Driven World September 2015

D RIVENWORLD

Sept 2015

The Official Magazine of Supercar Sunday

After all... It’s a driven world!

THE ENTHUSIAST MAGAZINE DRIVENWORLD.COM

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From the Editor Sometimes, we know what we need to do although we don’t want to do it. I was turning forty in about four months. My “little voice” kept screaming at me, a message that I just didn’t want to hear. I knew it all too well.

That forty number was ticking closer and closer.

Man, time flies. I was going to be forty in four months.

I was fine with being forty. After all, there is nothing I can do about it. I cannot stop time. I don’t want to go backwards...wow, forty. So, that little voice kept getting louder and louder. It was not necessarily about being forty, but about my level of fitness at forty. In the past, I had been exceptionally fit. I used to ride my bike about 300 miles a week. I loved riding road bikes and mountain bikes. There was such freedom in the fitness. To hop on a bike and go ride 60 or a hundred miles for fun with your pals...it was something that was just a distant memory, that was so far away. So, I thought long and hard about turning forty and how I wanted to celebrate my birthday. I knew what I had to do to answer that “little voice” screaming at me about my level of fitness.

To go out and ride a hundred miles on a road bike when you are fit is not that big of a deal. When you average a couple hundred miles a week, bicycling becomes like breathing. Your bike is an extension of you. It is your freedom, your breath, your medium of clarity. To push yourself harder and harder is an addiction in the purest of forms. It is just you, your bike, the mountain and how much you can suffer to achieve your goal. For those of you who have been there, it is poetry.

So...I wrapped my mind around it, for my fortieth birthday I wanted to go ride a century (hundred miles) on my bike with my friends. What used to be a simple jaunt, now seemed like a huge task. And, to call myself out, I posted up on Facebook that I was going to do it. There is something about making your plans public which motivates a bit more than just keeping them to yourself. The Facebook post went something like this: I don’t mind turning forty, I don’t mind going bald, but I do mind being out of shape, so for my fortieth birthday I want to celebrate by riding a 100 miles with all my friends who I used to ride with...”.

Within five minutes an old friend from Colorado called and asked if I was serious...if I was, he was going to fly in. I had emailed the “old crew” and the guys were in. It was going to be about seven of us. It was on. I was not nervous as I had about four months to train, plenty of time. From not riding at all to a hundred miles in four months...no problem.

How hard could it be, I had done plenty of centuries...ten to fifteen years ago. Good grief I am getting old!

In the past, I have had a lot of

freedom. If there was surf, I could sneak out and surf. Plenty of time to ride. Fast forward to owning my own business and trying to provide so much value to my clients, having a wife and kid, I don’t have so much free time. Trying to find that balance of work, husband, father... and being fit, it ends up being a lot to squeeze into twenty-four hours. Now I am not making excuses as there are people who get up at 4 a.m. to get their ride in and in fact that was me in my twenties. But now, I can use all the sleep I can get and to get up at 4 a.m. to ride, it was just not going to happen. But hey, I have four months to train for a hundred mile ride. No problem.

The training, I had it all planned in my mind. I knew that my wife would support my endeavor so I was good there. But, to be away from my family for hours on end when I have free time, that would present a challenge. And the free time. If I have free time, my family is the priority. To be away for three to five hours on a Saturday, it just didn’t sit well with me. Also, I ultimately didn’t have a lot of time to train.

So, the training that I thought I was going to do, just wasn’t happening. But hey, a month went by and I still had three months to train. No problem. Plenty of time.

Three months quickly turned into two months. At this point I think I had gotten one real road ride in. About thirty miles. I couldn’t believe how out of shape I was. What happened? Oh, the days of being fit. I could not believe how hard it was. But hey, I got it done. If I could ride thirty miles, I could ride fifty right! And if I could ride fifty I could ride seventy.

And if I could ride seventy, well what is thirty more to a hundred. That was my mantra.

I have a great group of friends. I am very lucky that way. About five weeks out from the ride, my phone started to ringing and they were asking if I was training. I hated to answer them that I hadn’t been, but when I did, they laid into me and I told them I would start. The best I could do is to ride indoors on my trainer.

Better than nothing. A half hour here, an hour there, hopefully it would get me through the ride.

The ride. I started to have a bit of anxiety. I had not trained at all. Well, not for a century at least. But, a lot of what we do, it is

all about our mindset. I knew I could do it, but would my body hold up? Or, would I allow my body to stop me? All I had to do was pedal a bike...all day. This could really hurt.

The Saturday before the ride, something amazing happened. I sneezed and threw my back out. Really. The second I sneezed I knew it was bad. Welcome to forty.

The next day at Supercar Sunday I could barely walk. I was in a lot of pain. The ride is a week out, I have not trained properly and I just threw my back out. My friend from Colorado was flying in; my friends are ready to ride and are all super-fit and I am out of shape with a bad back.

Such is life.

So...now I have the perfect excuse.

I have a bad back. Heck I could not put my shoes on. I have a way out. Well, not with this group of friends. These are the types of guys that when they say they are going to do something, come hell or high water, they get it done. Period. Anybody can make excuses...

So, I knew that as much as I had an excuse, I didn’t. The stress of the ride was really starting to get to me. Me and my big mouth. I have always talked too much. And sometimes you have to pay for it.

As the day of the ride approached, I started to wrap my mind around the task. Ok, if I can get to fifty, I can do seventy and so on and so forth. I have a whole day to ride with my friends, all I have to do is ride. I can do this.

We headed out at about 7:30 a.m.

It was going to be a hundred plus degree day.

Just par for the course. Why not make it a bigger challenge. It will be a better story when we are done. We were doing this ride and that was that. If it killed me, I was doing it.

I needed it. I needed it so bad I cannot tell you. I needed to go out on my bike and to suffer more than I had ever suffered to free my soul. To forget everything for a handful of hours.

To prove that I still had it in me. To forget, to remember, to kickstart myself to be who I was and wanted to be. I needed this ride so badly I cannot explain to you.

At mile fifty, we stopped at a gas station in Santa Paula for some refreshment. We were trying to figure out what direction to go back, one of the guys suggested going up Balcome Canyon. Someone else explained how much they loved Baclome Canyon, which meant that it was a very tough ride up. Naturally, I had to accept the challenge, why not. Throw that big canyon in, it will be funny. To be a cyclist you have to be a masochist on some level.

So... the first fifty miles, I felt great. I mean really great. I was in utter shock! I am doing this, I still had it in me. Fifty miles done, this aint so bad. I was very optimistic. Then, mile fifty-one and it began to suck. Oh boy, we have a problem here, I am running out of energy and leg strength fast. Balcome Canyon Continued

From the Editor is steep. Not just a little steep, a lot steep. Riding up it at mile fifty five in 100 degree weather, well, let’s just say I made it up, the little train that could. Slow, but I made it up.

And it hurt. But, that is why we were out there.

Long story short, I did it. I knew I would, it was just a matter of how much time on the bike. How much suffering would I have to endure. But the real story.

The real story is the group of friends.

Friends.

I could not have done what I needed to do without my group of friends. The guys that gave

me a whole day, who baked in the heat because I was out of shape. Who were there when I was suffering, keeping spirits up, who pulled me a long in a pace line, who looked after me like a father or brother.

That day out there was so very special, sure, because of accomplishing the hundred miles, but it was having my friends there for me.

Supporting me, caring for me, carrying the momentum and their belief in me that I could get it done. They gave one of the best gifts of my life. They gave me, me back. Our souls were floating around above us with a common goal, spending

the day as friends, something we all hadn’t done in ten years. They were my hope, my inspiration, my friends.

