The Madd Engraver

Model: Melissa PuenteVeteran lowriders and longtime readers of Lowrider Magazine may remember John "John John" Ponce's fully customized '79 Pontiac Bonneville from when it was featured as the Lowrider of the Month back in 1984. The Low Conspiracy C.C. car has gone through many changes since then. That's because the 36-year-old lowrider from San Jose, California, has owned the Bonneville since he bought it new back in '79 and has never stopped working on it.

As with most car builders, John felt obligated to keep working on this ride and taking it to another level. With John's original candy scarlet red paint completed in '81 by Jose Martinez and John Evans, John added a few touches to the 20-year old lacquer paint finish. One of the new tricks to refresh the exterior was a reverse molded trunk that opens up electrically and allows people to view the beautiful mural painted on the trunk lid by Freddy of San Jose. Other modifications done to the car by Nick Martinez of Universal Fabrication of Salinas, California, included a 42-inch moonroof, and the removal of the factory vinyl top.

The under-hood compartment also received a touch of molding, which was engraved by John's compadre Rudy Pena. Rudy, who is well-known in the lowrider community, engraved the complete car and undercarriage in an old Western-style finish. The undercarriage was completely taken apart and candied by Rene Montez, who left it ready for additional murals that were airbrushed onto the vehicle.

With a fully exposed setup in mind, John had Paul Lemus and Joey Castro of Rob's Customs in San Jose install a two-pump Fito's setup, which was bolted under the undercarriage and connected via hard-line tubing. Two batteries under the hood provide the necessary power to lift the vehicle at the flip of a switch. Having 8-inch black chrome cylinders in the front and 6-inch cylinders in the rear allows people to check out the undercarriage when the car's locked up.

The factory engine was also dressed up and received some TLC from John. Ron Wein's Machine Shop in San Jose went through the stock 350-c.i.d. Olds block. Once Ron was sure that the engine was all "dialed in," it was then prepped and candied to match the exterior of the car, and received billet accessories and chrome pieces plated by Superior Chroming of San Jose. The car then received a set of 13x7 Zenith reverse wire wheels mounted on Premium Sportway 5.20s.

John next shipped the beautiful Bonneville to his buddy "Lil' Rich" Lechuga of San Jose, who did all of the interior work. Lil' Rich started off by gutting the complete car and removing the package tray which allowed a walk-through effect to be given to the car. Rich then scratch-built the complete interior that features swivel seats, center console and a rear loveseat covered in diamonds and rhinestones. The biscuit tuck velour interior was also dressed up with engraved inserts and an all-steel steering wheel which also received a custom touch. For sounds, John hooked up an original cassette tape player from back in the day to a Zapco amplifier and crossover powering four JBL speakers.

Now more than 20 years in the making, "The Madd Engraver" is making as big an impression as ever. The same could be said of John's love of the sport. In fact, John's putting the finishing touches to his latest ride, a '63 Chevrolet Impala SS. As for this car, John tells us that he's putting it away for his son "Lil' John John," who says that this one is all his. John's youngest son Austin may want to one day claim ownership of his Dad's new toy. We'll have to come back in 20 more years and see what these classic cars look like then.