Tats Gotanda's 1959 Chevrolet Impala - The Buddha Buggy

Hoshi had a full pearly white Eddie Martinez interior when he started showing the Impala. Photo from The Mike Kosulandich Collection.

Later on, Hoshi sold the whole interior to another 1959 Chevrolet owner and had Eddie Martinez redo the car in blue frieze and white pearl. "Tom, Greg and I were at the shop, and Eddie was building two plywood tubs. We asked him what they were, and he said 'they are Hoshi's new front bucket seats.' He was doing a lot of custom boats at the time and building bent plywood seats that he upholstered." Mike believes that was his basis for the car seats. "I think Harry Loveland had upholstered the first cars to show up at the local shows with frieze...Art Lehner's 1932 Ford and Johnny Taylor's 1958 Ford." Photo from The Mike Kosulandich Collection.

A photo of the Buddha Buggy taken at an indoor car show. Built by Bill Hines, the Buddha Buggy is a masterpiece of subtle yet striking modifications. From the sculpted scoops along the rear quarter panels and headlight sides to the split bumpers and Imperial grille, every detail was meticulously executed. Perforated metal gave the scoops a finished look, while Candy Blue paint over a pearl white base created its unforgettable hue. Photo from The Mike Kosulandich Collection.

The Buddha Buggy at Mickey Thompson's The World of Speed at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, December 1962. Note the "For Sale" sign next to the car.

Another photo from Mickey Thompson's The World of Speed in 1962

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Bill Hines painting the restored version of the Buddha Buggy

The Buddah Buggy at the 2008 Grand National Roadster Show. Photo by Howard Gribble

Photo by Howard Gribble

Photo by Howard Gribble

Photo by Howard Gribble

Photo by Howard Gribble

Photo by Howard Gribble

Photo by Howard Gribble

May 18, 2023, tragedy struck as a carport caught fire at Warren Loo's residence in Los Feliz. The fire claimed the life of Warren, damaging the Buddah Buggy and two other cars. On July 24, 2023, Mitch Hines announced that the iconic Buddha Buggy had been sold to the Hines Family Collection and that a full restoration was waiting for it. Photo courtesy of Mitch Hines.

Tats Gotanda and Mitch Hines with the Buddha Buggy after the fire. The photo was taken at Tats' house. Photo courtesy of Ross Ruiz - 46to64.

A photo of the Buddha Buggy taken in Mitch's shop in August of 2023. Photo courtesy of Mitch Hines.

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Custom by Paint - Made in Bellflower - A tribute to traditional custom cars of the 1950s. Bodywork by Barris. Paint by Larry Watson. Lifts by Bill Hines. Long live Kustomland! Price: $19.99 - Check availability on Amazon.om.

1959 Chevrolet Impala restyled by Bill Hines for Tats "Hoshi" Gotanda of Los Angeles, California. Tats' Impala is also known as the "Buddha Buggy." Bill Hines restyled the car by placing scoops in the rear quarter panels and at the sides of the headlights. He also added the stiffener ribs atop the front fenders. Perforated metal was used in all scoops to give a finished appearance. The left rear quarter panel features sunken twin antennae. Single frenched side pipes emerged from the tunnels in the lower rocker panels. The grille was from a 1959 Imperial backed by plated tubes, obscuring the view directly into the ducts. Split bumpers were used front and rear. Once completed, the car's limited yet perfect metalwork was painted Candy Blue over a white pearl base coat on the main fuselage, and powder blue Metalflake was applied to the canopy.

November 16 - 23, 1961, the Buddah Buggy was shown at the 2nd annual Tridents Rod and Custo-Rama at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. In the souvenir program from the show, Tats Impala is listed as a Semi-Custom owned by "Tats Galanda." After meeting Ron Aguirre and his X-Sonic Bubble Top Corvette, Bill got inspired and installed a full hydraulic lift system on Tats' Impala. Tats' car could be raised and lowered 8 1/2 inches. Chrome shields were made so the wheel wells would look good in high positions. The wire wheels were from a Buick Skylark. This car may have been the second low rider, the first being the Aguirres' X-Sonic. The X-Sonic was also shown at the 2nd annual Tridents Rod and Custo-Rama, so chances are that this was where Bill saw the X-Sonic. Mike Kosulandich remember Hines working on the hydraulic lifts on the front. "Hoshi had chromed the upper A-arms, and they were modified." Mike believes someone was working with Hines on the hydraulics, but he can't remember who.

Custom Upholstery by Eddie Martinez

In the souvenir program for the Tridents Rod and Custo-Rama, Tats' Impala is shown with a more traditional interior. Sometime after this, Eddie Martinez upholstered the car in blue frieze and white pearl Naugahyde. In November of 2024, Mike Kosulandich told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that Hoshi had a full pearly white Eddie Martinez interior when he started showing the Impala. Later on, he sold the whole interior to another 1959 Chevrolet owner and had Eddie redo the car in blue frieze and white pearl. "Tom, Greg and I were at the shop, and Eddie was building two plywood tubs. We asked him what they were, and he said 'they are Hoshi's new front bucket seats.' He was doing a lot of custom boats at the time and building bent plywood seats that he upholstered." Mike believes that was his basis for the car seats. "I think Harry Loveland had upholstered the first cars to show up at the local shows with frieze...Art Lehner's 1932 Ford and Johnny Taylor's 1958 Ford." The carpets were done in fur. The rear seat was contoured to match the front swivel seats. The interior also featured luxuries such as a TV, a hi-fi stereo system, and a telephone. Plastic door and dashboard knobs were made by Bob Hirohata. A Pontiac steering wheel topped the column. Around the same time, while the car was still candy blue, Hines changed the side pipes to double side pipes.

The stock engine was retained, but it was equipped with a Duntov cam and an Edelbrock manifold supporting a pair of four-barrel carburetors.

In the 60s, the car was sold to a schoolteacher who drove it for a while before he decided to park it. Around 2004 the car was dug out and brought back to Bill Hines for a full restoration.

The Buddha Buggy Damaged in a Deadly Fire

May 18, 2023, tragedy struck as a carport caught fire at Warren Loo's residence in Los Feliz, California. The fire claimed the life of Warren, damaging the Buddha Buggy and two other cars. According to Mitch Hines, the actual car didn't catch fire, "just the car cover that was on it."

Sold to the Hines Family Collection

On July 24, 2023, Mitch Hines announced that the iconic Buddha Buggy had been sold to the Hines Family Collection and that a full restoration was waiting for it.

Magazine Features

Spotlite Book 534 Custom Headlights & Fenders
Car Craft February 1964

Sources

Bill Hines MySpace Page
Lowrider
Rik Hoving Custom Car Photo Archive
The HAMB - Lost Custom Found! with pix!
Howard Briggle's pictures from the 2008 Grand National Roadster Show