Lasse Mäenpää's 1958 Chevrolet

Lasse wanted to transform his newly acquired Impala into a "Watson"-styled mild custom car, so he had Finish pinstriper Pekka Wizzzard Mannermaa paint and pinstripe the car in July of 2005. Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

As with so many other cars customized by paint, the door handles were not shaved on Lasse's Impala. Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

Pekka working on the scallops on the roof. Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

The scallops had to be designed to cover up the holes and bodywork left from the nosing and decking. Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

Dark copper scallops, shaded in silver with cream white outlining was laid over the blue paint job. Photo by Lasse Mäenpää.

The Tropical Pearl as it looked after Pekka had given it a Watson inspired paint job in 2005. Photo by Kai Salmio - Back Off Media.

Photo by Kai Salmio - Back Off Media.

Photo by Kai Salmio - Back Off Media.

Photo by Kai Salmio - Back Off Media.

Photo by Kai Salmio - Back Off Media.

Photo by Kai Salmio - Back Off Media.

Lasse's Impala next to Ari Sinkkonen's 1962 Ford Galaxie XL. Photo by Pekka Wizzzard Mannermaa.

A photo of Lasse's Impala from Kustomra'mag 4. Photo by Sondre Kvipt.

1958 Chevrolet Impala owned by Lasse Mäenpää of Åtorp, Sweden. Lasse traded the Impala for a 1941 Mercury Coupe in 2004. The Impala had been fully restored in 1989, so it was in a very good, but stock condition when Lasse got it. Being a fan of Watson painted cars, Lasse decided to turn his newly acquired Impala into a mild late 1950s custom. Air ride suspension and chrome reverse wheels were installed to give the car a proper stance. The stock grille was swapped for a tube grille and the car was nosed and decked before Lasse had Finish pinstriping-artist Pekka Wizzzard Mannermaa apply a Watson inspired paint job in July of 2005. Lasse had seen the scallops Pekka had laid on Ari Sinkkonen's 1962 Ford Galaxie Xl, and he wanted Pekka to give the Impala a similar treatment. Inspired by the great Larry Watson, and a 1957 Chevrolet that Dean Jeffries scalloped which had pretty much the same color combination, Pekka began to mask up the scallops on Lasse's Impala. The shape of the scallop behind the front wheelhouse was inspired by Bob Boerckel's 1958 Chevrolet Impala, the rest was Pekka's own design. Dark copper scallops with silver shading and cream white outlining was laid over the blue paint job. As with so many Watson paint jobs, the design of the scallops were made to cover up the holes and bodywork left from the nosing and decking. Pekka did also finish up his masterpiece by adding traditional pistriping on the hood and deck-lid on the car after the scallops had been applied. Once completed, Lasse's Impala was given the name "Tropical Pearl". If you compare Lasse's Impala with many other 1958 Chevrolets, you can see a difference in how the scallops follows and complements the lines of the car. Pekka is always very careful when he lays a design on a vehicle, and he studies the form of the car thoroughly before he starts a job.

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