They were there for me when I needed them in a way that I could never explain. A gift I could never repay. An honest moment of pure friendship.

I am honored by them and what they gave me.

To my friends, thank you so very much, I can never repay what you gave me.

True friendship is one of the greatest gifts a person can ever have. Thank you.

-Dustin

D RIVENWORLD ISSUE 69, sept 2015

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Dustin Troyan

ART DIRECTOR Connected Media Group LLC COPY EDITOR Heather Troyan

DESIGN Connected Media Group WEB DESIGN

Jeff Balbien

STORIES BY Dustin Troyan Mark Llewellyn Brooks Smith Tommy Mansuwan Eric Roehm Mark Llewellyn Gwen Zimlin

PHOTOGRAPHY Nicholas Jimenez Christan Welch Jim Gianatsts Eric Roehm Duane Steiner Tommy Mansuwan

David Neel Max Rosenthal Amy Roehm

Advertising / Marketing Dustin@connectedmediagroup.com (818) 516-5053 www.drivenworld.com www.connectedmediagroup.com www.supercarsunday.com Driven World Magazine is published twelve times per year by Connected Media Group LLC. It is distributed at upscale locations and events all over California. It is also available online and distributed electronically to high-net-worth individuals as well as members of the car community at large.

All rights reserved. Driven World and Supercar Sunday are registered trademarks of Connected Media Group LLC. No articles, illustrations, photographs, or any other materials or advertisements herein may be reproduced without permission of copyright owner. Driven World Magazine and Connected Media Group LLC, do not take responsibility for the claims provided herein.

Connected Media Group LLC, Driven World Magazine, and its affiliates, contributors, writers, editors, and publisher accept no responsibility for the errors or omissions with information and/or advertisements contained herein. Connected Media Group LLC does not assume liability for any products or services advertised herein and assumes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers or editorial information.

On the Cover: Atom + Koenigsegg Photo: Nicolas Jimenez of eGarage

Southern California’s Largest Aircooled Porsche Dealer The Nation’s Largest Porsche Inventory 21301 Ventura Blvd. Woodland Hills, CA 91364 autogallery.porschedealer.com 844.866.6762

Story // Dustin Troyan Photos // Christan Welch

Supercar Sunday Lamborghini Day

There is something very special about Lamborghini Day at Supercar Sunday.

Perhaps, it is that Lamborhgini is still one of the rarest and most exotic of cars one can own.

The aggressive and futuristic lines have defined the brand and set it apart from all others.

Maybe, it is the sound of the V8, V10 and V12 motors that sound so very unique. They are a magical symphony to any car lover’s ears. Or, that we were going to have just about every Lamborghini model on display from a variety of owners from all over California. Whatever the

reason, Lamborghini Day was a hit!

On display, were some of the finest examples of vintage Lamborghinis in the world.

This included a very special 400GT Interim, a couple of Lamborghini Miura S’s, one with the original tires on it, multiple Espadas, working all the way up to the latest and greatest Huracans and Aventadors. It was a day filled with Lamborghini excitement.

The Auto Gallery, who is the presenting Sponsor of Supercar Sunday did an outstanding job of reaching out to Lamborghini owners, as well as, bringing out every model they had. With over fifty-five Lamborghinis present from all over California, it was simply incredible!

At the event, once again, The Auto Gallery really stepped it up. Providing a gourmet continental breakfast, driving simulator and

music as well as vehicle displays from every brand they carry. It was an incredible showing from a car dealership who truly likes to support the car community.

Also present, from The Auto Gallery was their full event Team, representatives from sales, to service to operations. The Team was together to insure that the event went perfect and if any of the spectators needed any information or assistance, they were there to help!

The Auto Gallery had taken the opportunity to coordinate a scenic tour of the Santa Monica Mountains for the Lamborghini owners. Twisting and turning through the local mountains with fifty-five Lamborghinis was a treat for everyone! Social media was going crazy instantly as other enthusiasts and spectators got to see the rolling display of Lamborghini art.

As the caravan rolled into their destination, the Westlake Inn, The Auto Gallery had reserved parking and turned the parking lot into a Lamborghini paddock.

Upon entering the Westlake Inn for the reception and brunch, you knew that you were in for a treat. It was red carpet treatment for the guests. All hands were on deck from both The Auto Gallery staff as well as the Westlake Inn, to ensure the Lamborghini owners were treated like gold!

At the reception, there was a trivia inspired raffle that had over $10,000.00 worth of giveaways...anything from annual services at The Auto Gallery to Auto Detailing at Lavaggio to Lamborghini clothing and memorabilia.

The display of generosity to their clients from The Auto Gallery was astounding.

The investment that the Auto Gallery made in the total experience for the Lamborghini owners was truly worth noting. Mr. John Kerley, the Director of Fixed Operations spoke and explained that when you buy a car or service at The Auto Gallery, you are part of the family. In my book, they proved it! Also worth noting is that Mr. Kerley also took a moment to highlight

The Auto Gallery Team that made the event so successful. And, of course, he thanked all the event participants.

Also worth noting, The Auto Gallery pulled out a Pagani Huayra to share with everyone at Supercar Sunday as well as at the reception. The Huayra is truly one of the world’s rarest supercars and to see a full carbon edition in person and close up was a treat! The car community loved it and the Lamborghini owners who were lucky enough to receive a private showing were ecstastic.

I would like to take a moment to thank the Lamborghini owners who were so very kind to share their amazing cars with everyone at Supercar Sunday. Traveling from all over California to share in the Lamborghini Celebration...you made our day! Thank you.

To The Auto Gallery, you continue to raise the bar with support of the car community and we thank you! Your dedication to Supercar Sunday and the attendees, the appreciation of your clients is dually noted. You guys rock!

And, to the car community who makes Supercar Sunday what it has become, thank you for your years of dedication, support, love and passion. We have turned a small event into a big part of our lives and it is wonderful!

Supercar Sunday is located at the Westfield Promenade in Woodland Hills.

For more information please visit: www.supercarsunday.com

LA Calendar Motorcycle Show

The Sagebrush Cantina, Calabasas, CA, Saturday July 25th 2015 - The 2015 LA Calendar Motorcycle Show continued its now 24- year tradition as the premier outdoor streetbike event in America as it rocked the legendary Los Angeles biker hangout and party zone, the Sagebrush Cantina in beautiful downtown Calabasas, California.

Featured were top Celebrity Custom Bike Builders from across the globe competing in the Calendar Bike Building Championship, selected Vendors and Exhibitors, Calendar Girl Music live performances, and an incredibly delicious Sagebrush Cantina Taco Lunch Buffet included with admission. The Calendar Motorcycle Show again benefited the American Cancer Society with a portion of each Admission Ticket being donated to help find a cure.

Everyone in attendance complimented

the new Sagebrush Cantina location for the Show with its rustic Spanish architecture and charm for the Calendar Motorcycle Show, offering a huge large shadowed outdoor patio, ample tables and chair, and providing an upclose and intimate venue where builders and

Story // Photos // Jim Gianatsis

fans could hangout and interact through the day. The Mexican taco buffet provided with admission offered a great tasting lunch everyone loved, and full alcohol bar and waiter service was available. The permanent music stage and sound system sounded incredible with the live music shows. And there was ample parking for bikes and cars in and on the property parking lot. The Cantina management loved hosting the Calendar Show, which now seems to have found the perfect location in greater Los Angeles after the economy downsized the motorcycle industry and fan base.

