Issue 18 by Garage Style Magazine

magazine

Fall 2012

Private Motorcycle Museum

On stands until Novermber 2012

Tucker Gallery

Old World Hot Rod Shop Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

contents 18

features 18

Tucker Gallery

Making Lemonade

Paul’s Place

Motocross Museum

Business Sense

Garages in History

Rodder’s Retreat

Jim Green’s High Performance Center

Private Reserve, Part II

Days Gone by, Again: Part II

New Wheels for Old Cars, a Bird’s-Eye View

28 4

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

departments 6

Publisher’s Note

Lance’s Column

Phil’s Column

Personal Notes

Garage News

Office Profile

Barn Finds

Personality Profile

Automobilia Outlook

Swap Meet Bargains

Dispatches from the Ultimate Garage Tour

Lance Miller

Carroll Shelby

59 64

Unique Artists

Automobile Review

Book Reviews

Holiday Guide

Matt’s Column

Garage Meanings

Garage Bazaar

BOMONSTER Frederic Dams Grant Thomas Thierry Thompson

Phantom Bikes

My Garajmahal

Martin Swig

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Publisher’s

note Four Years of the Contagious GSM

fter four years of running GSM, I’ve noticed that it’s getting to me. Not the overwhelming debt, looming deadlines, or bottomless “to-do” list, but being around all these fabulous garages and collections, and the wonderful people who create them. It’s getting to me because, like the fabled shoemaker, I haven’t yet brought all my stuff together to create my garage. I have it – two storage units packed full of needful things illustrating the interests of Don. But there’s always room for more... Our photographer Booker and I visited a garage that among its many amazing treasures contained a vintage Electrolux Model XXX canister vacuum. Produced between 1937 and 1954, with a brief hiatus in between, the vacuum was one of the most popular vacuums in the world, and is today revered by vacuum collectors (yes, they exist… Vacuum Style Magazine?) and industrial design fanatics. To me, the vacuum is more sentimental – I used a 3-X at my first job. When I was 11-years old, I decided I wanted my own magazine and soda money, so I asked our neighborhood printer, Mr. Grace, for an after-school job, and he kindly gave me an hour on Fridays and Saturdays, cleaning and sweeping. The vacuum provided was the 3-X, and I thought it was very slick, but except for its age and unique design, it was just a tool. Recently, however, I’ve been thinking about that vacuum a lot, and thinking it was really the first tool I’d ever been paid to work with. I’d also considered the new GSM office and realized it’d be nice to have a vacuum here – the perfect storm. So, I began thinking it’d be a good idea to get back to the old neighborhood and swing into the print shop and see if the vacuum was still around, and if so, for sale. Part of me thought I was a bit nutty for having these thoughts, so when a similar one turned up in an ultra-cool garage, it fueled the fire more. This garage affirmed that it was a cool piece, something worth hanging onto and celebrating, or in my case, getting back. All this brings me to a funny point – I was always a collector of things, mostly connected to the car industry, but entirely connected to bygone days that were allegedly better than current. But, having worked for GSM, it’s finally gotten to me – that all of us, each and every one, is trying to reconnect, recreate, and recapture some semblance of days past, glory days, fun times, lighthearted days and nights when we knew what fun was all about. Oddly, a big chunk of those days was interested in the future – moving forward, not holding on, living in homes designed for Mars and driving cars that resembled spaceships. Almost like we were running away from something, yet here we are trying to run back. I wonder too, could that be why I launched this magazine? Because I knew that somewhere there would be people with the common interest of bygone days? People preserving, collecting, and sharing things to celebrate the history we once knew, or at least lived vicariously through pictures, songs, television, and movies? Maybe. Meanwhile, I’m still searching for the Electrolux… the old vacuum had long since vanished from the print shop. As a side note, please welcome our newest columnist, Matt Stone; we’re pleased and lucky to have him join the GSM family for a number of reasons. A great car guy with an encyclopedic knowledge about cars past and present, Matt was also a mentor to me when I was serving as an intern for Motor Trend and Truck Trend magazines, so I’m looking forward to working with him once again. He has some great stories, so I hope you’ll enjoy catching up with him as much as I will. Thanks for stopping by – enjoy! Don Weberg

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Garage style

magazine

Editor-Publisher Don Weberg Art Director Web Designer – Coordinator Kari McDaniel Business Development Manager Michele Weberg Columinists Lance Lambert Phil Berg Matt Stone Arts Editor Jeremiah McDaniel Lead Photographer Booker Contributors Ned Lawler Kate Lawler John Gunnell Dennis Wilkes Iain Curry Steve McCarthy Cobb Ware Dr. Rick Rader Bill Nakasone Terry Doran Bruno Ratensperger T. Byrd Editorial Intern Ariana Spero Advertising – Public Relations Cindy Meitle 480.277.1864 | cindy@carprusa.com Advertising Doug Holland 910.398.8307 | douglas@hhpr.biz Carmen Price 714.276.5285 | cprice291@yahoo.com Justin Gooding 949.463.5593 | justin@garagestylemagazine.com Subscriptions – Address Changes GSM P.O. Box 18479 Anaheim, CA 92817 800.999.9718 Garage Style Magazine is Published Quarterly by Weberg Media Group, Inc. 271 W. Imperial Hwy. Suite G La Habra, CA 90631 www.garagestylemagazine.com Not responsible for undelivered issues due to late change of address. Not responsible for issues delivered damaged. All rights reserved by Garage Style Magazine, Inc.

Printed in the United States by American Web Printers

Lance’s

column

Swap Meet Bargains? By

Lance Lambert

he Buick sign that I bought at the swap meet for only $40 actually cost me $88. How did that happen? Many members of the collector car community consider attending automotive swap meets to be as much fun as a day at the circus. There are sights, sounds, and smells that can only be found in a huge field and large buildings filled with rusty old cars and parts, beat up old signs, and the aroma of bad swap meet food. Car nuts will drive for many miles in search of an elusive part or a bargain-priced

collector car. Last month, my friend Greg and I attended the Portland Swap Meet. This annual (48th year) meet is held in Oregon at the Portland Expo Center and the nearby Portland International Raceway track. It is the largest automotive swap meet in the Northwest and one of the largest on the west coast. This is the 14th year I’ve attended and it usually takes a full three long days just to cover the entire area. I’ve returned home with everything from just the souvenir swap meet button to a 1950 Studebaker and a 1960 Thunderbird. Any swap meet veteran will tell you that finding something to spend your money on is only part of the reason to attend. The festive atmosphere is always accompanied with seeing car buddies, looking at great cars, and the usual post-swap meet social gatherings. Swap meets are always mini vacations for the vintage vehicle crowd. Small swap meets provide a morning’s activities and large swap meets are like spending a few days in a Disneyland filled with collector cars and hardto-find parts. My recent swap meet sojourn resulted in the acquisition of a large Buick dealership sign, an old hand-painted doublesided “No Parking” sign, an original poster for the 1965 Pacific Raceways “Seattle Seafair Trophy Race” and an award presented in 1963 to the Delaney Ford dealership for “Distinguished Achievement.” It is very likely that I could live without these items being displayed in my already overflowing garage and my long-suffering bride, Jan, always has the same question about my latest additions: “Where are you going to put them?” I always remind her that the garage is actually

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

a large Rubik’s Cube and I just need to keep shifting things around until everything is in its proper place. So how did I do as far as getting some bargains? At $40, the Buick sign was a great deal. The “No Parking” sign was fairly priced at $40, the trophy race sign at $25 was likely just under “market value,” and the Ford dealership award at $15 was another bargain. The Lambert garage has some fun new additions and my wallet is only $120 lighter. Or was that the actual cost? My share of the gas was about $50 and meals during the swap meet adventure cost about $120. Some good friends invited us to stay at their home and in return a few of their meals were paid for out of my wallet to the tune of about $60. The total of $230 added to the cost of the swap meet “bargains” results in an average cost of about $88 per item. This is a bit high for at least three of the items but, as mentioned earlier, going to a swap meet is not just about finding bargains or elusive parts. Along with acquiring the signs came lots of laughs with good friends, a few days away from the office, expansion of my knowledge about old cars and parts, and some cool display items for the garage. Yes, my purchases were truly bargains. Now where the heck can I find space for them?

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BUT THERE’S ONE THING

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Phil’s

column

Dispatches from the Ultimate Garage Tour

Marking Your Territory: There’s a Reason it’s called the “John” By

Phil Berg

ay back when my son and daughter were toddlers, we tried to be modern, politically-correct parents by dressing their rooms in non-pink and non-blue themes so we wouldn’t imprint them with gender stereotypes. Yeah, right. We made sure my daughter had plenty of cars to play with, and gave my son open access to dolls, toy teacup sets, and books about unicorns and magic fairies. Despite our attempts at a genderneutral environment, both tots almost immediately showed us their interests were firmly focused on traditional preferences: Daughter decorated her nest with soft pink things, and Son hoarded anything with wheels and moving parts. That, of course, explains why the 200-plus car nut garages I’ve visited have all been possessed by men. The rise of the “man cave” in the past decade has seen a profound expression of how men have shunned the Martha Stewart rules of decoration for their places, in particular the bathroom. The bathroom has always been the epicenter of the tug-of-war between the sexes, starting with defining the first elemental boundary of every relationship: Is the toilet seat to be left up or down? As men, we intuitively know that if the seat is in the raised position, the likelihood of it being splashed by a previous user – of either gender – is dramatically reduced. Leaving it lowered is a needless risk. But that’s never the point of this archetypal argument. The value of this conflict is not that it will ever be resolved, but how you behave when faced with an impossible problem. The perfect solution, we all know, is to have two devices of sanitary disposal in the bathroom, and this fix is being displayed brilliantly in our garages. The urinal is making a big comeback. For one, its efficiency is astounding as adding a urinal to a bathroom doubles the potential use of the room, especially if you have a large gathering of car nuts. Urinals are designed

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

to be used standing, which is physiologically preferable and takes less time. But urinals are ultimately a symbol of conflict resolution, each a four-foot high monument of enameled heavy porcelain, topped with a deeply chromed metal handle that’s robust and certain in its ability to meter water, simply, elegantly, and with strength. The garage is a uniquely male domain; we should never water it down with a girlie bathroom.

personal

notes looking stock, but upgrade the drive train, brakes and suspension. I used to be a purist but as I have gotten older, I think the cars we own should also be practical to drive and enjoy. Regards, Bill Emailed

Just thought I’d send you a couple pictures of my garage in Montana. Love your magazine! Owen Emailed

Bill – Thanks for your thoughts, they’re all valid and interesting points, and you’re not the first to extend the idea of the Private Reserve and Malamut collections, offering multiple issues or at least putting more pictures online. Often times we showcase the extra images in the Issu issue online-not sure what happened this time. We’re full of surprises. ED

Owen, Thanks for sharing – it’s a fantastic space!! Let’s get it into the magazine! ED

First off, keep up the good work! I love the magazine!! The pictorial on Mike Malamut’s collection and garage was really good. I loved the large pictures. We, the readers, could really get a feel for what his garage is like and what cars he has. That brings me to my next point. I must admit that I was a bit disappointed on the article Private Reserve. Well, not the article itself, it was well written and descriptive. While the collection and the garages are simply amazing, where are the rest of the pictures?? More pictures please!! This collection could take up a few issues with pictures of the four separate buildings. I think you really missed out on an opportunity here. An idea would be to run Parts I, II, III, IV in separate issues?? To gain access to such a facility and collection and not capitalize on it is a shame. Can we also have online access to the pictures you don’t put in the magazine? This would drive traffic to your website and potentially increase ad revenue. I think one thing you need to remember, while we are all huge fans of these interesting edifices, we are all first-and-foremost car fanatics and have a great interest in knowing what cars the collections have and seeing pictures of the cars. Perhaps the magazine should change focus a slight bit with a bit more information on the collections the garages house. My thoughts on your new Jeep acquisition would be resto-mod. Keep the Jeep

I love your magazine and after reading it for a long time, I finally decided to have my own dream garage built. I would love to be featured in your magazine! Please feel free to contact me if my space is something that you feel would interest your readers. Thank you, Frank Long Beach, CA Frank – Thanks for reaching out and sharing your links! Your garage is fantastic, and we’d love to set an appointment. ED

Please send letters to: info@garagestylemagazine.com or Personal Notes C/O GSM PO Box 812 La Habra, CA 90633-0812

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Garage

news

Pep Boys Gifts Rare Marquee to Petersen Museum This past June, the Petersen Museum was gifted a rare, 10-foot tall, Manny, Moe, & Jack statue from the 1930’s. Placed in the Petersen’s first floor Streetscape area, the statue was unveiled to a large crowd of people including George Barris, Vic Edelbrock, and Gene Winfield. “We are delighted that Pep Boys chose the Petersen to showcase this iconic piece of American automotive history,” said Buddy Pepp, the Petersen Automotive Museum’s Executive Director. “This statue makes an excellent addition to our Streetscape; it’s a priviledge for us to share it with future generations of automotive enthusiasts.” Originally, the marquee sat atop a Pep Boys store during the 1930’s, but had been removed and stored at the company’s headquarters in Philadelphia. As part

of the company’s 90th anniversary, Scott Webb, Pep Boys Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing, handed the statue over to Rick Dale of HISTORY’s American Restoration series. The crew of the show restored each of them to astonishing originality, including Manny’s cigar which had been removed during the 1990 “Great American Smoke Out” campaign. “It’s exciting to finally see these extraordinary pieces of automotive history displayed for the public’s enjoyment,” said Pep Boys President and CEO, Mike Odell. “With more than 90 years of history, these statues stand as a reminder of the legacy of our founders, and we’re excited we can share them with visitors for generations to come.”

