
Welcome this week’s feature car, Rosie. She is a 1964 Ford Galaxie Custom 500 and is owned by Vito T of sunny CA. Vito traded a 1963 Pontiac Safari Wagon for her about 4 years ago and has not looked back. A few modifications that have been done to her are shaved door handles and moldings, custom Cadillac tail lights, full air ride suspension, custom pinstriping, and a swap from 3 on the tree to an automatic for a more cruise friendly ride. One custom touch he is particularly proud of are the roses he painted himself. His inspiration for them came from the 1964 Chevy Impala “Gypsy Rose” which his Rosie is often compared to. People love the roses and the detail Vito put into each one.
Rosie means a lot to Vito and is very much a showcase for his unique style. After working hard during the week at Tesla Motors, he likes to cruise her every opportunity he gets which usually is on the weekends. Rosie can often be seen at many of the local car shows and cruise-ins during the summer. One of his favorite cruise-ins is Ronnie’s Morning Get Together in San Jose. Held the second Saturday of each month, Vito recommends it to anyone in the San Jose area.

From her GM Orange Crush/Orange Frost base coat mix with pearl and satin to the white interior with red inserts to the 14x7 chrome steelies with bullet style hubcaps to the tremendous interior details, they have all been Vito’s ideas, but he has not been able to get Rosie to this level without his HOODS CC brothers. He would like to give a special shout out to Mike Trevino, Saul Cuevas, Ronnie Ogas, Stan Sumibcay, and other people who have helped including Vincent Urrea, Joshua Lyons “King City”, Eric Flores “Big EZ”, Ernesto Hernandez, Carlos Sanchez & Arturos Auto Repair. We all have good friends we help out and who help us out in return. Vito is no different. Together, they have done an outstanding job if I do say so myself.
Like many of us, Vito is in to MoreDoors because he is a family man. MoreDoors are gaining a little popularity within the classic car scene, but are certainly not the norm. Having a MoreDoor is yet another way in which Vito is going against the grain. He has no plans to stop customizing Rosie either. Maybe next time you see her on the internet or a local SoCal show or cruise-in, she may have a different interior, a floor shifter, or maybe even some Watson style paint scheme. I for one look forward to seeing whatever Vito does to her. Thank you Vito for sharing your sweet ride with us! | |