The Calendar Motorcycle Show featured many of the world’s top Pro and Amateur custom street bike builders in attendance with their newest 2-wheeled creations of rolling art to compete in the Calendar Show Bike Building Championship for fame and awards including the

coveted Best of Show Trophy. The Calendar Show provides a broad focus for all motorcycle enthusiasts including the growing Collector Bike Market with Exhibitors and Bike Show classes for classic European, British and Japanese motorcycles, along with American V-Twins and Customs. Show Entries will be placed in a Concourse display on the Cantina’s large outdoor event patio.

Famed Japanese custom bike builder Hiroyuki Hirata / B&B Custom Factory, in Hiroshima, Japan, winner of the 2011 Best of Show at the Queen Mary with his full custom 1990 Harley FLHTC fully modified to the theme of “Japanese Culture”, after a four year hiatus, flew back to America again this year just for the Calendar Bike Bike Building Championship. And again for this year 2015 the Show’s celebrity judges who included Richard Pollock, Chris Redwing. Jim Guiffra and Jim Gianatsis awarded Hiroyuki the coveted Mikuni Carburetor Best of Show Trophy for his radical Big Twin custom premiering at the Show dubbed “Zero Fighter”.

Another repeat winner this year was Pro Class builder Samuel Kao / JSK Custom Design, with an innovative BMW R9T Retro Custom in legendary BMW M car Martini Racing colors. Sam garnered the coveted AFT Visionary Award for the most innovative bike design at the Show, and backed it up with 2nd Place in Pro Builder. 1st Place in Pro Builder went to Hollywood film producer Raffia with his

cool Gustavo Penna built Ducati 848 Superbike Retro Cafe Racer Custom.

Other Celebrity Builders featured in the popular FastDates.com Motorcycle PinUp Calendars who attend this year’s Show includ-

ed 2014 Best of Show winner Calin Senciac / Imagine Vehicles International premiering a new wild bicycle styled Moto Guzzi based custom, Russell Mitchell / Exile Cycles, Richard Pollock / Mule Motorcycles, Ron Simms / Ron Simms Customs, Jim Guiffra / AFT Customs, Chris Redpath / MotoGPwerks, and Ron Baldonado / Rock Bottom Motorcycle Company.

Included with admission was the Calendar Girl Music Show

with live music by beautiful actress and singer songwriter Gwendolyn Edwards and her Band, and American Idol contender and Carlos Santana’s newest vocalist and keyboard Alex Nester, each performing a great mix of their own original and cover songs . Like many we know impacted by cancer, both Alex and Jim Gianatsis are cancer survivors, with Alex generously donated her entire performance fee at Calendar Show to the American Cancer Society. Together with a portion of ticket proceeds, the Calendar Show donated $600 this year to the American Cancer Society. To find our more about the ACS’s important work fighting cancer and how you can help go to www.Cancer.org

The annual Calendar Motorcycle Show always kicks off the world premier of this year’s new 2016 FastDates.com Motorcycle PinUp Calendars featuring the world’s top road race and custom motorcycles, with the beautiful Calendar Kittens featured in the Calendars in attendance at the Show. The Calendar Kittens at this year’s Show included the previous weekend’s SBK World Superbike Championship USA round at Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, official podium and grid girls Sara Horvath, Helena Milana and Alena Savostikova, plus Apple Price. On Sunday following Saturday’s Calendar Show, producer Jim Gianatsis again photographed the winning bikes at his home studio with the Kittens for the next FastDates.com Calendars. Jim followed up the studio shoot with a house party and concert for the Bike Builders, his Show Staff and Calendar Kittens, with a live performance by previous Show singer songwriter Natale Gelman.

Supercar Sunday Marque Schedule

Supercar Sunday is presented by: THE AUTO GALLERY The 2nd Sunday is Nissan Marque Day with Universal Nissan

Oct 4 Audi Oct 25 Porsche Nov 1 Pre-1970 European Cars Supporting Sponsors include: Coastline Motorsport Dec 6 Motor4Toys SuperchargersOnline.com Century Specialized Towing & Transport

MASERATI / McLAREN 24050 West Ventura Blvd. Calabasas, CA 91302 | LAMBORGHINI 21326 Ventura Blvd. Woodland Hills, CA 91364 PORSCHE / AUDI 21301 Ventura Blvd. Woodland Hills, CA 91364 | MASERATI / McLAREN BEVERLY HILLS 9022 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90211 McLAREN SCOTTSDALE 8355 E. Raintree Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85260 | SANTA MONICA FIAT 1820 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90404 VAN NUYS FIAT / MASERATI 5711 Van Nuys Blvd. Van Nuys, CA 91401

THEAUTOGALLERY.COM

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818.884.4411

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The Mclaren 650s

If you read last month’s issue, you read about the exotic car drive that a friend and I put together. The prerequisite for the drive is an exotic, which I don’t own, so...I was in a bit of a bind. But, McLaren came to the rescue.

They were very kind to offer a 2015 McLaren 650s for the event. In fact, they offered it for about a week so I could really “experience” McLaren.

In the past, I had test driven a McLaren for about ten miles. It was just a taste, but not enough to really get to know the car. So, to have the opportunity to put a couple hundred miles on a the new McLaren 650s, I was hugely excited.

The day of the event, there was just about every exotic imaginable, but the McLar-

Story // Dustin Troyan Photos // McLaren

en 650s being so new, many of the enthusiast had never had an opportunity to see it up close.

Everybody knew the stats on the car, but, like me... many had never seen it or touched it in the wild.

Well, that was about to change.

Not having a history of driving McLarens, I simply did not have any expectations. I suppose my frame of reference would be comparing the car to a Lamborghini or Ferrari. What does the McLaren 650s have to offer? What defines it?

The McLaren 650s, is a driver’s car.

It is unbelievably fast.

Boasting 641-hp from a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8, when the turbos spool up, it is more like taking off in a F-16 Jet than driving a car. If you are not ready for it, boy you could be in big trouble fast. It is that fast.

It is obvious that the racing engineering which made McLaren famous is applied throughout the 650s. The car is light and nimble. Stiff but comfortable. Somehow McLaren has found the perfect balance of race car meets street car; that you can drive to work daily if you so choose.

So, that being said, how did the McLaren compare to other cars I have driven?

With Ferrari long being the one on the pedestal that I judge all other cars by, I found myself liking the McLaren just a little too much.

Just cruising it around, you know that you are in one of the fastest exotic cars currently being produced. With the press of the gas pedal you could be at over 200mph, but sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, my wife and I were

exceedingly comfortable. With the top open, the stereo on, people driving by taking pictures of the car in rush hour traffic...the car was so easy to drive. I kept asking myself, do I have a new brand at the top of my list? Could it be?

So the car is great in traffic around town. The car gets a lot of looks. But how does it perform with all of the other supercars on the drive?

Taking the McLaren out of “Normal” mode and putting into “Sport” or “Track” is... awesome! That 641-hp and 500ft-lbs launch the 650s to sixty in under three seconds. The screaming turbos and engine let you know that you are on the road to nirvana and you better be ready. Twisting and turning the McLaren is so easy to drive that you feel like the car is an extension of your body. In “Track” mode you feel every bump, the inputs to the steering, the transfer of energy through the car brings you

close to the soul of the 650s. It really pulls you in. It begs for you to drive it to it’s limits. At least what you think the limits are. The car has so much in it that unless you are on a track with an instructor, I dare say, you may never find those limits. This car is meant to be driven and driven fast. But then again, it is quite comfortable going slow in traffic.

