For most automotive enthusiasts, customizing a car is a way to make it uniquely theirs. Other modifying is designed simply to make the vehicle better, either to perform, look, or to provide new comfort and convenience. For the participants of the reality TV show Pimp My Ride, which has a host named Xzibit, it was an opportunity to take tired old cars and trucks and turn them into outlandish contraptions with household appliances, giant entertainment systems, doctor’s offices, and wacky fun accessories. Created from a Ford LTD Crown Victoria, a Toyota RAV4, and a few other of those new-fangled vehicles, these auto modifications often created more problems than they solved.

Some of the most bizarre builds on the show provide a good contrast between something fun to watch and something fun to own. For example, a hot tub installed in an Econoline van took up a lot of what would normally be a cargo bay, while a pool table in a Chevrolet S-10 could have given you trouble staying on track. One build saw LCD monitors mounted on mudflaps, while another delivered messages via a pneumatic system in a limo. A juicing station was installed in the trunk of an AMC Pacer, and a Ford Mustang came equipped with a flamethrowing exhaust system (which was removed before delivery for obvious reasons). Take a look at 10 of the most questionable and bizarre builds below.

1. CAT Scan Machine in a Ford LTD Crown Victoria

When nurse Therese rolled her 1984 Ford LTD Crown Victoria into the shop at Galpin Auto Sports, everyone working there knew that this would be no traditional service. Instead of just replacing a few parts or installing some new features, the technicians built an entire CAT scan machine into the back end of the car. Instead of being a regular machine, the CAT scan was totally entertaining, with a slide-out tray to allow someone to lay down and crawl into the tube. Subwoofer speakers and video screens in the tube added to the entertainment value of the doctor’s own giant scanner, but were they practical?

CAT Scan Installation Essentials:

• Full-sized medical scanning equipment installed
• Built inside a Crown Victoria
• Slide-out patient tray included
• Speakers and television monitors added
• Extra weight reduced fuel economy

The CAT scan installation show went to extreme measures. The scanning machinery was large, and it added a lot of weight to the sedan. This additional weight was detrimental to the Crown Victoria’s fuel efficiency, which meant that this harrowing hybrid customization was an expensive affair. While the vehicle became almost legendary thanks to the odd medical components, driving a full-size Cat scan from the passenger seat of a car was not a very viable application, and it stood out as an example of how the show valued presentation over everyday usefulness. Instead of fixing, the team used the vehicle to turn it into a mobile hospital attraction.

2. Chocolate Fountain in a Toyota RAV4

RAV4 needed some wheel and suspension upgrades so he could impress his dates, he turned to Galpin Auto Sports for some customizations. The auto gurus installed a working chocolate fountain in the back of the small SUV, setting the mood for love with candles. While the feature had the side effect of making the vehicle more noticeable, there was a major safety issue the liquid could easily spill out of the fountain and onto the seats, carpeting, and headliner when the vehicle took a corner or braked hard. Justin confirmed that he still got noticed, with or without the chocolate.

Chocolate Fountain Customization Details:

• Installed inside a compact SUV
• Designed to impress potential dates
• Working chocolate fountain added
• Candles created a romantic atmosphere
• Customized RAV4 later caught fire

The chocolate fountain demonstrates how an original idea can quickly become a headache. Spilled liquid food and a moving vehicle don’t mix well, especially when hard braking or turning throws chocolate all over the interior cabin. While the modification’s ability to help Justin pick up chicks brought more notoriety to the custom RAV4, it also eventually caught fire. That fate cemented the project as one of the show’s most memorable failures, as the overly-enthusiastic machinists created a worse version of a romantic idea. It was a strange addition to the vehicle, but not one that made much sense to have when you’re trying to get around town.

3. Coffin Grill in a Cadillac Fleetwood Hearse

Andrew took his 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood hearse to the Galpin Auto Sports because he loved to cook. Accessories specialist Diggity Dave chose to match that passion with the funeral look of the vehicle by installing a barbecue grill inside a working coffin. The combustion chamber of the contraption bore the carved faces of skeletons of Xzibit and crew members, giving the vehicle an offbeat appearance. Although barbecue equipment may be practical for a tailgate party, few things are as strange as cramming one inside a coffin, inside a hearse. Andrew’s build seemed to be about making a show, and fitting it all into one package.

Hearse Grill Design Features:

• Built into a functional coffin
• Customized for cooking enthusiast Andrew
• Skeletonized faces decorated the surface
• Combined barbecue equipment with hearse styling
• Extra gas tanks accompanied the setup

Perhaps showing that it didn’t shy away from taking a vehicle owner’s specific interests and marrying them with a a less-than-sense-free body upgrade, the coffin grill was born. Andrew’s interest in grilling and cooking, plus a hearse (which was probably considered a bit unusual) created the perfect platform for to build a cook. The completed product was a mobile cooking attraction that may or may not be attractive, and the bodies of spare gas tanks inside a vehicle used for transporting bodies made it all the more unusual. Rather than a subtle body kit with performance upgrades in the form of new wheels and engines, the crew delivered a bit of a special vehicle that was striking to anyone who laid eyes on it.