Zymol Wax Co. to Give Prize Tickets to GSM Subscribers

Huntington Beach Concours Continues Library Support

Zymol Wax, one of the most elusive and exclusive wax companies in the world, recently sent word to Garage Style Magazine that it would like to host a random prize contest in the November issue. Few details were disclosed; however, they said they would like to randomly place three golden tickets and an undisclosed number of silver tickets into subscriber polybags, the plastic wrappings GSMs are delivered to subscribers in. The lucky recipients of the golden tickets will turn them in to receive a Zymol Concours Complete Kit, a well-stocked, all inclusive case filled with Concours Glaze, Detail Wax, AutoBathe, Cleanse, and much more, retailing on zymol.com for around $400. As details become available, we’ll post them on our Facebook page… stay tuned.

Smack in the middle of Surf City USA, Huntington Beach, California, each year at the HB Central Park adjacent the main library, a Concours comes to life. Hosting Rods and Concours Cars over the course of two days, the HB Concours supports the library. “This library was purpose-built to help educate, inform, and provide a community forum, and it does all that and more,” said Bart McGrath, Concours Chairman. “The library offers after school study hours, tutoring services, and much more, and when I go in there and see those kids studying away, I know in my heart this Concours does right each year.” As competition in the event circuit grows, the HB Concours experienced slightly lower participation this year. However, the show still managed to raise an exceptional amount of money toward the library operating fund.

Phoenix Systems Introduces Motorcycle Brake Bleeders Designed to be used in conjunction with all three Phoenix brake bleeders, MAXPRO, V-12, and V-12 DIY, the new Motorcycle Adapter allows the bleeders to reverse and vacuum bleed motorcycle hydraulic brake systems. The MAXPRO bleeder is made from

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

die-cast steel and aluminum and allows users to efficiently perform one-person services. The V-12 is an entry-level product designed for pros, while the V-12 DIY gives the do-it-yourselfer brake and clutch bleeding abilities at a competitive price.

San Marino Motor Classic enjoys Success, Hosts GSM Award

In its second year, the San Marino Motor Classic held at Lacy Park in San Marino, California raised more than $200,000 for its charity organizations, the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, and the Rotary Club of San Marino, both 501 (c)3 non-profit charities. “I was very pleased with the results,” said co-founder Aaron Weiss. “The show always seems to be enjoyable for everyone, people bring their children and friends and make a nice day of it.” Leading up to the Concours, some exhibitors elect to

enjoy the historic tour of Pasadena homes and dinner gala. “We try to make an elegantly casual event, something where people can relax a little bit and mingle and just enjoy,” said Aaron. “We don’t want people to feel uncomfortable, we want them to have fun, and the pre-event opportunities are part of making that happen.” In the awards category, the Best in Show went to Tony Vincent’s 1939 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet, while the Garage Style Magazine Award went to Tim MacDonald’s 1965 Cobra. A number of other vehicles placed top honors as well, such as a 1930 Bugatti Type 46, 1941 Packard Woody, and 1951 Siata 208S Barchetta to name a few. The 2013 event is already under way, and we’ll see slight changes in classes and judging procedures. Mark your calendars for June 9th, 2013.

Muckenthaler Motor Car Festival Shows Growth Nearing a 20-year anniversary, the two-day Muckenthaler Motor Car Festival managed to see a few more rods and customs on Saturday and period-correct vehicles on Sunday. Benefitting the Muckenthaler Youth Arts Program, the show consistently brings interest to the Muckenthaler estate situated on 9 acres in Fullerton, California. “It’s always a fun venue,” said Nick David, car show chair. “This year, Ye Olde Ship restaurant brought their English doubledecker bus, and we celebrated the Corvette sports car.” Next year, the car show will undergo a few changes in

planning and pre-events such as movie nights, garage tours, and fun rallies leading up to a Sunday concours celebrating 50 Years of Porsche 911. “We’re looking forward to it,” Nick said. “The show has always been good, families love it, car enthusiasts love it, and it serves an excellent purpose. But to build upon it and begin offering our participants more involvement throughout the year, and honor such an exciting vehicle as Porsche, we’re very excited to be moving in this direction.” Mark your calendars for May 19th, 2013.

Quick Fuel Offers Concours Justice Brothers Introduces Carburetor Restoration Super Radiator Cooler

In recent years, we’re noticing a slight dip in old car technology talent, like rebuilding a carburetor. But, Quick Fuel, famous for their performance and racing carburetors, has long been in the business of restoring original equipment caruburetors to concours standards, and recently has elected to publicize their little side shop secret. Focused mainly on American AFB, Motorcraft, or Rochester, Quick Fuel can likely rebuild any 2- or 4-barrel regardless of application or origin. The process includes a total disassembly, cleansing of every individual part, plating, re-coloring, and reassembly. Original parts are used when possible, and your matching numbers carb is returned in pristine order. According to Quick Fuel, most carburetors need only a minor adjustment when reinstalled.

Making water wetter sounds like science fiction, but according to the Justice Brothers, it’s very much a reality, and may well help your car, vintage or new, run cooler in hot weather. In particular, big blocks and tiny, high-revving engines are prone to running at higher-than-average temperatures, giving credence to aluminum radiators, low-temperature thermostats, and slick additives like this. According to JB, Super Radiator Cooler also protects against internal engine corrosion, is compatiable with all anti-freeze/coolant, works with both gas and diesel engines, and is harmless to metal and rubber components.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

LeMay – America’s Car Museum Text and Images by Bill Nakasone

The grand opening of LeMay – America’s Car Museum was held on June 2nd, 2012. Garage Style Magazine had the opportunity to tour their new facility just a few days prior to opening its doors to the public. America’s Car Museum (ACM) is an innovative approach to the automotive museum genre. It uses multi-themed exhibits to show how the automobile impacted our American culture. Hence, the types of vehicles on display are varied and diverse and pay homage to lots of different elements. Situated on a nine acre site in the middle of downtown Tacoma (right across the street from the Tacoma Dome), this spacious 165,000 square foot facility has four floors, room for up to 500 vehicles, a theater, a café, a banquet hall, a gift shop, meeting facilities, an educational center, a library and a 3.5 acre outside field area that can hold 250 vehicles. The building is considered by many to be as a bold architectural statement and the entire structure and campus was built at a cost of $60 million. The museum is named after Harold LeMay. A child of the depression and an extremely hard worker, Harold personified the American work ethic and the American dream. Upon return from military service after World War II, he started a refuse collection business. Starting with a single garbage truck in 1942, Harold expanded his business into one of the largest privately owned refuse collection operations within the United States. During the mid-1960’s, Harold began collecting cars. His appetite for acquisition was voracious, and he managed to collect over

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

3,300 cars throughout the time span of 1965-2000. He would pay his trash truck drivers a finder’s fee for any car referral. He would show up in a car hauler (a converted motorhome), cash in hand, and purchase anything that ignited his interest. Harold collected cars based on what caught his fancy and did not follow a calculated plan of acquisition. The collection is very eclectic. How do you define eclectic? Like finding a Dusenberg Model J Speedster next to a Rambler American Station Wagon or a Dual Ghia convertible next to a Ford Maverick. In 1998, Harold LeMay set forth with the groundwork to build a museum to house his burgeoning car collection. He had witnessed with sadness the unfortunate demise of the world famous Harrah car collection. Bill Harrah had made no provisions for the continuance of his great car museum/collection and the overwhelming majority of the inventory was sold off to satisfy pending estate, taxation, and legal considerations. Harold LeMay would pass away just two years later in 2000, but the momentum to build the LeMay Museum would continue largely based on the efforts of his wife, Nancy, his son, Doug, and a host of dedicated and loyal volunteers. From 1998 until present day, over $60.6 million was raised and the LeMay “America’s Car Museum” was opened to the public on June 2nd, 2012. It would have been a proud moment for Harold LeMay to see all of this come to fruition. The plaza floor of the ACM is dedicated exclusively to the Harold LeMay car collection with room for about 50-60 cars. This collection will rotate from a pool of approximately 350 cars reserved for display. The rest of the ACM is divided into multiple themed exhibits. The current special exhibits include the following: The British Invasion, Ferrari in America, Custom Coach Works, Indy 500 Racing, and Alternative Propulsion. “The British Invasion” celebrates the popularity of the 1950’s and 1960’s British cars that filled the landscape of America. This exhibit is largely focused on the swinging ‘60’s, with images of the Beatles, Twiggy, and James Bond. Of course, there are Aston Martins, Bug Eye Sprites, MG’s, Triumphs, and Minis that bring back images of this iconic time in history. This particular collection is fun and nostalgic. The “Indy 500 Racing” exhibit is phenomenal in showing the

evolving technologies that ran at the brickyard, from Offenhauser power to turbine power. The majority of the Indy cars on display are on loan from the Indianapolis 500 Museum and represent the cars that were at the pinnacle of performance at their given time in history. The “Ferrari in America” exhibit is noteworthy with educational placards that explain the historical significance of Enzo Ferrari and Luigi Chinetti and the importation of this famous marque to the American shores. The cars on display are on loan from Nicola Bulgaria and represent an amazing spectrum of Ferrari provenance and rarity. The “Custom Coach Works” exhibit showcases the “one off” custom body creations of some of the finest coachbuilders during the 1930’s. This harks back to the era where the wealthy would purchase a rolling chassis (from Rolls Royce, Packard, Cadillac, Dusenberg, etc) and have a custom body built exclusively for their particular taste. Examples on display are classic cabriolets, limousines, town cars, and speedsters. These cars are generously on loan from each of the respective owners. ACM has been designed to be a living theater where the exhibits are changed, updated and rearranged on a regular basis. This will give ACM a chance to explore and exhibit an infinite number of themes and stories and will keep the

audience “coming back for more.” I applaud the entire LeMay “America’s Car Museum” cast of staff, volunteers, and patrons for assembling a world class automotive museum. LeMay – this is truly “America’s Car Museum.” Put this one on your automotive bucket list.

Automotive Tailor Sergio Pininfarina Dies At 85 years young, Sergio Pininfarina passed away at his home in Turin, Italy. The designer behind some of the most desirable cars in the world headed the company bearing his family name since 1961. Sergio took the company over from his father, Battista “Pinin” Farina, who founded the company in 1930. Sergio and the firm paved the way for specialty car companies to enter the more profitable mass Photo Courtesy of Senato della Repubblica production market by prototyping and readying concept cars for mass production. The costly exercise helped various manufacturers,

including Ferrari, stay in business and thrive through the 1980’s. A visionary, he identified early on a new client emerging, one with disposable income and a taste for something special – convincing Ferrari to work with his idea, they produced the Ferrari 250GTO. Ferrari was impressed, and the GTO lead to a gamut of other similarly marketed vehicles beginning with the Dino project, a car which largely helped save Ferrari from bankruptcy, leading them solidly into the 1970’s and ultimately the 1980’s when Ferrari truly became a household name. Sergio was born in Turin on Sept. 8, 1926, earned a mechanical engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of Turin in 1950, and became Pininfarina’s managing director in 1961. Battista passed on in 1966, and Sergio became president. Control of the company was bestowed upon Sergio’s son, Andrea, in 2001. In 2005, Sergio was named senator for life of the Italian Republic. Andrea was killed in a motor scooter accident in 2008, and his younger son, Paolo, took control. Sergio is survived by his wife, Giorgia , son, Paolo and daughter, Lorenza.

Office

profile

Garage Creep of Lance Lance Miller, co-owner of Carlisle Events Images by Chris Hann How big is the office? Approximately 25-ft x 25-ft What’s your favorite element within? The Carlisle Blue ZR-1 is the focal point. My father, Chip Miller, passed away 8-years ago and this was his office, it brings me great pride to sit in his seat on a daily basis. Obviously sitting in his seat and enjoying his office is a constant reminder of him, he was a best friend, mentor and all around great person and we shared similar passions. Tell us about the facility your office is in. My office is located on the Carlisle Fairgrounds in Carlisle, Pennsylvania where we host 10 Car events each year, more information can be found at www.CarlisleEvents.com How many die cast toys do you have? I’ve never counted and don’t plan on counting them now. I’ve gotten rid of a bundle of them to make room for various models I pick-up at our events and other events around the country. To say I have a problem would be an understatement… I love automobiles – big or small! How long have you been collecting die cast? Ever since I can remember. Funny story… my father gave each of his

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

children a die cast car each year when I was little (approximately 5-7 years of age). My two sisters would keep theirs perfect, inside the box it came. I always decided to take mine out of the box and play with it. Let’s just say I played a little hard, in fact hammers and magic markers came into play! My father took my car from me, which was pretty much destroyed from me being a boy, and brought my sisters car to show me the difference between the two. He told me mine was worthless and my sister’s was now worth $50. Lesson learned right away – that day I learned value! I always admired the way my father taught me lessons the right way! What are some of the books you enjoy most? I always enjoy reading through Jerry Burton, Jerry Heasley and Randy Leffingwell’s books. Of course I also LOVE reading over the World Registry of Cobras and GT40’s – as I’m writing this I want to dig into a few books that I’ve been neglecting for a while! How many books are on your shelves? I’m more of a magazine person, but every now and then a few books pile up on my shelves. I couldn’t tell you the exact number, but there are plenty of them. How many hours a day do you spend in your office? I love the team we host at Carlisle Events and I certainly love my office. The office fits my personality, although it’s never as clean as I’d like it to be, but it just fits me well. I spend more time in my office than I do at home, so to feel at home

in my office is the way to go… Anything else you want to tell us about would be great! To learn more about a trip to Le Mans to live out my father’s dream, be sure to check out QuestDocumentary.com. You’ll see plenty of video that was filmed inside my office along with getting to know my father and I throughout this well done documentary by Michael Brown (you featured his garage a while back [Spring, 2011] – awesome Corvette garage!). If you’re ever in the Carlisle area I encourage you to visit any of the events we host throughout the year. Life is good!