One of the goals that McLaren had with the 650s is to really make it accessible to drive daily. A trend that is becoming more and more popular. High mileage exotics are now a badge of honor. To say that your exotic is a “daily” with 50,000 miles, enters you into a rare category of owner...a “I drive my car” owner.

So, did McLaren do it? Did they make a 200 mph car that can be driven daily in Los Angeles traffic?

The car performed like a supercar

should on the drive up to Santa Barbara.

Through all of the twisting and turning and fast straights, it was magical. The McLaren pedigree is all there and then some. All of the other exotic car owners loved the car.

Some argued that it was the best performing car on the run...with Carrera GTs and Ferrari 458s, it was in good company. The car is all there on performance. But...did McLaren accomplish the daily driver goal?

Coming back from Santa Barbara around 2 p.m. to Los Angeles is not fun.

It ends up being bumper to bumper. And in an exotic, it could get old fast. But, astoundingly, not in a McLaren 650s. The wife and I were so very comfortable that I had to ask her the same question I had in my mind, “Would I buy this car over a Ferrari?” When I asked her, she had the same exact sentiment...”I hate to admit it and I cannot believe I am saying this...but I just might.”

Wow! We were both thinking the same thing. I was in shock. From having very little experience with McLaren to being close to or at the top of our wish list...there is a lot of car here. I think that the daily drivability

of the car is what really pushed it over the top.

Some reviewers might say the car is too stiff to be daily driven, that it can be a challenge to get into. Well, I would tell them, this is a 200 mph daily driver with all of the electronic sophistication of any German car, the performance of an Italian and the intelligence of a McLaren. It is a winner across the board.

Would I buy one? If I had the money, in a heartbeat. Would I suggest it to anyone looking for an exotic? Yes. Would I like to get my hands on it again...McLaren send one over will ya, I need to experience it a bit more!

Overall, my takeaway is this: If you want a 200 mph supercar that fits an undefined niche, that can outperform just about everything out there, that you can drive to the grocery store, that you can put in track mode and scare yourself, well, this is your car. Could I see a McLaren in my garage? Yes. And one day I will.

Well done McLaren. For more info visit McLaren Calabasas or McLaren Beverly Hills. www.theautogallery.com

Tribute to the Can Am "Presented By SVRA"

An Evening With Pete Lyons and Friends Celebrating The Greatest Racing Series Ever: 1966 - 74

th

Saturday, October 17 At The NHRA Motorsports Museum; Pomona

5:00 PM - 9:00 PM More information and ticket purchase: www.tributetomotorsports.com Sponsored By:

Family owned and operated in Southern California for over 45 years.

888-798-3915

www.sageauto.com

Universal City Nissan • Glendale Nissan • West Covina Nissan Kia of Downtown LA • Glendale Infiniti • Sage Covina Chevrolet Mercedes-Benz of Valencia • Lotus of West Covina • Lotus of the Desert

Supercar Sunday Project Camaro Update Story //Dustin Troyan Photos // Art Machines

Many of you have been asking for an update on the Supercar Sunday project Camaro... last time there was an update, my daughter was using it for a chalkboard...with daddy’s permission of course. Well, that was back in January I believe. Since then, I have had a little progress, but just couldn’t find a lot of time to get to it.

The goal at this point is to just get it back together and running. I am not worried about paint or an interior. I just want it back together and all the parts not laying around.

So, Brian Zacuto, one of my closest friends called a few weeks before my fortieth birthday and said something to the effect of, “I am so tired of seeing that car in pieces in your garage, for your birthday, I am going to pick up the car, take all the pieces and give it back to you running...I will not do any paint or bodywork, but give it back to you and it will mechanically be ready to go to the race track or drive cross country.”

Well, that was not only an extremely kind offer, but an offer I could not pass on.

Brian who is the owner of Superchargersonline. com, knows his stuff. And, with his team at SCOL, the Supercar Sunday Camaro is going to get back together. Brian is known for doing things 100% right and not cutting corners, he said that when he is finished, I will have one of the best looking engines and engine bays at Supercar Sunday! Oh boy, am I excited.

As many of you know, I had updated the car by doing a “LS Swap” with a six-speed transmission. The car was running in the past, but has unfortunately been down for a bunch of

years now.

So Brian has the car and parts. He has really taken the challenge on and has decided to do everything he can to make the Camaro and powertrain as radical as possible.

Reaching out to his associates, a few have been very kind to assist with the project.

So here is where we are at. Brian and his team pulled the engine and trans out. The heads were reworked and sponsored by Richard at West Coast Cylinder Heads. Lingenfelter was very kind to sponsor the car with a GT9 Cam, which has since replaced the stock camshaft.

SuperchargersOnline sponsored the new “Corvette Style” Magnuson TVS2300 Supercharger.

RotoFab sponsored the intake. Carl Cassanova sponsored the Fuel Pump Controller and Magnaflow sponsored the exhaust system.

When Brian told me the news, I nearly fell out of my chair! Thank you so very much to the sponsors and to Brian and his SuperchargersOnline Team!

So, where are we at currently? Brian had the firewall smoothed out and painted flat

black. The engine has been mocked-up and parts are on the way.

The next step will be to place the motor and trans in the car. From there, they will start wiring the car and adding all of the accessories under the hood. The fuel lines and system need to be put back in place.

Then they will install the brake lines

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Story // Dustin Troyan Photos // Greg Grudt

There comes a time in every car person’s life when they need to tow their car. If you are like me, you love your car and don’t just want any tow company to handle the logistics.

So, who do you call?

I know who Batman calls...Century Specialized Towing and Transport. Century has been around for a very long time and is the go to for those in the “know.” Why? It is simple, Jeff and Joel Littman, the dynamic duo of brothers who operate Century Tow with the kit gloves that car guys love.

It is not uncommon to see the world’s

rarest and most exotic cars on the back of one of Century’s flatbeds or enclosed trailers. The Century Tow Team specializes in exotic and collector cars and understands the needs of the vehicle owners. So trusted are the brothers of Century Tow, that they keep the keys to garages and even the houses of their regular clients.

Now that is trust!

The Century Team knows the idiosyncrasies of collector cars, exotic cars and hot rods. In other words, they know how to handle your car better than the salesman that sold it to you, they have to. Taking extra steps to insure that your prized possession is not scratched or damaged is what they do best.

Now you don’t have to have a million dollar car to call Century, you just have to want the best tow company to tow it. I exclusively use Century Tow as I know that they will treat my car like it is a million dollar car. And that is important to me.

Many people have project cars or show cars and need someone to tow their cars to a shop, a dealer, a car show or

a concours...that is exactly what Century Tow specializes in. And, if you really love your daily driver, they will tow that too.

Century Specialized Towing can also assist you with any logistic needs. Whether it is towing your car to Monterey for car week or to Vegas for a weekend getaway, they can handle it all. Perhaps, you don’t have time to take your exotic to the dealer for servicing, Century Tow is there to assist. Tow a car to Lavaggio for a detail, many people do...with Century Tow.

My suggestion is to program this number in your cell phone, 818-993-7555 or visit www.centurytowguys.com. You never know when you are going to be stuck on the side of the road and need a tow. Tell Jeff or Joel that Dustin sent you! You will be in good hands!

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The French Connection

Story // Eric Roehm Photos // Eric Roehm + Amy Roehm

It was 8:00AM on Saturday morning.

