Perhaps this topic has been covered many times before, but it is hard to search. I would like your opinion on MUST SEE PLACES for the HOT RODDER. I'm trying to put together a list of places & events to see when I go down to California. I'm talking about hot rod businesses, hot rod shops & builders (past & present), swap meets, drag strips, famous homes, popular burger joints, bars, pubs & taverns where good rock n roll can be heard...I think you get the point. There are certain names that stick out, like Big Daddy Roth, but I dont know if he has a museum, or a shop or just an address to a home where he use to live? If you have a suggestion of places NOT TO BE MISSED, please add your thoughts to this thread.
The list would be huge, but why not start where it all began. The Dry Lake beds. I believe the SCTA has one more event this year out at El Mirage. Always good stuff to see and great people out there.
1-Donut Derelicts car show (FREE) in Huntington Beach every Saturday morning. 2-Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo. Both should be required for visitors to So Cal. You won't be disappointed.
Also this weekend is another must do/see is the California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso dragstrip in Bakersfield. its some awesome stuff.
Masterson Kustoms at the old Barris location. The Early Ford Store in San Dimas. Phillippes in downtown LA for a yummy sammich. As an aside, one of these lists ought to be archived somewhere, this question pops up once a month. It'd be great for us foreigners when we go visit Mecca.
Thanks for the suggestions. How about any more. There have to tons of places. More So Cal suggestions please. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
What is the old time burger place in LA Can't remember the name but been around forever hasn't changed much since the early 50s
Donut Derelicts is a great show in Huntington Beach on Saturday morning from 6a to 9a. Supercruise in Topanga Canyon on Sunday morning is awesome. Bobs Big Boy in Burbank o Friday nights is a fun cruise Peterson Museum on Wilshire NHrA museum in Pomona Drive as much as the PCH as possible especially Santa Monica to Oxnard For Great Seafood Dukes in Malibu or Huntington Beach great food and views. Garden Grove has a nice cruise on Friday nights Drive Mullholland and enjoy the views also pick any canyoroad and just drive beautiful area. Take Sunset from Hollywood to the PCH nice drive except in rush hour. Cruise around Bel Aire and Beverly Hills including Rodeo Drive beautiful area. Farmers Market is a pretty cool place too with some good places for lunch, its close to BH and the Peterson Museum. Ride up to Griffith Park its a neat place if you like beaches go to Manhattan Beach its beautiful Venice is a freak show but cool to see and the Canals are nice plus the Terrace is a good lunch spot. Pollys on Redondo Beach Pier is nice for breakfast and lunch also great views. Marina Del Rey is a nice walk from Venice, impressive marina and beautiful If you make it far enough north on go through Big Sur on the PCH and spend time I Carmel By the Sea, cool little town. Enjoy the trip I love SoCal.
What about names like Arlen Ness, Ed Roth, Edelbrock, Schneider, George Barris, Dick Dean, Moon & Socal? Are there places in Cali where a real Hot Rod fan can visit garages, memorials, headstones, homes or meseums which show of some of their contributions to hot ridding. Also, there are some huge car cruises and auto swap meet right? What are the names of these big events. Thanks for the ideas, keep them coming. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Blair's Speed Shop 2771 East Foothill Blvd. Pasadena, CA It was for sale recently, but go anyway, hot rod history there since Blair moved the shop from Arroyo Parkway in, what, 49?...it was once a candy shop I also wouldn't miss Iskenderian Cams...or Cook's Machine Shop on Telegraph (?, it's been 50 years since I was there)..unfortunately lots of the classic hot rod places (Howard Cams, Wilcap, Pete & Jakes, etc...) have moved either out of state or closed....there is always Pomona Drag Strip (though it's called the "Fairplex" or something like that)...and the NHRA Museum there...that is a must-see....all the other drag strips that used to be in SoCal and most of the NoCal drag strips are long gone, no trace remaining, for the most part.... Good idea to hit the Lakes and the Hot Rod Reunion....and have a great time!!!
Sunday night boot! Thanks for the ideas so far, but there has to be more. This thread isn't just for me, I could help others out too. Any more suggestions out there? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Damn Drop Out, you're lazy. but I'll mention a few places we've been when we went to Fathers Day & GNRS. First, google SoCal Car Culture, it's a list of most runs,cruises and swap meets in SoCal. Arlen Ness has a Victory dealership across the freeway from Pleasanton, Brizzio in S. San Fran. Moals & Fantasy Junction in Oakland. Randy Clark at Hot Rods & Custom Stuff in Escondido, Marcels in Corona, SoCal & Waldens in Pomona. Wooden Carr in Signal Hill, Foose, Boyd is gone but Dan has Poor Boys at that location, Jerry Kugel is down the street. There's lot's more. One year we hit 13 shops on one trip. Peterson, NHRA, Justice Bros. Still on our list to see, Old Crow, Hollywood Hot Rods, Early Ford, Kennedy Bros, Nethercutt. Google the shop, call them up & see how they treat visitors. Some will welcome you any time, Foose let us look around at lunch time and after work, locked the gate rest of the day. Got kicked out of Boyd's at their big shop that went broke, but welcomed warmly before and after. Before the big shows most guys in LA have open house. Look up Guy Fereri on the Food Channel and see if any of his Diners, Drive Inns & Dives are in the neighborhoods.