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Garage

A Gallery for Tuckerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tucker

Building a Home within a Home for a Special Car Text by

Don Weberg Images by

Booker

A secure room houses the Tucker in the warehouse of sports cars.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Top, the Tucker gallery was purpose-built for the Tucker family Tucker; below, Ultra rare Elva and Autopia body take part of the office lobby.

veryone has one – an ultimate dream car. But not everyone would provide a purpose-built room for said dream car. Most would feel that a garage, in particular a well-decorated garage, would be sufficient for the task of housing the dream car. Not Eric Breslow. The psychological impression of his dream car came at an early age watching the hit film Tucker. He was hooked on the aerodynamic styling, engineering ideas, futuristic elements and, of course, the drama surrounding the production of the car and formation of the company. He decided watching that film that he must someday own a Tucker – he was about 14 when the film was in theaters, and little did he know that one day he’d not only have a Tucker some several years later, but the personal Tucker of Vera and Preston Tucker themselves. “This is the car in the famous photograph of Mr. Tucker waving his hat outside the courthouse after his acquittal,”

said Eric. According to Eric, the car was bought out of a bankruptcy auction by Preston and Vera, and used by the family until Preston’s death in 1956. The vehicle was used sparingly thereafter, and ultimately sold in 1961 when a friend of the Tucker family, Jay Busker, enquired about purchasing the vehicle, which Vera sold. Jay cherished the car until his death, at which point, Eric was able to negotiate the

purchase of the vehicle. “In a sense, it’s a two owner car, three if you include me,” said Eric. “In order to preserve and present such a historically significant automobile, we built a gallery around it complete with documents, newspapers, video footage, and memorabilia.” The gallery is just that – a sort of mini-museum to allthings-Tucker. Built within the warehouse of his company

“I wanted to make something truly special, something to really honor the significance of this car, and this car in particular, having been the personal property of the Tucker family. It’s truly unique to own a Tucker, but it’s an absolute privilege to have the task of maintaining and preserving this particular car.” Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

and foundation offices, the gallery boasts a small meeting table, beautiful tile flooring, display cabinets, art, a Tucker engine on a stand, a Tucker radio display, a majorly blown up image of Preston Tucker waving his hat out of the window of the Tucker car after his acquittal, dealership displays, and papers – lots and lots of papers and pictures from the factory, dealer network, trial, owners, and from his Tucker. “I wanted to make something truly special, something to really honor the significance of this car, and this car in particular, having been the personal property of the Tucker

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

family,” he said. “It’s truly unique to own a Tucker, but it’s an absolute privilege to have the task of maintaining and preserving this particular car.” Aside from the Tucker, Eric has an eclectic collection of cars ranging from a TVR Griffith to a Studebaker to an MGC to an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale to a 40th anniversary Porsche 911 to a 1996 Chevrolet Impala and more. Most unique, perhaps, is the original fiberglass body of a genuine Disneyland Autopia motorcar from the 1960’s showcased with a couple of early Minis and an ultra-rare Elva

Left, the gallery is a veritable museum to all-things Tucker; above right, a dealer display for the radio; below, even the offices boast auto art.

in the lobby of his offices. “I’m a fan of pretty much anything Disneyland, and obviously, Autopia is a major interest for me,” he said. “These bodies were usually destroyed by Disneyland when they’d exceeded their service life, so to have discovered this one and brought it here was a major treat for me.” According to Eric, the majority of the original chassis that carried the fiberglass bodies and kids around the track are still in service in spite of their age. “They really were well built little cars,” he said.

Upstairs, in the offices where Eric tends to the business of his family’s foundation, white display shelving replete with toys from Corgi, Dinky, Maisto, and many more line the walls. Eric has amassed many of the show cars so popular from his childhood as well, such as the Knight Two Thousand from the hit show Knight Rider, the van from The A-Team, the Torino from Starsky and Hutch, the VW from The Love Bug, and many more. Interestingly, Eric displays a few of his car show awards on the bottom shelf of the cabinet, which might indicate which is more important to

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Car #31 is Tucker’s Tucker.

him – fun and cars, or showing off awards. “The toys are something we all relate to, in a lot of cases, particularly cars used in TV shows and movies, forged and honed the cars we would like in the future,” he said. Hence the Tucker below his office. Aside from having a large warehouse dedicated to his offices and collection, Eric makes the warehouse earn its

keep by leasing spaces to car owners who otherwise don’t have enough space for their own cars. He’s got a small staff of people on board to tend to their maintenance and care, and a lofty security system to keep things nice and snug. “It’s fun; it’s very nice to be able to come to work in a place where you also keep your passion,” he said. GSM

MAGIC HAPPENS

A reader recently sent us this image of two young boys playing in a pedal car: "When my grandsons, Sam and Jacob, recently asked me to take them to a car show, I said, ‘Why would I take you to one when you can be in one?’ Both Sam and Jacob decided to do some maintenance on the family’s 1948 Austin J40 pedal car in preparation for the summer car show season.” Phil Rader, New York Garage Style Magazine and SEMA encourage you to take a kid to a car show! Share the passion and enjoy time with one another in a great setting!! Send us your youth-related car show stories and an image at info@garagestylemagazine.com!

Making Lemonade

How a Silver Lining Outweighed a Black Cloud Text and Images by

Dom Miliano

top me if you have heard this one – I know a car guy whose passion for collecting automobiles was so great that he actually outgrew his three-car garage! Surprised? Okay, probably not. But what happened next isn’t so common or even predictable, but fortunately, has a happy ending. Let me introduce Roy and Janice – a couple who live in rural Pennsylvania with a love for fast and beautiful cars. I first met Roy at a Ferrari concours where his Ferrari 250 GT Series II Pininfarina Cabriolet was the featured car of the show. We sat down over lunch and I soon discovered the depth of his interest in classic sports cars. He described his passion by saying, “I was interested in cars for a long time but really didn’t have many.” However, he explained, as his business grew, his ability to locate and purchase cars also grew. He said, “I started to acquire a couple and started filling up the three-car garage at home.” After filling their three-car garage, Roy got a lift so he could store another car – one on top of the other. But the collection continued to grow and with it, the need for more space. He said smiling, “We added two more garage stalls to that house, and then THAT filled up! So then we started to think, what do we do next?” The short-term solution was to start storing a car or two at his mechanic’s shop. And that’s when fate stepped in. “We were driving to a pizza shop,” he said, “when we saw this “for sale” sign – 4.5-acres. We never knew this property existed, even though it was only two miles from our old house.” Its location was such that you couldn’t even see any of the property from the road. He said, “We couldn’t believe that it was there.” Roy was surprised to learn that in addition to the acreage, there was also what he described as, “a cute little house,” on the land. After they toured with a realtor, they decided that, because of the small size of the house and the steep slope out back of the property, to make a low offer. An offer, in fact, he described as “ridiculous,” reasoning that their primary grounds for the purchase would be to build a home for his cars, not moving into the house. But to their surprise, the owner took their bid and they wound up buying the house, the property, and a dilemma! Roy said the question became, “What are we going to do now?” Since he had already worked with a good builder, the company that added garages to their current house, he and his wife called them in to see if they could renovate the existing structure to accommodate what they wanted for living space as well as building on a new garage for all of his current and future car purchases. That was when life threw them lemons. He recalled, “We told them that we wanted to fix the house up a little bit and add some garages. I gave my thoughts as

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

to what I wanted in the garages and Janice gave her thoughts as to what she wanted in the house.” With this, the builder looked at their wish lists and announced that there really wasn’t much they could do with the existing house, that it wouldn’t be worth renovating or adding onto. But when life gives you lemons, you can always make lemonade. “We decided to knock that house down and start over,” Roy explained. “That was square one.” He said, “We briefly met with an architect, whose ideas we really didn’t like, and we decided to not even go with an architect after that and just use the builder.” Having seen the garage and how carefully it is designed, I expressed my surprise that they did not use an architect. But then he reminded me that he was the same craftsman they had used on their first house and garage addition, saying, “He is very good and very creative.” As you can imagine, designing a dream home AND a dream garage can be an iterative process, and as it turns out, for Roy and Janice, it was. “Our builder, Janice, and I sat down and made a list of what we wanted and refined it week after week, month after month,” he said. The builder then took the ideas back to his draftsmen

and had them rendered into drawings for further review and the creation of final blueprints. Roy said, “We continued to refine the drawings and it took about two years to finally get the house and the garage the way we wanted and then start tearing down the old house and start building the new house.” Another lemon that turned into lemonade was the steep slope out behind the original house. The builder figured a way to incorporate the slope of the land into the design so that the garage could be built on two levels – increasing the number of cars that could be stored, providing a work space with a lift for maintenance, and possibly simplifing the process of getting the cars out on the road. Roy elaborated, “The interesting thing was the way the grade was for the land; it was ideal to do something with dual levels. It was an idea [I had] initially and then when the builder looked at the slope of the land, [he said] ‘this could work out great.’” He told Roy and Janice that he wouldn’t have to do much to the land to make a bi-level garage. The two levels meant that the upper area could be where he would work on the cars (Roy says he likes to do basic maintenance) and the lower area would be more of a display area. I wanted to know where he got his insights for what is Top left, the work area is well appointed; top right, decor is minimal, but tasteful; bottom, mezzanine above allows for added space.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Top, Epoxy floor spans under mezzanine into work space; bottom, on mezzanine more work can be done.

clearly a unique and beautiful space. He explained that while he did make one road trip to visit another customdesigned garage, it wasn’t attached to the owner’s house and, while he got some ideas, it wasn’t what he really wanted. In the end, most of the ideas and inspirations for his own garage came from books, magazines and, of course, his imagination. Explaining, he said, “Probably like you, I had an idea of what you would really want in a garage, and then it was just a matter of incorporating that list into things that were realistic.” For example, his idea for a clear-floor library above the display floor below didn’t make the cut for financial and spacial concerns... And although his unique library loft missed the cut, he did have one non-negotiable demand that did make the cut – the garage had to be attached to the house. “This way, anytime time I wanted, night or day, I could go into the garage, even in my pajamas!,” he said. “If I wanted to work on something, I could do it any time, in winter, summer, snow, or rain.” However, one of his wife’s concerns was that with an attached garage, odors from the cars could get into the house. She made the builder promise that how it was designed, odors would not get into the house; he assured her that his design for the way the two structures would be attached and how the heating and air conditioning systems were constructed would prevent odors from crossing over into the house. Roy says that it’s worked out very well. Another concern his wife had was that the garage would 26

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

be conspicuous. “She didn’t want someone to drive up to the house and just see this humongous garage; so that was important,” he said. “The garage had to be there, but not obvious when you first come up to the house. Nobody knows it’s there; they could walk into the front door and think we had a three car garage on the west side of the

house and that was it.” Once completed, Roy pieced together several fun-to-have items to offset the must-haves, such as large screen TVs, one on each level, complete with wonderful sound systems. The entire building was professionally wired for sound by a local music system installer, WeeBee Audio. “I just told them that I wanted speakers in the upper and lower levels. I wanted it to sound good. I wanted to really be able to hear it and also control the sound from anywhere with a remote,” he said. “And, I wanted to be able to download songs so I could pick my own playlists.” To accomplish all of that, the speakers are connected to Apple TV, which lets him show television programs, download videos, and store his and Janice’s favorite songs so they can then have their own in-garage soundtracks for any occasion or mood. During our entire photo session, Roy played DJ, and I discovered his taste in tunes was highly eclectic; I couldn’t begin to pigeonhole his musical interests. The Beach Boys, Country, Western, Classic Rock, Soul, Motown, and the Beatles

poured out of the speakers. Also incorporated into the TV and audio system is a security system. And while the details are not for publication, I was told that they have a variety of devices that allow them to monitor, via sensors and cameras, their whole property, and also record and view the images on the garage’s flat screen TVs. Since this is also a working garage, having ample tool storage was a consideration and this was accomplished by using cabinets and work benches from BaldHead. Known for their high quality, smooth opening units with shapes and sizes for just about every application, they’re not only durable and functional, but beautiful. “They specialize in garage cabinets, and I looked at a couple of companies, but BaldHead sent me a little miniature cabinet so I could actually look and see how it was constructed,” he said. “There was a big difference between them and other companies, and the price difference wasn’t that huge. I had to send the miniature back, and they even handled the shipping,” he chuckled. Another cool feature of the garage is the flawless lighting. Despite the high ceilings, the rooms are bright without being glaring, and Roy says that the metal halide lighting provides very vivid illumination and uses surprisingly little energy. The area under the second level has a lower ceiling and uses standard fluorescent lighting. Along the side walls,

