Hey Guys and Gals, So we are now parked half way through February those that know us know Jan is my time to go back to America and do some events and just wash my January away in America… I don’t often get the time to do these newsletters like I used to but always enjoyed putting them out and going to make the effort now before we get back in and get consumed with the March 1-11 Auction. And don’t worry… I’ll explain the picture above as we roll through this trip!
So this adventure had our sales manager Locky McCann and two of our social media guys out with me, Matty and my son Lucas who’s never been to America before. I’d left a little earlier and had some time in Hawaii but flew in to meet them and was waiting at LAX to scoop them up and get the in the Caddie and start our adventure.
With a few days in LA to enjoy, our first stop was to the Peterson Automotive Museum… Plenty of amazing cars, movie cars and history… Make sure if you go here you spend the bit extra and get access to the vault. This is basically the underground carpark/basement level of the building and it’s not as showy but there are so many amazing cars and customs down there and quite different to the museum vibe upstairs… definitely a must see.
The Petersen Auto Museum is located at 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
From here we went out to the Hollywood Hills to snap a photo of the Hollywood sign… This trip certainly had us getting some extra touristy stuff in but given my Son hadn’t been out before there was a list of stuff to hit so he got to have the full American experience.
Day two had us head out to West Coast Customs and had a roll through the builds and shop with Big Dane, they are still making some crazy builds and looking after all the big names, celebrities and high profile athletes ect. They have added an outdoor area and doing car park hangs on Fridays with smash burgers and makes for a cool stop in… You can do a VIP tour if you want and get shown through the builds too.
West Coast Customs are located at 2101 Empire Ave, Burbank, CA 91504
FAST AND THE FURIOUS FILMING LOCATION
This stop had us at the filming location for the Fast and the Furious house and the market down the road… a few photos and a Corona and were back on the road.
HOLLYWOOD HOT RODS
Troy Ladd’s Hollywood Hot Rods is another super cool build shop in LA we have stopped in at before and dropped into again on this trip for the boys to see… They have always been very welcoming and given us time and showed us through their current builds…
These guys have produced a series of award winning hot rods including: The Mulholland Speedster 1936 Custom Coachbuilt Packard, The Long Beach Legend 1936 Ford Roadster, Full Metal Jacket 2014 Ford Mustang GT Convertible, the Street Rodder Road Tour ’40 Ford Coupe, the Zulu T 1927 Ford Tall Model T Coupe, The Brooklands Special 1932 Ford Roadster, Coyote Comet, 1963 Mercury Comet Convertible, the Raybestos Coyote-powered 1932 Ford Roadster Pickup, the Platinum Bomb 1932 Ford Roadster, Ruby Deluxe 1935 Ford Coupe, El Correcaminos 1931 Ford Roadster Pickup, The Black Widow 1926 Ford Roadster Pickup, Respect Tradition Hemi-powered and sectioned 1932 Ford Roadster.
2617 N. SAN FERNANDO BLVD, BURBANK, CA 91504 [email protected] 818.842.6900
BOB’S BIG BOYS’S
This is a standard Friday night hang in Burbank, it’s just cars and burgers but it’s an iconic location and burgers… soooo… that’s rad as! 🙂
The restaurant is always busy so get in book a table and have a wander through the car park and see all the cars rolling in and out, grab a burger when you’re called in and then go repeat the first step and go check cars out again after you’ve eaten… And that’s just a good Friday night well spent.
DONUT DERELICTS
This was an early jump for us on an unusually rainy LA day to Adams Avenue Donuts. This has long been a community meeting place for old timers to gather and discuss the local politics, the list of chores their wives had waiting at home for them and other topics of nostalgia. Some of these beginning old timers were hot rod enthusiasts, Jim McCain, Ronnie Parrick, Ed & Harold, Mark Porter & Tom Witherby to name a few.
The guys would meet around 7ish each Saturday morning. Man, has that changed! They’d enjoy coffee and a donut and exchange pleasantries and opposing political views. In February, 1985, they decided to meet at the donut shop with their cars.
