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Storyteller

Sit down and relax, I have a car story to tell you…most car stories are filled with fantastic adventures or late night cruises when you were young, others its a cross country cruise with someone that reminds you of a great time. We cant deny that we become attached to these four wheel time capsules that hold special memories and reminders of days past. This is why even the people who say, “I don’t care about cars,” will almost inevitably exclaim, “I’ll miss that car,” when they sell it. For Marco Duque not only does his 1971 Chevelle tell a story but rather is the story.

It all started when Marco bought the 1971 Chevelle in 2006 after he ended a relationship with a woman. He was in the brink of purchasing a Yamaha bike but cooler heads prevailed and figured it would be smarter to stay on four wheels. When the car rolled in front of Marco it looked solid with the classic Heavy Chevy items, small block with a clapped out TH350 transmission, peg leg, automatic and red. Nothing quite show stopping but a good solid driver that was once owned by a drag racer who took car of it. The car could hardly get out of its own way and barely could do a burnout unless you held the car back.

The first iteration of Lola came when Marco was pinned between 2 cars on the interstate after being hit by a drunk driver. This lead to finding Dave Garza (you heard him in Season 1, Episode 1) who had a hobby shop that would help Marco rebuild the Chevelle while also creating a life long friend. When the two started cutting into the car they found what most classic car enthusiast find, rust. Not just some rusty quarters but pretty much the entire back end that needed to be replaced. After replacing the sheet metal the car color was changed to black and some heinous 22” black rims were thrown on. At this point in its life Lola was referred to as “The Donk.” Marco however, had a vision of the car and knew this would not be anything close to the final iteration and told the haters, “your own one, and do what you want to do to it.” This did however start the “murdered out” look for Lola that became popular around this time with the flat black hot rod paint, black rims and black interior. This form of the car also played with the rally stripe turning a flat silver into an iridescent version that glowed at night thanks to the use of crush glass infused into the paint (think of unmarked cop cars at night when you shine your lights on them).

Now that the body and overall look of the car was acceptable Marco decided it was time to start upgrading the parts that make it a muscle car and work on the stance to get it out of the stratosphere. Drop spindles and a new set of staggered 18” in the front and 20” wheels in the back finally gave it the aggressive stance that Marco was looking for and brought it into the 21st century. The motor was upgraded with a 454 big block with a mild cam to put the muscle behind the gorgeous body. This lasted about 4 months until driving back from a car show Marco sent a rod into orbit through the oil pan and trashed the motor. While everyone wanted Marco to LS swap it, Marco wanted to stay old school and run another big block. As Marco explained, “you can pull up to a Lambo or new Vette and they sound good, but they just don’t have that rumble from the muscle car era,” and I couldn’t agree more! So Marco went out and picked the loudest most obnoxious motor he could find to piss off everyone. The motor is a 468 bored .30 over, 4 bolt main, new internals and a filthy cam that thumps with his cutouts open or closed. As the car continued to evolve the flat black paint job was replaced with a glossy finish and stripe now a bare metal that was sanded down after the paint job.

The interior was also needed updated. The first version of the car had “space shuttle” seats that were bright silver and black. The crew used to joke that he looked like he was strapping into the shuttle for launch. Those worn out buckets were swapped for a full black and red TMI interior which yours truly helped put together. Of course a full garage package, steering wheel and full sound system were installed to give it the comfort Marco was looking for.

When listening to the podcast you’ll find out that Marco still was not satisfied with the look at feel of the Chevelle and took it a step further. The next iteration of the car took the murdered out look to the final level. The car was repainted again in black however this time with the stripes deleted. All of the chrome was stripped off the car and painted or powder coated black. The rims were sanded down and painted, you guessed it, black to match the rest of the car. A custom one off front splitter as well as sport mirrors finished off the sleek and sinister look.

Just as Marco was getting things all in order tragedy struck for Lola on a beautiful day in 2017. While driving on the interstate everyone came to a complete stop and started bailing into the emergency exit. Instead of plowing into the back of a Mini Cooper and potentially harming a child in the back seat, Marco made the business decision to put the car into the side barrier to slow it down.

After getting the car back to the shop and assessing the damage, it looked like the car could be rebuilt. While the frame was damaged and needed to be swapped most of the large items on the car were still good to go. Luckily for Marco he already had another round of upgrades planned for the car including stiffening up the suspension. The car now has a fully boxed and braced in frame welded up by a friend, upgraded brakes and safety equipment to ensure that that a wreck is avoided as much as possible. The suspension has been completely redone with all new UMI performance parts.

Marco went back with the all blacked out theme and kept the exterior very similar to its last iteration. He will be adding satin black accents on the trim and a reflective black rally stripe as a throwback to the silver one he did years ago! The words “Story Teller” now don the side of the tires for two reasons. One as an homage to the rough life and stories Marco now has to tell about Lola the second marketing the online photos and small photography business Marco has built. Almost all of the pictures on this page have been taken by Marco and is the go to guy if you want amazing photos of your car. He also edits video for some of the Nasty Kustomz crew rides and has taken photos for weddings and models.

Lola as she sits now is in the final stages of tuning to get back on the road. A new top end kit with a Super Snifer EFI as well as some fine tuning of the suspension and body panels are being completed as we speak. This summer Marco plans on getting out and driving this thing everywhere as he has missed out on the last few years rebuilding the car. Lola has a special place in Marco’s heart as it is the car that brought some of his best friends together, think of it as Tinder for car guys. PS if you’re getting an old car to pull chicks, you’ll be disappointed when its only guys that are attracted to it.

By day Marco follows in the restoration theme by flipping and restoring older houses in the Houston area. It’s one of the reasons it has taken Marco so long as they have been building an inventory of houses in some of the hottest areas in Houston. Lola will be the icing on the cake when he can pull up to a finished house with this finished car.

The story of Lola and Marco will continue on forever even if the only original part left on the car is the roof! Lola 5.0 will be on the streets probably by the time this podcast is released and I can’t wait to see it next time in Houston. If you want to find Marco he’s on instagram at @madstoryteller or on Facebook at Marco Duque. He also has a YouTube page @madstoryteller where you can see some of the best video edits. Big thank you to Marco for just being authentically him and telling the story of Lola. If you have any questions you can always email the podcast or reach out to Marco directly!