While the lowrider scene certainly isn’t for everyone, there’s no doubt a tremendous amount of work that goes into creating a car that’s worthy of its own feature in Lowrider magazine. This 1986 Pontiac Fiero SE was built expressly for the purpose of being a trophy-winning showcar, with wild paint, a bonkers interior, and of course, a custom hydraulic suspension designed to both lift and slam the Fiero at will. The car has been off the show circuit for a few years and now is in need of a modest refresh, but the seller correctly points out you’d be hard-pressed to recreate this car for the current bid amount. Find it here on eBay with no reserve and bids to $4,650 at the moment.
The interior is both unexpected and completely perfect for the era in which this Fiero was made. The 1980s and 1990s car show scene was an exercise in excess, from chrome-plated undersides to graphics packages that were the modern-day equivalent of hot rod pinstripes. The Fiero is no exception, with an interior that can’t be done justice with mere adjectives. There were some serious man hours in this build whether you respect it or not, and it captures perfectly the aftermarket trends of the era. The one feature I can’t abide, however, is leaving a stock steering wheel inside that custom cabin.
Like many cars from the lowrider scene, the engine isn’t the focus of the build but it still receives custom touches to bring it all together. The four-cylinder mill wasn’t impressive when new, but it’s not a problem here as cars like this aren’t built to set speed records; rather, they’re created to be crowd-pleasers and earn thumbs up from strangers at lowrider events. Not surprisingly, the valve cover and intake runners are color-keyed to the body; I’m actually surprised the plug wires aren’t orange as well. The seller reports that he had to make several repairs to get the Fiero running again, including a new fuel pump, distributor, fuel injectors, serpentine belt, and more.
The ground effects are period-correct aftermarket pieces, and here you can see all of these enhancements were considered good enough to get the feature in Lowrider magazine. As someone who grew up in the 80s, I love cars like this not only for their raw excess but because this era of customizing and aftermarket tuning was so unique, and in some ways, even specific to each coast. The seller notes other repairs will be needed to get the suspension to perform the way it once did, most importantly the hydraulic pump, so hopefully it’s a fairly simple swap to install a replacement. The Fiero is not for everyone, but surely a Radwood-era fan would snatch this one up.
This car is V-6 powered, and it definitely needs some attention to restore it to its’ magazine glory days. Although it’s not to my personal style, I do appreciate the time, creativity, and money spent to achieve this result. GLWTA!! :-)
Cars that are built to show do not fare well in the hands of the general public. Used and abused. Plus, the interior looks like it came out of a coffin!
The pimp or as stated coffin style interior is a deal breaker for me !
I would NOT want to be seen in this think …
This was the subject of a recent video series on YouTube. Legitstreetcars and watchjrgo collaborated.
This thing was an amazing custom lowrider 30 years ago but today it is junk.
Barf. IMHO
“an interior that can’t be done justice with mere adjectives”
No, I agree but maybe a few matches would help…
Taco rocket
I damn near chocked on this one
Thanks for the great laugh
Proving there is no way to underestimate how bad some people’s taste can be.
I’d be less embarrassed driving around in a rusted out K-car.
The write up doesn’t mention this car was found and revived by LegitStreetCars on You Tube so the potential buyer can see the progress and what needs to be done. JRGarage was also involved with this one.
The attention to detail on this car when it was built was amazing. Anybody that would paint the gas tank and almost every other part underneath the car was crazy for this car.
Check out the serious if for nothing else a few laughs.
It was WatchJRgo, not JRGrage (Both good channels). It was a fun series of videos.
The 2 x 4 holding up the hatch is sweet – spruce I believe!
The 2X4 is my favorite part of the whole car! I’m surprised they didn’t paint it orange……
This is one of those times when you need a can of gasoline and a match. Nothing good can come of letting this car stay on the road.
Why did the seller ruin the classy vibe of this car with a tacky maple leaf air freshener?
Probably because it smells like mold (or something else 💩) inside the car.
I would imagine there is more crusty old semen in that plush interior than in the the busiest brothel in Nevada.
And you can call me…………….Mr Joshua
I do believe YouTuber Ligitstreetcars brought this back to life.
