Straight out of Pearland, Texas, a small city on the outskirts of Houston, comes a smooth '93 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham with a new image. Why a new image? This car was featured in LRM just two years ago, but back then it was just a clean street ride with a gray paint job and killer hydraulics setup. Owner Cipriano Flores decided to rebuild the Cadi and take the car to the top of the next level.
Being part owner of the Slab Shop in Houston, Cipriano needed to build something different at his shop so that people can see what he and his men are capable of doing. Also being a member of the Houston Lowrider Council ("HLC") and a loyal member of Firme Car Club, Cipriano wanted to make sure that the rebirth of the Cadi was something to talk about.
Before the car was ready for paint, it was in Carlos' care at the Slab Shop where he did all of the body modifications including the shaving of the door handles, antenna and front fender moldings. He also sectioned the hood and molded the front clip. The mirrors were replaced with '96 Cadillac model mirrors. Shane Ely painted the car in House of Kolor lime gold paint at the Slab Shop.
The Cadillac had to have a little bit of "dirty South" flavor, so it was equipped with a custom-made Lambo door kit and a pop trunk. The pop trunk was made famous in the South by cars that would stop at a red light and "pop" the trunk to show off the setup, sound system, custom neon and some kind of neighborhood representation. This sweet Fleetwood was equipped with actuators to open and close the trunk at a hit of a switch.
The custom-molded fiberglass subwoofer box is so clean that Cipriano decided to step it up and mold the entire car. Instead of having matching carpet in the interior, he got his homie Hyrum "Big Worm" Castillo to mold and fiberglass the entire floor panel with a custom-made center console, which was painted to match the exterior with the same lime gold paint.
The car was then handed to Horacio Alonzo who reupholstered the front and back seats with a mixture of gray leather and suede. "Shorty" and John at Shorty's Hydraulics hooked up a clean setup that includes two chrome Heavy Hitters pumps and custom-bent hard-lines with color-matching accumulators and a 10-switch clear box to control the car's smooth movements.
The redone Cadillac was unveiled at the 2007 Houston LRM Tour event, where it took home the Best Radical award and got the attention of a few people in the industry who are now doing the same thing and molding their interiors. Cipriano would like to extend his thanks to his son, fianc Rachel, his parents for always being supportive, and, of course, his crew at the Slab Shop and his fellow Firme Car Club members. Keep an out for "Hate Me Now" on the Texas car show circuit, but don't get it twisted, this car is driven and cruised once in a while. It just gets driven without its "shoes."