Tina Blankenship-Early transformed a 1966 Chevrolet Caprice Classic shell into the "Game Killa" lowrider it is today.
The transformation brought built-in hydraulics, custom paint designs and dedicating hundreds of hours to perfecting the lowrider. In the end, it's everything Early aka First Lady Tina, wanted.
After hitting the switch and showing what the lowrider can do, Early shares why she lowrides in the first place.
“That’s one of the greatest feelings you can get,” Early with Supernatural Lowriders said.
It took three years for Early to turn the 1966 shell into the lowrider it is today. She did it with a little help from her husband who also has a love for building cars.
“He told me the same way you take it apart is the same way you put it back together you know, so I went with that concept with everything that I was doing to the car and actually ended up building the car myself,” Early said.
In the last six years, Early’s lowrider won dozens of awards and grew fame in the lowriding community. It was featured in the 2015 movie, Straight Outta Compton.
She’s also the first lady to join Super Natural Lowriders over 21 years ago, hence the nickname.
In her backyard, she’s working with her new motor because she’s getting ready to start the process of building a new lowrider, all over again.
“I am not going to no track. I just want it to sound good. I want you to hear me coming,” Early said.
This motor is almost ready to be put into her newest build dedicated to the woman who inspired her the most, former first lady, Michelle Obama.
“She doesn’t put herself on a higher pedestal than anybody. She basically is a girl from the street just like us,” Early said.
But it’s been a process. She said it has already taken a few years and different paint shops to get only part of the custom designs on the lowrider. But if all goes as planned, there’ll be a mural of Michelle Obama hand painted on the shell in the next six months.
“It’s pretty tedious sometimes because some of the parts are hard to find. You have to order parts and some of them are not available so you have to get on the computer online and start tracking them down especially for this particular car,” Anthony Guzman of Slauson Auto Restoration said.
She said her newest build’s designs and flakes might be her best yet. But after 21 years of lowriding, she said she doesn’t know if she’ll ever start from scratch again.
“You gotta keep calling them. You gotta keep talking to them. 'When you are you going to have my car ready? When are we going to have this done?’ You know and it just becomes old,” Early said.
She’s frustrated with the process but she said her love for lowriding will overpower the time it takes to finish her next build.