevy Corvette, the '72 Datsun 240Z, and a '51 Mercury.

The "For Sale" concept is rather cool, and I don't remember ever seeing something similar at Mattel. It's one way to think of the hobby. It even has an ad on the box: "Excellent condition, new tires, Good interior, will sell fast."It's a good starting point for a project, even though some of you may prefer that artificial patina. Creating a lowrider from this thing follows a similar path as you'd see with other custom diecast cars.

Of course, there are some differences, and it's quite satisfying to see the trick suspension and chassis work done by the master himself. Sure, it isn't his first rodeo, but a long time has passed since I remember seeing him modify a Chevy Panel from Hot Wheels. That still has the upper hand, as it's an RC model with all the bounce you can ever wish for!