Words: Avery Finnivan     Credit and Photos: Kustomrama

Back in 2004, Lasse Mäenpää of Sweden traded a ’41 Mercury Coupe for a ’58 Chevrolet Impala. The Impala was in great condition, having been restored in ’89, but was still a stock car. Lasse was a fan of Larry Watson’s work, so he decided to turn the Impala into a mild custom.

He began the build by giving the car a better stance with air ride suspension and chrome reverse wheels. He nosed and decked the car, and replaced the stock grille with a tube grille. For the paint work, he decided to take the Impala to a pro.

The pro in question was Pekka “Wizzzard” Mannermaa, a Finnish custom painter and pinstriping artist. Lasse was looking for a Watson-inspired scallop-based paint job and had been impressed by some of Pekka’s previous work with scalloping. Just like Watson, Pekka used the scalloping design to conceal the damage left by the nosing and decking on the car.

The base paint Pekka used was a beautiful blue, accented by dark copper scallops with silver shading and cream white outlining. The scallops follow and complement the car’s outline in a masterwork of pinstriping. Lasse named the Impala “Tropical Pearl” upon inspecting it after the paint was done. By 2005, the build was complete, and it was one for the books!