Ryan Friedlinghaus, 28, owner of West Coast, says he puts $25,000 to $30,000 worth of parts and labor into each car. Some accessories are supplied at no cost by manufacturers eager to see their products on television.
The show has raised the shop's profile and helped Friedlinghaus expand his business into new areas. He says a company wants to put his name on a line of automotive tools.
The team from West Coast Customs in Inglewood, Calif., puts the finishing touches on Krissy Miller's 1960 VW Baja Bug for MTV's vehicle makeover show.
(Photos Jeffrey Marcus -- Washingtonpost.com)
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West Coast Customs has also become a local landmark and unofficial tourist destination. Teens wearing baggy jeans, backward ball caps and oversize sports jerseys often come around looking for celebrities or cool cars or the cool cars of celebrities. "Pimp My Ride" has blurred the difference between car and star.
After almost two weeks of rehab, Miller's Baja Bug is ready for its star turn. Miller waits nervously outside the garage with her mother, Susan, while the West Coast crew wraps up the final touches.
Miller says she tried to avoid forming mental pictures of what her car might look like. "I trust the guys to see what I see," she says. When Xzibit leads Miller into the work area, the West Coast mechanics stand around the tarp-covered car, expectant grins on their faces.
"Oh my God!" Miller yells as they reveal her car.
Her bug is painted Incredible Hulk green with purple accents. A lighter, tilt-forward fiberglass hood replaces the old, heavily dented shell. A new purple roll cage was installed. It all sits atop off-road tires and chrome rims. The interior is white tweed with purple and green accents. Flowers embroidered on the upholstery and lava lamps mounted in the back play on the car's 1960s spirit. The new dashboard features a touch-screen GPS so Miller can navigate anywhere adventure takes her. The touch-screen stereo/DVD player is connected to two seven-inch video screens in the doors.
As all owners in the show do, she hugs Xzibit and runs directly to the driver-side door. Everything shines. The car barely resembles the vehicle she remembers. She yells "Oh my God!" 36 more times.