I had spent 3 hours dealing with Friday afternoon LAX traffic, flew to Sacramento, secured a hotel, and driven an hour into the hills to the north with my ride home locked in the garage to my right… but no one was answering the door. I was afraid of this.

Fifty hours earlier my phone rang with a familiar name on the screen: Joe Molina. If I am getting a morning call from him it means that something automotive has gone completely wrong, or amazingly right. His first sentence did not offer any resolve: “I bought the Citroën.” And the second confirmed my fate, “I need you to go and get it… can you leave tomorrow?”

So I find myself on a lovely wrap around porch on the top of a hill in Cool, California (yes, Cool) with my travel partner (and wife), a 600-mile drive ahead of me, a tight schedule and no one home. The door finally creaked open with a warm smile and faded jeans, the man who I have given the unofficial title ‘the Mayor of Cool’, Dick Church.

His extended hand revealed calloused skin and swollen knuckles, a result of decades turning wrenches. Dick had lived on the property for several years and has owned several Citroëns.

The truth of the matter is that for health reasons Dick was liquidating his collection, and moving to a smaller residence in a larger city. The vehicle I was coming to collect was the last Citroën he had, and I could tell it was close to his heart. Dick welcomed us into his home and sat us down for coffee and the story of the property. While I was reveling in the company, I think that Dick sensed my anticipation and abruptly motioned to the garage to see the car.

A 1981 Citroën CX Pallas 2500 D.

While rather common in Europe, these vehicles were never officially imported to the United States, so you will be hard pressed to find another one in your city… possibly your state. This particular vehicle was imported by a company called Trend Imports that, coincidentally, is a company that JMPR represented in the 1980’s.

Due to U.S. and California emissions restrictions, the only Citroën CX’s allowed into the country were non-turbo 2.5 Liter Diesel examples, with a staggering 75 horsepower. The interesting, and attractive, point of these cars is their hydro-pneumatic suspension that in some form found its way into newer luxury vehicles. Complicated fluid transferring meant that these big Citroëns had the most revered ride quality of any production vehicle of the time, and some argue still today.

As the garage door opened the morning sun hit the amazing metallic blue paint. Since the car had been sitting for 2 days, the suspension had settled into a striking low stance. After the glow pugs warmed up the Citroën fired up quickly with the familiar diesel clatter and after a few seconds began to raise itself into its normal ride height. At this point Dick backed the little French car into the driveway and instead of suggesting completion of the sale paperwork, suggested going out for breakfast instead. While my itinerary hadn’t allowed for a sit down breakfast, when the Mayor of Cool invites you to breakfast to hell with the itinerary, especially when I could tell

he wanted one last drive in his beloved CX. It was on this drive that I was given the first idea of the amazing characteristics of the Citroëns cornerstone, the ride quality.

Dick’s driveway wound down a steep hill, past his 2000 square foot machine shop and repair garage, and then a tight right turn to meet the southbound main road which took a tight turn before the pavements met.

This meant that the Eastbound road was a straight shot out of Dick’s driveway despite a 15 foot patch of gravel with a 6 inch deep trench. As Dick piloted the Citroën down the hill at an astonishing rate and just before he elected NOT to turn right at the bottom of his driveway the entire trip flashed before my eyes and I braced for the ensuing impact of the suspension-shattering ditch. Nothing. The tension released and Dick looked at me with a knowing grin. I would compare the impact with that of running over a highway reflector in a 7-series BMW. Amazing.

After the “short” 15 mile drive into Georgetown for breakfast, my wife and I sat down with Dick over pancakes and bacon.

Over the course of conversation we realized that we were dealing with a true fanatic and that we needed to assure him that his slice of French conversation-starter would be in good hands with its new steward, Joe. We also learned of the complete spare turbo diesel motor and fuel tank that were included in the sale. It was a good thing we opted to rent a pickup truck to take any spare parts to storage. Stuffed and already 2 hours behind schedule we headed back to Cool to load up the spares and hit the road. A couple hours deeper into my itinerary, and it was time to get my first driving impression of

the car, and attempt the challenge I had been charged with: Drive a 34 year old French diesel from Cool to Woodland Hills.

The Citroën CX is the strangest car I’ve ever driven. Before even starting the motor I cant help but feel out of place with the single spoke steering wheel and looking-glass rotary speedometer. The turn signals are operated by a non-cancelling rocker switch on the dashboard just behind the 10 o’clock position of the steering wheel with the horn button and wiper controls. Mirrored at 2 o’clock are switches that operate the headlights, a momentary rocker for flash-to-pass and the high beam button.

To exit the car the door handle is a ring that you insert your finger into, and pull rearward. It took several awkward departures to figure out that if you pass your hand through the pull bar, and operate the latch as if it were the trigger of a gun it works wonderfully. Despite these oddities the outward visibility is

fantastic and the seats could serve well in a living room. The pedal arrangement is a bit strange also: the throttle pedal feels as if it should be the brake pedal, the brake pedal feels like the high beam switch on a 50’s Ford and is several inches below the other two pedals. It’s specifically the braking system all-together that makes the car a challenge to operate at first.

The travel of the pedal feels like a ¼ inch and there is absolutely no feedback at all. Luckily, Citroën mated a very effective 4-wheel disc brake setup to this vehicle. This means that, especially in medium to panic stops, it is very easy to ‘over brake’: you just don’t know how much you are pushing the pedal, or if you are at all. That single spoke steering wheel is attached to a different type of steering system as well.

The wheel is self centering, so any time you are in a long bend you find yourself applying a lot more strength to the wheel to keep it turned.

Conversely, if you release the wheel exiting a tight bend the car straightens out much faster than you expect, requiring correction to not find yourself in oncoming traffic. Remember the bit about panic stops?

The first leg of the drive was from Cool to San Jose, where the spares would be stored and the pickup returned. I never really felt a lack of power in the hills around Cool, but it becomes fairly obvious when attempting to enter a highway at speed. It was on this leg that I realized the complete uselessness of the flash-to-pass switch on U.S. highways. There is ample torque to pass semi trucks or slow(er) moving vehicles, but I could not imagine a situation that would put this little diesel in the fast lane for an extended period of time.

It was also now that I was realizing what an interesting vehicle I was driving. I knew that I was intrigued by all of its controls, but I couldn’t help but notice the constant string of vehicles slowing to examine the car on the highway, or photograph it while passing. The covered rear wheels and tapering bodylines do make for an interesting shape, but it really does strike me as a similar design to all the eco cars of today. If a Prius was designed 35 years ago, this is what it would look like.

As the sun was setting we left San Jose, an hour and a half drive to Carmel where our hotel for the night was booked, and where I was planning on catching that ‘golden hour’ shot of the Citroën somewhere on 17-mile drive.

I finally threw the itinerary out the window, put on my Beret, and relaxed to enjoy the drive.

That was, of course, until reaching highway 156 towards the peninsula when I noticed a faint squeaking had began coming from the old Citroën. By the time I could find a reasonable place to pull the car off the highway the squeak had turned to a warbling shriek and I wondered if the passing motorists were craning their neck for the car, or the noise. After a couple tense minutes of investigating what horrible repair I would need to attempt in the middle of the night on a two-lane highway, I found the exhaust system had lost a hanger, and the remaining ones were stretched, causing the whole exhaust to rattle against everything.

Confident that this wouldn’t affect the cars ability to drive another 40 miles or so, I got on the road for Carmel, so I could fix it in the morning.

