Joe Roth's 1959 Chevrolet

Joe's Impala as it appeared in 1962, after Cudahy Auto Body of Milwaukee had restyled it for him. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Joe's mother bought the Impala brand new in 1959. After being involved in a front end collision, Joe took over the car and had it customized. Up front, it received canted quad headlights and a bumperless design that incorporated a rolled pan. The air intakes in the hood were welded shut before the hood was shaved and received rounded corners. A new grille opening was fabricated and fit with a custom grille that was dressed up with 1959 Edsel dash knobs. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

The rear end was shaved for chrome and fit with a rolled pan. New sunken taillights were constructed, and a profile that matched the shape of the deck lid was grafted onto the area between the taillights. The taillight lenses were two 1956 Packard lenses butted together on each side. The deck lid received two scoops before a sunken antenna was grafted onto the passenger side rear quarter panel.Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

A photo of Joe with the Impala at the 1962 Rod O Rama show in Milwaukee. Joe came second in the "Mild Custom" class at the show, and he is holding the trophy in this photo. The big trophy is the "Most Popular Car" trophy that Jim won at the same show.. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo by Bob Dzemske, courtesy of Marcus Edell.

A newspaper clipping from the 1962 Rod O Rama showing the awards Joe won at the show. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

The pinstriped version of the Impala at an indoor car show in Milwaukee in 1963. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

"Wild One" was pinstriped on the right rear quarter panel on the pinstriped version of the Impala. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

The old custom as it sat when Marcus Edell bought it from Alan Morrison in September of 2015.

When Marcus bought the Impala, the interior was basically untouched since 1962. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

A close-up shot of the grille. The knobs are 1959 Edsel dash knobs. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Joe's old Impala as it sat in October of 2015, after Marcus had gotten it back on the road again. Photo courtesy of Jeff Spence.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Spence.

Marcus' Impala at Kustoms by Spence in November of 2015. Photo courtesy of Jeff Spence.

The rear pans on the Impala were damaged by a local tow truck driver, so Marcus brought the car to Jeff Spence at Kustoms by Spence in Willits, California to have them repaired. This photo was taken in January of 2016. Photo courtesy of Jeff Spence.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

While repairing the rear pans, Jeff also filled the holes for the spotlights that Alan had installed on the car, and resprayed the front fenders. Photo courtesy of Jeff Spence.

The Impala fresh out of the paint booth January 21, 2016. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

The freshly painted rear end as it sat January 23, 2016. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

The restored version of the Impala made its debut at the 2016 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Photo by www.customikes.com.

Marcus' Impala at the 2016 Sacramento Autorama. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

Another photo from the 2016 Sacramento Autorama. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.

1959 Chevrolet Impala owned by Joe Roth of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Joe's mother bought the Impala brand new in 1959. The car was originally black with a factory 348 engine and a 3-speed manual transmission. After being involved in a front end collision, Joe took over the car and had it customized. In 1960 he brought it to Cudahy Auto Body in Milwaukee, where the car received canted quad headlights and a bumperless design that incorporated rolled pans front and back. The air intakes in the hood were welded shut before the hood was shaved and received rounded corners. A new grille opening was fabricated and fit with a custom grille that was dressed up with 1959 Edsel dash knobs. The chrome trim on top of the fenders were shaved along with the door handles for a cleaner appearance. In addition to the rolled pans, the rear end was shaved for chrome. New sunken taillights were built, and a profile that matched the shape of the deck lid was grafted onto the area between the taillights. The taillight lenses were two 1956 Packard lenses butted together on each side. The deck lid received two scoops before a sunken antenna was grafted onto the passenger side rear quarter panel. Inside, the car was upholstered in Candy Cane tuck and roll by Karl Kasper of Kasper Auto Trim. Under the hood, Joe ran a 6x2 intake manifold. The build was completed in 1961. Joe showed it at a few indoor car shows in Wisconsin and Illinois between 1962 and 1964. In 1962 it came second in the "Mild Custom" class at the Rod O Rama show in Milwaukee. At the same show it also won the "Most Popular Car" award. By 1963 the car had received pinstriping, and the name "Little One" was pinstriped on the rear quarter panel.

Alan Morrison

Joe sold the car in the mid 1960s, before moving to Florida. Alan Morrison of Milwaukee found the car sitting in a wrecking yard around 1968/1969. Alan was 11 years old at the time, and he had his mom purchase the car for him. The car was looking pretty bad when Alan bought it. The engine was missing, the paint was bad and wheels and tires were gone. The interior was still intact, but needed a couple of repairs. Over the next couple of decades Alan brought the car back to life. In the 1980s it was repainted with a two stage paint job. When Alan painted the car, he added another sunken antenna in the passenger side rear quarter panel. In 1996 it went into storage. It stayed in storage for the next 19 years. In September of 2015 Alan sold the old custom to Satan's Angels member Marcus Edell of Castro Valley, California.

Marcus Edell

After buying the car, Marcus decided to bring it back to how it appeared in 1962. He began by doing some mechanical repair, getting the car back on the road again. New wheels and tires were bought and installed. Just like Joe, Marcus installed cheater slicks in the rear. Unfortunately the rear pans on the Impala were damaged by a local tow truck driver, so Marcus brought the car to Jeff Spence at Kustoms by Spence in Willits, California to have them repaired. Jeff repaired the rear pans and resprayed the quarter panels from the doors back. He also filled the holes for the spotlights that Alan had installed on the car, and resprayed the front fenders. New clear coat was then applied on the whole car. During the restoration, some of the interior also needed to be replaced and cleaned up. Marcus also installed an Impala steering wheel and a new shifter. January 29, 2016 the restored version of Joe's old custom was debuted at the 2016 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona. Marcus sold the car shortly after the show.