With the weather above 40 I figured it was a good day to clean the garage. of course I couldn’t help taking the,speedster for a quick ride. Temps were chilly but not cold and with the top up and the heat on it made a pleasant ride. I hope everyone is able to get their cars out and enjoy and early spring
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Man that car is soooo sweet.
We hit 70 the other day so I pushed Bridget out of the garage, started her up and put some air in the tires.
There's an awful lot of dust on her from sitting near Projekt Spyder. I still talked my wife into taking a ride to Rita's for gelato.
We were blessed with a warm sunny weekend. It was only right an Irish Green car enjoy this weekend.
Well, we still have snow, ice, and cold up here, but Spring is a comin'...
I think. 
I have almost of foot of ice in front of my garage, so the car sits inside until some warmth ventures our way.
Spring is in the air for sure. Alice restaurant at Pescadero was a nice stop. 
I go to Cars & Coffee down by the beach in San Clemente (SoCal) about every other month. This event draws easily 300+ cars every weekend. After a stretch of rainy days the weather was spectacular and the turnout this weekend was crazy busy!
Entering the parking lot where the event is held, I roll in behind a caravan of 15 McClarens and the photographer asked to take my pic. Imagine that! Great turnout of super cars, hot rods, customs and everything in-between. 
Click on pics to enlarge.
El Guapo in the HOUSE!!!
Nice array of photos Jim !...........Bruce
Same here, Jim.
Even in sleepy Sacto, the local C and C posted this drone video of a record turnout, (after clouds and threats of rain last week).
And Jim, it's not just the appeal of your car that draws the photogs.
It's your naturally curly hair.
Everyone was out today
“el Guapo in the air 👍👌🤘” everyone itchy to get out after long winter.
Nice, Jim.
Bob: IM S6 posted:
@Bob: IM S6 they are custom wheels from Chris Coddington, I refer to them as knockoff Knockoff's. Carey orders with his specs so need to worry about offset etc. Mine are 16" and I'm running 185 tires, he tried 195, there was just not enough room. IIRC they are very light but cannot remember exactly the weight @chines1 anything you want to add. I will try and snap a picture of them without the knockoff cover.
@Bob: IM S6 if you call Henry I believe he ordered those for someone else and had them with the spindles on one car. He had sent me the picts of the car when I was looking for wheels for my car. Whatever size, finish, offset is all available.
The real issue for us guys is the crazy exchange and HST.
El Guapo, I am in envy.
I went to a show at Boston's Museum of Transportation a couple of years back when the New England McLaren club showed up - All five of them. 
Just out of curiosity, how far do you SoCal guys drive to get to a C&C like this?
I draw the line at about an hour, one way, but we only have one Cruise night in New England that I know of that typically gets 2,000+ cars - at the Patriots Stadium parking lot. The open C&C at the Museum of Transportation is second and has a cut-off at 600 cars (all they have for lawn space) but unless it is stellar weather they'll get 2/3'ds of that or less. The close one that Chris and I show up at gets maybe 20 cars, tops, and the average at others around here is maybe 40 - 50.
Gordon...They are all over the place every weekend all year. I too, limit it to about an hour drive. Early morning out here on weekends usually gets you a long way in an hour. Some of them are bigger on the first sat or sun of a month.
The Pomona Swap Meet at the Pomona Fairgrounds (Where the NHRA Winter Nationals are held) assembles every two months all year. This one is huge and has not only cars and new/ used parts for sale but "Corrals" (and marked as such for different makes ) to just show your car. It costs $25.00 to get in and park in a Corral but then you don't have to walk 1/2 a mile from the general parking lot to the ticket booth to get in plus pay for parking. This means it costs $5.00 more but you can bring a friend too, for free. All my touchee-feely car parts and component shopping is done here. Example: Test out by hearing, 20 or more different horns. The girls and the Beer are good too ! Especially in the Summer !...........Bruce
aircooled posted:Gordon...They are all over the place every weekend all year. I too, limit it to about an hour drive. Early morning out here on weekends usually gets you a long way in an hour. Some of them are bigger on the first sat or sun of a month.
The Pomona Swap Meet at the Pomona Fairgrounds (Where the NHRA Winter Nationals are held) assembles every two months all year. This one is huge and has not only cars and new/ used parts for sale but "Corrals" (and marked as such for different makes ) to just show your car. It costs $25.00 to get in and park in a Corral but then you don't have to walk 1/2 a mile from the general parking lot to the ticket booth to get in plus pay for parking. This means it costs $5.00 more but you can bring a friend too, for free. All my touchee-feely car parts and component shopping is done here. Example: Test out by hearing, 20 or more different horns. The girls and the Beer are good too ! Especially in the Summer !...........Bruce
Please let me know next time you are going to the Pomona Swap Meet.
We have some interesting swap meets coming up, but they're all over the place: Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and then the big Hersey meet in PA (6 hours one-way with your foot init). Most of them are topical, like Hot Rod stuff or British stuff or German stuff. I might be hitting the Vermont one in the O'Brien Truckers "Super-Swift" (that's for all you ancient Car and Driver buffs), as Dennis bought a DeTomaso Pantera last summer and wants to return a ride I gave him in Pearl. Kind-of the same blue that Lane is considering for his coupé.
