COVERAGE> El Mirage and Land Speed Racing
About an hour and a half north of Los Angeles lies El Mirage, a historic dry lake bed that has been a home to land speed racing and the organization that hosts these land speed racing events, the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) for over 60 years. Just think about it - sixty years! That's a long time. Even though it is only about 1.5 hours from where I live and I've known about El Mirage for years, I had never actually been to El Mirage until this past weekend.
For me, the journey to El Mirage was something like a time warp. We had to drive through the high desert of the Antelope Valley, and eventually began noticing lots of old homes and old buildings... not to mention ghost-town looking businesses that look like they haven't seen a customer walk through their doors in a decade.
On Sunday, Travis and I decided to drive our Nissan Cube press vehicle up to El Mirage to check out the scene and see what it was all about. On the way to the legendary dry lake bed, we stopped off at this liquor store/gas station for drinks, and were happy to find an old Ford hot rod parked outside at the gas pump. I approached the owner of the car, a gentleman named Dave, and said hello while he was refueling his hot rod with a funnel, as the gas station's modern style gas nozzles wouldn't be long or slender enough to get the entire neck of the fuel nozzle into the vintage gas tank without spilling onto the side of his old Ford. Read more...
For me, the journey to El Mirage was something like a time warp. We had to drive through the high desert of the Antelope Valley, and eventually began noticing lots of old homes and old buildings... not to mention ghost-town looking businesses that look like they haven't seen a customer walk through their doors in a decade.
On Sunday, Travis and I decided to drive our Nissan Cube press vehicle up to El Mirage to check out the scene and see what it was all about. On the way to the legendary dry lake bed, we stopped off at this liquor store/gas station for drinks, and were happy to find an old Ford hot rod parked outside at the gas pump. I approached the owner of the car, a gentleman named Dave, and said hello while he was refueling his hot rod with a funnel, as the gas station's modern style gas nozzles wouldn't be long or slender enough to get the entire neck of the fuel nozzle into the vintage gas tank without spilling onto the side of his old Ford. Read more...
CARSPOTTING> Asphalt Gigolo Monza Funny Car!
To continue on with some of my previously posted photos from the So Cal Speed Shop Open House, I thought I'd shine a spotlight on one of the cars that really caught my eye as I walked onto So Cal's back lot - The Asphalt Gigolo.
This early 1970s Chevy Monza funny car immediately captured my attention as it sat amongst all the hot rods at So Cal, basking in the late afternoon sunlight. Like I mentioned previously in my story, I've recently become a fan of retro funny cars. Everything from the style to the fat drag slicks to the forward-raked stance to the vintage paint and logos on the car to the monstrous 540 cubic inch big block engine, stainless steel, and big blower sticking out the hood... what's not to like? Read more...
This early 1970s Chevy Monza funny car immediately captured my attention as it sat amongst all the hot rods at So Cal, basking in the late afternoon sunlight. Like I mentioned previously in my story, I've recently become a fan of retro funny cars. Everything from the style to the fat drag slicks to the forward-raked stance to the vintage paint and logos on the car to the monstrous 540 cubic inch big block engine, stainless steel, and big blower sticking out the hood... what's not to like? Read more...
COVERAGE> So-Cal Speed Shop Open House
For my first post on MotorMavens, I thought I'd write on a subject you don't normally associate me with - hot rods. Those who are familiar with my work in books, magazines or other websites like Speedhunters.com normally associate my name with drifting, old school Toyotas and other aspects of Japanese car culture.
However, because of my experiences this past year producing content for Speedhunters, I've come to realize I really admire many aspects of hot rod culture, especially traditional hot rods and kustoms. Read more...
However, because of my experiences this past year producing content for Speedhunters, I've come to realize I really admire many aspects of hot rod culture, especially traditional hot rods and kustoms. Read more...
