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Hello, welcome to my effortpost about Monterey Car Week, my favorite week of the year. It happens in mid-August, and depending on what events you count it runs from August 11-20. My first year going was 2007, and I've been going every year since. Over that time it has expanded quite a lot as its popularity grew, with more and bigger events every year. Events The core events are the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (nee Historics) at Laguna Seca, and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. This week is also when the biggest auctions of the year (by $ sold) happen, and typically the highest-profile cars of the year are featured in Monterey. And there is a long and growing list of smaller events like Concourso Italiano, Concours de Lemons, etc. The Reunion is my favorite event of the week. Vintage race cars from 1900s to present day getting ragged out on the track, it's an amazing time. They do a 'featured marque' every year, usually to commemorate some sort of anniversary. Last year was a pretty huge one, 100 years of Le Mans, that got some wild poo poo out of the woodwork. This year it's Corvette, which should be good too. Here's a list of the groups: Formula 5000 1966-1985 Formula One - non-turbo 1966-1974 Can-Am; 1963-1968 USRRC - V8 only 1966-1972 Trans-Am 1955-1969 Saloon cars 1972-1981 FIA, IMSA, GT, GTX, AAGT, GTU, Trans Am 1981-2007 GTP, Group C, DP, WSC, LMP & GT1 (GT1 through 2009) 1955-1967 SCCA Production – Large Displacement 1955-1967 SCCA Production – Small Displacement 1927-1955 Grand Prix/Open wheel single seat racing cars 1947-1960 Front-Engined Sports Racing and GT 1981-1991 GTO/Trans-Am 1961-1971 FIA Manufacturers Championship Ragtime Racers exhibition They limit it to about 400 cars to keep the paddock from getting too crowded, which means they are choosy and it's an assortment of truly badass, storied cars. Some of the groups are a little more disparate than others from a performance standpoint, but some (66-72 Trans-Am) are insanely close and you get some fantastic racing. They also let a lot of antique racers out of the barn to go around the track, it's not unusual to have legends like Mario Andretti, Brian Redman, and Boris Said going at each other. It's great fun to walk the paddock and see all the cars on display or torn apart for repairs between runs. The Pebble Beach Concours is the oldest event of the week. An award at Pebble Beach is pretty much the highest mark a show car can receive, it's sort of the Oscars of car shows,. Like the Reunion, they get the cream of the crop. Best in Show usually goes to a pre-war custom-bodied special with a paint job that cost more than a really nice house. This Duesenberg won last year:  People dress up for this event, it's quite fancy, it honestly makes me sort of uncomfortable as a socially anxious goon, but the cars are spectacular. I don't go to this every year, it's rather pricey. They do a tour that used to stop in downtown Carmel that most of the cars would participate in, so you could see the majority of them for free, but they don't run it through downtown any more. You can still get up early on Thursday and get a good look at them for free as they prepare for the tour near the Concours grounds at 7am. The Quail is sort of a combo of both, it's mostly race cars but they are parked on a lawn. It's expensive and I have never been. Concorso Italiano is what you would expect, Italian cars parked on grass. I have not been to this one yet either. Legends of the Autobahn is the German car show, it's free and I make it most years, it's close to the track. Exotics on Broadway is a newer event (used to be Exotics on Cannery Row), it's mostly newer cars with lots of mods, wear earplugs because they love to show off their bangy titanium exhausts. Concours d'LeMons is the anti-car show featuring the worst shitboxes and weirdest cars you'll find all weekend. Witness a mint Crossfire next to a safari EJ Civic with no doors next to a weird rear end Citroen next to rusty Sonata. It's wild and fun, and free! I am cheap. Auctions Car shows but the cars are for sale. RM Sotheby's usually has the biggest dollar car of the weekend, they have the primo spot at the Portola Plaza downtown. It will probably be this. Gooding & Co and Bonhams get some nice cars. Mecum doesn't get the weekend headliner cars, they tend to have some of the more attainable cars, and their preview is free on some days and the rest charge to look at the cars, let alone to get into the actual auctions. There are places you can spectate from, and I have successfully snuck into some of them over the years, but it's inconsistent. Not Car Stuff Ok so I have convinced you that Monterey is the place to be in mid-August, but you gotta sell it to your partner(s) in crime that don't give a poo poo about cars. Luckily there are other cool things to do in Monterey. You can go whale watching (supposedly there are orcas hanging around), the Monterey Bay Aquarium is spectacular, there are lots of great restaurants all around, Carmel and Monterey have cute shops and things if you're into that, I would describe