After many Saturday morning gatherings, one by one, the local street rod owners started to join in. Before long, not only was the front row of the parking lot filled, but the back row and the remainder of the lot began to fill. The whole thing started to gain momentum. The word was out! Every street rod, hot rod, classic and specialty creation from the South Bay to Laguna and parts unknown had heard about the self proclaimed “Donut Derelicts”. Turn up any Saturday morning and you too can get in and mingle with the locals and check out all the cars laid up in the carpark, grab a donut for breakfast. a coffee and that’s a damn cool way to kick off a day… What to find this one? Head to
Adams Ave Donuts 9015 Adams Ave, Huntington Beach, CA 92646
NEW PORT CARS AND COFFEE
Well this rain followed us for quite a bit of the trip and only got worse as we went South to the South OC Cars and Coffee but it didn’t stop the cars rolling up and this event sees hundreds of vehicles attend each week regardless, this show has a mad mix of hypercars, supercars, exotics, vintage, classic, muscle and sports cars, hot rods, rat rods, pickups, 4×4’s and motor cycles… and even had a sick chevy van! South OC Cars and Coffee is clamed as the biggest weekly car show in the world. Want in?? Here’s where to find them on a Saturday morning
South OC Cars and Coffee, 101 W Avenida Vista Hermosa, San Clemente, CA 92672
LAS VEGAS
So after LA we pinned it out to Vegas for some more car events and to see the bright lights… If you know me you’ll know I love my neons and bright lights and it doesn’t get any brighter than Vegas. Being my first trip out with my son Lucas we hit Freemont Street first so he could see the older end of town before heading up to the Bellagio for a few nights so we could go through all the casinos, shops and just take in the drama that Vegas is. Noted below are also picture of the Neon Museum… definitely a cool thing to check out while you’re there to learn some Vegas history.
THE SHELBY HERITAGE CENTRE
Established in 2013, Shelby Heritage Center is home to over 25 Shelby vehicles and tells the story of Carroll Shelby along with the company he started in 1962. The Heritage Centre is constantly swaps its vehicle inventory and placement to keep things fresh. You can do tours and grab some merch there if it’s your thing and definitely a cool stop and worth having a look…
You’ll find the THE SHELBY HERITAGE CENTRE at 6405 Ensworth St, Las Vegas, NV 89119
NOSTALGIA HOT RODS
Well… This was hands down our personal favourite stop. Matty one of our boys had been messaging the owner Dustin and we had time to swing out and say hey. This guy had no idea we were from the industry or who we were (not that we are anybody) but man, he took all the time in the world to show us through his shop and the builds they have finished and what’s coming through. I cannot explain how genuine and how awesome Dustin was to us and he made that stop my favourite build shop stop from the whole trip. What they are turning out is amazing, the time frames they build to are amazing, everything is bad arse and Dustin is a gentleman. I’m going to give this such good wraps but I’m actually not going to put his details in this write up cos he is a working shop and as much as I want to put a lime light on him he’s a working shop and needs to keep everything moving… What I will do is tell you to make sure you’re following Nostalgia Hot Rods on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook… Dudes out of control and I just have a shit tonne of respect for him as a business, for what he’s doing in the industry and as a human… NOSTALGIA HOT RODS… if you didn’t know, now you know!
ROAD TO ARIZONA
BARRETT JACKSON
So this is what we came for, the worlds greatest collector car auction… Barrett Jackson in Scottsdale Arizona! These shows are like nothing else and no matter if you’re a buyer or just a car guy this is a show you have to do. Over 2000 cars crossed the block, memorabilia, porcelains and neons, trade stall, everything to do with the industry and more than i could ever explain. For us this is the melting pot of where i dream up the next layers to 782, take what I can and come home and add to our show… We can’t be what this is but i love the experience they put on and it’s a big part of why I do what I do with my shop… This is my skool and where I go to educate myself and my crew. If we come home with a few new ways to add to the shop and make a better experience it’s all worth it…
Get this on your to do list… end of January every year in Scottsdale Arizona… of check their website for other events and locations.
