Hi, I'm heading over to the home of hot rods n kustoms in the last two weeks of June and am looking to soak up as much of automotive interest as I can! I've already gone through the SoCal site as well as listed many of the main rod shops and museums! Just wondering if any locals know of any cool events or rod shops I should be sure to check out when I'm over there! Would love to hear any suggestions! Cheers!
I don't have any suggestions to offer, however, I really admire guys like you, who are able to travel long distances to fulfill your quest for hot rod related interests. I wish you well, and I'm sure many will be posting up some great stuff. Enjoy your trip.
Make sure you head to the Justice Bros Museum, 2734 East Huntington Drive Duarte, CA 91010 U.S.A. Fantastic place, very welcoming staff, fine collection of Hot Rod stuff. http://justacarguy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/justice-brothers-racing-museum-and.html
Depend on how much of a 'buff' you are, but I enjoyed visiting the old Speed Shops: Bell Auto, Howards Cams, Edelbrock, Ikey & Moon, Roth Barris etc.
The nhra museum in Pomona, Peterson museum on Wilshire Bobs big boy in Burbank cruise on Friday Night Donut Derelicts on Saturday morning in Huntington Beach Super car Sunday in Woodland Hills Drive Sunset from Hollywood to the Coast, the area from La Brea to the Bel Air entrance is the road Jan And Dean sang about in Deadmans Curve "I flew past La Brea, Schwab's and Crescent Heights And all the Jag could see were my six taillights He p***ed me at Doheny then I started to swerve But I pulled her out and there we were - at Dead Man's Curve" Also drive the PCH from Santa Monica to Oxnard, beautiful drive and nice cars of all types Also a nice long drive on Mullholland and a visit to the Rock Store is fun, usually nice cars on that road too. Have fun. Sent from my iPod touch using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Upon your arrival in Southern California there are a number of places to visit. They are: Donut Derelicts Car Show, Huntington Beach, CA. Corner of Adams and Magnolia. Every Saturday morning from 5:30am-8:30am. Best FREE car show on the West coast. 250 vintage cars and trucks every Saturday morning. Trust me, it's worth your time to see this car show. NHRA Drag Racing Museum, Los Angeles County Fairplex. 1101 West McKinley Ave. Pomona, CA. More than just drag racing, this is an excellent museum. Automobile Driving Museum. 610 Lairport St. El Segundo, CA. 90245. Don't be put off by the funny street name or the plain drab brick facade. This is a great museum that is non-profit. They ask for a modest $5.00 donation. It's worth it. Peterson Museum. 6060 Wilshire Blvd. Outstanding Dan Gurney race car exhibit. $15 entry plus $12 parking. Irwindale Speedway.500 Speedway Drive. Irwindale, CA. 91706. Freeway off ramp is Live Oak Ave. Every 2-weeks on Saturday night there is NASCAR short track racing with 5 different divisions on the paved ½ mile and 1/3 mile track. Great entertainment. $15.00 plus $5.00 parking. Also, drag racing every Thursday night. In-N-Out Hamburger. Mighty tasty burgers, fries, and shakes. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Get the warm glazed doughnuts and bring plenty of cold milk. It's a great experience!
If you would like to see some cool motorcycle racing, check out the Industry Speedway. They race every Wednesday night and the price is right. Here's the link if you would check it out. https://www.speedwaybikes.com/tracks/industryhills.htm
The huge Pomona Swap Meet would be a great place to spend a few hours but they only have it every couple of months and it's June 4th and August 13th so nothing in the second half of June unfortunately....
I presume you will be there before the 17th 18th to check out the LA roadster show? And open houses prior.
Gee, thanks for all the suggestions guys! Got some great info there! Definitely going to the Roadster show and maybe for both days! What are the open houses? Bummed we miss out on the Pomona swap meet but have been to it before. HUGE! Love the NHRA museum and last time I went, there was a car show in the car park with the Willys being the feature car of the event. Love the old speed shops too and checked out Blairs Speed shop last time I was over there! If you're out and about and hear a couple of Aussie voices, it could be us! (There can't be that many of us over there! ) Keep the suggestions coming!
You might also like the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar Ca. Lots of great cars. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Hello, Nice finds on those photos of old speed shops. Some of those buildings are still around, some are just empty lots. In my old Long Beach neighborhood, the original buildings are still there, but it is hard to picture the old, fun, speed shops from 1959-60. I just found this ad for the now famous, Reath Automotive in Long Beach. That ad for the shop is from a 1962 Long Beach Poly H.S. school newspaper. The 10th street address was their first shop. They moved to Signal Hill to a larger shop, (about 3 miles up Cherry Ave.), then to a smaller shop a couple of blocks away until they closed in 2006. Reath Automotive knew where the next dollar was coming from in those days. The local high school, hot rodders with a part time job just itching to spend his last earned penny buying stuff for his hot rod or custom was the target. From 1962 Long Beach Poly HS school newspaper They knew that most of the students lived within a couple of miles of Lions Dragstrip and had the center of hot rodding in Long Beach, in Bixby Knolls, as a feeder area for this high school. There was another high school nearby, but Reath had ties to Long Beach Poly as many of the car builders and racers went to this school on Atlantic Ave and worked in his shop. This was during the time that all of our telephones had words for a prefix like HEmlock 60457. Jnaki Boy, did we/they ever go there and spend…We certainly did when we were building our 40 Willys. If we had continued drag racing without the explosion and fire, we were in line to get a partial sponsorship from Reath. That certainly would have helped to get more speed parts and services. Plus we would get that elusive Reath Automotive paint logo on the rear fender or deck lid. 1962: 10th and Cherry Ave. Long Beach, CA. 2016: 10th and Cherry Ave Long Beach, CA 1965-1995 2nd location at 33rd and Cherry Ave. in Signal Hill 1996-2006 1430 East 28th St in Signal Hill, California Thanks, Joe... For taking the time to talk to a couple of hot rodding teenagers...speed secrets, general info, life... That was impressive.
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