the vibe of the area as 'upscale touristy'. Traffic/parking does suck though, especially Saturday. Accommodations Getting a hotel room nearby is mostly impossible and/or outrageously expensive. If you're balling on a budget you can get a room in Salinas and drive over. If you want a hotel room in Carmel/Monterey for 2024 you should probably start working on that now. I camp at the track. My buddy Greg tipped me off to this possibility, he did it as a kid with his dad a bunch. We started off in general camping and eventually upgraded to a designated site, and then one in a better spot, and now two adjacent ones. The good sites are competitive because you can renew every year and lock it down. We have two 'large' sites so we can easily fit a car or two and a few tents and a 10x10 and not be cramped. We are definitely in the minority having tents in our area, mostly it's RVs. I may borrow an RV this year, or do what I did last year and throw an air mattress in the Sprinter instead of a tent. The most low-effort vanlifer is me. It will be my 4.5yo lil dude's second year coming and he LOVES it. He's good about wearing his big can earmuffs, which is a requirement. I also wear earplugs pretty much all the time, I can't tell you how many times you're walking the paddock and a muffler-free V8 lights up right next to you. There is a lot of walking to do at the track, luckily my guy is used to me talking him on multiple-mile hikes and he's so drat excited he just wants to keep going. There are shuttles you can catch for longer treks like paddock to camping/parking. There's nothing like waking up to the sounds of not-too-distant engines revving and the track covered in fog. I love camping at the track, I can't imagine giving it up to stay in an overpriced hotel room. Photos I haven't put many inline photos because I'm lazy, so here are links to some of my photo albums from years past. The low-effort extends to my photography but the cars are cool enough it sort of doesn't matter. 2008 2009 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 I have asked in the chat thread over the years if any other goons are going and haven't gotten a lot of responses, but last year I did get to meet LobsterboyX which was awesome, his thread has been one of my favorites and it turns out he's a cool as hell dude IRL too, and Steely Dad came with his kiddo and it was great to meet them too. If you're going this year let me know! And if you have any questions I'm happy to share what I know after quite a few years of going to this thing. Our current itinerary is to drive down Thursday morning, check out Legends, set up camp, walk the paddock, maybe go downtown and get some dinner and ice cream, Friday watch some racing and then maybe check out some of the auction previews and chill downtown, Saturday maybe go to LeMons first thing and then back to track for racing and then dinner at Tarpy's, Sunday watch the hillclimb at the track and head home.
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Jul 30, 2023 20:21
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Great post, and I hope to be there again this year. I'm as much a regular exhibitor at the Concours d'LeMons as you can be, showing cars in 2010, 2013, and 2019, all in the Japanese Appliance category. Pete Brock judged the category last time I was exhibiting and I was able to have a wonderful conversation with he and his wife Gayle, they're incredibly friendly. My period HKS-laden turbo swapped 1987 Mazda 323 wagon did lose out to a LQ4 swapped FJ60, which was completed the night before. I'm hoping to show my newest car, but I don't know if I can have it running in time, a 1979 Ford Fiesta. Are we organizing meetups here? I lived in the area for years and know tons of empty driving roads and places to go. Its likely as easy to get a room in Watsonville as Salinas, and its a nicer area in terms of hotel location in the city. DJ Commie fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Jul 30, 2023 |
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Jul 30, 2023 21:10
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DJ Commie posted:Great post, and I hope to be there again this year. I'm as much a regular exhibitor at the Concours d'LeMons as you can be, showing cars in 2010, 2013, and 2019, all in the Japanese Appliance category. Pete Brock judged the category last time I was exhibiting and I was able to have a wonderful conversation with he and his wife Gayle, they're incredibly friendly. My period HKS-laden turbo swapped 1987 Mazda 323 wagon did lose out to a LQ4 swapped FJ60, which was completed the night before. I'm hoping to show my newest car, but I don't know if I can have it running in time, a 1979 Ford Fiesta. Awesome! I'm not sure where my 2010 and 2013 photos ended up, I often skip cars I remember taking pics of previous years because you're not in the 2019 set. The :redacted: sounds sweet too. I'm down to do a meetup, I am going to try to get the silver GTV running well enough to make it there and back. Bring a Trailer does an alumni gathering at the track on Saturday morning and I'm enough of a sucker (4x alumnus) that they let me in.
