Photos Courtesy of Kustomrama

Hot rods and kustoms are as much about history as they are about style or speed. The heritage and highlights of our culture have been, for decades, loose and difficult to track down. Kustomrama, thankfully, has made it their mission to sort, organize, and explain the murky past so we can all bask freely in its nostalgic light.

Served today is yet another awesome specimen of kustomizing’s glory days: a 1959 Chevrolet Impala, also known as the “Buddah Buggy.” Originally owned by Tats Gotanda, the car was placed in the capable hands of Bill Hines–whom you may remember from his work on the “Golden Nugget” 1934 Ford–and slowly but surely emerged as a drop-dead stunning lowrider.

Between 1958 and 1961, Hines gave the Impala several distinctive design twists, including scoops that fed through the rear quarter panels and near the sides of the headlamps. A killer set of lake pipes were installed, as were front and rear split bumpers and a grille from a ’59 Imperial. The paint used was Candy Blue, applied over a base coat of white pearl.

As for the interior, Hines went full-tilt and redid the carpet in fur, installed a TV, hi-fi stereo system, and telephone, and had the front bucket seats replaced with custom swivel boat seats, upholstered in an elegant blue frieze and white pearl Naugahyde. Pushing the gas pedal would give the driver every thrill he needed with a stock V8, slightly upgraded with a Duntov camshaft and Edelbrock manifold.

Gotanda later sold the Impala to a schoolteacher in the ’60s, who parked it until 2004 before returning the car to Hines in 2004 for a full restoration. It was definitely the right decision as you can see from the pictures above.

Check out more from Kustomrama on their website and by Liking them on Facebook. We’ll keep an eye out for more incredible builds like these to feed your nostalagia here on Rod Authority.