Thunderstorms and torrential downpour hit the coast early Sunday morning, and the forecast was bleak for our purposed drive down Highway One. But that was not the first thing on my mind; I needed to fix the exhaust. I had packed tools (United caps weight of checked luggage to 50 pounds FYI) but the only safety wire I brought was used to keep my wrenches organized. This means I needed to find a hardware store, and drive the car there. Starting a diesel Citroën on a sleepy, rain soaked Sunday morning in a town like Carmel will always feel like your cell phone going off at the quietest part of a sad movie, but add a sound like a symphony of several wounded pterodactyls in the exhaust, and you may as well slap every pedestrian in the face

as you drive by.

The exhaust was easy to tie up for the drive home. It just needed a bit of tension to one side and all was well. Easier still than most any other car because of Citroëns hydropneumatic suspension. I just slide the lever between the seats to the fully up position and the Citroën raises a foot off the ground for simple access. It does look a bit of a stink bug in that position, but we will let it slide for the sheer convenience, and the fact that it is part of the Citroën CXs parting piece: the ride. It’s simply amazing. The best ride quality I have experienced would have to be in an older Rolls Royce: it feels like your floating on a cloud of silk and butter. The Citroën is not as “fluffy”, but better in one important respect. The Rolls is numb, where the Citroën has an amazing road feel. I can feel grooves, or inconsistencies in the road surface, but come the wayward pothole, and it is ironed out like the Big Roller would.

It was an unplanned stop on 101 to fetch something from the trunk and take advantage of an artsy photo moment when the inevitable happened: The Highway Patrol.

Officer Lewis had seen the Citroën exit the highway from his hidden perch and did not see it re-emerge for several minutes, so he came to have a talk. Lord knows he wasn’t going to get me for speeding. After confirming our intentions were dorky at best, we got to talking about the car. It was under this grated bridge somewhere on the central coast, explaining the car to an Officer of the Law, that I came to terms with what had happened: I have completely fallen for this little French car. Every control on the car, as odd as they may be, work exactly the way you would think they should if you hadn’t been inundated with ‘popular’ controls. Every necessary control for driving is literally at your fingertips, and a hand never needs to leave the steering wheel to operate them. The brakes take

no energy to operate. As soon as you get used to where the pedal is, there is plenty of room to modulate pressure, and once you realize the deceleration power of the high compression diesel motor, you rarely need the brakes save for complete stops. What makes this Citroën so special is that you can feel its whole story once you accept the car for what it is: a clean slate.

The Citroën designers took any pre-conceived notion of how a car should operate and threw it away… started with 4 wheels, and diesel motor, some comfy seats and a strange steering wheel. From here they thought about the way you would want to operate a vehicle, not how culture had dictated, and built it. Genius.

The Citroën torch has been passed.

Joe received his Citroën that Monday, and has rarely left it since, despite his eclectic collection. I was doubtful that a 34-year old French diesel could make it down the coast in one piece, but it proved me wrong, and continues to every day. Joe has used it for conversation starting, business events and the sheer pleasure of driving it. I can tell that after just a day or two, it got under his skin, just as it had mine, and now we all understand the reluctance of our new friend, Dick Church, to let it drive away after so many years. Thank you Dick, and Joe Molina thanks you.

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by Mark Llewellyn, photos by David Neel The cult of the Camping Trailer Cronies returned to the Murphy Auto Museum this summer for their 2nd annual “Vintage Trailer Show”. The event was larger than last year. According to Museum Director, David Neel, “There is no other show in Southern California like this event at the Murphy! The Murphy is one of the few automobile museums that keep travel trailers in their collection year round.”

With that said, the day of the show, people from all over California converge on the museum in Oxnard, filling the interior of the museum and parking lot with an array of vintage trailers in various stages of restoration.

Vendors accompany the event with a variety of foods and vintage goods.

Small children to vintage adults enjoy the day! For those who like their equipment a little more modern, new travel trailers are on display as well.

If you haven’t been to the Vintage Trailer Show at the Murphy Auto Museum, make plans to visit next summer for an extraordinary day!

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Our Community

Long time Motor4toys volunteer, Phat Minh Duong has been dedicated to helping with the Motor4toys event every year. He is very dedicated when it comes to any new project that pops up in front of him. He is a student attending California State University of Northridge pursuing his dream of becoming a Civil Engineer. About a year ago, he joined the American Society of Civil Engineer of the CSUN chapter. He joined the concrete canoe team and I always wondered and asked him how it works. He has taken a lot of responsibility and accepted many task that he has accomplished.

I want to congratulate him on his recent accomplishment of becoming the 2015-2016 concrete canoe captain and to wish him the best of luck.

Throughout the year, the canoe team spends a lot of time setting meetings, meeting deadlines, paddling practice, teaching new members, and focusing in their classes. The

process of creating the canoe was an effort that got the team together and to plan the process and steps they take. The beginning starts out with members creating test samples that are cured for 28 days before they are crushed to find out the best strength and light weight mix that they would use for their canoe. At the same time, the design team researches and draw sdifferent designs to figure out the strength, weakness, and how the canoe would look. Once they have the data of the mix they need and the design, they prepare the construction process with big styrofoam pieces that are put into sections making the mold of the canoe. They cut the styrofoam into a round U shape from the bow to the stern of the canoe. Once all the styro-

foam is cut and laid out, Pour Day is a go. Pour Day is the day they take into pouring the entire styrofoam mold with concrete making the canoe. The canoe is then set into a tent to cure for 28 days before the styrofoam is taken out.

Once the styrofoam is taken out the team looks for imperfections and patches up the canoe and starts the painting process of the canoe with their selected theme. The canoe also has a display portion that they need to show. From the display, the canoe team must make a cross section of their canoe and also a display table showing the materials and construction process. All three components must all relate and match each other.

The CSUN ASCE concrete canoe project is a yearlong project that starts at the beginning of the fall semester and through the beginning of April. The entire goal of the project is for the team to build a canoe made entirely out of concrete. Around April is when they use the canoe to compete against other canoes from 16-18 different universitys such as UCLA, USC, UCSD, and much more at the Pacific Southwest Conference. The CSUN canoe team has competed in April 2015 at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. The team was lead by canoe captain Cristian Duran with the result of 6th place overall and won 3rd for display and product, with the art drawn by Karin Sampson.

I want to congratulate the team on their success and wish them luck on their competition in 2016 at the University of Long Beach.

Book Review: The BEst Job In the World

I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting from this book, and that may be the problem. On the surface, and indeed beneath, it possesses everything it should need to fulfill its brief of chronicling the life of its subject. And what a life! What a chronicle it should be! If you’ve never heard of Valentino Balboni, then I’m not sure how or why you picked up this publication.

In short, he was involved in development testing of every Lamborghini from the late Miuras, through the end of Gallardo. Not Stanzani, nor Dallara, Wallace, Bizzarrini, or even the late Feruccio Lamborghini himself, have influenced so much of the history of the marque of the raging bull.

The story is one filled with incredibly fast, loud, brash, and avantgarde automobiles. It’s the story of a man who made driving on the edge his business, and shaped the driving personality of one of the industry’s most extreme brands. That’s a difficult, if not impossible thing to capture in print. An author can tell the story, but the reader will almost certainly be left wanting more.

So, to the book itself. At $125, you’ll be expecting a bit of book for your money, and you’ll get it. This thing is huge, and heavy. After a day of carrying it around

/E TypeUK

in a messenger bag, my shoulder ached.

It’s a very high quality presentation, and filled with archival photos, all of which a reproduced to a high level of quality. The text is vast, dense, and while the translation is occasionally confusing, it convey’s an insider’s perspective.