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Jul 30, 2023 22:34
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As we get closer to this magical time, I am getting more and more hyped, so I'm going to double post in my own thread and talk about some cool cars I hope to see down there. I linked to RM's 250 LM that could set the record hammer price for 2023 but it looks like this car is going to challenge it: 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta Chassis no. 0854 Engine no. 0854 quote:3,989cc, DOHC 24 Valve V12 Engine Bonham's puts the estimate at $40m.
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Jul 30, 2023 23:36
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i always wanted to see one of these. probably too late to get any real time off this year. my main interest is trans am, and ive recently discovered that there's a trans am specific weekend that they do down there now, this year it was in early may. so definitely going to go check that out next time. might try to make at least one day of it to go check out the historics this year, though, if i can get a few friends involved. looks like everything is spread out thursday-saturday, so it's kind of looking like a lot of logistics to try to see everything, haha. what's your strategy? is this like disneyland where people plan out what order to hit what events, and figure out the whole itinerary ahead of time?
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Jul 31, 2023 10:42
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I'm probably going down Wednesday this year, which is a practice day. They made a couple changes to the schedule starting last year that I sort of like, they used to do practice on Thursday and qualifying Friday for all groups, and then on Saturday half the groups would do two races, and Sunday the other half would do two races. That meant that if you went to PB on Sunday you missed half the cars racing. So they shifted everything forward a day, and every group races once on Friday and Saturday. I like it better because the crowds tend to be a lot smaller on the weekdays. I try to arrive by two so I can set up camp before the evening winds kick up. The best time to talk the paddock is W & Th when the crowds are small so you can get right up to take photos and a lot of the cars are taken apart for tuning and repairs after practice. A typical day is hit the paddock in the morning, then catch Legends or Lemons or whatever is that day and maybe hit an auction preview or two and go downtown for some food, then back to the track for the tail end of racing. Then either cook dinner there and bullshit or go back into town and get dinner somewhere nice. I typically eat at the Crown and Anchor on Friday and Tarpy's on Saturday, those are my favorite spots down there. I will have my lil dude with me again this year which changes the flow somewhat since he's got a lot of opinions. Last year he was so blown away by how awesome it was (same buddy) that he was down to do anything, he was a daily napper then but he was way too hyped for that so he was toast by the evening. We'll see what happens this year, I may be able to sneak a nap in during a car ride, he doesn't nap every day now but he probably should. Now they do a free hillclimb/community day on Sunday, it's basically a fun show while you pack up camp. They race backwards from the start line and finish at the top of the corkscrew. There was a drift Corvette last year that really made an impression on my lil dude. And a real Doc Hudson Hornet that was inspired by the Vette to also do some drifting but went off track and lost a tire.
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Aug 1, 2023 03:37
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Today's hot poo poo car is brought to you by Gooding & Co, a 1952 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta: quote:In Ferrari’s early days, its signature V-12 engine was under constant development, with engineers relentlessly refining it for greater power and reliability. From the very beginning, 12-cylinder Ferraris began to take on ever-greater displacement, reaching altogether new heights with the introduction of the 340 series in 1950. The 340’s impressive Aurelio Lampredi-designed, 4.1-liter V-12 was, in essence, a detuned version of the engine that powered Ferrari’s second generation of Grand Prix cars. This V-12, when combined with the model’s five-speed gearbox and lightweight coachwork, made the 340 America the fastest sports car of its time. I'm a real sucker for French Racing Blue. And this one's a bargain at $3-4m.
