The seller of today’s Nice Price or No Dice Artero-bodied Fiero claims they are “testing the waters” with the ad. Let’s see if it’s priced to pass theat test.
Among the pictures featured in the ad for yesterday’s 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV was one of the dash showing a tape poking out of the AM/8-track head unit labeled “Acid Rock.” For some reason that doesn’t seem an appropriate soundtrack for so baroque a ’70s boat. Maybe something along the lines of Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon or Elvis’ Viva Las Vegas would be more fitting. Seemingly well fitting was the big Lincoln’s $9,988 price. That came in at a somewhat narrow but decisive 58 percent Nice Price win.
If we can stick to some musical connotations for a moment, let’s consider David Lee Roth’s four-song EP, Crazy From the Heat. Roth dropped that disc in 1985 and used it to serve notice that he would be leaving Van Halen — but not his highly-caffeinated gameshow host stage persona — behind.
The heat can cause people to do lots of crazy things. In Phoenix, Arizona, it’s hot pretty much all the time, and that sultry weather may have been a contributing factor in the creation of PISA, or Phoenix International Sport Automobiles. That’s the brainchild and business of one Marty Jakolat; the company that created the Artero body kit found on today’s V6-powered 1986 Pontiac Fiero.
The Artero isn’t PISA’s most audacious Fiero revamp either. That honor goes to the Jalapeño, a big-tired soft-road version that we talked about a while back.
But we’re not here to look back. We’re here to move forward. And this Lamborghini Diablo-aping Fiero looks ready and raring to carry some lucky new owner into that as-yet un-mapped future.
According to the seller, the ad is “testing the waters” to determine if it piques any interest of potential buyers. Apparently, there is plenty of interest in the car itself since, in the ad, the seller claims that he drives it “a couple times throughout the week,” and “constantly get neck breaks and thumbs up everywhere I go” when doing so.
Unlike many Fiero-based re-bodies that require extending the wheelbase, the Artero rolls on the stock Fiero platform. The car’s factory plastic body panels make for a fairly simple job of replacement and since the car uses all the stock glass and mechanical bits it should all work without much drama.
There are a lot of Lamborghini logos strewn throughout the car, and while the rear end does pass muster as a Diablo doppelgänger, no one will mistake it as such from any other angle. Perhaps the most interesting change on the car is the stitched dash cap that bridges the Fiero’s uniquely ’80s instrument cluster and center stack. It’s all the same stuff under the cap but it all looks very different with the bridging cover in place. Sadly, that couldn’t competently house the add-on CD changer which is precariously positioned to knee-cap unwary passengers in the event of an accident.
The seller says the car runs and drives and comes with new tires and alignment, a recent smog certificate, and a car cover. The engine is Chevy’s stalwart 2.8 liter OHV V6, which, in the Fiero managed a solid 140 horsepower. A three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic transmission takes some of the wind out of its sails, but a manual conversion wouldn’t be too tough.
Aesthetically, the car looks to be perfectly serviceable, however, the seller notes that it’s not perfect. Notably, the passenger side side-view mirror is missing and the paint is duller than C-SPAN at 3 AM. Also, the odometer is broken so overall miles are unknown. On the plus side, the car comes with a clean title and current registration.
As noted, the seller is testing the water for a prospective sale with the ad. Part of that test is an $11,500 price, and we now need to take the test. What’s your take on this Artero Fiero and that $11,500 asking? Does that seem like a fair deal for so unusual a car? Or, is that price a trick question?
You decide!
Orange County, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to RevUnlimiter for the hookup!
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