That perspective,

perhaps inevitably, ends up being about much more than Valentino himself, so inseparable is his story from that of the cars he influenced. In fact, he doesn’t even pear in the first chapter.

There is a ton of history here to convey, and much of it is very interesting.

Lamborghini’s infancy is that of the Italian supercar industry in the 1960s, as a slew of new marques appeared as if from nowhere

Review // Brooks Smith to challenge Ferrari, and it’s notable that from among all of them, Lamborghini is the only survivor. As the likes of De Tomaso, Iso, ATS, and Bizzarrini fell by the wayside, Lamborghini and Balboni lurched from savior to savior for thirty years before finally having their place secured by an Audi buyout in the late 90s. It’s a great, long, interesting story, just not the one I expected.

I grew up with Valentino as a hero. Some of the earliest articles I read about cars mention him by name, as he thrilled and terrified journalists. That image of aviator shades, broken english, and laid-back confidence was and remains compelling, but there probably isn’t a whole book in it. I was expecting this to be a book that would appeal to almost anyone with the proverbial ounce of petrol in their veins, instead it’s a rich and complete history for marque devotees, and fans of the man himself. Well worth the money for its target audience, but go in knowing what you’re buying.

This book is available at: Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank. www.autobooks-aerobooks.com 818-845-0707 Ask for Tina, she is awesome!

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A submission from 15 year old photographer Max Rosenthal Story // Gwen Zimlin Photos // Max Rosenthal

While most fifteen year olds spend Sunday mornings procrastinating getting out of bed, Max Rosenthal finds himself at the Disneyland of all local car shows; Supercar Sunday at the Westfield Promenade Mall.

Max is a sophomore at Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth. Max’s adoration for cars has been present for many years. He credits his family and friends for exposing him to the world of cars and igniting his love of photography.

Max’s grandpa, Lewis Rosenthal,has been taking Max to Super Car Sunday for many years, it’s been a Sunday family tradition ever since. Max has intermingled his love for photography and his love for cars into a lifelong passion. He began taking photos with his iPhone5. He realized he had a real eye and talent for photographing cars and upgraded to a Canon T5i; which in turn has allowed him to post high quality pictures for his 9,000 Instagram followers.

His favorite cars are the Mercedes SLS and SLR McClaren. Max has been to hundreds of car shows and loves the experience of learning the history and craftmanship that has gone into creating and building a vehicle, and what truly becomes a supercar.

Supercar Sunday is a time not only spent taking pictures of generations of cars, but developing bonds between generations.

Reviving JOn and Dustin’s Exotic Summer Run the legendary Powerstroke Story // Dustin Troyan Photos // Scott Killeen

Story // Dustin Troyan

The Supercar Sunday F-250 is moving right along. Many of you have seen the trusty 1997 F-250 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel. Interestingly, the truck gets a lot of comments and appreciation as it is the last of the “Old Body Style” Ford trucks. There is a cult following for these old diesels. After the last build story, I received quite a bit of input from truck enthusiasts or guys who have tow vehicles to get their cars to the race tracks. It was pretty fun.

So, when I found the old girl, I knew that she needed some “loving,” ultimately in decent shape, but the paint and body had been very neglected. There were years of neglect, oxidation, overspray and abuse. As I plan on keeping this truck for a very long time and had already addressed the mechanical issues, it was time to start on the cosmetics. After all, who wants to drive a filthy truck?

The first thought I had was to pull the bedliner and have it sprayed with Line-X. I reached out to Mike Duval my 4x4 expert and upon his recommendation headed over to the team at Line-X in North Hollywood. Mike is

the guy when it comes to 4x4s and he said they

were the best...good enough for me.

The seventeen year old bed liner was a bit tired. The goal with the Line-X was to clean up the bed and update the look of the truck.

Dropping off the truck at Line-X, they told me it would take a few hours. They were polite, professional and courteous. Having never had a truck Line-X’d before I didn’t know what to expect.

When I picked up the truck a few hours later, WOW! What a difference. A dirty, old truck bed now looked like new! And the truck looked so much cleaner than before. The job was so well done and it was such a simple upgrade, I would suggest it to everyone. What a difference.

The next stop was to see what the team at Lavaggio could do to bring this old tired paint back to a shiny new condition, could they do it? Gabriel, who is the Service

Manager told me he could make the truck look new again. All of it. Now you need to understand that diesel engines get dirty. And a neglected diesel engine, gets really dirty. The interior, the paint, all of it was very neglected.

So, I left the car with Gabriel and his team and told them to do their magic.

The “Old Body Style” Ford trucks with the venerable 7.3L motors are considered the “hot rod” of the Ford line-up. I had done a ton of research and decided on this model for a few

reasons. First, was the motor. Often called the “million mile motor,” if maintained, this baby should last forever. I like that.

Secondly, I love the bodystyle. Third, since it is not new, replacement parts for are cheap and all the bugs have been figured out. So, I can make it “bulletproof” and have a truck for the rest of my life. Done and done. I was in.

Driving this truck, is like driving a classic car. Truck lovers constantly wave or start a conversation about the truck.

Being that it is a crew-cab, four door, it is like the holy grail of trucks. I really scored. Now, between the Line-X and the Lavaggio Detail, could I bring the appearance of this truck to the current era? My fingers were crossed.

Gabriel at Lavaggio said he wanted the truck for a few days so he could really “get into it.” Hey, that was fine as it is not my daily driver, although, I have considered it. I just love this truck!

A few of my friends thought that I was crazy for buying an older truck. They made fun of me and called me all sorts of names, that is until they wanted to borrow

it. One of my friends in particular has borrowed it a few times and every time he does, he comes back with a story about someone wanting to buy the truck or talk about it. As he is not a “car guy” he was dumbfounded by the response the truck gets.

It is big and noisy and he just doesn’t get it, but then again, he isn’t a car guy.

So, Gabriel had the truck at Lavaaggio for a few days.

In for the works. Engine cleaning, interior cleaning, under carriage cleaning, exterior detail with paint correction, I mean the works.

Get it up to speed and then maintain. Gabriel said he and the team were pulling out all the stops to really “wow” me. Very exciting indeed.

The question was, how good could this truck look after a proper detail at Lavaggio? I don’t know what exactly the

truck was used for and by whom in the past.

For an eighteen year old truck she is in good shape, but, you just never know “what lies beneath...”

When I went to pick up the truck, the difference was astounding. All of the shine was back! The truck looked like it had been repainted. The dull and dirty aluminum wheels were a mirror finish. The chrome bumpers and door handles, shiny.

The water spotted windows, polished and as clean as could be. WOW!

Then it was time to really inspect the truck, let’s pop the hood. For many of us, what is under the hood is a source of pride. And with the heart of the truck being

that 7.3L motor, it would be nice to have an engine bay to be proud of. When Gabriel popped the hood, I was in shock. The engine bay that I had thought about cleaning, but figured it was a waste of time, looked like brand new! I mean showroom brand new!

It was unbelievable! I was stoked! It came out better than I could have expected.

I touched upon my first impression of the paint, but let me just tell you, the shine was back. The truck looked like it was brand new compared to an almost twenty year old work truck. The finish was gloss-shiny and the texture of the paint was smooth. Silky smooth. All of the overspray and contaminants were off of the paint and it looked incredible. Paint looked good, wheels looked good, engine bay looked good, now how about that tired interior?

I bought the truck off of a guy in Lompoc who worked at a diatomaceous earth factory. Say that fast three times... The truck had a dusty film all over the interior and a funny odor. The interior was in pretty bad shape. The key word there is “was.”

