Lowrider Magazine
Lowrider of the Month |
Center fold article |
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Pimp Juice
Chicago's finest Cadillac doesn't have to slap the
competition to get the respect that it deserves.
By Edgar Hoill
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Rene and David
Espinoza of Chicago, Illinois, are a good example of how strong family bonds
and especially brotherhood are in the lowriding game. Rene and David own a
couple of restaurants in Chi-town and rely on the love of their parents and
loved ones to support the family business as well as their addiction to
customizing luxury low-lows.
The story of the "Pimp
Juice" '93 Cadillac Fleetwood starts with David purchasing the car from a
friend. Once Rene got involved in adding wire rims to the Caddy, the
customizing bug pumped its venom into Rene's bloodstream. David asked his
brother if he could take care of the project while he was on vacation for
two weeks. Rene started by getting the car painted candy brandywine. "I told
David that I wanted to put a mural on the car and he said fine," reports
Rene, "so I put my face on the hood (ha-ha)."
After Rene had muralist Martin Pozo airbrush his
face on the hood surrounded by some fine ladies, David decided that his
former daily driver should belong to his brother so he handed over the keys
and pink slip to the car. The vehicle was then transformed from an ordinary
street ride into a masterpiece that cost more than $30,000 to build. Big
things began happening to the "big body." The interior is sure the center of
attention with a custom fiberglass center console that's connected to a
custom rear deck fiberglass speaker box that covers the entire rear window.
Once the car was on the verge of being finished it
needed to get juiced so the frame was reinforced to give it extra support.
The frame was smoothed out and candied over to match the body. The trunk is
like a jewel box with one of the best hydraulic setups ever seen in Chicago.
Gold, chrome and candy paint make the trunk's contents really stand out.
Rene would like to give special thanks to his
brother David for not tripping when the car was taken from him. Rene would
also like to extend his thanks to his wife for putting up with his addiction
to lowriding, as well as his parents and all of the members of Pura Familia
Car Club for standing strong. So if you're a Chicago resident and you see
Rene cruising the streets of the Windy City or if you're in Rene and David's
restaurant, La Pasadita, make sure that you give Pimp Juice the props that
it deserves.
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Pictures taken at the
Lowrider Magazine photo shoot |
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Models:
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Tiffinie Jansky
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Leticia Mendez
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Edgar
throwing down with his camera! |
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"Pimp
Juice" The Specs |
Engine / Drivetrain: |
The perfectly good
stock engine was pulled out and replaced with a Chevy 350-c.i.d. that was
accessorized with custom air cleaner and headers, and all-chrome pulleys and
valve covers. The engine work was done by Rene, David and fellow Pura
Familia C.C. members. The engine bay was also painted to match the car. |
Body / Paint: |
The Cadillac had
minor bodywork done. Some of the parts were shaved, including the back
doors, hood and trunk. The cars was sprayed candy brandywine by Orlando of
Creator in Chicago. After the car was painted, murals were sprayed on the
hood and trunk by Martin Pozo at Creator. |
Interior: |
The interior is
one of a kind. The original seats were replaced with custom-cut bucket seats
and reupholstered with pillow tucked sandstone leather. Orlando did the
upholstery at Orlando's Glass and Tops in Chicago. |
Sound System: |
A custom
fiberglass center console extending the entire length of the interior was
fabricated, as was a fiberglass woofer box covering the rear deck and
window. An Alpine head unit is joined by Alpine tweeters and mids, and
powered by a full rack of JL Audio amps. Dan "Loco Lugo" at Chi-town's Pro
Sounds took on the intense job of manufacturing the audio-visual system.
Rene also has a back-up camera neatly placed inside the Continental kit with
the image displayed on any of the several flip-down Alpine monitors.
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Setup: |
The body was taken
off of the frame and wrapped to be able to support the abuse of hydraulics.
Extended A-arms and boxed lower arms help the car stay stable. Mario at
Switch Happy in Chicago took on the task of reinforcing the frame. Bob
"Hollywood" Wagner at Hollywood Kustoms in Northlake, Illinois, installed
the setup that includes four chrome and gold Hi-Low pumps, four Adex chrome
dumps, 8-inch cylinders in the front and 14-inch in the rear, 16 solenoids,
10 candy-painted batteries and five switches to control the hydros with the
juice being pumped through 24K gold-plated hardlines. |
Tires: |
P175/75/14 |
Wheels: |
Custom-built and
color-matched 14x6 |