Facebook users will be all-too-familiar with the social network’s rather strange Marketplace classifieds section. While a decent place to get a good deal on a used car, we often find ourselves bewildered by the strange, badly modified vehicles that we so often see for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
This 1984 Pontiac Fiero off-roader is exactly the type of thing we’re talking about. This half Jeep, half Fiero mashup is currently listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Woodstock, Ontario for a rather reasonable $4,500 CAD. That would be a decent deal for a well-kept Fiero, but with the infamous ‘Jalapeño’ conversion installed on it, this is no regular example of the mid-engine Pontiac sports car.
The Fiero Jalapeño kit is the work of Arizona-based company Phoenix International Sport Automobiles (PISA). While it wears a Jeep Wrangler-inspired front end and looks to have plenty of ground clearance, this is no true off-roader. The suspension lift is done by wedging some four-inch blocks into the Fiero’s suspension, so it’s not really engineered for rock crawling. PISA owner Marty Jakolat confessed to Jalopnik once before that the Jalapeño is “awful off-road. Just beats the hell out of you.”
Apart from the Wrangler front end and shoddy suspension lift, the Jalapeño kit also includes widened front and rear fenders and a custom Lancia-inspired rear fascia. This particular car is based on a 1984 Fiero and features the 140 horsepower 2.8L V6 engine that came with the car, along with a four-speed manual transmission. This car shows 177,000 kilometers on the odometer (about 110,000 miles), though it’s not clear how many of those were put on post-Jalapeño conversion.
Despite its name, we’re not convinced the Fiero Jalapeño is so hot. We’d be able to forgive the awkward looks if it could actually be used off-road, but as it sits, this raised-up Fiero is really no better suited to mudding or rock crawling than a stock Fiero.
Check out the listing at this link for some additional information and more photos of this strange automotive mashup.
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Comments
That thing would look sick Jalapeño green, one thing though.
“the Jalapeño kit also includes widened front and rear fenders” – Call it what it is, a “wide body”?
Like this
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2017/06/does-the-new-dodge-challenger-srt-hellcat-widebody-pose-a-threat-to-the-zl1/
or this
https://fordauthority.com/2020/02/sweet-shelby-super-snake-widebody-renderings-look-fantastic/
Where’s the love Sam?
One has to imagine that there are aftermarket shops thinking about similar kits for the C8 Corvette.
I would hope it is only similar in notion, off road. I’m not sure the width between the transaxle half shaft couplers lends itself to long enough wheel travel (long half shafts) for a serious wheeler whether it be for blasting or crawling?
I can imagine it though, would make for one hell of a desert blaster!
It’ll probably show up at Barrett-Jackson this Fall, and some knucklehead will pay $50K for it.