To most, the 1957 Chevrolet is the Holy Grail of all collectible cars. This automotive icon is considered to be one of the most desirable vehicles ever made so it comes as no surprise that it would sit on top of the automotive food chain as a classic to have.
To own one is a dream come true, but to own a few of ’em is something that’s just downright incredible—and that’s exactly the case for Tim Rodriguez. You see Tim’s infatuation (and eventual love/hate relationship) with this vehicle began at age of 13 when his father gave him his first 1957 Chevy. He would be influenced by the custom, high-performance builds his uncles and dad would often display at the world-famous Irwindale racetrack, but soon enough he would take his own approach to these classics.
“For years, I worked at Oldie but Goodie Truck Parts,” Tim says. “That’s where I learned how to take cars apart and refurbished parts for resale.” With Montebello, a suburb of East Los Angeles, serving as his backdrop, it was there that he would first encounter the now infamous Lowrider culture. As Tim’s knowledge for cars grew, so would his car collection. So much so that it would eventually take up a 3,500-square-foot warehouse. It’s there that a weekend hobby of working on his own cars, as well as his friends, eventually led to the creation of R&R Restorations. “We were doing everything from full-frame restorations to custom hydraulic setups,” Tim says. These days R&R Restorations continues to stay active by doing piecework, such as minor hydraulics repairs and paint finishing. “It’s the projects that local shops just can’t seem to finish that really keep us in demand,” Tim says. Though most of their clientele know him for his ability to locate hard-to-find, high-end accessories, it’s his custom billet bumper guards found at billetguards.com that everyone is really after.
It’s at R&R Restorations that the concept for the now world-famous “Gold Digger” first began. As a member of Lifestyle Car Club, not only did he have to build something that stood out among the crowd, it had to be something custom. “At the time, all the 1957s were either black or red,” Tim states. He would eventually go on to borrow a page from the Hot Rod handbook and integrate a tubular suspension and purge the traditional carburetor … something that has now become commonplace within lowrider projects. With over $100,000 invested in the car, “Gold Digger” would go on to make its lowrider debut in 2003 in San Diego. “I’ve owned all types of 1957s, from Nomads to Volkswagens,” Tim says. He even built a pair of matching 1964 Impalas named “Four Play,” which, after being featured in the movie Escape from L.A., were sold to a collector in Japan. His latest project, of course, is another 1957 Chevy. With plans to do modifications that were not done to “Gold Digger,” you can rest assured it will be nothing less another game changer to our sport. “This next one has to be over the top. I have to make up for the fact that the top doesn’t come down on this one,” Mr. 1957 says, jokingly.
R&R Restorations
Owner: Tim Rodriguez
Car Club: Lifestyle
City/State: Santa Fe Springs, CA
The post R&R Restorations Shop Stop appeared first on Lowrider.