I’m sure most of you BangShifters remember the TV Show “Pimp My Ride”, right? For those who don’t, here’s a quick refresher: It was a show on MTV that aired in the mid-2000’s where people with really terrible, worn out clunkers submitted their cars to the show, and if they got selected, rapper Xzibit would show up to their place and take their car to West Coast Customs to be “pimped”.

You know, the guy from the internet memes!

What did that entail, you ask? Well, they would usually paint the car with some crazy paint scheme, reupholster the interior with tastelessness in mind, add a crazy stereo system, and add personal touches like cookie ovens or a dry cleaning service in the trunk. The things that made the car terrible, like a failing powertrain, bad suspension bits, and other essential things, would often go untouched, resulting in people taking possession of a really gaudy version of their clunker that didn’t function any better as a car than they started with. But hey, it got “pimped”!

Up on eBay right now is the star of Season 4’s premier episode: a 1976 AMC Pacer. According to Wikipedia, this one was owned by a girl named Jessica who was a nutritionist. I’m not sure how any of that plays into what West Coast Customs did to the poor Pacer, but let’s take a look!

Well, it’s definitely still a 1976 AMC Pacer. It’s sporting a custom paint job with stars fading to the back of the vehicle, and some large aftermarket 5-spoke wheels. Judging from what other cars that got “pimped” looked like after they emerged from their West Coast Customs cocoon, this one got off easy. The guy selling it bought it “on a dare” 9 years ago and put it in storage, hoping to cash in someday. With the Wayne’s World “Mirthmobile” Pacer selling for $30k at auction recently, that time is apparently now.

Whoa, what’s that weird spoiler doing all the way up there?

Oh, it’s a solar panel. Because of course it is. The spoiler itself looks similar to the ones that came on the 2002-2007 Subaru WRX, but they definitely didn’t come with solar panels embedded in them from the factory. The seller says that it’s used to power the large amount of electronics in the car.

In front of the solar spoiler, there’s a canvas power retractable roof. Amazingly, it still works.

This thing runs on straight cash, homey.

When you open the driver’s door, this is the first thing you see. Xzibit said something in the episode about West Coast Customs murdering Sesame Street’s Big Bird and using him to upholster the interior. He’s not far from the truth.

While dirty, the interior remains mostly intact from the time of it’s pimping. Everything is yellow or white in here, with the appropriate shag carpeting. Eagle eyes will notice that this car has three pedals and a chrome stick jutting out of the floor. More on that in a bit.

Remember when air ionizers and purifiers were all the rage in the mid-2000’s? The Pacer remembers. This one has this electronic tumor hacked into the dash. Just like the home versions, there’s no word on if it actually does anything.

As with all Pimp My Ride cars, there’s a lot of stereo equipment in the car. This one has speakers and screens everywhere. And look, more shag carpeting!

Here’s the brains of the operation: a Jensen amp and a bunch of wires, relays and duct tape to power the immense amount of electronics. The seller says the car also had a juice bar with juicers in the back of the hatch area at one point, but it has since been removed.

In typical Pimp My Ride fashion, West Coast Customs did absolutely nothing under the hood besides changing the battery terminals to beefier units. The Pacer is still powered by the same 258ci inline six and three speed manual transmission it was born with. The seller reports that it all somehow functions as it should. He wanted to swap a V8 into the car, but never got around to it.

Included with the sale are a bunch of spares, including the gauge cluster that was specially “Pimped” for the car.

While the seller of this lovely vehicle is hoping for beaucoup bucks due to the fallout of the Wayne’s World Pacer selling for $30k at auction, bidding at the time of writing this is sitting around $1525.00 with the reserve not met. There’s no word on the actual reserve on the vehicle, but if any of you are looking for a previously pimped Pacer, you might want to get in on this!

Serious Xzibit is Serious. Someone needs to buy this thing.

Here’s the ad for posterity:

I purchased the Pacer seen on “Pimp my Ride”, Episode 301, Jessica’s Pacer on a dare back in 2007. Since that time it has been kept in dry storage.  I’ve always had plans to drop a V8 in her with a blower scoop sticking out of the hood. But, as we all know plans change with time and with the recent sale of the Wayne’s World Pacer to Pawn Stars and then @ Barrett Jackson for 30k +, it’s time for me to let this one go. As I said, it’s been in dry storage for the past 9 years with a once a year start up and drive around the block +/or parade entry. It never ceases to amaze me how well this thing starts and it really is very nice to drive and handles quite well while riding very comfortably. It has an inline 6 cylinder engine with a 3 speed manual trans. with floor shifter. The engine starts and idles as it should from cold start all the way to warm idle. The clutch engages perfectly and the transmission shifts smoothly. Under the hood, all of the smog equipment is intact and there is a slight valve cover oil leak just like the day it was new. The boys at West Coast Customs really did a number on the interior. As you can see there is shag carpet everywhere; there’s 4 TV’s and a head banging stereo with 6 speakers, 425 watt amp and a sub-woofer. There’s even an air ionizer thing on the dash and a cup holder console that cools or heats your drink. It also has a huge electrically operated convertible sunroof and a solar charger on the roof mounted rear wing. As built on Pimp my Ride, there was a juicer in the back and it had a ground effects front bumper. Both are now gone as is the linear actuator on the rear lift gate, but the electric rear hatch release does operate just fine. The Pacer also has a security system with a key fob but I never figured out how that works. The paint job on the car is a10 footer at best and there are a handful of chips and imperfections but it’s nothing a solid paint man could not remedy in short order. The interior has a lot of white and could use a clean. The instrument cluster in the dash has been removed and the box of auto meter gauges I was going to install will go with the car. I was going to mount them in a piece of machine turned aluminum I had but instead used that on another project. As for the value of the car, that’s up to you, I see it as much cooler than the Wayne’s World Pacer with a bit less provenance. As listed, the car is in Steamboat Springs Colorado. I am willing to trailer the car to a location in Denver, 80033 to help save in the cost of shipping. I suppose the car could be driven but I have not personally ever driven it a long distance. I do have a firm reserve on the auction so if it does not sell, it’ll just go back into storage and perhaps I’ll get to building it the way I envision doing one day.

You can bid on this thing on a dare of your own right here!