1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo - Diamond In The Rough

"Bling" Back This Monte

By Saul Vargas

Photography by LRM Staff

The Premier Car Club started around the year 2000 and was initially formed by several guys who came from different clubs and areas in Los Angeles. When they started their club, they set high standards and goals for themselves. Since then they've never turned back and continue to break out, or premier themselves, to the center stage of the car show world.

Carlos Garcia's Monte Carlo is the next Premier member to hit the limelight. Carlos and his brother, Jose, own a shop called Low Low and More in Rialto, California, which makes things a lot easier-some might even consider it an advantage. Carlos, who has been into lowriding since he was 15, grew up in the Echo Park area, an area that had its fair share of brand-new Monte Carlos, Buick Regals, and Cutlasses driving around. He's loved those body styles ever since.

1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Front Interior View

Now that he's older, he had a chance to pick up a Monte at a reasonable price, so he jumped on it and turned it into a six-month project. They gave the car a major overhauling, rebuilding the stock 305 and equipping it with a turbo 400 transmission and a set of Flowmaster mufflers, which allow the engine to perform better.

With the car running smooth it was sent out for body and paint where they had Jacobo Soto do all the bodywork. Once the car was prepped, the paint was crafted by Julio Soto who sprayed the car in a blue with gold pearl. Once the car's finish was handled, it was taken to the world-famous Walt Prey, who striped and silver leafed the car. Abel Rocha from the Valley took it from there and airbrushed the inside of the panels that Walt had laid down.

The main focus of the car is a mixture of interior, sound system, and hydraulics. There are several hours worth of work between the design and collaboration of this vehicle. The car's frame was reinforced by Jesse of Custom Lowz in Riverside, California, who also needs credit for re-enforcing the arms. The hydraulics were built by Ted Wells, while club brother Danny Arriaga plumbed the setup.

The interior and music were on a whole different level when Henry, of Henry's Customs in Monrovia, California, took on the task of creating a custom interior that ties it all in. Henry built a center console that acts as a giant speaker box for the Fosgate woofers and midrange speakers. Four bucket seats were designed and featured with crocodile inserts and the rest was wrapped in leather and suede. A touch of engraving by Hernan's Customs was used throughout the car, from the hydraulic pumps all the way to the knockoffs.

When Carlos bought this Monte Carlo, he and his crew brought it back to life from the scrap machine it had been at the junk yard, which is how they came up with the name "Diamond in the Rough."