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Mar 21, 2024 13:36:42 GMT
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It’s something that isn’t really my thing , until reading through & looking at your pics , then it seems it is kinda my thing . Always good to broaden your interest’s & this has definitely done that for me There is more coming up too, whilst everything we've gone through so far has been great, we've not even got to the "good" stuff yet, both in terms of what the show highlights and my personal favourites Only problem with broadening interest is the increasing list of cars you'd like to own.
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Mar 21, 2024 13:35:02 GMT
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I'm always torn between Coupe and Roadster, but living in Wales, probably better to have a proper roof, So I could use it more As you can imagine we'll be coming on to some tasty roadsters later on this or a 5 window would do me I reckon, Yeah that is very sweet, UK car, but can't remember the owners name.
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Mar 21, 2024 11:14:36 GMT
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Oooh nice trip! I would have been in heaven in the Pro Street hall. The Dobbertin Nova is one of those cars which spoke to me as a kid. Astounding. So much more frustrated I didn't get to go this year now! I did think that there were people on this very forum that would have loved to have been in that hall. It was super busy every time we went in (thus the paucity of photos). It was a great display, I suspect there were people that would have gone in to the VW display the other year and not had any connection to those cars, but enjoyed it the same way I enjoyed the Pro Street stuff. I notice as they do these special halls they seem to fold in more stuff in to the other halls the following year. I think the lowrider volume has gone up. So maybe some of these will be making an appearance again. atomman I think it may be a zeigesity thing (but could be age haha), I've definitely got a hankering for this stuff. A fully fendered mild chopped 32 coupe, or Tudor would be it for me, think this, but with a roof (for the coupe option):
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Mar 20, 2024 18:56:04 GMT
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Pro Street. Or Legends of Pro Street was the big theme for their themed hall this year. Previously they've done Lowriders and lowrider culture, they did a VW hall last year and I think it is now set that they have a new theme each year for this particular hall. Unlike Lowriders and VWs I've got not particular history with Pro Street cars, and whilst I imagine some people would have been stoked to see some of these cars, I mainly took them at face value. Pretty cool street legal drag machines. I did particularly enjoy those that gave a bit of context, with their old features and awards being displayed This was a particularly nice one for me, I believe it is a more modern build 'in the style of'. Had a brief conversation with the owner online, it is built to be driven and does get used a bunch Another modern build that had made the hall, I suspect due to Pro Streets influence on Pro Touring? (I dunno if thats a thing, but it seems like it might make sense) The Ruffian Mustang looked all kinds of good. Now at the other end of the spectrum, but only fifty yards away in a different hall is the Suede Palace. A show within a show really. All trad rods and customs, a hall that wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the Low Flyers club in the UK, but that is a whole different thread. The ideal place for you to pick up a very cool jacket as it happens. Sadly I'm not committed enough to the style to make it make sense. One of the highlights in here for us was a race nosed 27 Ford, as it happens this was built by Nostalgia Ranch. A hot rod shop out of San Diego run by Jay Dean, a Brit now living the Californian dream. Who is also brother of Simon Emery, of Paintbox fame. Clearly building awesome stuff runs in the family. Bedlam Car Club were also present with a couple of suitable rides There were a few trad rods scattered around the hall outside too. Which means I'm going to post this car as a nice transition to the next post (probably tomorrow), which will be outside and trade stalls on the Friday.
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Mar 20, 2024 18:36:20 GMT
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you mentioned crowds at the volksworld show ? i went Saturday and it was not busy at all , was there from 10:30 till 4 ish , i think the M25 closure was to blame Will get to that in the thread when I do it
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I'll be there, is actually closer to me now, hopefully avoid the 4 hours journey home I had last time (M3 and A303 were literally solid all the way home... was madness)
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Good to see you at VolksWorld, didn’t want to disturb conversations Very enjoyable day out, my favourite was this Should have joined us in conversation ... I think the second time we saw you, we were debating the Limebug T34 and the colour choices for exterior/interior.
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Mar 19, 2024 18:33:42 GMT
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I had planned to go this year, could have seen you there... Unfortunately family situation got in the way of that. Next year maybe. Ah sorry to hear about family stuff. Would have been a surprise to bump in to you, but a good one.
