There are a few ways to make a project happen . . . you could throw a truckload of money at it and have someone do it for you or you can build it yourself with a little more time and patience. Imani Shakur (no relation to Tupac, R.I.P.) is of the latter company and did what few in the import scene have dared to do, and that is work an undercarriage like it was a '64 Chevy Impala lowrider. Since there's no frame on his beloved '97 Honda Accord, Imani started with some Simple Green (after disassembling the entire undercarriage) and cleaned the underside. He then spent an entire month, a couple of hours a day, grinding down all of the undercoating and smoothing the belly of the car. Anyone who's undertaken a project of getting even some paint off of a small part can appreciate what a monumental task this was. It took months for Imani's thumbs to heal (one of them was actually permanently damaged from the intense work).
One look underneath, though, and you gotta respect a ride with this kind of detail. The Accord's as smooth as glass, and with the entire chromed undercarriage, it*s certainly a sight to behold. Imani also disassembled his transmission just so the case could be polished, so you know that this guy isn't playing. But Imani didn*t stop there; as you know you have to be sportin' some chrome "feet," so after incorporating some reworked suspension parts, Imani was one of the first to get a set of 20s on a late-model Accord.
Even with all of that, Imani had to keep it going and had LA Majestics and the talented hands of Alberto and David work their magic on the car with David hand fabricating the flares and getting the fender grilles and Mercedes lights just right. Alberto spent 10 long hours in the spray booth, as the process for the House of Kolor gator skin paint has to be done all at one time.
Many told Imani that it was all for naught, but he proved all of the haters wrong when last summer he took Hottest Honda, Best Paint and Best Four-door at Hot Import Nights where Euros don*t always receive the love of the other import niches. When you go to your next show, don*t look for the same interior in Imani"s machine, as it's changed to a full black suede interior with racing seats. Imani likes to keep "Simple Green" simply clean.
Vitals
Owner: Imani Shakur
Vehicle: '97 Honda Accord
City/State: Culver City, California
Club: Unfadable Styles C.C.
Paint and Body Mods: S-class Mercedes taillights, BMW M3 fender grilles, motorcycle gas cap, and shaved third brake light, handles, window squirters, moldings, antenna. "Simple Green" also sports a molded body kit and fender flares. Sprayed with House of Kolor gator skin green by Alberto. Paint and bodywork done by Alberto and David at LA Majestics Autobody in Los Angeles, California.
Performance: DC Sport header and exhaust, Fluidyne high-performance radiator, clear radiator hose and chrome engine parts. Painted engine block.
Interior: Full recover with beige leather and green piping, Tekniq quick release steering wheel, Matrix shifter, gauge and pedals.
Audio/Video: Clarion DRX6675Z A/V controller with 7-inch color display, VR602 and VR600D Crossfire amps, Crossfire CFQ 5.2 five-band EQ, two sets of SX 5.0 speakers and PlayStation 2 installed by Jamie at Advantage Audio in Brea, California.
Suspension: Full air ride suspension featuring SMC cylinders and fast valves, two 5-gallon air tanks, four compressors, 10 switches and quick release switch box. All chroming and polishing was done by Allen at The Polishing Shop in Thousand Oaks, California. Suspension work was done by Imani and PaPa at Kustom Workz in Whittier, California.