OK Tod......I will...it will be in May......Bruce
There is a Cars & Coffee or some kind of car gathering every day of every month in SoCal. As an example, I've attached a link to a site that lists most of these events on their page.
http://socalcarculture.com/events.html
My drive to the C&C in San Clemente is 20 minutes. If you are on FaceBook, search for South OC Cars & Coffee. Check out their albums of pictures, sensory overload!
@MusbJim every time I go to C & C in OC is always sensory overload. I wish we have the up North. Specially the quality of cars OMG 👍😎. Nice picture. Keep them coming.
Gordon, even out here in the sticks (400 miles from L.A.), where we have to shoo the cows out of the mall parking lot before a car event, we don't have to travel far to find one.
My local is less than 10 miles away, and there's another about 15 miles down the 5. We get about 150-300 cars every week. Then, there's the 'European only' event once a month that rotates venues within about a 30 mile radius.
Not to mention practically weekly car shows, cruise nights, and swap meets, in season. If VW runs in your blood, the 'Bugoramas' (two a year in Sacto) have enough stuff that you could probably buy all the parts for a complete bug, build it in the parking lot, run it in a few drags, and drive it home.
We grow so many car dudes locally that we can afford to be persnickety about who goes where.
There are enough gen-u-whine 356's here that dose guys broke off from the PCA and started up their own upstart startup. They had to think up a whole new secret handshake. They now have five northern Cali chapters, the closest of which meets monthly about two miles from my house. (That reminds me, I've got to park my car with the clown sticker in the parking lot during their next breakfast meeting and video their reactions as they leave.)
The Kali Kar Kulture just pervades the whole state, fer sure. On any weekend, everyone is there, just waiting for me. There are plenty of Stingrays and XKEs. In most states, you have to register to vote as a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent.
Here, it's Ford, Chebbie, or Import.
Sacto Mitch posted:(That reminds me, I've got to park my car with the clown sticker in the parking lot during their next breakfast meeting and video their reactions as they leave.)
@Sacto Mitch, Marie Callender's on Sunrise. First Sunday of the month 9am, I believe. They're a great bunch. I've been a few times and paid my $15 dues for the newsletter. I'll hit you up next time I'm on the way.
Brake lines will need to be made and I have no idea which tool set to buy. Any recommendations?
You can probably skip the bender but get a good flaring tool and practice a bit before doing yours. Also, learn the difference between a double flare and a bubble flare. You can do both with that took pictured but you need to do the right flare for the fitting you're fitting it in. Examine what you take out carefully, then proceed.
Double bubble flares are a real PITA to get right w/o spending large money for a quality double flare tool. Best to measure and pick up the hard lines at your local auto parts and if a bit too long be creative bending the excess so that it looks like it belongs in the lines.
As the guys in the brake shop always say, "Double bubble: toil and trouble."
Ed, I've always wondered where English majors find work.
Todd. Go online and look for Imperial Eastman double flaring tool kits. and tubing benders. The 3/16" Eastman tubing bender is what I use on VW. I bought my tools about 50 years ago and they still are working fine. Follow the directions, practice a few times first. OH....don't forget to put the flare nut on first before you flare the tube !!!!
Everyone has done it at least once....me more than once. Lastly don't put a bend in the tubing too close to the flare nuts. You'll know what I mean when you do this once !!
About buying tools... The wise people on here will tell you to always buy good ones. You will pay more but only once. Stan has a slogan that relates to this and is well said......Bruce
2 x to put the nut on before you flare, been there and done that too :~)
Imperial Eastman is professional pipefitter quality stuff. Be prepared to be shocked at the price. I've got 3 trucks with full set-ups, but then again- I R a pipefighter.
Alan Merklin posted:2 x to put the nut on before you flare, been there and done that too :~)
And put it on facing the right direction! 
Stan...What is it ? Buy once - Cry once ? Alan.....X2 for me and the nut on in the right direction too ! I bet that's why a good tubing cutter has that groove in the rollers ............Bruce
Sorry Robert...Got you mixed up with Alan.......Bruce
Anybody out there use Thorsen "long shank" combo wrenches ? That's the oldest tool set in my box. I bought them when I was in High School. Some of them are pretty worn and even the chrome has flaked off. I Just hate to throw them away.........Bruce
When I did my last CMC I looked at the tooling price for a bubble flare and said "no way!" Found a brake shop nearby where, after I showed him a photo of Pearl he agreed to make any end flares/bubbles I needed.
After buying the stock VW sedan kit, all I needed were a couple of ends done to allow me to put a residual valve in the line going to the rear. THAT is fit in right beside the driver's seat and has flared ends, not bubbles, after you cut that long line going to the rear, remove about a foot and flare the ends.
Total cost was under $20 bucks for the two flares (better than I could have done with a hand-held flaring tool), plus the cost of the VW brake line kit. Lot cheaper than buying the flaring tools.
It gives me a touch of faith and a warm feeling knowing that I am not the only soul that manages to to dumb stuff things up now and then ( close the jaws on your vise unknowingly your shirt gets caught and then turn and walk away )
