Rich Wroblewski's 1958 Chevrolet

"Rich went to California in the early 1960s," Ray Soff told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2020. "He bought a 58 Impala and drove it home." He wanted it customized, so he took it to Terry Browning in town. Terry gave it a beautiful Candy green paint job. Photo from The Ray Soff Collection.

The "Jade East" was a mild custom. It was nosed and decked, and the paint job featured subtle fogging around trim and edges. It received subtle pinstriping as well, and the name "Jade East" was added to the rear quarter panels. When this photo was taken, it seems to be running Rader mag wheels. Photo from The Ray Soff Collection.

A photo of Jade East taken at an indoor car show. Rich named it "Jade East" after a man's cologne that was out at the time. Photo from The Ray Soff Collection.

Photo from The Ray Soff Collection.

The Impala was Rich's everyday car. He had no garage or driveway to park it in, so it was on the street on RT 35 all the time. One day Rich's neighbor's car got hit. After that, he rented a driveway from a man down the street that didn't have a car himself. Photo from The Ray Soff Collection.

Photo from The Ray Soff Collection.

Rich was a mailman, so he got around. One day he came across his old custom at a used car lot. He talked to the salesman and found out that he wanted more then he sold it for two years before. The car showed its wear, but the white pearl interior was still like new. Photo from The Ray Soff Collection.

1958 Chevrolet Impala owned by Haulin' Gents member Rich Wroblevski of Neptune City, New Jersey.

Jade East

"Rich went to California in the early 1960s," Ray Soff told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2020. "He bought a 58 Impala and drove it home." He wanted it customized, so he took it to Terry Browning in town. "Terry gave the car a beautiful Candy green paint job, and Rich named it "Jade East" after a man's cologne that was out at the time." It was a mild custom. The car was nosed and decked, and the paint job featured subtle fogging around trim and edges. It received subtle pinstriping as well, and the name "Jade East" was added to the rear quarter panels. It was lowered all around, and photos from the Ray Soff Collection shows it running on what seems to be Rader mag wheels.

Everyday driver

The Impala was Rich's everyday car. He had no garage or driveway to park it in, so it was on the street on RT 35 all the time. One day Rich's neighbor's car got hit. After that, he rented a driveway from a man down the street that didn't have a car himself.

Flame paint job

After owning it for a few years, the paint started cracking, so Terry added black flames on the front to cover the chips. According to Ray, it didn't look good. By then the car had started to rust as well. Restoring it would be too expensive, so Rich ended up selling it.

Sold and spotted on a used car lot

Rich was a mailman, so he got around. One day he came across his old custom at a used car lot. He talked to the salesman and found out that he wanted more then he sold it for two years before. The car showed its wear, but the white pearl interior was still like new.

Gone!

One day Rich passed the sales lot the car was gone. He stopped by and asked what had happened to it. The salesman told him he had sold it to a guy in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.