Roy selected red wall sconces reminiscent of vintage street lights. Roy said that he had electrical outlets that dropped down from the ceiling so he could plug in his “Battery Tenders” using extension cords. Originally, he was thinking of having outlets in the floor, but that proved very difficult (read: expensive) given the type of floor they had installed. Speaking of the floor, there The office view. is a slight pitch to the concrete with drains placed appropriately in case he ever wanted to wash a car inside – not that he has ever done that. And the concrete has got a multi-stage epoxy coating that he described as “not for the do-it-yourself person,” because of the high level of preparation that has to be done to the concrete to ensure proper adhesion. It’s hard to single out one feature that I liked the most given the fact that Roy and Janice’s garage has heat, air conditioning, great lighting, a lift, air compressor hoses everywhere, two TVs, high-fidelity sound, and even a picnic table sized Ferrari crest silk screened into the epoxy floor. But for me, my favorite part was the library that he had built just outside the house-to-garage door. In this room, he has another (bigger) flat screen TV. He has his car model collection. He has a growing automotive library, comfortable seating, and best of all, windows that look into the garage. I think that’s the epitome of real Garage Style! GSM

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Paul’s Place A Garage Built on Love Text by

Don Weberg Images By

Booker

aul has spent the majority of his life working in the financial services industry, earning a living that afforded him and his family a fine home in a wonderful neighborhood, and the ability to enjoy a passion, sports cars. “I particularly like Mercedes SL cars,” he said. “But, I like cars that are fun to drive and good looking.”... That’s easy enough to grasp upon spying his collection. At the time Garage Style was visiting, the SLS was the slickest, latest thing from Mercedes, and his was front row with his vintage 300SL Gull Wing and 190SL roadster. But, the elongated garage slightly resembling a Quonset hut, due to the internal roof structure, also housed a couple of vintage Corvettes, an early Mustang, a hot rod, a Porsche 356 Twin Grille Super 90 roadster and a 911S, a big Ferrari from the early 1960’s, and a Healey. But there was also a lounge, workshop, and place for his son to store an aggressive racing motorcycle. “My son’s very good on the track with his bike,” Paul said. “It’s a little scary how fast they go and how low they lean to take turns, but he loves it.” Paul’s garage wasn’t always a two-car garage door with attached Quonset hut, however. Prior to this role in life, it was a tennis court. “I was storing cars at my club and crowding the driveway here, so, it was time to make a change,” he said. “Now, this city is absolutely convinced that garages and cars are inherently evil, so getting all the permits and approvals to build the space was more than tedious, it was mind bending.” But, patience, prudence, and persistence paid off, and Paul was ultimately able to remove the tennis court, excavate into the hillside to create additional room, lay a new foundation, and build a structure that would be subtle from the outside, almost invisible so as not to upset the neighborhood. “And we did it,” said Paul. “Many times people drive right by it and miss it completely.” An epoxy coating was laid over the new concrete floor, and the ceilings and walls were finished in flat eggshell white. Recessed fluorescent lights provide ample illumination for

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Shelves and a Polly pump encase a lounge.

Top, from outside it’s clear how long the garage is; lower left, the Benz and mural Deuce stand off; lower right, rare cars are preferred.

any time of day, while a blue cabinet, workbench and tool set, and two-post lift were brought in as the working end of the garage. An HVAC system was plumbed in with massive ducts and vents lending to decent air flow in the summer or winter, as was a fire suppression system. There are benefits to building from the ground up. The walls on one side received a sort of backsplash treatment of black and white tiles, while open wood beams help illustrate aesthetic warmth. “I like being in here,” he said. “That’s why we have the lounge and bar, so we can relax in here, read a magazine, enjoy conversation, anything the mood may strike.” Paul’s lounge is a gathering area with a couple of slot machines, one atop a stand of tires, subtle deco-styled chairs, a couple of tables including a center table of glass atop a set of Ferrari rims, display cases filled with die cast and trophies, a Poly gas pump, vintage juke box, and a three-seater bar, all atop a little swatch of carpeting.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

“I like hot rods, they’re a lot of fun. Even now, my tastes have broadened, but I still love a good Rod.”

Left, sign and a hood make up some art while a Big Healey awaits a run; right, Ferrari rims make a great table.

“I keep a few books and magazines in here; it’s a good place to slip away from the world for a little while,” he said. Like so many good garageistas, Paul has also amassed a collection of wall art from unique photography to manufacturer banners to event posters. But likely the most interesting piece is a mural painted on the inside of the garage door depicting the nose of a hot rod Ford. “People rarely use the inside of the garage door, which is a shame, because it occupies a major space inside the garage,

Embossed Metal Signs Tudor $25.00

3 Window $25.00

69 Camaro $30.00

70 Chevelle $30.00 Dealers Invited!

and left unattended, it can be unsightly,” he said. We couldn’t agree more. Painted to appear as if it’s sitting atop a black and white checkerboard floor, the Deuce at first glance can trick the eye into thinking it’s actual and in the collection. “I like hot rods, they’re a lot of fun,” Paul said. “Even now, my tastes have broadened, but I still love a good Rod.” You can put the boy in the SL, but you can’t take the Rod away from him? Whatever – it’s all good at Paul’s Place. GSM

The Early Years of Motocross Museum Text by

T. Byrd Images by

Booker

“T

his is what happens when a hobby turns into an obsession,” laughs Tom White as he stands in the middle of his 5,600-square foot, two-story museum with his outstretched arms pointing at 146 rare motocross bikes and hundreds of pieces of art and rare MX memorabilia. Motocross is second only to NASCAR in U.S. popularity, and Tom’s museum reflects the early years of that popularity. White’s homage to the sport of motocross resides in a barn-like structure called “The Early Years of Motocross Museum” in Villa Park, Calif. However, you won’t find hay,

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

chickens, or even a speck of dust in this barn. The epoxy floors are polished to a high sheen that plays catch and toss with the light as it ricochets off the chrome of this rare collection. The museum was built for one reason – to tell the story of the early years of motocross. Spanning the mid-1960s thru the mid-1970s, the collection reflects motocross’ European genesis as well as its migration to the United States. “We restore the bikes to manufacturer’s condition to get them back to the way they came off the assembly line. From 1965 to 1975, every manufacturer had a unique idea about

Tom White (L), owner of The Early Years of Motocross museum, visits with young Marines to whom he opens the doors of his vast collection every year on Thanksgiving Day. Left, built on a hill, the bike barn has a great view; right, bikes and memorabilia truly line the entire barn.

what would race well and what would sell well. After about 1975, motocross bikes became more cookie cutter,” said White. White has collected motocross, flat track, speedway, trials, dual sports, and production bikes, as well as uniforms and gear of the period. Considered the grandfather of motocross in the U.S., Edison Dye is credited for bringing the sport across the pond in 1966. Shortly before his death, Edison gave Tom his prized photos, ephemera, and tin signs for Tom’s vintage showcases and specially-built wooden display areas.

As visitors make their way around the perimeter of the upstairs collection, they discover a small bedroom tucked into one corner. The room is jammed with a cornucopia of White Brothers memorabilia. Several pieces of art from Edison Dye’s private collection hang in that room as well as a poster of actress Jennifer Aniston amid hundreds of motocross photographs, ads, and programs. What does Jennifer Aniston have to do with the sport? ... “Nothing. She’s just my favorite actress,” laughs Tom. Tom is accustomed to seeing the puzzled expression of his visitors, and explains why his museum includes a bedroom (complete with a full bathroom) amid these global motocross treasures. “It’s for me or any friends who need a temporary doghouse when we pay more attention to our bikes than our wives,” he said. In addition to the loft, where visitors climb the wooden stairs to the second floor to get a barn owl’s view of the main space below, the museum boasts a small workshop where Tom hand-restores the vintage bikes before displaying them. The workshop features stainless steel-topped work benches, a motorcycle lift, and continues the same epoxy floor design as the main display area. The workshop also includes custombuilt wooden cabinets for the myriad of tools needed to work on these often one-of-a-kind bikes. Among the restoration tools in the workshop are a buffer, a glass bead blaster, compressors, a drill press, and a hydraulic press. The museum is professionally cleaned once a month and Tom and his wife, Dani, dust the bikes and the dozens of motocross racing suits that hang on the walls. Tom started his

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Knotty wood walls and ceiling provides a warm feeling.

collection in 1986 at his 8-year old son Brad’s urging. “Brad, who had been riding since he was 5, and I were at a race in Perris, California, and Brad shouted to me, ‘Dad, you gotta see this cool bike!’” It was a 1965 Greeves 250 Challenger standing up in the back of a truck. Tom bought the bike on the spot for $250, and the two had plans to restore the 21 year old bike together. “It was going to be a father and son project,” said Tom. “I eventually ended up buying three of them so that we could get all the parts to restore the first one. We took them apart, and then we just lost interest,” laughs Tom. Years later, one of Tom’s friends took on the project and presented the completely restored bike to Tom for his 40th birthday. “And that was the first bike in the collection,” said Tom. In 1997, the collection’s raison d’être swerved dramatically. Brad was 18 at that time and was adjusting the carburetor on a dirt bike at the building where Tom’s collection was stored in Yorba Linda, California. “He jumped on the bike to give it a test drive and there was a chain across the parking lot that Brad did not see. It ‘clotheslined’ him across the throat,” said Tom. The chain crushed Brad’s windpipe and larynx, and knocked him backward off the bike. On the way to the hospital, Brad’s heart stopped for 14 minutes.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

“Brad’s injury was a ‘life changer’ for our whole family,” said White. “His will to live was so strong that he came home from the hospital just 94 days later.” Because Brad’s brain was deprived of oxygen for so long, he cannot control his body, walk, talk, eat, or see, and he has three shifts of caregivers each day. “When he was given a maximum of 10 years to live, our priorities changed immediately. I knew I didn’t want to spend my time managing parts catalogs, buildings, and employees.” Life for Tom, Dani, daughter Kristin, and other son Michael started over. The White Brothers sold their business, and Tom now devotes his time to his family, announcing races, and expanding his collection. Several times a year, he opens the museum to the public to raise funds for the High Hopes Head Injury Program, which Brad attends four days a week. This one-of-a-kind non-profit charitable organization is dedicated to the rehabilitation and retraining of those who have been devastated by traumatic head injuries. Many High Hopes patients have relearned how to walk, talk, and take care of themselves, and some have been able to return to work. Unfortunately, many head injured adults can’t afford a program like High Hopes. Four times a year, White hosts “Bikes and Burgers Night”

“We restore the bikes to manufacturer’s condition to get them back to the way they came off the assembly line. From 1965 to 1975, every manufacturer had a unique idea about what would race well and what would sell well. After about 1975, motocross bikes became more cookie cutter.” the U.S. Grand Prix Motocross, the Mammoth Motocross (a 13-day event), to the World Off-Road Championship Series (a two-day event) in Primm, Nevada, and other western U.S. venues. His museum houses photos and programs from a majority of these races. When asked why he collects these rare motocross bikes and one-of-a-kind photos and memorabilia, White answers, “The museum is a great way to get people together, talking, and sharing information. I can’t imagine that I’ll ever be done.” GSM

The work shop is very capable.

at the museum, asking for a $20 donation from each attendee to enable White to donate the profits to the High Hopes Brain Injury Center. Burgers and Bikes Night features museum tours, a BBQ, special celebrity MX and off-road racing stars, a visit by Brad White, and MX movies on the four large plasma televisions that hang in the museum. The museum has a separate parking lot across the street from the structure. White’s museum has been open since early 2006 for special events only. In addition to the Burgers and Bikes Nights, White hosts 15 to 20 special events per year. “My absolute favorite thing to do all year is our Marine Thanksgiving event,” said White. The base administers a program that enables local families to “adopt” a Marine for the day so that the young people who are away from their families can enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner with people who care. White opens his museum to several dozen Marines before their meals with their adopted families. This year, White also had on hand Walter D. Ehlers, the only surviving Congressional Medal of Honor Winner who fought on D-Day during World War II. The 90-year old Ehlers talked with each Marine, signed autographs, and took photos with all. Tom recently hosted 25 Husqvarna employees from Italy and America. He has 21 “Huskies” in his collection. He explained the bumps, curves and the switchbacks of the Husqvarna Corporation’s winding historical road through his collection of Huskies from the various companies that owned Husqvarna over the decades. In addition to being an avid collector and a lifelong racer, Tom is a highly sought-after race announcer. He announces more than 50 races a year all over the United States from

90-year old Walter D. Ehlers (L), the only surviving Congressional Medal of Honor Winner who fought on D-Day during World War II, chats with a Marine from Camp Pendleton, Calif., before the young recruit reports for his first tour of duty on Thanksgiving Day 2012.