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Aug 1, 2023 03:41
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Big Taint posted:I'm probably going down Wednesday this year, which is a practice day. They made a couple changes to the schedule starting last year that I sort of like, they used to do practice on Thursday and qualifying Friday for all groups, and then on Saturday half the groups would do two races, and Sunday the other half would do two races. That meant that if you went to PB on Sunday you missed half the cars racing. So they shifted everything forward a day, and every group races once on Friday and Saturday. I like it better because the crowds tend to be a lot smaller on the weekdays. solid plan, thanks for the tips. i doubt i'll have my poo poo together for this year, but this is valuable reference material. Big Taint posted:Today's hot poo poo car is brought to you by Gooding & Co, a 1952 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta: it's like a slightly off grabber blue, which is high praise im a fan of any red car that isn't red
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Aug 1, 2023 07:19
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RM Sotheby's has an interesting set of cars this year, they are calling it the 'Lost & Found Collection': quote:In 2004, Hurricane Charley wreaked havoc along the coast of Florida, causing widespread damage and exposing the forgotten Ferraris to the sunlight for the first time since 1990 when the barn they called home partially collapsed. Bearing the scars of debris from their dilapidated enclosure, the Ferraris were carefully relocated to a secure warehouse in Indianapolis, where they have since remained undisturbed.   It's neat to find some proper barn finds, and cars in original, unrestored condition have been bringing a premium lately. Perhaps the most interesting car of the set is this 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider:  quote:In 1958, the 500 Mondial was exported to the United States, and four years later it was sold from R.W. Devereau of San Francisco to Hal Rudow of Washington, who raced the spider at the Evergreen Trophy race at Pacific Raceways in October 1962. A year later Rudow sold the car to Stanley Surridge, and he replaced the original engine with an American V-8 (a common practice at that time). At some point over the following two years of racing activity the Mondial was crashed and suffered fire damage. That pile of Pininfarina is estimated at $1.2-1.6m.
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Aug 9, 2023 05:55
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Believe it or not Ferraris aren't the only cars up for sale. Today's car is this cute weirdo, a 1954 Pegaso Z-102 Spider. quote:Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1951, the Pegaso Z-102 was a world-class sports car, built under an unlikely parent company, ENASA (Empresa Nacional de Autocamiones S.A.), a commercial truck manufacturer based in Barcelona. With its all-aluminum dual overhead cam desmodromic valve dry sump V-8 engine and De Dion rear axle, the Z-102 was a cost-no-object sports car, built with racing in mind. Designed by former head of engineering at Alfa Romeo, Wilfredo Ricart, the Pegaso showed incredible promise and competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Carrera Panamericana, but ultimately fewer than 84 examples of the Z-102 were built. It's pretty cute, the vents in the hood make it look like overly-plucked eyebrows. The exhaust tip is also excellent:  Estimated at $1-1.5m.
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Aug 9, 2023 19:29
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Besides a lot of impossibly expensive cars up for auction, the Reunion features a bunch of extremely cool old race cars. They posted the provisional list of entrants here. Group 1 is 1955-67 SCCA Prod - Small Displacement. It's dominated by Porsche 356s, I'm most excited to see the 1956 Cooper-Porsche 'Pooper'.  quote:When the 550 was replaced with the much-improved 550A, John von Neumann had trouble procuring one of the in-demand new cars for his racing stable. So driver Ken Miles called upon his days building custom specials and had von Neumann order a light and nimble Cooper race car without a motor. After a Porsche 550 engine was installed and modifications were made with the help of fabricator Dick Troutman, the “Pooper” proved nearly unbeatable in its class. Porsche took notice and, dismayed that the homebuilt special was beating their factory cars, quickly delivered a 550A to von Neumann’s shop, putting an end to the Pooper’s reign.
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Aug 11, 2023 17:24
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Me and big taint had an awesome time last year! aside from hanging with the taint, I'd have to say my absolute favorite part of it is the morning excursion         that last ferarri with the offensive interior was driven by an equally as offensive looking old leather man with probably the hottest girl I saw there all week.   By the time you leave car week you find yourself saying "oh 200k isn't that bad for that" and "I can probably get a loan for that" - it really distorts things and this whole thing is really a rich mans game - I went for business and we found the cheapest hotel that was still around 4-500 a night. I'm still working towards the goal of designing one of these events, I just have to get the right people on the line.    in da vip  not for long tho  I wish I could get my poo poo together enough to go again, if I do, I'll be camping at the track with Taint. also me and my colleague show up in the 2022 photos lol LobsterboyX fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Aug 11, 2023 |
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Aug 11, 2023 18:37
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Not pictured: Lobsterboy got the big swinging dick tickets to that auction on Wednesday and I only had poverty-level so while he was in the VIP area licking ice sculptures I was stuck at the entrance trying to Smoove B my way past the nice lady checking wrist bands. I was, of course, unsuccessful. I'm heading down Wednesday again this year so I should probably set an alarm and try to drag my carcass down for the early bird show...