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Mar 19, 2024 18:33:10 GMT
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Okay let's start with a bit of housekeeping. I missed a couple of things from the previous post. When we arrived at LAX we found that all the Ubers were taking ages to become available (busy airport), however if you selected Uber Exec there was a car available pretty much straight away, and it was £20 more expensive. If someone had said "give me £20 and you can get in a car right now and head to your hotel" I 100% would have given them that money. Which is effectively what we did. Which resulted in us travelling from the airport to our hotel in a GMC Yukon. It was ridiculous from the outside. Weirdly not loads of room inside. A very strange vehicle. Big boot though. Which also reminded me that our trip to pick up the hire car was conducted in a Tesla, the driver was completely silent throughout, except for the moment he saw a Cybertruck and yelled "CYBERTRUCK" out of nowhere. Apparently the first time he had seen one. Whilst I'm not a fan, it is kind of nice that there are vehicles out there that people get genuinely excited to see. Right where were we? Here I think So the first car we got to actually have a look at was the one in the distance, up close it looks like this One of the advantages of being early to an event is the lack of crowds at that time. Even better if you can start in the wrong place. A trick we also used at Volksworld this weekend by going downstairs first, whilst everyone was checking the cars out upstairs. Seeing as we were already at the "wrong" entrance, we headed a couple of halls down the row, rather than follow the (small) crowd up to the main hall. Which meant the first hall we went in to was chocked full of lowriders and custom Lincoln Zephyrs. Like this one: That is Ray Dunham's car : fuelcurve.com/1939-lincoln-zephyr/The fun thing being at events with my wife is that she will spot things I wouldn't, the first of these was the window shape on these Zephyrs, I don't know if they are a common custom/aftermarket thing or if they are standard, but they are a very cool little detail Part of the reason I chose GNRS as a show to go to is my love of Lowriders, knowing that GNRS covers all bases I knew I'd get to indulge that whilst also enjoying hot rod and custom action. To have it be in the first hall really set the tone. The quality is absolutely exceptional, as you'd expect. This hall also played home to a number of other custom cars as well There was also this recently restored ( by Canepa Customs) Barris Kustoms built 1940 Ford custom, which originally appeared at the National Roadster Show in 1953. Which was a great connection back to the history of the event (and hell of a build). And on the slice of history I'll leave it for today... tomorrow some Pro Street era heroes and the exact opposite, in the same post.
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Last Edit: Mar 20, 2024 11:30:57 GMT by HoTWire
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Mar 18, 2024 19:03:18 GMT
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Hey Folks! Another week, another weekly chat, your place for stuff that may not warrant a full thread or stuff that is just going on right now that you want to share. I did it, I went to a show, and I started a thread on the previous show I went to. Volksworld report should be available a bit quicker than the GNRS one, although I guess now I'll be updating two show threads! I've actually been a bit disconnected from the forum for the last week or so, since I made some changes to the layout. Clearly they are NOT good changes as it has made the site a little less engaging. So I'm working through those to make them actually make sense and make it easier to use and more engaging (which was the idea). Really feels like show season is rolling now that Ultimate Dubs and Volksworld have come and gone, next up for me is Wheels Day. What you got planned? Previous Thread: forum.retro-rides.org/thread/226705/chat-thread-wc-11-03
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Mar 18, 2024 18:57:39 GMT
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Well it is a month late, however I'm going to get this thread on the go as there is too much goodness to leave it any longer. I've written an article for Diskustom Magazine so that will be in Issue 5 I believe, I'm not sharing any of the photos from that feature here, also this is a different kind of thing. If you don't know about the Grand National Roadster Show then let me explain why I flew halfway around the world for it. Started in 1950, and once known as the Oakland Roadster Show, GNRS (as it will be referred to from now on) is one of the top hot rod and custom shows in the world. Sitting alongside Detroit Autorama at the pinnacle of the hot rod world. You can read more about it on actual Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_National_Roadster_ShowIts centerpiece is Americas Most Beautiful Roadster, which we will come on to in a future part of this thread, for now let us get travelling. I've been wanting to go to GNRS for a long time, I've often put up the results and galleries I've found on the forum over the years. Over the past few years I've been increasingly drawn to mild customs, sleds and bomb lowriders. My desire to actually go and experience these cars first hand in their natural habitat was increasingly pressing as I realise time only moves in one direction. My absolutely awesome wife asked me if there were any car shows in California in the first quarter of the year that I fancied going to as we both fancied trying a bit of a holiday whilst the UK was at it bleakest. We also wanted to go to the desert, so a trip to Mojave or Joshua Tree seemed like a good idea. Combine that with a car show and we've got the makings of something great. Naturally GNRS was top of my agenda. Tickets were booked, hotels arranged and a vague itinerary formed. So one horrible Thursday morning at the end of January we were at Terminal 5 and heading towards our plane. A few hours later... We ubered from the airport to our hotel in Santa Monica, plan was to overnight in Santa Monica on Thursday night, pick up the rental on Friday morning and then head to the show for opening time (12-ish), back to Santa Monica for Friday evening/night, then show for Saturday, then off to Palm Springs for architecture, deserts and good times. We've stayed at our hotel before, which makes dealing with the joys of jetlag easier because you're not learning a new place whilst also trying desperately to stay awake at 6pm. Anyway if you are in the area this is a lovely spot: www.channelroadinn.com/ We were up crazy early and headed to the beach whilst we waited for breakfast to be made ready As it turns out, our host (who used to