SPAN • 47 different brands from Hungary, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, Japan, and the U.S. RAREST •One of three ever made twin cylinder Husqvarna dirt bikes. Won the 1969 Baja 1000. The rarest dirt bike in the world. UNIQUE GROUP •1959 Monark 500 four stroke with one of the original motors. Only six Monarks ever made. Monark rebranded as Lito. In 1962, Lito rebranded as Husqvarna. White’s museum is the only one in the world that houses a bike from each of the three names. UNIQUE SINGLE •1975 Harley Davidson MX250 with front fork, rear fork, and disk brakes. Only 66 ever made. TOP OF WISH LIST • 1964 Husqvarna 250 Cross imported to the U.S. by John Penton. It’s in the American Motorcyclists Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame museum in Ohio.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Business Sense

A Garage for the Business of Life Text by

Don Weberg Images by

Booker

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

aving spent years perfecting the art of being a businessman, Bob decided it was time to truly embrace his passion for classic collectible cars. Letting go of the proverbial nine-to-five job for a more quirky consultancy position in life allowed him the freedom to purchase and renovate an older warehouse and begin collecting the cars he lusted after in his youth, and in recent years. “I sold my home and moved into a condominium closer to the beach,” he said. “As such, parking was a complete premium, making an alternative a must. I knew I was going to be embarking on my own in business, so the thought of an office with living quarters and a garage was on my mind. This popped up, and I couldn’t have bought it quickly enough.” Situated near his condo, the location couldn’t be beat – but, the buy-in condition was something to be reckoned with. “Ultimately it worked in my favor,” he said. “Because of the condition, the price was attractive, and since I had a vision in my head of what I wanted, this building gave me a blank template to work with. Because of my schedule, I basically assigned a lot of the task to my then assistant, now fiancé, Pam, and she took care of making sure the construction and renovation got done, working with the architect, builders, and individual contractors.” In the end, Bob and Pam were left with a beautiful facility offering office space, a small den that doubles as a living quarter, storage, a restroom with shower, and, of course, a sweet garage, perfect for the growing cacophony of cars joining the family. Bob favors sports cars, and has no problem yanking out a Maserati V8 and swapping it with a more reliable, powerful, and capable modern drivetrain from a C6 Corvette; at the other end of the spectrum, he’s also got a Saturn Sky that’s been converted into a supercharged V8 monster, yet he’s also acquired a Ferrari 550, Ford GT, Porsche 911 Turbo, and more recently, a McLaren MP4-12C. “I do like sports cars; they’re normally the most fun to drive,

but I really do like a good grand tourer,” he said. “The McLaren is the absolute end – I’m not sure any company will ever be able to better it.” Almost immediately, visitors entering the garage are met with a gleaming, silver floor that practically reflects the cars like water. What looks like paint is actually an epoxy coating that, according to Pam, was the most difficult part of the whole renovation. “It was done in a few parts, not all at once, which created a few inconsistencies within the look of the floor,” she said. “But, what’s interesting is that the way the material formed a sort of graining, really; unless you are looking for the inconsistencies, they’re not that noticeable.” Overall, the metallic-look floor gives the garage a futuristic, techy look, a scene not often used in garages, large or small, and therefore quite welcoming. It sets off well against the murals that were painted along a back wall, and the various pieces of Top, three rivals await the road; notice the murals and neons; below, mostly grey the garage has a techy look offset by painted murals and cars.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

“It’s a nice place to enjoy, but it’s also equipped for light duty work.” art that hang throughout. “The murals depict the journey along Highway 1 from the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego through Big Sur near Monterey and Pebble Beach,” said Pam. “Within each is a car that’s in the collection, so it all ties together nicely.” Among the décor is also a circle of nation flags atop a support beam, large mounted marketing posters depicting the faces of various race car drivers, a collection of various license plates cut to depict the shape of the United States, and an assortment of neons amassed together in a huddle spelling out the names of various favored vehicles. “It’s a nice place to enjoy, but it’s also equipped for light duty work,” said Bob. “We’ve taken care to install multiple power cord reels hanging from the ceiling as well as air lines to allow work at pretty much any point in the garage. There’s also a very lengthy work bench and cabinet set from MetalLine Cabinets that have come in handy more than a few times. Because it’s not exactly a huge garage, we had to be smart about how it could be a show place and a working space.” Speaking of work, it’s from this office location that Bob runs his consultancy business. Deliberately detailed with a large board table, exceptionally large U-shaped desk, kitchenette, and a few chairs, the space is comfortable for meeting in style. Adjacent the office is a den, with two cozy recliner chairs facing a wall-mounted flat screen amid bookshelves replete with books and die cast. A door away from that is the restroom. Overall, the structure is made of brick, painted with a light grey. In fact, the majority of the cars, up until very recently, were largely of a grey hue. Due to the art within, however, the facility lends to a museum meets laboratory, thanks in part to that high-tech looking floor. It’s as if they’ve made a conscious effort to let the art and elements speak for themselves and not Upper right, a Vette and McLaren enjoy the foreground of neon signs; bottom right, the cozy lounge; bottom left, a beautifully equipped offce; center, a bathroom complete with Jim Valentine mosaics.

be upstaged by the garage itself. “I told him, please, no more grey vehicles,” joked Pam. While the entire structure, from office to garage to den, has a certain fluidity, a sense of purpose and direction, the restroom has to be one of the nicest in existence. The walls are covered in light grey tiles with artistic tile murals from Jim Valentine depicting automotive emblems embedded within. It truly ties together the entire garage to have taken these details to what’s normally an overlooked room. “Jim has some amazing murals; his work is astonishing,” said Pam. In the end, Bob and Pam have created a space that’s truly unique – it blends business with hobby, work with play, home with office. It gets the business of life done well. GSM 38

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Garages

in history

The Garage at 17531 Posetano Rd. “The Ice Cream Blonde and the Garage” Text by

Rick Rader Images as

Credited

arilyn Monroe, who knew a thing or two about the underbelly of Hollywood, once said, “Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.” In the case of Thelma Todd this probably rang true. As Hollywood velocity sometimes goes, a young girl from Massachusetts morphed from a school teacher to a beauty queen to movie star in three years. It was said that in her hometown of Lawrence, Massachusetts she scandalized the quiet community by never wearing underwear. Thelma Todd was a blonde bombshell comedienne with looks that were best described by Raymond Chandler, “A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window.” She gained enormous popularity and fame in comedy farces with Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brother and Zasu Pitts. Her nickname was “Toddy” or “Hot Toddy,” with nothing more to say of the matter. After several drunken car crashes, the studio insisted that she hire a private chauffeur. To console herself after a tumultuous marriage and divorce to playboy Pasqauale “Pat” DiCicco she hooked up with director Roland West. West and Todd opened a racy three tiered Spanish style roadhouse called “Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Café” smack across from the Pacific Ocean on Pacific Coast Highway, and it quickly became the place to be seen. One floor up from the Café was their private nightclub named “Joya’s” which served as the epicenter for Holly’s rich and famous. Up the road a ways was a little apartment building at 17531 Posetano Rd, where Todd stayed, and in the garage of George Hurrell, MGM

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Los Angeles Police Department Crime Lab, Los Angeles County Library Archive

which, she was murdered. Todd’s life was a spider web of affairs, love triangles and living on the edge; the stuff that often festers in Hollywood. She was involved with the well known gangster Lucky Luciano who tried to persuade her that her “joint” would be a perfect place for a

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

gambling casino. Todd repeatedly refused and was overheard (the night she died) saying to him, “Over my dead body.” To which Luciano responded, “That could be arranged.” The dead body of Thelma Todd was found still wearing her Saturday night evening clothes, slumped over the wheel of her 1932 KBV12 Lincoln Phaeton convertible in the garage on the morning of December 16, 1935. She was found by her maid. The car was not running, but the ignition was still on and the door of the garage had been partially open. The “Ice Cream Blonde” was just 29 years old. No one was ever arrested for her murder and the case remains one of Hollywood’s great mysteries. From the 1970’s, the Roadside Café has been used as a studio for Paulist Productions, a religious film company, which has worked diligently at maintaining the overall originality of the building. In recent years the company placed the building on the market and was inundated with interest. In the film Monkey Business, Groucho Marx told her, “You’re a woman who’s been getting nothing but dirty breaks. Well, we can clean and tighten your brakes, but Los Angeles Examiner collection, Regional History Collection, you’ll have to stay in the garage all night.” Los Angeles County Library Archive It appears that she did. GSM

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Barn

finds

1930 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Gangloff Saloon When the Dream Garage Turns into a Nightmare Text By

John “Gunner” Gunnell Image Provided By

The Author

ere’s what happens to a capital C Classic when it isn’t garaged well. According to the Rolls-Royce Owners Club, this “small” Rolls was bodied by Gangloff of Switzerland and served as a Geneva show car. It was originally sold to a Baron and was used as a Works car before coming to the United States and passing through the hands of two owners in Chicago. Then, it somehow wound up in a tiny north central Wisconsin village where it was garaged with an assortment of other cars such as several Corvairs and a 1967 Pontiac

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Grand Prix convertible. The roof of the garage collapsed and no one repaired it, which allowed the elements to get at the cars. When the owner passed away, the car was pushed outside and sat in a field for several months. So, if you’re pondering whether to build that “dream garage” you’ve always wanted, maybe this photo will inspire you. Members of the Classic Car Club of America are now aware of this car and hopefully, it will be saved. It is rough, but not ruined.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

A rodder’s retreat Blending Passions in One Space Text by

Don Weberg Images by

Booker

Top garage is multi-faceted with a great view to the backyard; below, the floor is basic concrete but it wears well.

n a bustling metropolis of Southern California is a historical house that’s been painstakingly maintained and tenderly remodeled to accommodate the needs of its busy owners, Danny and Guida. As a natural born car guy, Danny has enjoyed a multitude of cars in his life, but has great fondness for hot rods; his wife, Guida, tends a hobby crafting beautiful jewelry, and both have a passion for their home, massive garden, and exceptional design. “We both enjoy doing things, and in these later years, I’m enjoying doing less with the car crowd and more with Guida,” said Danny. “I am now enjoying my cars more for myself than showing them and competing, and truth be told, these days, it’s very rare that I take them out.” Sometimes a little solitude is the best way to keep a hobby from taking over your life, or returning from that point once it’s already taken over. Either way, Danny’s taken care to create a garage where once there was none, lending to an oddly-shaped, but highly useful footprint attached to the side of his home. Within, he stores his Toyota truck and two hot rods, all red. He’s taken

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

the time to install a seating area adjacent a modular wallmounted desk set with large overhead cabinets painted black, starkly contrasting with the white walls, upon which he’s hung many show and cruise posters, awards, and plaques, and created a garage that can serve virtually any purpose. Solid, unfinished concrete floors make up the base of the garage, while shelving and cabinetry hold a variety of odds and ends from car parts and tools to jewelry and components for making jewelry. Slightly off-center and out of way, a large lift creates an additional space for a Rod beneath a Rod. “My wife and I spend a lot of time out here making jewelry,” he said. “I’ve found I enjoy doing it with her more and more these days. But, I also wax the cars, do some tinkering around, and use the garage as an entryway to my backyard garden.” And what a garden they’ve assembled. The entire backyard has been converted to a veritable mini arboretum complete with a koi pond and innumerable plants and flowers and even sculptures and crafty items. To say Danny and Guida have but a few interests might be an understatement. Mind you we haven’t begun discussing the contents of the home.

But, back to the garage… In the day, Danny ran with the ‘in crowd’ of So Cal Hot Rodding culture. He’d hit all the hot spots, go to all the shows, rub elbows with all the big names like Boyd, Foose, Nitti, Brizio, and many more off-the-chart, trend-setting Rodders. Everyone knew him, and he was having the time of his life. “But, then something happened. I’m really not entirely sure what, but something where I noticed the events weren’t as fun; they were more work and burden. We weren’t going to enjoy company and camaraderie, but compete with one another in good-hearted fun, but nonetheless, I began noticing a sort of attitude that I didn’t like, so I began slowing down and finally stopped going altogether,” he said. “My wife never really liked going with me; I was usually solo, so that was a little bit of a drag. My friends were getting older and, like I said, for some reason, there was just a growing negative vibe among the circle, so I started spending more time with my wife, and honestly, I’m having a great time.” And, that’s what it’s all about. So now, even though the garage built for rods only sees two rods, and rarely sees automotive work, it’s serving an excellent purpose allowing two people to enjoy working together on a whole new set of projects.