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Aug 11, 2023 19:05
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Big Taint posted:Not pictured: Lobsterboy got the big swinging dick tickets to that auction on Wednesday and I only had poverty-level so while he was in the VIP area licking ice sculptures I was stuck at the entrance trying to Smoove B my way past the nice lady checking wrist bands. I was, of course, unsuccessful. this quote is woven finer than any tapestry.
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Aug 11, 2023 19:23
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Oh boy we're getting close! Forum legends cursedshitbox and bunsen have been helping me get the '71 Alfa ready for a weekend of cruising, it's running a hell of a lot better, now I need to put the door back on. Bring a Trailer sent an email seeing if anyone would display their car on a trailer at the alumni gathering on Saturday, which is fitting. It works for me because I'm not entirely confident I will have the car reliably drivable by tomorrow afternoon. I'm going back out to the barn today for another day of work, and I will load the Alfa onto the trailer and drag it home. If I'm not confident in its ability to function the whole weekend then I will have my buddy drive the Merc 250 down too which has been relatively painless. More cool race cars I'm looking forward to seeing this year (pics not necessarily of the actual car): Reunion Group 2 - 1961-1971 FIA Manufacturers Championship 1969 Ferrari 312P  1969 Chevron B16  Reunion Group 3 - 1927-1955 Grand Prix/Open wheel single seat racing cars 1939 Talbot T26  1935 Railton Light Sports Tourer  Reunion Group 4 - 1981-1991 GTO/Trans-Am 1985 Buick Somerset  Reunion Group 5 - Ragtime Racers Exhibition (they don't actually race any more because somebody flipped one a few years ago and a person died or was at least severely injured, it wasn't the greatest racing anyway because there is a huge speed disparity between the cars) 1916 Sturtevant Romano Special  Reunion Group 6 - 1972-1981 FIA, IMSA, GT, GTX, AAGT, GTU, Trans Am 1976 Greenwood Corvette (Corvette is the featured marque at the Reunion this year so they will have a prominent display, there will probably be some other cool static display Vettes in addition to the ones racing)  Reunion Group 7 - 1966-1974 Can-Am/1963-1968 USRRC – V8 Only 1965 Huffaker Genie MK10 Roadster  1974 Sting GW1  Reunion Group 8 - 1966-1972 Trans-Am This is always one of my favorite run groups because the cars are very closely-matched and the values aren't so high that they are afraid to push it, these drivers go to the limit and it's fantastic racing, a few years ago they had Parnelli Jones on track against Greg Follmer and it was incredible. 90% of the field is Camaros and Mustangs with a handful of Javelins, here are a couple of the oddballs, a Firebird and the lone Mopar. 1970 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am  1970 Dodge Challenger  Reunion Group 9 - Formula 5000 1968 LeGrand Mk 7  Reunion Group 10 - 1955-1967 SCCA Production – Large Displacement (  )1961 Corvette 'Old Yeller V'  Reunion Group 11 - 1966-1985 Formula One – non-turbo (  )1976 Ferrari 312T2 https://ferrari-cdn.thron.com/deliv...9&v=197&dpr=263 Reunion Group 12 - 1947-1960 Front-Engined Sports Racing and GT 1959 Jabro(ni) MkIII  1959 Lister-Jag Knobbly (gently caress these look great)  Reunion Group 13 - 1981-2007 GTP, Group C, DP, WSC, LMP & GT1 (through 2009) 1989 Eagle HF89 (easily the fastest car on the track all weekend, and perhaps all year, these things are NUTS)  Reunion Group 14 - 1955-1969 Saloon cars 1957 Austin A35 
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Aug 15, 2023 17:14
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 We’re rolling, Pie Ranch is a must stop.