Be sure to check your maps, California is about 800 miles from one end to the other. Any idea where you are going to be? Charlie Stephens
Redo32, What do you mean "I'm lazy"? Thanks for the suggestions. CharlenStephens, I didn't want to limit the info by saying so cal, nor cal, or LA. I wanted an open list. California is a big place, so there are places that have a hot rod link some of us might not be aware of. Unkledaddy. That is a good search. I'll check that out. Any other hot rod related suggestions of MUST SEE'UMS IN CALI? More information please. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Drop Out, after your third plead for suggestions I could only think of the enjoyable hours I spent on the puter searching for places I had heard of and wanted to visit. I've spent my life reading Rod magazines& always wanted to visit the famous shops I read about. Today we can do a google search for Hot rod shop in LA and come up with stuff we've never heard of. A little investigating on the keyboard and you develop a plan of attack and then GO! I bet there's a lot of shops in Portland I've never heard of that would be fun to visit.
I never intended this thread to sound like a whinny lazy mans plead for help. Perhaps the tone of this thread started out on the wrong foot from the very beginning. I've done Google searches. I have come across a mixture of results. I have not spent a life time book marking magazine articles. I thought that I could be missing some great places, so I asked the one group with a collective memory that would (should) out wit any search engine. When I did my searches I never came across Donut Derelicts or Phillippes. Iskenderian Cams never even entered my mind to search for. Google is handy, but it doesnt have it all. Talking with people usually produces better results. And on the HAMB we get to talk with LOTS of people. Does anyone else have a suggestion of where to visit in California that has to do with Automotive Hot Rod history, historic drag strips, or other interesting things to see. I know California is 800 miles long, but there might be some interesting suggestions not located along the beaten path, and I would be interested in hearing about them. Cheers :beer:
Mooneyes [Norwalk] --> http://www.mooneyesusa.com/ is a must-see. This company has been in the same place for 50+ years. C.W. Moss [Orange]--> http://www.cwmoss.com/ The Car and Truck Shop [Orange]-->http://www.truckandcarshop.com/ Danny Thompson LSR [Huntington Beach]--> http://thompsonlsr.com/contact/ He even has an open invitation to his shop. Note: the are other hot rod related shops in the area, including Foose (Sampson Ln.) and others. Sean Murphy Induction--> https://www.smicarburetor.com/ is on Metzler. Look for others on those streets. Edelbrock [Torrance] --> http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/misc/company/contact.shtml John Force Racing [Yorba Linda] --> http://www.johnforceracing.com/contact-w.cfm
DropOut, I can't believe you've been on the HAMB for 6 years & haven't seen the multiple threads on the Donut Derelicts or the Anti Donuts HAMB & Eggers that sometimes meet at the same time down the street. There have been a couple of good magazine articles on Isky in the last year, just this month a story on the "Cam Wars". I was lucky to have spent my formative years reading Hot Rod & Car Craft in the school library during what is now referred to as "The Golden Years of Drag Racing" in the '60's. I experienced the "Cam Wars" instead of studying algebra. When you were helping your dad work on the Stude I was driving to LA to watch my son in the Springfield High Marching Band perform at Disneyland & Knotts Berry Farm. Knotts Berry is on Beach street and Disneyland is on Katella, the juncture of these two streets is one block from Boyd's first shop. The shop foreman, Dick, showed me around and I saw Craig Naff's work on Butch Martino's aluminum '32 that won AMBR. Right next door was Jerry Greer's Indian, that was an added bonus, I didn't know they were there. Pebble Beach Concourse is pretty spendy (over $300), but the Historic Races at Laguna Seca is cool, look up the Baja Cantina in Carmel, great Petrolina and cars in the parking lot. Lots of neat cars and activities all over town. I haven't been to Phillippe's, but I've heard of it, probably on the Food Network, ( that's my reality TV). Barny's Beanery is cool, lots of Hollywood history. We sat in the booth that Janice Joplin ate her last meal at. Pay attention to the plethera of information out there. What I like, you might not. I have been surprised many times by unexpected jewels on my adventures.
Thanks for the helpful suggestions and ideas from all of you who responded to this thread. The season is calling back into the garage. Later. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
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