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Posted
Nov 06 2009, 03:19 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 18 comment(s)
I was browsing one of my favorite forums, ClubRoadster.net the other day when I found a thread about an LS1-powered Mazda Miata drag car out of Mississippi. Now any time you combine a light weight rear-drive car with a powerful V8 the potential for awesomeness arises, but I noticed something about this car that I don't think the builder intended - it's likeliness to sports car-based drag cars of the '60s....
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Posted
Oct 28 2009, 12:21 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 48 comment(s)
I'm not quite done with my Garage Boso features yet, here's one more Boso-built car you guys might be interested in. The RA21 Celica above is owned by Option Magazine and Tokyo Auto Salon founder Daijiro Inada - a very well known personality both in Japan and abroad. Dai spends a lot of time in LA visiting his brother and taking part in the automotive culture here, so he decided to build a car to enjoy in sunny SoCal. After picking up the project, Dai brought the car over to Garage Boso where the guys got to work on transforming it into a modern kyuu-sha hot rod....
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Posted
Oct 27 2009, 05:12 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 6 comment(s)
There's something about crisp fall weather that makes me fantasize (more than usual) about spending some time with a classic sports car and a curvy backroad.
It didn't help when I went to a car show on Sunday morning at the South Coast Botanical Garden in Rolling Hills and saw these two early Porsche 911's parked neatly in the lot.
Now if we could just find one these for a Speedhunters project car...
-Mike Garrett
...
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Posted
Oct 07 2009, 08:43 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 35 comment(s)
As you are reading this I'll likely be making my way up to Monterey for the weekend's American LeMans race at Laguna Seca. In the meantime - here's some more JCCS photos to enjoy! Up above we can see a few of the Hakosuka Skylines at the event, including a two-door wearing US military tags from Okinawa (evidenced by the "Y" on the number plate). What better souvenir to bring back from your time in Japan than a certified legend on wheels?...
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Posted
Oct 06 2009, 01:36 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 36 comment(s)
Alright let's jump right into more coverage from the the Fifth Annual Japanese Classic Car Show in Irvine. Up above, you can catch a glimpse of a small sampling of the Datsun 510's that made it out. Whether you are into period correct restos, or more contemporary tuning, there were enough "five and dimes" at JCCS to to fit any taste....
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Posted
Oct 05 2009, 12:38 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 25 comment(s)
Before 2005, there wasn't much of "Japanese classic car scene" in the United States. Sure there were Datsun and Toyota owners groups, plus the few vintage cars that showed up to events like HIN or the Nisei Showoff, but there wasn't a gathering point for fans of classic Japanese machines. It wasn't until the folks at Katy's Nest decided it was time for an event dedicated only to vintage Japanese cars that the J-classics got their rightful place in the spotlight. That first JCCS at the Queen Mary in Long Beach turned out to be a huge success, and in the five years since, the event has become a Southern California tradition....
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Posted
Aug 21 2009, 10:16 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 20 comment(s)
I'm not really sure what to say here, but this '48 Pontiac has got to be one of the most unique cars I've ever seen take part in this twisted motorsport.
Just watch the clip.
-Mike Garrett
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Posted
Jul 20 2009, 04:25 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 55 comment(s)
I have no idea who made this, but it's an impressive mash-up of vintage Japanese wheels (many of which I can't even identify).
How cool would it be to have something like this in wall size for your garage, house, or apartment?
Spotted in the always poppin' "Dope Sh*tzzz!" thread on Clubroadster.net.
-Mike Garrett
...
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Posted
Jul 13 2009, 08:18 AM
by
John Brooks
with 4 comment(s)
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is not only about cars up the Hill or manufacturers' stands trying to entice potential customers. In a most agreeable setting on the lawns of Goodwood House there is also the Cartier Style et Luxe Concours d'Elegance. There are a number of categories all vying for the vote of various celebrity judges plus the honour of 'Best in Show'. Themes for this year included "Alfresco Exotica", "Serious Wedge", "100 Years of Bugatti"...
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Posted
Jun 19 2009, 09:12 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 30 comment(s)
For my next post from the Idlers Games at Tsukuba Circuit, I thought I'd take a break from the on-course action and share some of the images I shot while exploring the paddock. With all of the cars on hand, one could easily spend the whole day wandering about, taking in the fantastic machinery up close....
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Posted
Jun 15 2009, 08:11 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 26 comment(s)
I still haven't even had a chance to sort through all the pictures I took at the Idlers Games at Tsukuba on Sunday. Unfortunatley for my hardworking little laptop, I managed to come home with nearly 2000 photos from the event.
Perhaps I got a bit trigger happy with the camera as I was overwhelmed with awesome cars and great driving?
