Rod Authority recently had the pleasure of strapping Gil Losi’s newest build, his ’61 Chevy Impala nicknamed “Under Pressure,” on to our Dynojet. It was an eventful day, and while the guys at the shop were moving mountains during the tuning process, the editorial department was hard pressed in the matter of balancing content production while sneaking glimpses of “Under Pressure’s” dyno session.

Some distractions are worth the detour and before we get underway with this month’s feature, Rod Authority would like to begin by extending its sincere thanks to Gil for his time and for allowing us the pleasure of getting up close and personal with his gorgeous build.

Without further ado, it’s our pleasure to present this month’s special feature, Gil Losi’s ’61 Impala aka “Under Pressure.” After the dyno session, we scheduled a one on one with the self-made entrepreneur to learn more about his roots, background, the build of “Under Pressure” from the inside out, and a few philosophy lessons from a man who’s work ethic and limitless love for the automobile are manifested through the cars he has envisioned over the years.

From Fireside Indy 500s To Losi’s First Sled

Gil Losi is the youngest of three brothers. He is originally from New Haven, Connecticut and was raised there until the age of 12. At 13 he and his family relocated to sunny Southern California. It was here that his love for the classic car really took root.

An interesting thing about Gil is that he admits that he had no apparent influences for car culture within his immediate family. But, for some reason he had always gravitated towards things related to cars. One of his fondest memories was sitting in the living room at his parent’s old place while listening to the Indy 500 over the radio, “That was before they were on television, I would lay there in the living room and listen to the race from start to finish, for some reason I was just enthralled by that stuff.”

He also recounted the days where he managed to convince his two older brothers to take him to the local stock car and midget races. Other than an uncle back in Italy who raced, Losi falls within the pack of car enthusiasts who blazed a trail for themselves and spent a lifetime nurturing a hobby eventually cultivating it into a passion.

Gil bought his first car when he was 15, “My mother was great, she let me take it out into the garage to tear it apart and put it together again. She made me feel like Henry Ford when it finally ran again, she was terrific.” At 16, he bought a ’49 Ford for $100 and established a great friendship with the guy who ran the local junkyard. “He’d call me every time stuff came in, a ’49 Ford with a nice interior came in, he called me so could tear it out and put it in mine – also got a new hood from him too.”

The ’49 Ford was the car that began Gil’s fixation with lowering his rides. The man swears by a lowered stance and while there’s some who gawk at the aesthetic there are just as many who live and die by it. Gil joked, “You know, since I didn’t have a lot of money in those days and I wanted to stand out like any 16-year-old kid did, so I put my car on the ground. I heated the coils and stacked two 4-inch blocks on the back, the driveshaft rubbed when I went over stuff but hey, that was ok.”

Of course air ride innovations and improved income from Gil’s adolescent years have given him the means to perform more efficient and durable lowering jobs these days. But it’s that tenacity, despite limited resources, and his vision at an early age that make those memories so special.

History of the ’61 Impala

We like to include within our features a bit of history surrounding the vehicle’s initial production. It’s quite something to behold a restoration and there’s due respect to be given to a complete resurrection, but also knowing a bit about the original car as it was when it made its debut on the line, truly completes the tale.

Ed Cole, Chevrolet’s Chief Engineer during the late 1950s poignantly defined the Impala as a “prestigious car within the reach of the average American citizen.” It balanced economy with the grandeur of a full-size passenger model, while concealing a hardy power plant. The Impala became distinguished as a sleeper right off the bat during the rise of the musclecar.

The Impala derives its name from a southern African antelope and as quick as the animal can move through the savannas, the car sharing its name also hit the ground running when it was first introduced. From 1958 through 1965 the Impala had become the best selling automobile in the United States competing against the Ford Galaxie 500 and the Plymouth Fury. This was during an era of cars where full-size models dominated the marketplace.

Getting Down To Business // 1961 Impala – “Under Pressure”

Steve Cook of Steve Cook Creations was responsible for building “Under Pressure” from the ground up. His shop is located in Oklahoma City and both him and Gil have had a long standing partnership and friendship seeing as Steve’s built Gil’s last four cars. In a culture where stories are king and are as important in defining a car as what’s under the hood or its exterior, we asked Gil how he’d come across the Impala in the first place.

Gil had happened upon the car during the time that Steve was building his ’54 Mercury. The Impala, another client’s project, had been sitting in the shop right next to Gil’s Mercury at the time and had a mockup engine setup in it.

Steve and his guys were working on the turbo system for the Impala and Gil was awestruck when he laid eyes on it. After a couple subsequent visits Gil noticed one day that the Impala was no longer there. Apparently the owner had gone stagnate so Gil got his contact information and gave him a call. Between several offers and counter offers Gil managed to persuade the owner to make the sale. Upon sealing the deal, Gil called Steve back at the shop and told him about the successful purchase, Steve’s one-sentence response: “$%#&, now I gotta get it lower!”

