Pat Brown Jr. 62, sits in his 1967 Buick Electra that he named “Sangre Azteca.” Many lowrider builds are themed, and inspiration for the paint schemes and colors can be traced back to a blend of Catholicism, indigenous culture and Mexican-American style.

Lowriders are a passing hobby for some, a
business for others, but for Pat Brown Jr., it’s a way of life.

Brown, 62, of Victoria, has been cruising
low and slow for more than 40 years. The president and founder of Low Impressions
Car Club, a lowrider club in Victoria, saw his first lowrider in 1979 while
spending a weekend in San Antonio. He’s raised his kids in the culture and even
introduced his grandchildren to the scene. “I was in San Antonio, and I saw some lowriders and talked to some of
the guys and bought a magazine and fell in love with it,” he said. “I decided
to figure out how to lower my car, and that was the start.”

Julian “Jay” Perez Jr.  39, works on the front suspension of a customers car at his home/shop in the Little Mexico neighborhood of Port Lavaca. Perez, now the son in-law, of Pat Brown got into lowriders by first going to car shows organized by Brown in the 90’s.

A tattoo of a Pachuco in a zoot suit adorns Julian “Jay” Perez Jr. right forearm. Much of Perez’s fashion and style is influenced by his love of the cars and culture.

Rosary beads hang from the rear view mirror of Tim Lopez’s 1977 Oldsmobile Toronado. Religious iconography Derby hat’s Dickie’s and flannel button ups are synonymous with traditional lowrider style and attire.

His first car was a 1970 Plymouth Satellite
two-door, “the Roadrunner body style with a 318 and a two-barrel carburetor,”
he said: “It was sky blue with a white top. And Cragars (wheels) all around
it.”

Members of the lowrider community emphasize family in their clubs and competitions Christopher Perez, 13, the son of Julian “Jay” Perez Jr. shows his 1954 Murray Sad Face custom peddle car. Many lowrider shows have competitions for younger participant that have lowrider bicycles and peddle cars. Chris’s car was painted by world famous custom car builder Freddy Leal in Corpus Christi.

“Maria”, 1951 Chevy StyleLine Delux owned by David Gomez, 60, of Inez. The four-door sedan is built in what is described as the classic lowrider style. The car has a modern drivetrain from a 1985 Impala the front has been lowered 2 1/2 inches and air bag suspension in the rear lowers the tail to only inches off the pavement.

Compared to today’s standards, the cars
were simple. Brown remembers having to figure out how to lower the vehicle:
“The first thing I did was I pulled some of the leaf springs from the rear end
and dropped it about four inches.”

Like many in his generation, Brown grew
up around cars. “When I was a kid, it was hot rods,” he
said. “My uncle had a Nova that he raced. As a kid I was into Fords, but now I
like Chevys. My second lowrider was a 1977 Ford LTD, but it burned. The
solenoid on the hydraulics shorted and burned the whole car up. It was blue
with the sunset pearl and lots of flake.

Leal Brothers cars are known for the heavy flake that is used in the paint jobs. Freddy Leal, lead painter, estimated each custom car has a 1000 or more man hours in the build.

“It was real nice, and I had tears in my
eyes that day. White interior, chain steering wheel, side pipes.” Brown said he
had spent a lot of money on the car just to see it go up in flames.

In his late teens and early 20s, Brown
spent most of his weekends in San Antonio and met some of the members of the
Las Cruces Lowrider Club.

His interest in lowriders has taken him
to other parts of Texas, and in many cases, he has forged long-lasting
friendships with other diehard enthusiasts.

“I’ve known the Leals in Corpus since
they were kids and their dad was doing it (creating lowriders),” he said. “He’s
older than me, but we go way back.”

Freddy Leal, of Corpus Christi sells merchandise during the opening reception of Lowrider Excellence. Leal and his brothers have put South Texas one the map in the lowrider world with their attention to detail and paint work. The group received recognition at Lowrider Tour Las Vegas Super Show. In 2018 where they took first and second place for Lowrider of the year.

For many years, Brown would organize an annual
car meet at Riverside Park. He still meets people who credit him with
introducing them to lowriders. He jokes, “We probably sold more beer
than any other festival in Victoria when I was putting on the lowrider show. We
had clubs from San Antonio, Houston, Corpus, all over Texas coming to our
show.”

In April 2014, Brown was honored by his
peers for his years of service and as a pioneer of the scene during a lowrider
meet in San Antonio that brought together clubs from across the state and
nation. On that day, he shared a stage with his mentors and other lowrider
builders. “I was given a plaque for
35 years in the scene, and it says ‘Carnales por Vida (Brothers for Life),” he
said.

Article originally published in the Victoria Advocate

https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/features/all-my-friends-know-the-lowrider/article_94f2445c-f538-11e9-a3f9-2783863eea17.html