Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

LA 2013 - 9600 baud beware.

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 4
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 4 template Next
  • #1

    LA 2013 - 9600 baud beware.

    A few months ago I got the bug to go back to SoCal, so I took a look on the car event calendar and saw that the Grand National Roadster show was going to take place the weekend of my dad's birthday. I thought that might be a fun trip and a badass birthday present, so I started booking the flights and Groupon'ing all kinds of stuff like hotel rooms, airport parking, rental car, etc.

    Before you say it, yes my camera sucks ass, as do my picture taking skills.

    My dad hasn't been on an airplane in 20 years so I had to tell him all the little ins and outs of modern air travel, like "wear slip on shoes" and "just don't take your fucking zippo, dad."



    We got a Kia Soul rental and were on the streets of LA before 9am. The weather sucked! It was raining and in the 50s. First place we stopped was in Gardena, at a famous chrome shop called Verne's. Some of you guys know my dad, but for those that don't, his name is Verne.



    The little car was cool. I'm not sure why you would need to fold a cat, but it's good to know it's there in case you do.



    Next stop was Redondo Beach pier. Surprisingly it's not as nice to look at with a thick overcast.



    But, dad can make a friend anywhere.



    Then we cruised through Torrance where my company kept me years ago while doing some work in SoCal. We stopped off at McCluskey's, a shop that specializes in restoring original Cobras and Shelby Mustangs, and building fairly authentic aluminum replicas.



    Dad talking shop with the foreman / painter.

    When the government pays, the government controls.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    The shop foreman made a phone call for us and got us a walkthrough of a shop down the street where a few collectors keep their cars together. They had some nice stuff! A bunch of rally cars...





    ...some LeMans racers...





    ...and THE winningest Cobra of all time, the Essex Wire 427 car. This one was 'lost' for years and was just restored by McCluskey's.



    And some other stuff.



    When the government pays, the government controls.

    Comment

    • #3
      They also had this kickass slot car track with super-detailed 1/32 cars. The track was set up to look like the back straight at LeMans. The lighting will slowly cycle from day to night every one hour, cool!





      They had drawers everywhere full of these cars. These things are crazy expensive!



      So it's lunch time and we decided to hit up Bob's Big Boy in Downey. This used to be Johnie's Broiler; back in the late '50s and early '60s, this was THE place to cruise in Southern California. All those famous old customizers used to come here to show off their latest cars - Watson, Jeffries, Roth, etc. A few years ago the owner tried to have it torn down, and got a helluva start. But at the last moment it was saved and has been restored. Cool place.

      The page cannot be found
      http://lang.presstelegram.com/flash/thenandnow/html/thennow-broilerSLIDE.asp








      Then we drove to downtown LA and hit up the Le Brea tar pits. This was weird as hell! It smelled like fresh asphault and was bubbling.







      These are the heads of ~400 adult wolves that were found in the pits. They think they got stuck in the tar while trying to eat other trapped animals.

      Last edited by 46Tbird; 01-31-2013, 05:47 PM.
      When the government pays, the government controls.

      Comment

      • #4
        Then we went to the Petersen Automotive Museum. A guy I know from the HAMB gave us a personal guided tour through 'the vault' which are the lower floors that comprise the storage area for cars that are not currently on display. They also have a lot of badass old engines and parts. They don't let you take pictures down there, but they had some really cool stuff, including that weird pro street candy red '58 Fury with the funny car engine in it. You know what I'm talking about. Then when the tour was done, he wanted to give us a tour of the main museum too. For some reason I was too busy yapping and didn't get a lot of pictures.





        Next day was my dad's actual birthday. We got up and went to the Wally Parks Motorsports Museum, aka NHRA Museum. Man it was badass!!!













        Last edited by 46Tbird; 01-31-2013, 06:15 PM.
        When the government pays, the government controls.

        Comment

        • #5






          The featured builder was Gale Banks. They had all kinds of turbocharged gas and diesel engines and a few record setters.







          Then we stepped outside the back door, and onto the Pomona Fairgrounds for the Grand National Roadster Show. All my pictures suck. There were so many people that you could never get a decent shot. You know how car shows are. It was still cool with sporadic showers.



          This woman took off a windshield wiper and was squeegying off her Studebaker wagon with it. She's nuts. It had a 289 Ford in it - who would do that???





          Last edited by 46Tbird; 01-31-2013, 06:17 PM.
          When the government pays, the government controls.

          Comment

          • #6
            This year's AMBR winner.



















            Last edited by 46Tbird; 01-31-2013, 05:51 PM.
            When the government pays, the government controls.

            Comment

            • #7
              Very Cool pics Danny! You can tell a decent shop(aside from the badass cars) by how clean/tiddy they keep the parts that go to the car also.(last pic, first post)

              That gasser nova is tits!

              Comment

              • #8
                Renault R5, one of my top ten dream cars to own someday! Very cool collection too!

                Comment

                • #9


















                  When the government pays, the government controls.

                  Comment

                  • #10
















                    All hand-tooled leather. This was so cool!

                    When the government pays, the government controls.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      This year's theme was 'Woodies and Surf Wagons.' They had a whole building dedicated to them.











                      Then we finished up with steak and shrimp, lol.

                      When the government pays, the government controls.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Next day we packed our chit and headed to Chino for the Planes of Fame Museum. They didn't open til 10, so we walked around and checked out the back lots and flight line.

                        This is some kind of military version of a Constellation.









                        My dad's father used to have an early Aircoupe just like this one.



                        Last edited by 46Tbird; 01-31-2013, 06:05 PM.
                        When the government pays, the government controls.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          They finally let us in. They had every American WWII fighter except a P-38 on site. Very cool place!





                          I was freaking out over this one. A very fresh restoration of a P-40B.







                          Spam Can sounds like a funny name, until you realize that's what you call an airplane that has a blown-up dead guy inside it.



                          This is a Reno racer Hawker Sea Fury.

                          When the government pays, the government controls.

                          Comment

                          • #14






                            We shot some 109s from the side guns of a B-17...










                            This F100 got its ass blown off.





                            The 'Lucky Lady II' was the first airplane to circle the globe. It was a B50, basically a modified B29, and it had four midair refuelings to do the job. It took off and landed at Carswell. Pretty cool to see. Not much left of it now.

                            Last edited by 46Tbird; 01-31-2013, 06:50 PM.
                            When the government pays, the government controls.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              This was bitchin. A real, honest, Bf-109 that fought over English skies in the Battle of Britain! It was later sent to the eastern front and was shot down over a frozen lake, where it eventually fell through. It was recovered ten years ago and they plan to fly it again. It was so cool to look at all the grungy details.





                              Diorama of a Japanese 'Betty' bomber crashed in a jungle.

                              Last edited by 46Tbird; 01-31-2013, 06:22 PM.
                              When the government pays, the government controls.

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 3 4 template Next
                              Working...
                              X