“If you can’t have fun doing something, find something else to do,” Danny said. “And I tell ya, we’re having a great time.” GSM

Top, Danny in his roadster; center left, a wall of show memories and die cast; center right, a nice club plaque; below, the garage now is where Danny helps create jewerly and relax.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Jim Green’s High Performance Center Iconic American Speed Shop and an Automotive Destination Text and Images by

Bill Nakasone

The Shell station within is a great touch.

he period of the mid 1950’s through the early 1970’s is fondly looked back upon as being the golden era of hot rodding in the United States. In the 1950’s, the Detroit Big 3 began offering large displacement V8 engines in their passenger cars. This spawned the high performance culture in America which ultimately morphed into the muscle car movement of the 1960’s. During this period of unparalleled growth in America, numerous “speed shops” were operating throughout the United States catering to the “need for speed” urges of the baby boomer population. The typical speed shop sold high performance parts in the showroom area and usually offered installation services in the rear area of the same facility. Repeat customers would show up for each phase of their car build and the counter guys were on a first name basis with their

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

loyal clientele. This was the simpler time that was depicted in “American Graffiti,” and the “speed shop” was an integral part of that era and lifestyle. Unfortunately, the entire “high performance” era came to an abrupt end in 1971. Stringent regulations from the Federal government, strong lobbying from the insurance industry, and the escalating price of gasoline all conspired to bring about the eventual demise of the muscle car. This also signaled the end of the American speed shop with the overwhelming majority of them being extinct by 1972. Jim Green’s Performance Center is a speed shop that has not only survived but thrived over the last forty five years. It is a direct throw back to the golden era of the American “speed shop” and first broke ground in the Pacific Northwest in 1966. In 2010, Jim moved his location from its original

roots in Lynnwood, Washington to Monroe, Washington to accommodate business expansion… mind you too, the world is in a strong recession. Jim Green’s Performance Center is an impressive facility. Its 37,000 square feet of building space is divided into five main sections: a high performance auto parts retail store and display, a drag racing & hot rod museum, a comprehensive engine building and machine shop, an installation and service center, and a holding/storage area. This shop would have rivaled the best of the shops during the golden age and it is all the more impressive that such a treasure of nostalgia is still successfully operating in this era of downsizing and cutbacks. The ambience of Jim Green’s Performance Center is an accumulation of parts and equipment that spans over 50 years. Jim is an avid drag racer and hot rodder. His former race cars adorn his show room area. His current hot rod collection takes center stage as you walk into the building. To the right of the entrance aisle stand multiple drag racing engines of provenance such as SOHC Ford 427s, Max Wedge Chryslers, Hemi Chryslers, Chevy Rat Motors, Chevy Mouse Motors, Ford Flatheads, etc. As you enter the back of the facility, the machine shop is a virtual museum of Old World quality equipment (Bridgeport mills, Sunnen hones, etc.). Jim has been at the pulse of drag racing from the very early days, and the extent and depth of his commitment is evident throughout the facility. In the back corner of the storage area sits the body of his old Vega Top Fuel Funny Car called the “Green Elephant.” A pair of old M&H Racemaster slicks mounted on some old Halibrand mag wheels are barely visible in a dark corner. Everywhere you look, cues from the past ignite your memory and suddenly you’re back in the ’60s. It is significant to remember that Jim Green’s Performance Center still specializes in building American stock block V8 engines for racing purposes. His engines have proved their speed and durability in a multitude of applications such as circle track, drag racing, tractor pulling, and road racing. On any given day, you will find a diverse crowd of people in the store: a racer stopping by to check in on the progress of his engine build, another customer waiting while his set of headers are being installed in the shop, someone else at the parts counter wanting technical assistance on the proper cam grind he is contemplating on purchasing, other visitors admiring the collection of hot rods

Top, C’mon in; the road leads you around; original drag car; bottom, have a V8.

on display, and other guys just “hanging out” and talking with Jim. This is instant replay of the speed shop of the 1960’s and the Twilight Zone could not reenact this scenario any better. A successful businessman, Jim Green managed to survive through the difficult times that plagued his industry in the early 1970’s. He was astute enough to realize that the commonplace “speed shop” would have to reinvent itself as a full service operation aimed at a “niche market.” As his competitors fell by the wayside, Jim picked up the majority of market share within this specialized field by providing topquality work and maintaining his focus on his core competence: Hot Rods and Muscle Cars. In addition to the sales of high performance speed equipment, he offers a comprehensive array of services like engine work (rebuilds, repairs, modifications, machining), drive train work, suspension and brakes, welding, and fabrication. Jim Green stayed true to his passion for all things high-performance and American. He never tried to service or sell equipment for foreign cars. He has maintained his course of intention by keeping the spirit and tradition of drag racing and hot rodding alive and well. This steadfast adherence to his passion and roots has proven to be a successful business model. For those of you who fondly remember yesteryear and want to relive those times at the neighborhood speed shop, Jim Green’s Performance Center is worthy of a visit. For those of you who never saw an American Speed Shop and want to experience it for the first time, Jim Green’s Performance Center will fulfill your wish. This is truly an automotive destination worth visiting. GSM Jim Green’s Performance Center 17520 147th Street SE Monroe, Washington 98272 425.774.3507

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Private Reserve, Part II Text By

Don Weberg Images By

Glenn McLaughlin

n our last issue, May, we featured a fantastic garage in Florida. Here we’d like to continue our coverage, presenting his beautiful space dedicated to Ferrari. Here’s an excerpt from our previous issue: The Ferrari garage is a dedicated space to mostly Prancing Horse cars and memorabilia; mostly, because now and again one will spy something non-Ferrari lingering amid. Boasting some of the rarest and most desirable Ferraris in the world, the owner is quick to point out that he had many early impressions of Ferrari from the 1960’s and ’70s, thus making up the bulk of that particular room. But, he’s not shy to point out a few of the newer models. “Ferraris are absolute – they’re pure and beautiful, blisteringly quick and fast, they drive like no other and make no bones about it,” he said. “I made a purpose room for them because the absolute deserves a space absolutely dedicated to them, something to show their beauty and lineage from one generation to the next.”

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Days Gone by, Again: Part II Images BY Booker

n our previous issue, May, we featured the Mike Malamut garage and were simply overwhelmed by the details and size of the project. Please enjoy a few more images from Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collection.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Personality

profile

Carroll Shelby, Remembered By

Stephen Parini,

Carroll Shelby Engine Company

merica has long had a love affair with the automobile. The sound, the look, the feel……everything about these pieces of metal in motion intrigues us. Though created as a means of transportation, they quickly transcended that. The moment that someone realized the exhilaration of acceleration, everything changed. A more efficient mode of daily travel became the blank pages for the drivable history of American engineering ingenuity. From the halls of Ford Motor Company to a small speed shop in Venice California, no one had a larger impact on the American automotive landscape then Carroll Shelby. Carroll Hall Shelby was born in East Texas on January 11th, 1923. He was a World War II pilot, chicken farmer, and owned a dump truck business, all before beginning his legendary escapades in the automotive world. After losing all of his chickens to disease, Shelby tried his hand at racing. His first race (and victory) was at a drag strip in 1952. He quickly moved on to road racing, where he went on to win three national sports car championships in the United States. Twice named the Sports Illustrated Driver of the Year, Shelby went on to win the 24-hours of LeMans race in 1959 driving for Aston Martin. As Carroll had begun to reach his stride in racing, he was forced to retire due to a heart condition. Once he left the driver’s seat, Carroll diverted his efforts and ingenuity to manufacturing. After hearing that British automotive manufacturer AC Cars had lost its engine supplier for its “Ace,” Shelby jumped at the chance to help. An agreement was soon in place to use the new small block V-8 from Ford for the project, and in 1962, the Cobra was born. The Cobra took on many forms in the following years, including a fixed head coupe known as the Daytona. The Daytona Coupe went on to win Le Mans in 1964 and the World Manufacturers Championship in 1965, beating out rival Ferrari. Shelby also assisted Ford on their GT40 project, helping to lead it to numerous victories including Le Mans in 1966. Shelby became the only person to win the prestigious Le Mans race as a driver, team owner, and manufacturer. To add to the legend created on the track, Shelby American was also producing 289 and 427 Cobras for the street. In 1965, Shelby further cemented his relation with Ford

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Above, winning LeMans in ‘59; below, unveiling the new KR.

by developing the first of many distinguished Mustang based cars, the Shelby GT-350. Like many of his other projects, this too evolved, with Shelby also building a GT-500 and GT500KR in following years. The last of the original Shelby Mustangs was built in 1970. Shelby took a break from the automotive world soon after, not returning until the early eighties when he began working with Chrysler. He helped them with many projects, including the development of the Dodge Viper. Carroll Shelby piloted a preproduction Viper as the pace car in the 1991 Indianapolis 500 race. In 1988 Carroll went back to his roots and started building Cobras again, which would result in what is now called his “continuation” cars. In 1995, Shelby American opened a facility at the new Speedway in Las Vegas to house his expanding continuation Cobra operations to full production. He used the same facility to manufacture the Oldsmobile powered Series 1 roadster in cooperation with GM. In the early 2000’s, Shelby entered into a new agreement with Ford Motor Company and became involved with the development of the new Ford GT. This new endeavor also

The World lost a legend, and heaven surely added a lot of horsepower. led to the re-introduction of several Mustang based Shelby cars, including the Shelby GT-H, Shelby GT-500, Shelby GT-500 “Super Snake,” Shelby GT, and Shelby GT500KR In a life filled with accomplishments, Shelby considered the establishment of the Carroll Shelby Foundation™ his greatest achievement. Created in 1992 while Shelby was waiting for a heart transplant, the charity is dedicated to providing medical assistance for those in need, including children. It has expanded over the years to provide educational opportunities for young people through automotive and work Venice shop in full swing. training programs. Carroll Shelby passed away on May 10th, 2012. The World grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and his wife, Cleo. He lost a legend, and heaven surely added a lot of horsepower. is also survived by millions of adoring fans the world over. His Philanthropist, automotive visionary, racecar driver, chicken legacy will live on with the continued work of Shelby American, farmer….Shelby did it all. In 89 years, Carroll Shelby Shelby Licensing, Carroll Shelby Engine Company, and most accomplished more than any man could hope to do in ten importantly, the Carroll Shelby Foundation. lifetimes. For over 50 years, Carroll Shelby’s creations captivated the imaginations of automotive enthusiasts around the world. Thank you Stephen for writing this lovely tribute. GSM No matter what language you speak, the words “Shelby” and fondly remembers Mr. Shelby and is saddened by his passing. “Cobra” are universal for performance and prestige. The world has lost one of the absolute greats. Shelby is survived by his three children, Patrick, Michael, Don Weberg and Sharon, his sister, Anne Shelby Ellison of Fort Worth, six Editor-Publisher

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Up-close innovation. Technology in your face. New products and ideas to increase sales and power your business.

Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada Exhibit Days: Tuesday, Oct. 30 – Friday, Nov. 2, 2012 Education Days: Monday, Oct. 29 – Friday, Nov. 2, 2012

Find Automotive Books for your favorite car enthusiast! by author, photographer, broadcaster

McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Machines, the Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon from Motorbooks Publishing or at Amazon.com

Winning! The Racing Life of Paul Newman also with Preston Lerner, with Foreword by Mario Andretti from Motorbooks Publishing or at Amazon.com

Matt Stone My First Car Motorbooks Publishing or at Amazon.com

Histories Greatest Automotive Mysteries, Myths, and rumors coauthored with Preston Lerner Due out this fall from Motorbooks Publishing

Please visit www.MattStoneCars.com

The Ferrari Phenomenon co-authored with Luca dal Monte BullPublishing.com or Amazon.com

automobilia

outlook

Proving Again Coke is it Text by

Don Weberg

Images Courtesy of

Doe Anderson

ecently the Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia began auctioning its extensive collection. One of the items up for bid was a 21 foot long soda fountain used in the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. Experts anticipated about $125,000 for the elegant piece, and we were blown off the map when the bidding stopped at a cool $4.5 million. “I’m stunned,” said Larry Schmidt, organizer of the auction. “We thought maybe it could go for as high as $1 million, but this is incredible.” Built by the Liquid Carbonic Company the fountain is actually two pieces, a front and back bar, both measuring over 21 feet long and constructed with marble bases and countertops and alabaster columns. Two soda dispensers have alabaster bases topped with lights featuring stained leaded glass lamp shades as well. “The craftsmanship on this fountain is off the scale. It’s just incredible, and it speaks to a bygone era when CocaCola was only a soda-fountain drink and was establishing itself as the drink people around the world love,” said Phil Mooney, head archivist for the Coca-Cola Company. Mooney bought many pieces at the auction for the Coca-Cola Company, but did not bid on the soda fountain, which was bought anonymously by phone. The auction lasted two days, March 24th and 25th, and took place at the Schmidt Museum in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Roughly 300 people attended from about 30 U.S. states; however, bidders from around the world chimed in online. “This was truly an international event because of its significance,” said Gary Metz, renowned Coke memorabilia expert who worked with the Museum on selecting items and assessing their values. “There hasn’t been an auction of Coke memorabilia in decades that can rival what the Schmidts have done. This is truly historic.” The total price realized for the two-day event was $7 million, and was the second auction held. The previous September auction fetched $3 million. Proceeds from all the auctions will go to a charitable foundation being established by the Schmidt family. “These are pieces that Coke collectors around the world want to own, and it’s time to put them back into circulation,” said Larry. Other sales-topping items were a large outdoor neon sign which sold for $50,000, which was also the winning bid for a small light featuring a multicolored leaded glass globe. In total, 700 pieces were sold, and most were sold at market value. The Coca-Cola Company bought 100 items, plus 70 at the September sale, with more than 20 currently

1893 21 foot long soda fountain sold for $4.5 million.

Large outdoor neon sign sold for $50,000. on display at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia. A third auction is in the works for September 15th, hosting about 600 items. Learn more at www. schmidtmuseum.com. Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Rims after the restoration; one was left original

New Wheels for Old Cars, a Bird’s-Eye View Text by

T. Byrd Images by

Booker

he Wheel Smith in Corona, California, is the world leader in custom hot rod and wire wheel manufacturing and rebuilding. Since father and son owners Bob and Chris Sage boast that they custom build wheels to fit any car, Garage Style Magazine decided to test that claim. Many of you who’ve read GSM before may be aware of the 1949 Willys Panel Wagon the magazine adopted, a vehicle in need of some serious beautification work. Step one – get it rolling! Chris took the Willys’ wheels and rebuilt them to pristine order, maybe even better than new. Booker followed along with his camera, and got Original rim as found on the truck in Hollywood where it has sat since the a nice tour of their 20,000 sq ft facility. 1960’s. 60

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Rebuilding wheels…

Step 4: Grinding the surfaces This process removes corrosion and any burrs to create a smooth surface in preparation for a contaminantfree weld.