4. Chandelier in a Pontiac Trans Am

The gift from Danelle, a 1981 Pontiac Trans Am, was in rough shape duct tape was even used to hold the side mirrors onto the car. Instead of a restoration or basic enhancement, the team decided the muscle car should have a little class by putting a dangling chandelier from the ceiling and an espresso machine inside. While people use chandeliers in formal rooms or fancy dining areas, they would seem a bit odd hanging in a car where the interior headroom is limited, and a hanging light fixture with glass bulbs would be somewhat precarious. That chandelier has become one of the most identifiable ornaments in the series.

Pontiac Trans Am Interior Changes:

• Duct-taped side mirrors needed attention
• Household chandelier installed inside cabin
• Espresso machine added alongside chandelier
• Luxury decor contrasted with muscle-car styling
• Xzibit later criticized the design choices

The reason the chandelier became so iconic, of course, was that it contrasted so absurdly with the Trans Am’s original penchant for horsepower. Its glamorized interior, designed to better suit the muscle car, it was not décor more akin to a home. It was prominent enough that Xzibit joked about it on television, and explained that he didn’t have much choice on the matter. Its elevation also proved quite the hurdle, given that glassed fixtures hanging from the ceiling could be harmful, especially in the tight confines of a small cabin. Originally, along with the espresso machine, it was an even greater effort to make home comforts relevant in a muscle car that at its core was just asking for some duct-tape and a little love.

5. Hot Tub in a Ford Econoline Van

When accountant and musician Josh arrived at West Coast Customs with his Ford Econoline van, he was hoping for a hot rodding makeover-and the team went for a full-fledged rock-and-roll conversion, removing the rear seats to get a hot tub into the back of the van. While the hot tub itself gave the owner a mobile luxe lounge, it also took up valuable real estate in a van that Josh wanted to use to carry his band’s gear. The hot tub also posed a practical problem for the team: gallons of water moving around in the back of a vehicle could lead to sloshing, spillage, and interior water damage.

Mobile Hot Tub Installation Facts:

• Full-sized hot tub fitted inside
• Rear seating removed for installation
• Band equipment space was sacrificed
• Moving water risked interior damage
• Highway usability remained highly questionable

The hot tub van can be seen as an extreme example of a personalized vehicle make-over. Rather than making the vehicle more useful to a working musician, the hot tub make-over reduced cargo space and replaced it with a relaxation area. The hot water flowing throughout the interior could splash during travel, damaging the interior finish and making the van difficult to maintain. Former show participants found that many of the extreme make-overs removed after filming to allow vehicles to be able to return to normal use. Considering the size of a hot tub and the loss of cargo space, the band would have been hard pressed to fit inside, making it an unlikely touring vehicle.

6. Flamethrowing Tailpipe in a Ford Mustang

Customs gave Mary’s 1967 Ford Mustang a spy-movie makeover, fitting a literal flamethrower to her tailpipe so it’d spew fire from the exhaust. The shop’s crew even roasted marshmallows over its flames for good measure, but it didn’t take long for the novelty to wear off. Once the team members realized it’s pretty much 100 percent illegal to drive a vehicle with a literal flamethrower in your tailpipe on the street, the feature was removed before Mary could see her new muscle car. It was a fun addition to the TV show, though.

Mustang Flamethrower Project Details:

• Based on a 1967 Mustang
• Flamethrower installed inside tailpipe
• Flames emerged from the exhaust
• Crew roasted marshmallows over flames
• Dangerous modification removed before delivery

But the Mustang’s flamethrowing tailpipe showed where the stagecraft of a TV stunt ends, and a street-ready mod begins. I think the concept looks cool for TV, and it makes the old muscle car look like a movie prop. But the crew knew the legal and safety issues with running such equipment on the road, and we had to remove that feature before Mary saw the finished car, which prevented that mod from being part of her normal driving experience. While the project yielded an entertaining moment for the viewing audience, that stop-down couldn’t stay on the car, or it crossed the line.

7. Pool Table in a Chevrolet S-10

Season 3 turned Sara’s 1988 Chevrolet S-10 pickup into a rolling game room. West Coast Customs stripped out the truck’s working bed and replaced it with a full-size pool table and custom-etched billiard balls. They even added a fog machine underneath the hood for extra drama. However, the pool table meant that playing a game was a bit unusual you could not sit on the ground and reach the table, so you had to roll down the window, get into the cab, and shoot out the window. The truck was no longer for carrying cargo, but for playing a game.

