saw this one at the legends show at point fermin. the owner wasn't around, but a guy who said he did the restoration on it was there. said it only took about seven or eight months to fully rework it, since the owner had the cash to get it done quickly. otherwise, he said it typically takes several years.
he did a pretty good job, i think. guess money changes everything, no?
i've shown this one before, but it really is a nice car, and i found it at the viejitos marketplace show in july, mostly off by itself, so why not show it again?
really spectacular paint and pinstriping. can't really say anything bad about it, except for that the glitter paint is so reflective, it blew out detail in spots because of the hot afternoon sun. that's mostly my fault, for not carrying a filter around or something.
it was a good show. i really need to go back through the pictures from that day. it was during the month i was watching the dog, so i really haven't posted much from there. and there have been so many other shows i've been to since then, perfectly good pictures get lost in the shuffle.
so many cars, so little time.
i had stopped by the impressions show at bruce's prime rib, after driving five hours back from vegas, and before i even stopped at home. ya, i could if i want. someone had given me a flyer a week or two prior.
better half was working anyway, so he wasn't just sitting and waiting for my arrival. it was way hot outside. there were far fewer cars there than i had expected, and while it was hosted by the impressions, i don't think i really saw a car with their plaque in the window. doesn't mean there wasn't one, i just didn't see one. which is odd, as usually the host club is there in force, representing. there was a tent with their banner, so ok.
i took some shots of the few cars that were there. mostly old chevys, but there was a small cluster of low rider, monte carlo-type bouncers there. none of them were too remarkable paint- or unique-wise, so i didn't bother with any of them.
and then there was this guy. the guy that i am not stalking, from the cigar bar, from the tribe club. lol. i've been going to random shows lately, and he just always seems to be there. none of the other tribe guys, just this one by itself.
so we move in the same circles, but i had never really talked to the owner, more than maybe a hello. he was getting ready to leave, and came over and explained the what in the what the hell with the back wheel cover. the car is usually so immaculate, especially with the new paint job on the roof and random pinstriping, to see it in such a state of disarray, was just too much to pass by.
his story was that he'd driven home from the ventura nationals, and the next day was going to another show, when a block from home, he got a flat tire. and then he didn't have another whitewall tire; but he just couldn't help himself, and came to this show anyway. almost as bad as me, at a show not having been home yet after a week away.
so here it is, with the spare, and the bare nasty parts you usually don't get to see.
so my weekend was spent on an unplanned trip to washington state. flew up to move my daughter back to cali. packed a rental truck with her stuff and filled her beater car with aquariums filled with her tarantula collection, a frog, two snakes, two geckos, and i think one with big roaches in it. i mostly drove the car, thinking i'd be better equipped to push it up the mountains without frying the engine. really hoped i didn't have to brake quickly and have spiders fly out of the tanks.
now her car, which was a perfectly good used car when she left, has been quite neglected in the maintenance department. it needs a new catalytic converter. the rotors are warped, the brakes, sort of not right; if i stepped too hard or fast on the brakes, the whole car would shimmy real bad. let me tell you, i didn't think it would make it up the mountains, nor did i think i'd be able to stop it going down the other side. magic mountain roller coasters have nothing on that trip. big roller coasters make me yawn, but this was a white knuckle ride. for two days. the things people do for their kids...they are always your baby, no matter how old, really is true, i guess.
anyway, i hope to never have to make that trip again. i'm still tired, but i can unclench my hands now. j/k. got the chance to spend a lot of time with her. she's interesting, to say the least.
ruined my plans to attend the bomb club car show, which i had been looking forward to; fortunately, my better half did not get called in to work, and he went instead, somewhat to taunt me with images of the cars i was missing; can't blame him, i do the same when he can't go to shows with me. he had a good time, and everyone was very nice to him. the club guys even let him in early because they recognized him. thanks!
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here's one from early morning at the whittier uptown show. i think the owner was still sitting in it, and dropped it down when i set up my tripod. not a problem, shooting from this angle, you can't even see him. i think i'm just liking the black car against the red brick and wooden door.
the overcast sky and the color of this car make me think of cooler weather. it's been hitting ninety to a hundred degrees outside, and you just can't take off enough clothing to be comfortable. give me the fall and winter any time. love to hide under piles of blankets and sleep in late, even better with rain pounding on the roof.
it was mainly the pinstripe work on this chopped chevy that got my attention. the owner told me he'd asked for something naughty, but nice from the artist. i guess he got that.
these girls were on the hood, the trunk and the roof. when he opened the back door, there was a girl there too, but more of an airbrushing instead of pinstriping, but i didn't have my camera ready for a shot of her.
it was parked near the road sinners club, but i'm not sure it was actually with them, so i apologize for not taking notes.
here are a couple of closeups of the front and the back art.
long day, quick post.
this is the middle of three pontiacs. i'm always drawn to their hood ornaments. each of the three cars were from different years, or at least different models, so each ornament was different.
i had mentioned them to my better half, since he likes pontiac ornaments. apparently the owners spoke to him, asking if he knew the girl with the tripod, since he carries a similar one. he relayed the message, since they hadn't talked to me. the owner of this one was particularly interested in what we shot. say something, or you may never see the pictures!
quick post since its late. this one is from the viejitos oc show at the anaheim marketplace.
typical scenario, where the owner asks if i'm with a magazine. typical answer, no. can see the excitement fade from his eyes, for just a moment, but since he was still enthusiastic about his car, and i liked the way the trees were reflecting on the hood, and the minimal pinstriping, i went ahead and took a picture.
maybe he'll see it, assuming he didn't wash the card i gave him, like others i've heard about.
all right, i'll show you this one. not because i am starting to love cars with their hoods open, but because it's just a spectacular car, and the owner is so very nice.
the finish on it is smooth as silk. the guy told my better half at a regular monthly viejitos show a few months earlier, that it was a family project and that all had taken turns sanding the surface so fine, using flour to show the high spots, before they got it all painted up. i've posted it before. i like my better half's versions:here and here
this was in what should have been a pretty good spot for a typical car, on an end spot, under a tree. but with the hood(s) up, with background foot traffic, it was just difficult to frame up a decent shot. from the other side, the doors were open, and there was a car next to it, and next to that, a pop up tent, that really kinda ruined it. took a couple of angles from this side, and i guess i like this one better.
and by this shot, he'd moved the car polish bottles and rags out of the frame. :)
i shot this fury very early in the day. parked on one of the main paths of the park, i knew it would probably be surrounded by people later in the day.
the owner was still polishing it when i started to frame up the shot from the other side, but when some passerby asked him a question, he parked the rag on the roof, and went around to the other side.
so i moved to this corner and try to keep it low enough to not get so much extraneous crap in the shot. still managed to get the passerby, and the lovely rag the owner was using and dropped mid-wax-on – wax-off. mr. miyagi would be so proud.
he told me later, when i passed by with the rest of the crowds surrounding it, that it was mostly original. i thought it was pretty striking, at this location, with the paint combo, and the fact that there probably wasn't another one to found at the park that day.