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Aug 16, 2023 23:25
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oh drat, you gonna cruise around like a big shot in your little shamrock car? Sami literally called me last night and said "can we plan a trip with our families next year?" I guess she's seeing photos from people she followed from there. Also, a friend of mine posted a live feed from the start/finish of the tour - major peanut butter and jealousy... LobsterboyX fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Aug 17, 2023 |
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Aug 17, 2023 19:48
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Weeeeeelllll with a lot of help from forums legends cursedshitbox and bunsen we got her running real nice, fixed a very bad tie rod, and put some modern retractable seat belts in, and she was feeling good until she decided to start hosing oil from the rear main seal. So she will be a static display this year, sadly. I’m phone posting and don’t have time to curate anything so here’s the link to this year’s album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zmFh9fn2ychQ2zY28 I did end up getting down to PB for the pre-Tour show and it was great. Till we tried to leave and my car was towed…
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Aug 18, 2023 07:24
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Following this thread because I keep on telling myself I'm going to go to Car Week/The Quail/Historics/etc. Is it even possible to get a hotel room within reasonable driving distance for $500/night? Driving/camping there wouldn't be any cheaper/easier for me.
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Aug 18, 2023 15:54
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Check availability in Salinas and Watsonville, they are probably the closest places with availability that aren’t $$$
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Aug 19, 2023 01:03
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Well drat, I just moved to the area this time last year, so I think I've missed two in a row. Between short notice and the Covid spike, I'm probably going to miss this weekend, but I'll keep an eye out for next year's thread. Besides, one of my diesel Bug's headlights is currently held in with gorilla tape, so I may be driving too much of a lemon even for LeMons.Big Taint posted:Check availability in Salinas and Watsonville, they are probably the closest places with availability that aren’t $$$ If you spend a little extra in Salinas and stay closer to the freeway, you'll be OK, but it can be hit and miss. I stayed at the Howard Johnson motel downtown for a work trip last year before I moved, and I'm pretty sure an older lady was operating her, ahem, companionship business out of one of the first-floor rooms. It is a straight shot from the southwest side of town down the Monterey-Salinas Highway to the racetrack, and a decently scenic drive too.
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Aug 19, 2023 04:20
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Residency Evil posted:Following this thread because I keep on telling myself I'm going to go to Car Week/The Quail/Historics/etc. last year my company booked me and my colleague both rooms at a really crumby hotel - it had a boutique-y name but it was just an old comfort inn, the rooms were 600 for one night and it was pretty skeevy - just so happened that we were staying at a Lambo owners hotel and every other car except our rental was a lambo
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Aug 19, 2023 08:35
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Ok that's a wrap on Car Week 2023, here's the recap: Here is my google photo album Wednesday  Alfa stuck in the track's trailer parking until the BaT thing on Saturday.  Some jagoffs parked in our campsite when we got there, the dude next to us saw them go in a camper so we rustled them out.  After dropping stuff off at the track we went downtown to get some dinner at Cibo. We walked past RM Sotheby's at the Portola Plaza Hotel.   The good stuff is inside.  This thing needed some more tuning, you could smell it from there.  Didn't sound stock. The rolling car show down Alvarado is always fun. After a while you get bored of the Lambos and start egging on the guy in a Yaris to rev it up.  Thursday The next morning we got up early and went to Pebble Beach to see the Tour start, if you wanna see most of the Concours cars for free this is where you go.  All of the cars here are incredible, I can't just pick a few, but I will show you Lt. Mumbles.  I complimented this guy on his jumpsuit, he told me about how he had them custom made with 'sperm hats'. It wasn't until a couple days later that I put together why he seemed familiar.  They had some primo JDM stuff at PB too.  Went to leave and the car was not where I left it. Turns out the amazing spot I found right next to the event was an unmarked but soon-to-be-opened service entrance, and they towed the car. Luckily, the event people that did it were about to drive up to where they were putting the towed cars and gave me a ride. They were cool, they wanted to give me an award as the first car they towed of the weekend. They told me tales about loving with people that were dicks about getting their cars towed, like a trio of Bentleys that they surrounded with logs in the impound. This would not be the last time I ran afoul of event staff this weekend.  