Anyways, lets jump right into some more Idlers coverage....
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Posted
May 29 2009, 04:48 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 6 comment(s)
I just realized I haven't posted too many desktops for you guys this month, so here's some high res hot rod goodness from last weekend's Cruisin' Nationals in Santa Maria. I experimented a bit with black and white for this shot, and think it came out pretty cool. What do you think? Head over to the Desktops section to find out. As always, you'll find standard and widescreen versions available there. -Mike Garrett
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Posted
May 28 2009, 08:33 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 16 comment(s)
I still have a bit more to post from the 2009 Cruisin' Nationals in Santa Maria, so let's get right to it. Up above we have a windshield-less roadster parked alongside a flamed lead sled - two machines that nicely represent the mixture of cars that packed the Santa Maria fairgrounds last weekend....
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Posted
May 26 2009, 03:19 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 30 comment(s)
I'm sure you remember the wild Mazda RX3 race car that Rod posted a few weeks ago. It's certainly one of the craziest RX3's in the planet, and we thought you might want to see some more photos it in action along with some other race cars at the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship event held in Jamaica last weekend. I have to admit that I wasn't too familiar of the motorsport scene in the Caribbean until a reader named Jason Joaquin mailed us with some insight on what's going down there....
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Posted
May 26 2009, 01:02 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 6 comment(s)
Alright, here's some more photos from last weekend's Cruisin' Nationals in Santa Maria. I've been finding it hard to choose which pictures I want to post here, because there was frankly too much cool stuff at this event. Typically, I'll have a pretty good idea of what I want to post as I'm walking around an event, but the Cruisin' Nationals was full of hundreds of vehicles and nearly every one of them was worthy of the spotlight....
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Posted
May 25 2009, 09:34 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 10 comment(s)
For 27 years, the West Coast Kustoms Cruisin' Nationals has been the place to to go to see vintage hot rod and custom cars in California. The event started off in Paso Robles, but a couple years ago the venue was moved down the road a bit to Santa Maria, a coastal town known for it's signature tri-tip steaks. Since coming back to the United States, I've been counting the days to this show, and I can say now that it was well worth the wait. The pleasant central coast setting promises not only great weather, but because of it's central location, car nuts from all over the west coast come out to this show for a weekend full of good times and nostalgic rides....
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Posted
May 22 2009, 04:45 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 7 comment(s)
Over the past few days I've been a bit more excited than normal. The reason? I'm heading down to Santa Maria tomorrow for the 28th annual West Coast Kustoms Cruisin' Nationals, a world famous hot rod and custom car gathering that's become a California tradition. In anticipation for this event, I thought I'd post a bit about a magazine I picked up at the bookstore yesterday - Hot Rod Deluxe. The magazine is a spin off from the legendary Hot Rod Magazine, and instead of focusing on the latest trends like Hot Rod, Hot Rod Deluxe is all about hot rodding in the traditional sense....
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Posted
May 21 2009, 07:49 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 16 comment(s)
Do I spot a new trend? Hot rods mixing it up with contemporary, functional wheels? This 1932 Ford Coupe has been build by Tomas Svenningson who lives in Sweden (you know those guys with the crazy engine transplants?). Well let me tell you it's no different with this car, it's powered by 5 cylinder 2.3 liter turbo engine sourced from a Volvo 850 T5R. The engine has been mated to a Ford AWD system, giving it more than enough traction to blast around the bends. The wheels are a set of knock...
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Posted
May 18 2009, 02:48 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 9 comment(s)
If you someone says "historic Volkswagen", chances are you'll picture an old Beetle, a bus, or maybe a Karmann Ghia. If watercooled VW's are your thing, then a classic probably means a MK1 Golf or maybe an early Scirocco. Another Volkswagen model with a long history is the Polo, the compact car which has been on the market since 1975 and has been a success in nearly every country on the planet except for the United States. I suppose the fact that we've never had the Polo in the states is one of the reasons why this particular car caught my eye as I looked through Kevin's photo archive. This tastefully done 1976 Polo Mk.1 is owned by NIck Boone, a mechanic from Belgium....
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Posted
May 14 2009, 05:05 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 11 comment(s)
I spotted this decked out pop-top VW bus and trailer combo at a local Volkswagen gathering here in Central California last month and thought some of you guys might enjoy seeing this interesting creation. Although these old buses make a Toyota Prius look like a Ferrari when it comes to performance, I think stuff like this is certainly worthy of a mention here on Speedhunters. Do you agree when I say that it might impossible to find cars with more character than vintage VW vans?
There's got to be a reason why cars (or vans) like this one put more smiles on people's faces than high dollar custom show cars or spot-on restos...
-Mike Garrett...
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