My first impression of the interior was “Padded cell”.
Kinda looks like one and may be appropriate for the occupant(s).
‘The four-cylinder mill’…??? Jeff, that’s a V-6.
Four letters. yuck.
Rip that faded casket interior out and find a decent junkyard factory interior. Repaint in one solid color. Fix the hydraulics and cruise. Or bury someone in it. At the current price it might be cheaper than a custom casket.
You can all make fun but lowriders aren’t any different than any other custom car genre. Go to a lowrider show and then a hot rod show back to back and you’ll see what I mean. These guys put some serious work in their cars. They paint and chrome everything and are very creative. Too bad this one sat outside and got ruined though because someone put some serious time and money into it. The lowrider magazine license plate frame is ironic as it was one of the many automotive magazines that Source Interlink recently killed off.
I’m always baffled by car guys lack of tolerance for anything other than what they like. Can’t they at least give credit for the amount of work that went into this build? I’m not a fan of opera, but went once and came away with a real appreciation for what they do. I consider them vocal athletes.
I had no idea there were so many Fiero purists on the site!
Lowriders aren’t on my list of interests, but the amount of work that goes into them absolutely earns my respect. And I am not ashamed to say I look at them when a nice one shows up at the show. Like it or not… it is art.
I do my best to respect the time, effort, and money that goes into a build like this, but I don’t always succeed. As I frequently reminded people when I was president of the local Mustang club, the guy driving the Mustang II is just as passionate about his car as the guy driving the Shelby, perhaps even more so, so when he starts talking about how great it is, nod politely and move on.
OMG!! I have no words!
The only thing that will help this car is a crusher or fire. Lots of hot, hot fire.
U wrote another one of these couldnt be duplicated for wat the sellers askin price is
Thank the Lord for that,1 on this planet is more than enough
File this under “it seemed like a good idea at the time”
What a piece of crap.
If I owned a boat, I’d buy this car and use it for an anchor.
Different strokes for different folks, for sure! It would take some deep pockets to really make this car look good and right again. I drove a friends Fiero one time. Stick shift, spunky V-6. You couldn’t begin to enjoy the drive and the ride with the low rider look. Be watching out to much for bumps, would be jarring and would damage the under body. Shame it was all mucked up,
Build the wall.
Nope
I love it when one of my favorite websites allows the commentators to express their bigotry. Stay classy Frank Stein, you WASP Demigod you!
I grew up both loving and hating low-riders. Yes, they have cut up vehicles we’d kill for nowadays; however a manual-equipped 2.8 Fiero SE that was modified in period with a magazine feature is very cool 😎
Much respect to the original builder and thanks to LegitStreetCars for showing a younger generation the 80s-90s street car culture.
C’mon now, Frank’s not a bigot…quite obviously, Mr. Stein is Jewish.
While, I agree with Jesse about the “serious work” that goes into any custom vehicle. Some are just executed better than others based on the owner’s taste. Exposed to the elements or not, I threw up a little in my mouth when I saw that interior.
The question is not “How much is it worth?”…but, “How much would you pay me to take it?”
Bidding is up to $10,100 with five hours to go. Seems like lotsa money chasing this thing. Good for Alex at LSC!
Wow, sad to see car people being so intolerant of divergent styles of creating unique cars. I like cars stock and with period modifications in a road race style. I don’t like Pro Street or Street Rods. I do respect every build for what the person did to achieve his vision. Do I like the interior of this car, no, but am I so conceited that I think my opinion is better than anyone else’s, no,.
Good for you
I am not politically correct so i say what i really think and this is shhhhitt
As the new owner of the car, and someone that’s trying to finish up cosmetic work and the rest of the hydraulic work, I will confirm that it has not been treated well all these years.
To me , this was/is a parts car
It was horribly modified/pimped and i consider it too far gone but you chose to buy and do it , so i wish you luck and hope you didn’t pay too much!
In life , you sometimes have to pat to learn …
Wow, I owned this car back in 2001! It looks terrible now! I paid $5,500 for this car 21 years ago! It is missing a lot! The gold steering wheel was the best part about the car now it’s gone. Thanks for a trip down memory lane!