By Bill Thorpe

Thirty-eight years ago Mark Hollis and his wife acquired a classic car for the ages. A two-door Chevy Super Sport Impala with the famous 427 engine was located and soon graced their garage.

The car has undergone two major restorations over that time. It has upgraded General Motors factory disc brakes up front and a Wilwood disc brake setup for the rear. Three-inch dual exhausts with a cowl induction front hood, similar to the 1970 Chevelle, highlight the exterior. 

A good friend and his brother-in-law collaborated to design and build the unique dashboard. All the gauges were new from Auto Meter but needed to be electronically customized to work with the Impala’s electrical system. The car has a 3:73 posi-traction differential that supports 500 foot-pounds of torque and cruises 70 mph at 3,200 RPM. “Lots of smiles per miles,” as Mark likes to say.

A Hurst four-speed shifter was mated to a specialized retooled transmission from Auto Gear out of Syracuse, N.Y. The gearing comes from legendary craftsman Antonio Masiero from the Italian company Euroicambi, which has mastered the four-speed gearbox and is considered one of the best in the world.
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The Hollises hail from Whitestown, Ind., and enjoy cruise-ins and some local county car shows. Their proudest moment with the Super Sport was winning a Best in Class at the 2012 Indianapolis World of Wheels.
Until next time, happy cruising!

By Bill Thorpe

Larry Walda from Knightstown, Ind., spent a year searching for a car that he could enjoy taking to cruise-ins around the Southside.

In December 2015, after viewing more than 100 photos on the internet, he convinced a good friend to travel to Florida to inspect a 1929 Ford Model A and give it a thorough test drive. 

The widow who owned the car knew few details about her late husband’s pride and joy. But it was in excellent condition so Larry bought it and had it trailered back to Indiana.

The 1929 coupe has been highly modified and sports a 350 Chevy automatic crate engine with high lift cams. There are power windows, a sunroof and air conditioning. A tilt steering wheel and a bright blue metallic paint scheme highlight the car. 

The dash appears to have Dakota digital instrumentation throughout, and the unique custom white vinyl and leather seats set off the interior. The wheels were a bonus as they turned out to be the Boyd Coddington special edition chrome, designed for custom rods. Bob “Bikini” Keeney finished off the exterior with his trademark pinstriping.

Larry and his wife do not do car shows, but rather enjoy attending cruise-ins. They took their car to several functions on Monument Circle last summer and are looking forward to the upcoming car season.

They take as much pride in watching people photograph their special ride as they do in receiving compliments on it.  

Until next time, happy cruising!