“Under Pressure” At A Glance

• Owners: Gil and Janet Losi – Murrieta, CA
• Build: Steve Cook Creations – Oklahoma City
• Engine: Mike Moran 2000 hp 540ci Twin Turbocharged Big-Block
• Transmission: Custom-built 4L80E
• Chassis: Art Morrison custom
• Rear Axle: Detroit Locker 9-inch
• Brakes: Baer 6-Piston caliper, 14-inch rotors
• Wheels: Billet Specialties 18-inch and 20-inch
• Tires: Yokohama Advan Sport 225/45ZR18 and 295/40ZR20
• Cooling: Ron Davis Aluminum Radiator and Intercooler
• Suspension: Ridetech Ride Pro E3
• Mod Highlights: Custom fabricated floorpans, front and rear roll pans, firewall, engine bay, trim, belly pans, rear spoiler, and hood with functional recessed air ducts for turbos.
• Plating: John Wright’s Custom Chrome of Grafton, OH
• Interior: Gabe’s Street Rod and Custom Interiors
• Paint: DuPont Triple Black by Steve Cook

Waking Up A Classic Sleeper

The big bodied sleeper was usually a full-size passenger vehicle that typically catered to the family demographic of consumers. In the case of the ’61 Impala, the idea was to order the biggest factory-upgrade drivetrain available. What you ended up with was a grocery hauler by day and a land boat that had the potential to push out the mythical “one hp per cubic inch” with a 409ci engine, dual four-barrel carburetors, and a four-speed transmission system by night. Mom and dad could melt the drag strip any given day if they felt like letting off some steam back in the ’61’s day.

Gil wanted to pursue and resurrect this identity that was associated with the Impala during its heyday. It could have gone either way, a luxurious family commuter or the unexpected bane to muscle on the street. Gil had this idea of creating a subdued yet menacing exterior. Any exterior element denoting an upgraded powerplant was sacrificed for a more streamlined look. “Under Pressure’s” nailed stance coupled with the DuPont Triple Black paint possessed an ample amount of intimidation in his eyes.

With that being said, the sleeper identity was further pursued by continuing to mislead with concealing evidence of performance and distracting through stance and luxury. The luxury aspect was manifested through “Under Pressure’s” beautiful custom interior built by Gabe’s Street Rod Custom Interiors in San Bernadino, CA. The upgraded ’59 Chevy dash ironically gave the cockpit a more futuristic look. Furthermore, the superb quality of the French seams within the upholstery jettisoned this car into a whole new level of extravagance rivaling the look of European supercars.

Check out Rod Authority’s closeup on a couple sections of “Under Pressure” that need to be addressed, otherwise how would anyone ever know this stealth super car was ever housing a 540ci twin turbo?

Alan Childers of Steve Cook Creations was the rendering artist for most if not all of the build. His drawing of the exterior, interior, the engine compartment, and gauges guided the rest of the crew towards home base.

The Engine Compartment & Drivetrain

Keeping with the theme of creating a sleeper, the guys at Steve Cook Creations had to mock up a custom engine bay that could enclose the heavy duty drivetrain without exposing it from the exterior. Sheets of metal were rolled to create the general shape of an inner fender. The crew then used a Pullmax to hammer out curved and rounded pieces of steel to fit the contour of the turbo system and all its components.

An induction wing was fabricated for the front of the engine compartment which ingeniously functioned as a path for fresh air while acting as an aesthetic tie between the front of the compartment to the inner fenders. The drivetrain itself is truly a work of engineering mastery. Mike Moran, one of the country’s most well respected engine builders, was brought on the build team to create something truly menacing on the street.

Without the twin turbo setup, the 540ci Dart Big M produced 1500 hp. With the turbo’s equipped horsepower was boosted by 500+. According to “Under Pressure’s” spec sheets, “The brand new Corvette for 2014 generates 450 hp. So, with the turbos, this engine gained as much horsepower as a new Corvette has period.” That was a fun little tid bit that will surely provide some perspective for the audience. “The turbo’s used on ‘Under Pressure’ are 80mm by Garrett and they spin almost 10 times faster than the engine itself.” Other notable one-off engine components include an Intercooler by Ron Davis, a dry sump aluminum oil pan, and a full-custom radiator by Ron Davis as well.

Wheels, Brakes & Brightwork

Complimenting the menacing stance, the perfect set of staggered Billet Specialties wheels were cut in 18- and 20-inch sizes and given a subtle brushed finish before being mounted to the Yokohama Advan Sport 225/45ZR18 and 295/40ZR20 tires. Filling the windows of the custom billet wheels, Baer 6-Piston calipers clamped to 14-inch drilled and slotted rotors handle the stopping duties.

Complimenting the striking beauty of the ’61’s Triple Black paint job is an all new custom trim that was created by Little Louie at Red Lizard. The old anodized aluminum trim had proven too worn out and flimsy for Gil and Steve’s expectations so Little Louie went to work to create a sleek custom trim out of brass stock that was chrome plated along with the bumpers. This sleek trim does well in tying in the rest of the exterior work. It also serves as a great lead for the eye to follow.

Gil’s Final Thoughts

Despite the theme of subtlety that Gil was going for there is still an undeniable amount of detail that would leave onlookers awestruck. Gil spoke a bit about his build concepts during our interview, “I’m not the guy that likes to make one or two over the top modifications to my car. I like a a lot of small details packed into my cars so that they leave people seamlessly walking by and result in a double take.”

Gil’s life and Impala are truly an inspiration to us. Gil took his build to Detroit for the Autorama Ridler competition, and despite finishing “ninth” (we feel he easily got robbed and should have been a finalist) – Gil keeps his head held  high knowing he built the car exactly the way he wanted it! He left us with some great closing statements that remind us why the culture of cars is so alluring and rewarding, “It was Pete Chapouris who said, ‘You get into these cars with your 70-year-old bodies and you look out the windshield with 17-year-old eyes.”

Who knew that cars could illicit such poetic justice, wrapping up what had been a great interview with Gil he shook hands and said, “I’m 73 going on 19.” Thanks for your time and contribution to the culture we all love so much Gil, amazing ’61, job well done buddy!

For more exclusive RA photos, check out our GALLERY below: