New (old speed shop) sign for my backyard.

I am exited about my new sign so I thought I would show it off. It's 12 feet by 5 feet. It is half of a sign that used to be on a pole at the Torrance Service Center speed shop on Hawthorne Blvd. It is plastic and was broken in two. I built a structure to mount it to from a 12 ft long pallet, I screwed plywood to it and made a flourescent light box behind the Willys, glued it back together and screwed it down. It weighs a ton but it should keep it together from now on.








Here is how it looked when I first saw it. I found out about it while talking to a friend at the Dragfest. He mentioned he had just been in a Service Center and the old sign was sitting broken behind the shop. My ears perked up and I tracked it down and asked if it was for sale, at first it wasn't but a month later I got luckier. He included the checkered flag box sign that was also on the pole, it needs a full resto.

 

very cool!

 

That is awesome! Great find.

 

From the pictures I've seen, you have the coolest garage I've EVER seen. Simply amazing man!!!!

 

A great addition to your already cool as hell collection!!

 

Great find Kevin. The Willy's looks like the one on your license plate frame !

 

Schweetttttttt.-Weeks

 

Yep, the lic' frame is what started the conversation that led to the sign. Anybody out there have any other interesting Service Center stuff? I have some decals, a catalog, a cap. My friend Butch who told me about the sign has a SC key fob.

 

And the cool get cooler. That's awesome.

 

You will be able to open your garage as a tourist attraction soon!

Are you & your mate Scrounger Chris having a compe***ion ??

Spence.

 

Does a 1983 Van Nuys Service Center invoice count ???

You win with the way cool sign....

Is the Service Center still alive ???

cheers Bryan

 

Nice find.
Just a thought, though. A long time ago I attached a plexi sign to a wall without giving it the ability to "walk". It seems plexi likes to expand and contract at a much different rate than buildings or plywood. It didn't break but it did buckle.
I don't know how tightly you mounted yours, but it's something to think about.
Again, nice find. It would be cool to save the flag part.

 

Nice find. Old signs are like every thing else and getting hard to find. When you do find a neat one then you have the problem of getting the owner to let go. Been there -don't that. Congratulations and thanks for posting.

 

Like you don't have enough cool stuff already! It 's a just unfair I say! Das Cool!

 

awesome !

 

Very cool....I have some MT/S&S speed shop invoices for 409 stuff and some Rader wheels.......Kev are you going to do more posters??

 

bt34........I am told there are 3 left. Lomita, El Monte and one somewhere in the Pacific North West.

Von Dago.....Yes it moves around with the heat. It is not as flat as it looks in the pics.

 

Dang that's cool.

 

Sweet find!!! you are so lucky

 

The Willys on the very cool sign appears to be done.......hmmmm

 

Nice sign, thats awesome

 

I remember when they painted over the signs at the Services Center in Chula Vista, CA. Truly a sad day.

 

Nice restoration of a cool sign. Where did the checkered flag part go (the piece that was in the last photo)??

 

I have the checkered flag sign, possible future project. I've put it on my list of things to do.

 

Cool *** sign Kev !! And to think the only sign I have says Regular >>>>.

 

the one in lomita moved there from torrance. it used to be on hawthorne blvd., the moved over there a few years back

 

nice ..you always have cool stuff hanging around...good find

 

Some other Service Center stuff. Seems I remember there was a thread about Service Centers some time back, I haven't had any luck searching for it. Does anyone have a link? I noticed in the catalog that there were 46 Service Centers back in 1984. I used to go to the one in Oxnard. It downsized and moved to Ventura but didn't last long. I'd say a victim of the big mail order places like Jegs.

 

i dont think there are any left in the pacific northwest ... atleast i havent heard of any since bout 1988 or so...jeffrey

 

Kev ,ya guna need some good old 'Speights' sign's at some stage to go with the collection