dance in the Royal Ballet) is married to a chap who owns a workshop for classic supercars. When we were talking she said that we must come back for Pebble Beach, so I guess that is another future trip. We head into Santa Monica proper and pick up our hire car. I opted for the "Extraordinary" option from Sixt, I've had all the modern muscles cars as hire cars before and I rather fancied something a bit luxurious to waft around the desert in. Obviously this is a bit of a lottery as to what is available. We ended up with a new BMW 5 series, which is not an attractive car, but is a very very comfortable one. Car collected, we headed to the Fairplex in Pomona for what we came for. Driving in LA is absolutely hellish. It was pretty much freeway from where we started to the Fairplex, however I took the wrong exit on the freeway a few times, not that it mattered as it seemed to take you on to roads that ran parallel to the road you were just on for about five miles before putting you back on the road you were just on. It wasn't until we were half way to the desert on the Saturday that I realised the thing to tell you what lane you were supposed to be in wasn't on the sat nav screen, but was being beamed on to a head up display that I hadn't even noticed was there! Modern technology. We didn't end up in the proper car park either, we ended up in the Sheraton Hotel car park next door, which is on the opposite side of the show to the proper car park, but is also $2 cheaper to park in. A bit like events at the NEC it seems the Fairplex will nickel and dime you out of as much cash as possible. I think when I go back (spoiler alert, I had a good time), I'll try and stay at the Sheraton. One advantage of being at the Sheraton entrance is we had a loo we could use before queuing up, which made the thirty minute wait for it to open easier to take. We stood in line and at 10am the gates opened and in we went, among the first ten members of the public into the show. The joy of jetlag. In true cliff hanger style I will leave there. Come back tomorrow for more... in the meantime a teaser
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Last Edit: Mar 18, 2024 19:07:50 GMT by HoTWire
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Mar 17, 2024 21:55:08 GMT
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Ticked over 90,000 miles on the way back from Volksworld today. Also reminded me I need sort the Aircon!
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Mar 13, 2024 17:56:59 GMT
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I'm lucky in that I never have any space, even when I had money, and now I have no money (thanks to the semi destruction of the pensions industry for the last couple of years (looks to be improving now though)). I also promised myself I'd not end up as one of those people with seven unfinished projects, which I would 100% would be. Maybe when the Datsun is done I'll get something else. One which note ......... That yours? What's your '52 Chevy 2dr Coupe like?
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It's me, I am back with the same old complaint about the banner ads at the bottom of the page... For a while it was good - there was an occasional ad across the bottom that could be closed; now, more and more the ad appears and, even though there is an arrow to minimize it, it just stays put... I'll have a word with the ad provider, the sticky ads at the bottom should be limited in height.
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Mar 12, 2024 16:08:56 GMT
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To quote someone cleverer than me: "A £15,000 down payment on a £10,000 a year subscription" Maseratis aren't the money pit many would have you believe, you just need to follow the rules of most/all high performance cars when buying. I've had 5 and none of them remotely ruined me financially. Sourcing parts for the older coupes is becoming more of a struggle due to total lack of availability as Maserati are very poor at supporting older models. GranTurismos are becoming cheaper by the day and few cars beat them for the exhaust note and drama/experience when driving IMO. My understanding from a friend who worked in a supercar dealership is that the GranTurismo is a great looking and sounding car, but spent a lot of time getting service/repaired (almost as much as McLarens (good old British build quality)). I also understand that the 3200 is an absolute gem of a car. I looked at those too, just didn't find one in the spec I wanted before the 996 came up. My first love is stupid Italian cars so I may well end up with something with a trident on it in the future.
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Like you I realise whenever I drive it that it's actually a lovely drive...my problem is I park it in the garage, plug in the battery tender and then leave it there because it's too much of a faff (lazy, I know) to open the garage, unplug it, drive it out, close the garage and bimble off. Yeah mine lives outside for that reason, has a car cover though (although at the moment that is in the garage as I'm actually using it daily). The Porsche tax is real though - I took the cd holder out of mine to replace with a tray - literally an empty piece of plastic - for the price of £70. I looked up the cost of replacement cupholders, nearly £250. It is also the reason the car isn't lower, I really want to drop it an inch or so, then space the wheels a bit more, but doing it 'right' costs a fair amount, and it isn't the car for doing things the cheapest way possible.
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I was curious as to the story behind the event and it turns out it is old friend of RR Hubnut's thing www.rustival.co.uk/Weirdly I follow Ian all over the place and didn't know it was happening.
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Austria sounds like the best bits of German and Italian bureaucracy rolled in to one.
I really enjoy the Lancias that are post them pulling out of UK.
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Mar 11, 2024 16:38:53 GMT
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There was/ is a V8 Quatraporte at the very bottom end of my budget locally... Could I risk the financial ruin just for a noise. Dangerously I probably could. To quote someone cleverer than me: "A £15,000 down payment on a £10,000 a year subscription"
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Mar 11, 2024 16:28:11 GMT
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Renowned for their ease of spannering. in for the ride! Love an economically unstable decision for a daily(ish.) I'm quite lucky that at the time the Maserati GranTurismo was a bit out of my reach. Or I would have made a very poor life choice hahah
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