Billy Gibbons' Slampala

If you were a rock star, what kind of car would you drive? Anyone you want! And that's exactly the choice of Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, "that little ol' band from Texas." Seen in his music videos and magazine features, Gibbons' cars and motorcycles are very well known—Cadzzilla, Kopperhed, Eliminator, Hogzilla, Pearl Necklace and so on. Of course, most of these street rods and custom bikes are so extreme they're only for display. So, what are his daily drivers? Good question, because even though they're a bit more practical, don't expect the ordinary.

Slampala
Take his "Slampala," for instance. From the outside it looks like a clean '62 with a stock Chevy V-8 underhood. "It's kinda my Anonymobile," Gibbons chuckles. (Though it's hard to imagine him not getting noticed whatever he drives.) From the driver's seat, you'll see a custom-molded steering wheel with matching, oversized dash switches, made by J.B. Donaldson using a technique developed for that famous "kustom," the Hirohata Merc.


Also, in sharp contrast to the Tequila miniature hanging from the rearview mirror is a Madonna statue perched on the dash. Although Gibbons doesn't seem especially spiritual, given the earthy lyrics of his songs, he does like to give a nod to the Catholic imagery of the Tex-Mex Border culture, which also appears on his stage jacket and other personal items.


Gibbons came across Slampala during a late-night road trip across a remote region of Canada. He wandered into a truck stop at 2:00 a.m., and began thumbing through an Auto Trader. A photo of a lowered Impala caught his eye, and also the text, which read, "Must sell for hot rod project." He liked the sound of that, and after talking with the young owner, who was wide-eyed with awe at meeting one of his music idols, Billy gave him some tickets to a show after shaking hands on a fair sum for the car.

Bimmer Louver
Gibbons later had So-Cal Speed Shop (the same hot rod builder that's helped with many of his show cars) replace the hydraulics with an airbag suspension, so it now hits some really low, low bass notes. Billy showed off the miniature level on the key chain, a gift from So-Cal to make sure he keeps an even keel.