A 1948 Chevy Fleetline Lowrider Goes on View at the Dodgers’ Opening Day: LATTC ATM Students Lend a Hand

(Left to right): ATM Chair Jess Guerra, Joe Ray, LATTC ATM faculty Brian Ferre, LATTC President Dr. Alfred McQuarters, VP of Academic Affairs Dr. Abigail Patton, and ATM student ATM students Blake Mitchell, Brenda Oh, Ethan Mejia, and Christian Quiroz in front of the lowrider before it left for Opening Day at Dodger Stadium 

It was a big day at Dodger Stadium last Thursday, March 27 as the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted their opening day of the 2025 season—a season filled with anticipation following last year’s epic World Series title. Within the excitement of the day, LATTC had one more reason to celebrate.  

A 1948 Chevy Fleetline lowrider went on view just outside the stadium as part of a partnership with Estrella Jalisco and Joe Ray. Joe Ray is a titan in the Southern California low rider community, serving as former editor of Lowrider Magazine. Lowriders have a long history in Los Angeles, particularly East LA, dating back to the 1940s. A big part of the region’s Chicano culture, lowriders are customized cars, often equipped with a lowered body and hydraulic suspension—and known for their vivid, candy-colored hues with incredibly detailed paint work.  

In late 2024, Estrella Jalisco approached Joe with an opportunity to give a 1948 Chevy Fleetline the custom lowrider treatment. The finished lowrider would then be scheduled to go on tour, with stops in Denver, Atlanta, Oklahoma, Sacramento, and Kansas City through summer—but it would all kick off on March 27, 2025, at Dodger Stadium for Opening Day. 
 

The 1948 Chevy Fleetline lowrider installed at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day on March 27, 2025. 

Joe Ray has been a longtime friend of LATTC’s Advanced Transportation & Manufacturing pathway, where he’ll sometimes stop by and lend his knowledge to students in the Automotive Collision Repair program. When the partnership with Estrella Jalisco came up, he thought to reach out to his friend, and the college’s ATM instructor Mr. Brian Ferre, to see if the project could be something of a learning experience for the college’s students. Brian agreed with the support of the pathway chair, Mr. Jess Guerra, and work was soon underway. 

“This project provided students with an opportunity to learn special skills that are unique to the lowrider auto industry and to work directly with very talented and experienced people like Joe Ray and Professor Ferre,” said Jess Guerra, Chair of LATTC’s ATM pathway. “With the vehicle scheduled for display in several places around the country, this was an opportunity for people across the country to see the work of our Collision Repair program and LATTC.” 

In January, second semester students in LATTC’s Autobody Collision Repair program, Ethan Mejia, Blake Mitchell, Brenda Oh, and Christian Quiroz got to work on the Fleetline in parts, sanding and buffing down surfaces and applying paint in steady strokes.  
 

LATTC ATM students got to work on hand painting the Fleetline parts, including the sun visor (top left), side skirts (bottom), and four hubcaps for each wheel. 

The college was even able to include its mark on the lowrider with custom “LATTC 100” logos on the side skirts to commemorate the college’s centennial this year. 
 

A close-up of the vehicle’s side skirts with LATTC‘s 100th anniversary logo featured on it.  

Student Brenda Oh painted each logo by hand using a gold leaf engine turning technique to create a disco pattern. Along with the side skirts, the sun visor and hub caps were some of the last pieces to be installed before it was given a final polish by student Blake Mitchell.  
 

ATM student Blake Mitchell gives the 1948 Chevy Fleetline a final polish just before it’s taken over to Dodger Stadium for Opening Day. 

“Every little bit of it is a step-by-step process: from the pinstriping, to masking the tape, to the color combination—when everything comes together, that’s what makes it custom...that’s what creates its beauty and the art of it,” said Brenda. “I had a great experience, and it was an opportunity to see how it’s all done.” 

Following its stops in California, the lowrider’s next stop will be at the Las Vegas Convention Center on May 25, 2025.