THE HOUSE AND WHY
Whenever we do road trips the rule is that we buy funny servo sunnies and wear them in the car… this trip was a lot longer and we had a funny house booked in Scottsdale… the decision was made that as we travelled and visited antique malls and opp shops we would piece together outfits for our Arizona house. Once we arrived we all got our rooms. got changed into the clothes we picked up along the way, walked out into the common area and lost our shit at each other! Photos were taken and by the end of our time in the Arizona house all the boys had new names to accompany there new personas…
This isn’t my first rodeo and I was named Danger Money some time ago from a previous adventure to America.
LUCAS AKA Dr Peterson… Lucas found his cain hat early in the travels and inside the hat was the previous owner name. Dr Peterson. This became his name early in the piece as the hat alone made several small appearances.
LOCKY AKA Scotty Mantoe
So when this photo went out a comment was made that Locky’s pants were three sizes too small and had a male camel toe… We were in Scottsdale and he sat under the word Scott so Scotty was the first name, Mantoe was nicer than Camel toe… this is how Scotty Mantoe came to be.
MATTY AKA Dusty Longhorn
We are in the Arizona desert… Dusty is a hell American name and makes sense. Matt is also a truck guy all day and he also has to get a different cut of shirt when we do our work shirt order cos he’s long in the body… A longhorn is a long bed pick up so to me it was obvious. Dusty Longhorn was born.
THE K10 Chevy 4×4
So back to Barrett and trucks were certainly the flavour, lifted pick up trucks, corvettes, resto mods, Bronco’s and Blazers… I also had my eye’s on some trucks and followed them through but the prices were hectic i did manage to pay more than I wanted for this 1983 K10 Chevy short box 4×4 and it’s a mad little truck. We got it paid out and drove it home to the Scottsdale house and packed and loaded that night to beat us back to LA… Was fun and all adds to the experience even though importing really isn’t viable at the moment with the costs and currency exchange involved. Whatever… We got a cool little Up Truck coming!
ROAD TO LOS ANGELES AND PIER
With Barrett Jackson done and dusted and everyone fired up with new ideas to bring home we headed back towards LA… Road tripping again through the winter desert heading to the Santa Monica Pier… The landscape kept changing as we rolled down the blacktop through desert, ranges, canyons and into LA just before dark. We arrived just before a cracking LA sunset dropped and had diner on the Pier as the day changed from sun light to sunset to neon. Just another day spent in a car but that’s still a rad day in my world.
MOON EYES SHOW
Welcome to the ultimate showcase of the Mooneyes Classic Car Show, featuring over 1000 Kustom Cars!
The Mooneyes Classic Car Show is not just about the cars; it’s an experience that brings together like-minded individuals who share a love for automobile heritage. Whether you are a car connoisseur or just did the visuals, this video below will give a walk through of another day in our lives at the Mooneyes Classic Car Show.
VEINCE BEACH
And that’s a wrap… Last day of LA generally always means a day at Venice Beach to wind the clock out with a late night flight home from LAX. There’s always plenty to see and the skate parks rad to hang out at… To see the sights, we decided to hire E-bikes to ride up and down the beach. The second I was handed that death trap, I whiskey throttled the shit out of that bad boy, flew 5m in the air (at least that’s how I retell it), almost took out 10 passers-by and landed upside down right on top of that bitch. I acted brave but in reality I needed a hospital and was hurting on the inside! I would later find out (10 days after we got back and I went for x-rays) I had fractured both of my arms at the elbows… it’s to be noted I had also done a massive burnout on my own leg that took 3 days to wash off. Anywho…after that fun, we grabbed lunch by the water and Marc Rebillet happened to be setting up to do a set in the park and noticed Harry Mack was in the crowd… Not long after he was called out and took the mic and did a freestyle rap… a pretty rad ending to our trip even though I couldn’t clap!!
With everything done and dusted we walked back to the Escalade to head to fly home to build the March Auction! And that’s how we do it! Benny
CLICK FOR A VISUAL OVER VIEW OF OUR TRIP