We went to Carmel for breakfast at Katy's Place, and they were having a car show.  Then we went back to the track. Some people brought their McLarens.  The 'Ragtime Racers' are lil dude's favorite.  My cars' more accomplished sibling. There were several of these this year, and a bunch of Giulias, TZs, etc.  Many of the support vehicles are cool in their own right.  unf  Insane mannequin in one of the old Corvettes on display.  I would like to redeem this.    I love purple cars, and I'm pretty sure every one is in Monterey this weekend.  Cool bike dude https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...UNIbGpiUHp6RFdB The sea lions are nuts. Friday  Nice clear morning.  We watched from the Corkscrew a bit.  Then down to the paddock.  Love stacks  I guess they are doing 24 continuation Bizzarrinis to create some hype for modern supercars they want to make.  Pooper!  Back to the Corkscrew for some shade.  Big day, glad he got a nap so he had energy to go to dinner.  Usually some cool stuff parked at Tarpy's. It's my favorite restaurant down here by far, so good. After we went downtown again to eat some Bee's Knees ice cream and watch cars.  This was amazing, a Japanese taxi, with driver in full uniform. Looking it up it's this guy: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvGiVtWp1px/  oh yes Saturday  Foggy morning.  Went down at 0700 and dragged the Alfa over to the BaT event, had breakfast there, then cruised the paddock some more.  what a name     Gordon Murray was there.  Peddling his wares.  sTaCkS  Back to the BaT event for some free lunch.    My friends had to leave early and lil dude was partied out so he went with them, leaving me solo. So I went exploring, there's a trail near the bridge over the Corkscrew that I have always wondered about, so I went up it. There were some fences that were easily walked around and no warning signs or anything, and there were some dudes riding bikes, so I didn't think it was a big deal, and I was right next to the track. Lots of cool pics/vids from here.    Then a track worker came and made me leave, and said they told her to escort me off the premises. Apparently you need to have media credentials to be back there. I told her I didn't think it was a problem, there were no signs and nothing blocking access and since I'm a simple man she took pity on me. Racing was pretty much over for the day anyway, and since I wasn't going to the Concours on Sunday I packed up camp and hooked up the Alfa just before dark and schlepped home.
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Aug 21, 2023 01:46
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awww yeah the #6 donohue javelin is possibly my favorite car ever. pleased to see that it makes it out to these events. drat i better make sure i make it there next year.
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Aug 21, 2023 07:07
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Raluek posted:awww yeah the #6 donohue javelin is possibly my favorite car ever. pleased to see that it makes it out to these events. drat i better make sure i make it there next year. Ya it's hard to top the Trans Am cars, they go hard.
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Aug 21, 2023 18:30
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painful for me to look at because I miss it - Should told Jonathan Ward (icon4x4) you were a friend of mine. Before he became Mr. Cool dude, I used to work at the hot rod shop across the paddock from his first business that restored Toyota Land Cruisers TLC - We'd often eat at Bills burgers together and helped out with some build work on his very first Derelict car - the Desoto wagon, at the time I was also driving my derelict 58 cadillac. He also gave me my first taste of "scary" speed in the Ariel Atom - He was one of the first distributors of them here in the states. Next year I'm gunning to come up there with the youngster, in the 48 or 54 buick.
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Aug 21, 2023 18:48
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Big Taint posted:
Scrolling through at a glance I thought the wrong caption went with this picture and for a second I thought Japanese taxis were AWESOME.
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Aug 21, 2023 20:27
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I guess it has to be over, because the number of wild cars in the neighborhood noticeably picked up. Seen on 101 south towards Paso Robles this morning, in quick succession: Mercedes Adenauer convertible, some kind of big 1930s roadster that may have been a Rolls-Royce?, 911 Carrera RS, late-model Lotus.
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Aug 21, 2023 20:43
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boxen posted:Scrolling through at a glance I thought the wrong caption went with this picture and for a second I thought Japanese taxis were AWESOME. me too - 
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Aug 21, 2023 23:38
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This is about the coolest thing to read sitting a hotel room in Monterey anxiously awaiting my first track day ever at Laguna Seca tomorrow.
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Aug 25, 2023 01:56
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