My custom 96 Impala SS build

by Adam Ferguson
(Concord, NC, USA)

My dream about building a custom 96 Impala SS started back in 1994 when the Impala SS trilogy (94, 95, 96) hit the GM showroom floors. I was in high school then and was bound and determined to own one of those cars at some point. In 1999, I purchased a 96 Impala SS, and from day one, my modifications began.
Throughout college, I put forth as much time and money as I could to start tricking out my ride. Air bag suspension was my first major modification. I also did several interior and exterior mods, including TVs, speakers, billet accessories, virtually anything I could get my hands on to customize my car. I learned a lot about how to modify cars and trucks through my own experience with my Impala and eventually that turned into owning a business that is all about customizing cars.
Long story short, my Impala is now featured with hundreds of modifications. Some of the most noticed mods to my custom Impala SS include:
the House of Kolors tribal paint with hidden skulls and demons in the Orion Blue tribals along with "marbleizer"
custom shaved tail lights with 4-14 inch led strips installed
custom leather upholstery with suede tribal inserts
smoothed and painted fiberglass interior,
20 inch KMC Hellion wheels,
frame dragging air bag suspension with 8 1/2 inch chrome valves, Dominator Air Bags and all chrome fittings
Rebuilt 96 LT1 Engine with ported & polished aluminum heads, Comp Cams cam shaft, SLP Headers with Jet-Hot Coating, Holley Throttle body, and more Chrome than you can shake a stick at!
My sound system pounds with a pair of 2 12 inch AudioBahn Immortal Series Subwoofers, an Orion HCCA 2100 amplifier, Audiobahn highs.
I would have to say that the hardest part of my build, other than earning the money to afford all of the goodies, would have to be all of the suspension work that I have done to my Impala SS. This was difficult because when I first started the changes, air suspension was first coming onto the market and I had no experience with lowering car suspensions other than heating up or cutting coil springs. We've all been there and done that!
I am proud to say that I am now completely satisfied with my build and have won hundreds of awards at car shows, and even some magazine coverage. I guess all you really need to build a custom car of your dreams is a little time and of course, some determination!

Thanks!
Adam