Chevrolet S-10 Gaming Modifications:

• Full-sized pool table replaced truck bed
• Custom-branded billiard balls included
• Fog machine installed beneath hood
• Table height complicated normal gameplay
• Players had to shoot through windows

The pool-table pickup showed how the complexity of the install could sabotage the point of the upgrade. Pickups are made to haul things, and Sara’s S-10 could no longer haul when the full-sized table was in the bed. The table’s extraordinary height also precluded getting a good game from outside the truck, since players had to crawl into the cab and reach through the back window to shoot, which ruined an otherwise straightforward pool game. A fog machine in the hood added to the show without truly compensating for the limited use of the pickup bed. Sara’s S-10 made a splash, but its game table did not.

8. LCD Monitors on Mudflaps in a Chevrolet K5 Blazer

TV screens had become quite common on Pimp My Ride, but Season 5 decided to take it outside of the truck. Mad Mike and crew fitted 7-inch LCD screens to the mudflaps on 1987 Chevrolet K5 Blazer of Josh. The K5 would get a 30-inch monitor in the rear, but it was the mudflaps that became most attention-grabbing due to their location and that TV screens were never intended to be mounted there. Even Xzibit had to criticize, with his trademark slang, “Dawg, that’s useless.” They were both novel and useless you’d have to get down on your hands and knees in the dirt to watch the mudflaps.

Blazer Mudflap Screen Features:

• Seven-inch LCD screens mounted outside
• Installed directly onto rear mudflaps
• Added during Season 5 customization
• Thirty-inch rear monitor also installed
• Xzibit openly questioned their usefulness

Even after installing the mudflaps, the truck builders seemed to keep adding entertainment equipment, as though there was an unlimited budget. The mudflaps were not a good spot for watching the screens, since viewers would have had to crouch on the ground behind a truck. Also, trying to catch the screens while the truck was in motion would have been dangerous to the driver behind. The mudflap’s additional 30-inch rear monitor was interesting in that it gave another entertainment option, but it was the small screens on the mudflaps that set this build apart as a television-special. Xzibit’s comment summed it up best “It’s kinda goofy”.

9. Pneumatic Delivery System in a Limo

Joe’s limo was pretty banged up in Season 5. While the crew cleaned up the exterior, added a huge, 50-inch TV in the back so travelers could enjoy movies in style, the screen’s placement cut off any ability for those riding in back to get in contact with Joe while he was driving. Rather than wire in an easy-to-use intercom, the mechanics went old school and installed a pneumatic delivery system, which consisted of using tubes with compressed air to connect the driver’s seat to the rear of the limo so that Joe could write messages to passengers. This was a quirky solution to a problem that wasn’t even caused by the TV’s presence.

Limousine Communication System Details:

• Fifty-inch television installed for passengers
• Screen blocked communication with driver
• Pneumatic delivery tubes connected cabin areas
• Compressed air transported written notes
• Simple intercom was not chosen

The pneumatic delivery system demonstrated the show’s solution to the first problem of customization, which was to equip the limousine with another unlikely feature. The television set provided the best picture for viewing entertainment in the back of the limousine, but made it difficult for the passengers to communicate with the driver. This led the crew to use tubes that could send written notes by the power of compressed air. This was a much more complicated system than a basic intercom, and one that would require Joe to scribble a message down and then push it through the system while driving. This installation was a more complex solution to a simple problem, but the show is little concerned with simplicity.

10. Juicer in an AMC Pacer

When Jessica’s beat up AMC Pacer was brought to the shop, the crew found a surprise in the trunk, a live rat. The package for the make over came with a yellow shag carpet that made even Xzibit ask “Who killed Big Bird?” The crew also set up orange creamsicle seats. To honor Jessica’s choice of profession, the crew mounted a full service juicing station in the trunk of the car, with everything from the different compartments for storing fruit to strange looking straws. Having the same access to fresh fruit as Jessica do for nutrition would be difficult when you were dealing with a hot car trunk and would likely have the fruit rot in the process, or worse, make the inside of the car worse.

AMC Pacer Juicing Station Features:

• Nutritionist Jessica received the makeover
• Live rat discovered inside vehicle
• Yellow shag carpeting transformed interior
• Orange creamsicle-style seats were installed
• Trunk received a full juicing station

The juicing station was meant to tie Jessica’s career into the vehicle design, but as seen in the video it also raised questions about the practicality of use on the road. The trunk included compartments for storing fruit and equipment to make fresh juice, turning the back of the AMC Pacer into a rolling juice bar. But storing any kind of rotten food in the hot trunk would mean mangy fruit and foul odors. The owner said the bottom of the trunk developed an even worse smell than the rat had, and with the brash yellow carpeting and seat design, the juicer design was one of the most prominent transformations the show had ever seen. It illustrated the headache a customization could cause even when it aligned with Jessica’s job.