After the Lavaggio detail, the dusty interior with the funny odor was gone.

Gone baby gone. It was clean, smelled fresh and was as if the interior had a facelift. The seats, the headliner, the layer of dirt and grime that was all over the interior of the truck and I mean everywhere, gone.

Previously, everytime I would sit in the truck, I would smell that diatomaceous earth, it would come out of the seats, it was gross, and now it was gone. I was so happy.

When I returned home with the truck, Heather could not believe it was the same truck. She was flaberghasted.

At Supercar Sunday, when I popped the hood, guys could not belive the engine bay as well as the condition of the truck. Lavaggio had taken a tired old work truck and turned it into a hot rod diesel. All in a matter of days.

To Gabriel and the Lavaggio Team, thank you so very much, job well done.

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The Gearhead Diaries

In about 2003, I ran into an ad for a De Tomaso Vallelunga. The car was in pieces, and in need of restoration, but was available for $13K. Cars as rare as Vallelungas are notoriously hard to value, as they come up for sale so rarely, and vary so widely in condition, that two almost never sell for the same price in the same period. It didn’t really matter, $13K was beyond anything I could raise at the time, especially for a tiny useless car that came in boxes. I was intrigued though. Here was an amazingly rare car, incorporating period grand prix chassis thinking, and featuring a beautifully sculpted body, for the price of a used Miata. It turned out that complete, working cars could still be had in the $70-80K range.

This was my introduction to the idea of specialist sports cars, and it changed my whole way of thinking about sports cars. As a youngster, it was always supercars that held my attention. The more exotic and more powerful, the better. The little (very little ) De Tomaso was different. Fans of the Pantera wouldn’t immediately recognize it as a product of the same manufacturer. Far from a supercar, with its mid-mounted engine, steel backbone chassis, and Ford 1500cc “Kent” four cylinder, it shared more with the likes of Lotus, Alpine, Matra, and Ginetta. I was hooked, and from that day forth, the Vallelunga has been one of the cars I always wanted to own.

So it was a bit of a shock to watch one sell in France, in derelict condition, for $250K. Sure, cars in need of restoration have

Brooks Smith

been gaining ground on restored and original examples for a while, as true barn finds become a thing of the past. And sure, the auction house couched the car as wing “The most original Vallelunga in the world” (Though as I recall, De Tomaso did at least paint all of them.). But it was still amazing to watch a production car, and a project at that, sell for $100K more than a restored “Competizione” model did last year.

That’s the world we’re in right now, as enthusiasts. It carries with it some benefits, but also a lot of risk, and I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a lot of speculator money in the market right now, and that this is a classic (no pun intended) bubble. Prices were rising with inflation until about two years ago. Since then they’ve been accelerating at a rate not seen since the late 80s. And with very few exceptions, it seems most people I talk to have forgotten what 1989 looked like.

To remind you, classic car prices were rising at an unseasonable rate, and then stopped as a recovering stock market drew money out of the market. When they stopped, the speculators got out, and all the money disappeared. Values tanked overnight.

A lot of people lost money, a lot of people lost businesses, and the shortcuts taken restoring cars in the mad rush to flip them were revealed.

The market didn’t recover for nearly ten years.

I’m not sure we’re headed for the same thing this time around. Lessons were learned, people are at least slightly more cautious. The quality of restorations for instance is almost certainly

much higher. Still, I can’t help but feel that this all looks incredibly familiar.

Maybe it’s just envy though. Perhaps I’m just being cynical as I watch yet another car I’ve always promised myself streak away, out of all reasonable aspiration. But I honestly feel like the sale of this one car signals something amiss.

The Vallelunga was not a good car. Quality control at De Tomaso was almost nonexistent in that period. Restoring one of these cars to show condition by definition means over restoring it.

The reason that unrestored cars have gained ground on restored examples is that there’s now a shortage of cars to restore for concours shows, but an early De Tomaso is almost impossible to restore to an original specification. The implication here is that someone is buying at a high level, without understanding the market. from where I’m standing, that’s a bit of a red flag.

Not that I have too much to fear. As I’ve noted before, my car isn’t exactly setting auction houses on fire with its increasing value, and it seems unlikely to fall precipitously. Still, that seems a terribly selfish point of view. The best result would be to see values gradually cool off, and correct a bit for the next few years, but history marks that out as wishful thinking.

So I’m simply putting out this warning, and it’s hardly the first, and watching for what happens next. In the meantime, I guess I’ll refocus on the next car down the list, and hope no one rediscovers the Tornado Talisman…

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Golf Tips with Tommy Mansuwan People mostly think of white sand beaches, crystal clear water, and sunshine when the name Bali is mentioned. However, I learned on a trip there in June that golf is among the highlights of this island paradise. With the layouts of the courses designed between the edge of the Indian Ocean and the rolling hills of the inland forests, there are no shortages of spectacular views to be seen. It just so happened that our event was held at Bali National Golf Club, a course I would personally rank among my favorites that I have played around the world.

As this was my first ever trip to Bali,

Bali National Golf Club

I was plenty excited but yet unsure of what awaited me. Will this place be as good as everyone says it is? More importantly, how is the golf course going to be?

Let me take a step back and remind everyone that not all professional tours around the world play on perfectly manicured courses like the PGA Tour does. So when one of those weeks arrives for us, it becomes a real treat. Arriving into Nusa Dua, the two lane road quickly shrunk into what looked like one way roads. These were more fitted towards Smart cars rather than the full size vehicles we were in. Just as quickly as we crammed down the tight roads, we found ourselves at the gates to the golf club.

Upon exiting our taxi, I knew this would be one of those special weeks. Tall palm trees littered the driveway which led to the Balinese-style clubhouse. Stepping into the foyer where the center of the complex had a fire pit in the middle of a water fountain, it didn’t seem right to be playing competitive golf here. The atmosphere was set more towards a spa day instead of a professional golf tournament. Nonetheless, I went about my business and prepared

for my practice round on the course.

The two nines at this course have completely different feels as the first half winds its way through the mountain and forest while the second half is much flatter as it nears the ocean. To my surprise as I step up to the first hole, the plaque reads 496 yard par-4. But wait, it has a waste bunker that runs down the left side for 250 yards along with a hazard that comes in on the right side. Oh, and there is also a tree in the middle of the fairway 270 yards from the tee. Did I mention that it also plays uphill? The rest of the outward nine is a nice mix of short and long holes with plenty of elevation change to keep you entertained. Along the way, you will arrive at the scenic downhill par-5 7th hole which has the Indian Ocean as the backdrop for your approach shot.

As you make the turn to the inward half, the 10th hole allows you to calm your nerves a bit. Playing as a 342-yard dog leg right par-4, this hole gives you plenty of space for you to miss. However, there is a massive waste bunker that will catch anything short and right.

Unlike the first nine, this part of the course is relatively flat with plenty of bunkers guarding the greens and landing area. Don’t allow your senses to relax too much since you’ll have to deal with the island green par-3 17th hole. This is essentially the 17th at Sawgrass on steroids.

This version measures 185 yards from the back (compared to roughly 140 at Sawgrass) and typically plays into a stiff wind coming off the ocean. You may want to buy some extra balls from the pro shop before the round.

If anyone has the opportunity to play golf in Bali, I would highly recommend a round here. While the green fee isn’t cheap (approx. $190), it isn’t nearly as high as most other top courses in the States. Being one of the most well conditioned courses I have seen in recent memory, I would say Bali National is worth the splurge.

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