Step 1: Removing the rivets Wheel Technician Rigo Avila knocks out and drills out the rivets from this 1949 Willys wheel.

Step 5: Punching Rigo punches through the hoop to create a hole for a “modern” valve stem.

Step 2: Preparing for rehooping It will change from a 15 X 5 to 15 X 6 inch wheel. The center will be reused and it will receive a new outer hoop.

Step 3: Centering the wheel Rigo services the back pad to ensure it’s flat.

Step 6: Grinding and polishing It’s time to grind and polish the seam to prepare it for a final weld.

Step 7: Pressing The press pushes wheel together to set the back space. In essence, it squashes wheel to eliminate variations of outer lip so there will be no distortion.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

“I wouldn’t put anything on your car that I wouldn’t put on mine.”

Step 8: Measuring These measurements verify the back space.

Step 9: Aligning This step ensures that the wheel is straight.

Step 10: Welding The center is welded to the rim.

Sand blasting and powder coating are the final steps. The Wheel Smith has a long-standing relationship with Embee in Santa Ana, California for these two processes. Embee will blast and coat the whole wheel and return it to The Wheel Smith for packing and mailing. The Wheel Smith proved their claim in less than an hour. The initial result? Custom-built and restored wheels to fit a 1949 Willys. The final result? A happy customer.

Step 11: Mount and Balance Performance Plus Wheel and Tire in Long Beach, California handles tons of special interest cars with delicate wheels - who else would we trust?

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

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For domestic orders call 1.800.999.9718 or visit us on the web at: www.garagestylemagazine.com. For international-Canadian orders call 1.714.693.1866. Canadian subscribers add $15 postage per year, per order. International suscribers add $32 per year, per order. All funds must be in USD. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

Unique

artists

BOMONSTER BOMONSTER’S choice of medium isn’t the most traditional, but his style and personal flair will make you forget all about that. His pictures are raw, mean, and fast, exactly like his subjects. www.bomonster.com

Frederic Dams Frederic Dams pieces are like dreams you wish you could have every night. Images of cars many of us will never come within 100 yards of, brightly colored with so much detail you can feel the engine rumbling, and usually filled with girls that are just recognizable enough that they can be the girl of your dreams. Don’t pinch yourself, you’re already awake. www.historiccarart.net

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Grant Thomas Ask a car lover about their favorite car and they won’t tell you the whole thing, they’ll give you specific reasons why they’re drawn to that car. Grant Thomas’ creations capture those glorious details, sometimes subtly but other times very intentionally. ferrariartist.wix.com/grantthomas

Thierry Thompson Thierry Thompsons photographs put you so close to the racing action that you may need a helmet and race suit just to look at them. You can even pick one up autographed by your driving idol, just remember to lift the visor when your get to the register. www.lightandshadowfineart.com/

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Automobile

review

Phantom Bikes Individualist Motorbikes Text by

Don Weberg

Images Courtesy of

Phantom Bikes

e all love motorcycles – maybe love is too strong of a word, but each of us can relate certainly to a bicycle. Most of us grew up riding them; some of us earned a living on them, and the idea of motorizing one is anything but new – they were doing it in the early 1800’s. But, for modern times, a motorized bike makes for a novel transportation alternative, and maybe a segue into loving motorcycles. Hence Phantom Bikes of San Diego, California. “It was an idea I’d had in 2009, taking a motor and mating it to a beach cruiser,” said John King, founder of Phantom Bikes. “So I asked my buddy, Sterling Tucker, to help me, and we began researching others, and sketching out the idea. I knew we could build something better.” With the help of Sterling, John obtained a couple of bicycles and motors, put them together, and began enjoying them around the little town of Del Mar, California.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Soon, people were asking to buy them, so they sold them, and built another couple of bikes in a storage shed John owned. Those bikes sold, and orders began to arrive. Soon, they moved to a larger location, and still a larger location that they currently call home, and the orders keep coming in. “It’s been fantastic, and more still, it’s been fun,” said John. “We’re making a little product that’s enjoyable, not very expensive, and fun. It’s something everyone can relate to and admire, and we both find a lot of joy and pride in that.” Forming Phantom Bikes, the duo took the show to various events and kept the interest high. People began ordering custom jobs like a bike painted in Gulf colors and a bike painted in military guise, and a bike decked out like a European delivery ride. Nicely, starting just north of $1,000, they are affordable, and provide an actual service.

“We’re making a little product that’s enjoyable, not very expensive, and fun. It’s something everyone can relate to and admire, and we both find a lot of joy and pride in that.” “We recently switched to a 49-cc four-stroke motor because the two-strokes were outlawed in California,” he said. “They’re a bit pricier, but, they’re also smoother, quieter, and more powerful.” The bikes are from Irvine, the motors from Los Angeles, and, of course, the whole shebang is assembled in San Diego, lending to an all-American feel. Examining a Phantom is like touring a finely crafted piece of mechanical art: the finishes are stunningly executed, the details are absolute, and the chrome and other appointments are top notch. The Phantom is one of those rare nuggets that’s likely collectible, but also useful, easy to care for, and a boatload of fun. It’ll get you around town, help you accomplish small trips, and give you something unique among other car and bike aficionados. Nicely too, they’re so intricate and customizable, that it can be very much your own design. “We have some in house styles, of course, but it’s easy to help a client decorate and embellish a bike to his or her own tastes,” said John. “That’s part of the joy. Also though, it’s a product you can build onto as time goes on – say you order a basic bike, and over the years you add stripes, custom handlebars, a rack, white wall tires, custom rims and so on. It can become a hobby.” Capable of about 35 miles per hour, and 100 miles

per gallon, some Phantom Bikes are a great answer to a growing problem with fuel prices – why drive the car to and from work if your office is close and you can save the gas? It’s like a scooter, but more unique; dare we suggest maybe even cooler? And, if one is so inclined, a Phantom Bike makes for great garage, office, or den décor. Okay, so it’s not really as fun as showing it off on the streets, but, it does make for great eye candy and conversation. GSM

B:8.5”

S:7.5”

CELEBRATING ART DECO

OPEN SATURDAYS BY APPOINTMENT TEL: 805.385.5400 MULLINAUTOMOTIVEMUSEUM.COM

The 1939 New York World’s Fair Delahaye Type 165 Cabriolet Photography by Drew Phillips

MAMU_GarageStyleRHP_1F.indd

1421 EMERSON AVE.

OXNARD, CA 93033

S:10.125”

Come discover the best of an exciting age.

B:11.125”

Dedicated to French art and automobiles, the Mullin Automotive Museum is a window into an era of exceptional design and custom craftsmanship. The dominant artistic styles of Art Deco and Modernism express a fascination with streamlined forms, exotic materials, and their application to ﬁne art and industrial design. Nothing captures this spirit of exploration, innovation, and invention more than the automobile.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Book

reviews

Guys We Wish We had Met, Cars We Would Love to Drive Speed Merchants of Venice Cobra’s 50th anniversary is celebrated in Speed Merchants of Venice, a new book from Racing Division Los Angeles. Printed and bound in California, where the Cobra was born, the book was produced to accompany a new exhibit at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum and commemorate Carroll Shelby’s passing. “We were extremely honored to be a part of this important exhibit,” said Michael Holmes, Managing Director of Racing Division. “Using selected images from the Shelby Foundation archives, many previously unpublished, we briefly tell the Cobra story from the first car assembled in Dean Moon’s hot-rod shop to the GT40s of Le Mans fame. Also included are chapters on the Dragonsnakes, Daytona Coupe, King Cobra, and, of course, the 427.”

My 1001 Cars Gabriel Voisin

This is the first English edition of the second volume of Gabriel Voisin’s autobiography, which was published in France in 1962 as Mes Mille et Une Voitures. It follows a first volume (published in the UK in 1963 as Men, Women and 10,000 Kites) covering Voisin’s childhood and early career as an aviation pioneer – the man who founded the first company in the world to manufacture aeroplanes, and who created what many still regard as the first practical heavier-than-air flying machine. As its title implies, My 1001 Cars is the companion memoir relating the period between 1917 to the sixties, during which the legendary designer and engineer turned his attention to the motor car – initially, with the distinctive luxury machines of the Vintage years and the famously

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

exotic art déco creations of the thirties, through to the various iterations of the minimalist Biscooter concept of the fifties. Modernist in spirit, rational in conception, and unconventional in execution, this prolific and eclectic body of work is described in the context of a richly colourful personal life, related with both humour and honesty. Packed with personal drama, political intrigue, innovative thinking, trenchant commentary, and the distillation of a long life interestingly lived, it’s the story of a man who cared more about exploring radical ideas than making money (though he certainly knew how to spend it). It is lavishly illustrated with more than 150 period photographs, many of which have never before been published, and is likely to remain the definitive edition for English speakers. The translation and commentary are by an authority on the marque and a longstanding member of Les Amis de Gabriel Voisin.

Fangio and Mercedes Alliance of the Best

The Quest

More than a century after his birth in the Argentine city of Balcarce, Juan-Manuel Fangio remains one of the most revered names in motorsports. Between 1951 and 1957, Fangio won an astounding five World Championships, more than any other Formula One driver until Michael Schumacher captured his sixth title in 2003. Fangio raced and won for Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Ferrari, but many consider his brief stint with MercedesBenz in 1954-55 the high point of his career. In Fangio & Mercedes-Benz: Alliance of the Best, Hartmut Lehbrink offers a fresh perspective on the life of a legend and his unique partnership with the great German marque. Originally published in Germany to commemorate Fangio’s centennial in 2011, this beautifully-produced book includes recollections of Fangio from his friends, family, and such fellow drivers as Tony Brooks, Hans Herrmann, Stirling Moss, and Jackie Stewart. The revealing and informative text is presented in German and English, and is illustrated with a wealth of previouslyunpublished photographs from the Daimler archives.

MERCEDES-BENZ SLS AMG Published by Mercedes-Benz

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing has set new standards. It is best in class and increases the standing of the Mercedes-AMG brand, thanks to its charisma. Two years after the commercial launching of the contemporary legend, the roadster is added to the fascination SLS AMG cosmos.

THE QUEST chronicles the beginnings of Corvette Racing at the famed Le Mans 24 Hour Endurance Race in France. Corvettes first appeared there in June of 1960. The film recaps that historic race and what happened to both the Corvettes and their drivers. Following the race, all the Corvettes were lost for decades. Collectors, restorers and enthusiasts came to recognize the historical significance of these cars, and an undercurrent of frantic searching for them was put into motion. Corvettes at Carlisle co-founder Chip Miller set a personal goal of finding the 1960 class-winning #3 Corvette, acquiring it, and restoring it. Finally, he wanted to return it to Le Mans in 2010, with one of the original drivers, legendary racer John Fitch, to mark the 50th anniversary of the car’s win. But a chain of heartbreaking events prevented Chip Miller from completing his vision. THE QUEST reveals a series of sub-stories that all feed into the emotional tale of a son doing what he felt compelled to do in honoring his father’s wish.

With the coupé, roadster, GT3, an e-cell, AMG has succeeded in creating a quartet of dream machines. The genes of Mercedes-AMG are in every variant – each one a perfect super sports car, full of adrenaline.

Told by many of the people directly involved, THE QUEST uses archival materials to weave a story never told in its entirety...until now.

Large format, many excellent photos.

* See Chips’ son and office on page 16 of this issue.

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Pure Hell Fuel Altered Dragster Very nicely done by Acme in 1:18 scale, this is the 1968 Pure Hell Fuel Altered Dragster. The original PURE HELL Fuel Altered Dragster was the first FF/FA to run over 180 mph and under 8.50 seconds with its Chevy V8 powerplant. In 1968, the Chevrolet engine was replaced with a Chrysler in time for the Winternationals and set a new class record of 207 mph. The driver was Dale Emery who set the Fuel Altered class on fire. He eventually turned a best speed of 218 mph and a low ET of 7.27 seconds. Fully detailed engine and authentic paint and decoration. This model will be a great addition to any 1:18 scale collection.

All these and many more are available at: Autobooks-Aerobooks 2900 W. Magnolia Blvd. Burbank, CA 91505 818-845-0707 www.autobooks-aerobooks.com

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

buyer’s

guide

Holiday Buyer’s Guide Yes, it’s early, but why not get a jump on the shopping? New York City Horsepower Author Michael McCabe presents some stories of the rodders and customizers from the Big Apple in this beautifully bound book filled with pictures and personal stories. Perhaps most interesting about this book is the absolute personalized look readers get into the lives of the guys and gals in New York who build and maintain their rides in the old tradition – skinning knuckles, dragging motorcycles and car parts into the apartment when the weather’s inclement, and historical aspects of how some of the characters became interested in the lifestyle. Schiffer Publishing. 610.593.1777 | www.schifferbooks.com

Prado Wheels Releasing a new line of wheel designs, Prado once again brings an elegant yet slightly edgy design to the street. Offered in various finishes including Phantom Black, Phantom Chrome, Hypersilver, Diamond Cut Machined, and Black Tint, there’s likely something for every taste. Shown is the Prado Dante in Phantom Chrome, but other styles include Paladine and Arcana. Prado has also taken care to engineer the styles to fit most staggered applications. 800.927.6888 | www.pradowheels.com

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Mister Cartoon Sanctiond Practically dropping out of the clear blue Los Angeles sky (ok, there’s a little smog) is Mister Cartoon Sanctiond car care products. ‘Toon, as he’s known, is famous as one of the preeminent tattoo and graffiti artists in LA, but he’s also well known in the customizer scene, creating some of the sweetest low riders ever to exist. Recently, ‘Toon and some friends, former employees of another car care giant, came together to create a line of products that would outperform most of the competition, be a joy to use, and create a new brand identity in the industry. The result is Sanctiond, a full line of car products from rim and tire wash to car wash to polish to wax to leather cleaners and conditioners to tire glazes. For the holidays, set yourself and a friend up with a cleaning set, and be the first in your circle to get Sanctiond. 855.672.2786 | www.sanctiond.com

Bell & Ross At the craft of producing some of the most imaginationstirring and durable timepieces available today, Bell & Ross recently brought about the Vintage BR126 Sport. Available with black calfskin or stainless steel straps, the 41mm stainless case houses a black dial with hours, minutes, seconds, date, two-counter chrono in both 60s and 30mn accumulators. Large white numerals coated in photoluminescent set atop a black face, lending to exceptional visibility, making it a favorite among motorists and pilots alike. www.bellross.com

Via Corsa Guidebooks Having published the Car Lover’s Guide to Arizona, Ron Adams brings to life the Car Lover’s Guide to Southern Germany. Within are oodles of beautiful pictures, maps, ideas, contacts, and individually unique places to visit. It’ll turn any adventure to Southern Germany into a well-thoughtout trip. At 335 pages long, printed on good quality paper, the book is sure to impress, and even people thinking about visiting Germany will benefit from studying the tracks that Ron has traversed. www.viacorsa.com

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

www.carguygarage.com Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing like knowing you can be enjoying some time in the garage and not have to trek into the house for something from the kitchen fridge. At CarGuyGarage.com, a myriad of options await; from refrigerators with built-in microwaves to beautiful chests, these are just perfect to add a bit more eye candy to your garage. www.carguygarage.com

Port-a-cool The Cyclone 3000 is smaller than the average evaporative cooler, but is a powerhouse of cool. It will drop the temperature of any room up to 700 sq. ft. by as much as 20 degrees F using only water and a small zap of electricity. Nicely the C 3000 uses no fan blades, making things very quiet, and is constructed with a polyethylene plastic. So with minimal maintenance it will offer years of service and never rust. www.port-a-cool.com

www.RetroPlanet.com Retro trash cans can be a delight in any room of the house, but look particularly fabulous in the garage. This Route 66-inspired can is square and measures 26 inches high and 14 inches square. Made of heavy-duty powder-coated steel, it boasts a 14 gallon plastic lining and a swing style opening. www.retroplanet.com

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

www.Forzieri.com The Tonino Lamborghini roller pen is one of those must-have items. Available in Lamborghini white, red, or yellow, the steel pen features highly polished elements and a slight texture to aid in grip. Measuring out at just over 5 inches, the twist cap and refill system are easy to operate and promise quality and exceptional service. www.forzieri.com

Lowes When you venture out from the garage, it might become necessary to eat – a barbeque can be a garageista’s best friend. This Master Forge 5-burner natural gas barbeque offers a vented hood liner to move smoke out of the rear, a foldable working table, halogen lights, LED lights on the control panel, and much more to ensure a good grilling experience. The cabinet boasts strong hinges and superior alignment to aid in years of service and enjoyment. www.lowes.com

Granite Digital Storage can be murderous on batteries, but with Granite Digital’s Solar Maintainer from Save-A-Battery, it’s as easy as opening a window. Available in two and five and 12-Watt versions, the Solar Maintainers are all-inclusive and come with everything you need to take advantage of the clean, free energy of the sun to keep your battery and electrical system fresh and ready to go. Set the solar panel up in the sun, connect the wires to the battery and the monitor, and you’re good to go. Perfect for long-term storage situations where electricity access is tricky. 888.819.2190 | www.granitedigital.com

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Matt’s

column

My Garajmahal By

Matt Stone

f you’re a GSM loyalist, you no doubt have spent some time dreaming of the size, look, layout, and location of your Ultimate Garage. I know I have; two semi-distinct ideas have formed in my pea brain. One property already exists; all that remains is for me to acquire, remodel, and inhabit. The other lives (so far) only in my mind, but is probably out there somewhere. The first is an abandoned mechanics shop, located in Cayucos, California. This quaint little berg dots the central California Coast, North of Morro Bay and South of the Monterey Peninsula. The building, when in operation as a working automotive repair shop, was called the Borradori Brothers Garage (you can Google Earth it at 455 North Ocean Avenue, Cayucos, CA). It’s a wonderful block and tin building at the North end of town, right on the Business Loop of Highway 1. There isn’t much around it but plenty of parking for friend’s cars, and of course, it sits up on a bit of a hill with a balcony out back with an ocean view. It’s perfect for my Adirondack chair, hammock, and grille. The Borradori brothers originally opened up shop about 1000 feet away, and moved to this property in 1950 when Highway 1 was reconfigured a bit, taking their old shop with it. This building, now vacant, is likely about 5000 square feet and lets in lots of glass lit natural light. Most of the framing inside looks like metal, and I’d merely refurbish and detail it up, building my residential loft at the rear of the structure connecting to the aforementioned balcony (or once remodeled, I guess I could call it a veranda or a lanai). And I’d host my very own “cars & coffee” breakfast cruise there every Saturday morning; trust me, this place has it all. I’m not sure what the future holds for this magnificent structure, but I’ve never seen a For Sale sign around it, and have heard that the current owners want to remodel it into a restaurant. Garajmahal II exists in my fertile imagination, and it would be an old decommissioned brick firehouse on a fabulous

beach somewhere. Again, given my penchant for the central Cali Coast, it could be anywhere from Santa Barbara through Pacific Grove, and I’d be happy (giddy, actually). A firehouse is perfect for cars. Lots of parking, big doors already installed, a likely immaculate polished concrete floor, and living quarters upstairs. Maybe a little something with a lighthouse attached? Hey, as long as I’m dreaming, I can dream big, right? And I’m thinking somewhat museum minimalist in terms of decoration. Satin-polished concrete or metal floors, naturalfinish brick walls, and any metal or wood structural beams to be restored to their natural finish. I’ve seen a lot of great car barns filled with neon dealer signs, artwork, and all kinds of stuff hanging on the walls and from the ceilings, but I think I’ll pass on all that. Eyes on the prizes; the cars are the stars. And of course a loft office overlooking it all, filled with my collection of automotive art, racing photography, and rare diecast models. Can’t ya just see it?

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Garage

meanings

In the Garage with Cindy Meitle

Martin Swig Car Guy and Event Extraordinaire My “Five Questions” feature is meant to take you into the garages and minds of some of the most interesting people we at Garage Style Magazine know. Often, they have a wide variety of items they’ve collected through the years ranging from cars and bikes to tools and trophies. The one common thread each has is a “garage” and most consider it a very personal space which satisfies an important part of their life, sometimes professionally, but always personally. We lost two of the greatest automotive professionals and personalities the world has known in the last few months, Carroll Shelby and Sergio Pininfarina, and they will be missed by all who loved and admired them and their creations. We also lost an incredible man named Martin Swig in early July, and I had just interviewed him for my Five Questions post. I chose to feature Martin because I admired him greatly, and have known him for 20 years. Few have had the genuine pleasure to know him. For those of you who did not, Martin was an amazing man. Martin sold used cars while he earned a degree at Stanford University. In the 80’s, he would go on to start one of the first all-inclusive automotive dealerships in the United States, eventually offering 17 different makes under one roof. He became an avid collector of beautiful cars like vintage Alfa Romeos and Lancias, but also had a vision that eventually, vintage Japanese cars would become serious collectibles. Along with his son David, he launched Motoring J Style to showcase these cars in a formal setting. More than two decades ago, he launched an incredible event called The California Mille. This 1000 mile motoring tour was established as a USA-based tribute to the famed Mille Miglia tour of Italy and gathered prominent car collectors and owners and some of the finest rolling works of art in the world. Spanning three days, the annual event launched from the magnificent Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco where the cars were on display in Concours fashion for the public to admire. The names of those one could spot in attendance were truly a who’s who from within the car realm and beyond. The rally traveled the beautiful scenic back roads of Northern California and often meandered through California’s Wine Country and the mountain resort of Lake Tahoe. Martin participated in far too many events to list as a car exhibitor, a judge, or a special guest. His writing on the topic of automobiles and events was 80

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Photo Courtesy of Lance Iverson, The Chronicle, San Francisco

routinely published in print and on the Internet. He had recently started a wonderful weekend morning gathering of cars just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the bedroom community of Sausalito. He was quite proud of the event’s early success. I asked Martin my standard questions and his answers were surprisingly simple. “My garage/office is where I go to take care of all my car-related business, both public and private. My activity as it concerns the garage is typically moving a car in, or moving a car out because I’m going for a ride or I’m going to an event. Unfortunately, I’ve never had the ability to tinker. I don’t feel that anything I have inside my garage can truly be considered special and I honestly can’t pick a favorite among my cars or other items in the garage; I love them all and they bring me great pleasure. I don’t feel more attached to one item than another and I don’t think anything is strange or unusual. I’m just a guy with a garage.” What Martin teaches us, or reminds us, through his thoughts is very important: that the garage is a big part of who we are. It is the sum of all things big and small that give us personal pleasure. To Martin, there was “nothing unique or special” in his garage, yet he owned five different models of Alfa Romeo and many more incredible automobiles. He had derived great personal satisfaction from what he had amassed, and was perfectly content with what he had. While things may not have seemed special to him, each and every item has indeed become special and will forever tell the story about Martin: the father, brother, husband, businessman, collector, car expert, and friend.

Back yard mechanics to world famous car builders and traditional hot rods to multi million dollar classics are all featured on “The Vintage Vehicle Show”. Lance Lambert, the show’s producer and host, has been taking you on four wheeled adventures since 1993 and “The Vintage Vehicle Show”, broadcast nationally and internationally, can be enjoyed every week on your TV and computer screens. Check your local listings for times and topics, or log on to www.vintagevehicletv.com

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Garage

bazaar

Art/Automobilia/ Collectibles/Media Via Corsa Guidebooks www.ViaCorsa.com Mike Gulet http://MyCarQuest.blogspot.com Matt Stone www.MattStoneCars.com Ruckus Rod and Kustom 805.388.7310 www.RuckusRods.com GarageArt.com 800.708.5051 www.garageart.com

Auctions

Security

Mecum Auctions 262.275.5050 www.mecum.com

Secure It 562.677.3777 secureit@ngcia.com

Heritage Auction 800.872.6467 www.ha.com

Travel/Leisure/Dining

Automobile Restoration/ Maintance Custom Auto Service 714.543.2980 www.customautocervice.com CoverCraft 800.4.covers www.covercraft.com

Clothing/Accessories

Flanagans Restaurant-Pub 831.625.5500 www.flanaganscarmel.com

Zymol 800.999.5563 www.zymol.com Moduline 888.343.4463 www.modulinecabinets. com Griotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Garage 800.345.5789 www.GriotsGarage.com

Tools/Equipment

Vehicles

Mr. Cartoon Sanctiond 855.672.2786 www.Sanctiond.com

Phantom Bikes 858.578.7581 www.Phantom-Bikes.com

Port-A-Cool 800.695.2942 www.port-a-cool.com

GT Racer www.gtracertv.com

LuxVelocity www.luxvelocity.com

Vintage Vehicle Show www.vintagevehicletv.com

Save-A-Battery 888.819.2190 510.471.6442 www.saveabattery.com

Flooring

Private Listings

Advertise in the Bazaar! Spaces are just $42 per quarter.

Petroleum Collectibles Monthly BLT www.jumbo-floor-tile.com www.pcmpublishing.com Autobooks-Aerobooks 818.845.0707 www.autobooks-aerobooks.com Art Era www.arterasigns.com Ultimate Garages www.ultimategarages.net Spirit of Speed USA 760.580.8005 France 33.603.461.031 www.spiritofspeed.com Arte Auto 830.864.5040 www.arteautoauction.com CBT Lighted Signs 858.536.2927 www.cbtsystems.tb Kit Car Builder 866.Kit.CAR1 www.kitcarclub.com VintageAutoPosters.com www.vintageautoposters.com Wall Words 888.422.6685 www.wallwords.com

Furniture/Electronics PitStop Furniture 866.319.8500 www.intro-techautomotive.com Europa Monterey 831.372.5044 www.EuropaDesignMonterey. com

Garage doors Clingerman Doors 814.784.3634 www.cbgaragedoors.com

1940â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Neon sign made by Arkansas Neon. Porcelain sheet metal all original. Sign had wings originally but missing when found. Wings fabricated as original and added. Neon replace with all modern components. $10,000 Free delivery within 50 mile radius of Yorba Linda, CA. Contact Jim Gilliland (714)701-0771.

Insurance Heacock Classic 800.678.5173 www.heacockclassic.com

Museums Mullin Automotive Museum 805.385.5400 www.mullinautomotivemuseum. com Petersen Automotive Museum 323.930.CARS www.petersen.org

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012

Can we help you sell it? Contact GSM to advertise your automobilia, petroliana, literature or other related treasures in our new Private Listings. $40-$100 depending on size. PrivateListings@garagestylemagazine.com

Garage Style Magazine Fall 2012