MOONEYES ANNUAL OPEN DAY WAS A BLAST

Well, going to Norwalk Blvd and stopping outside the famous Open Eyes, has always been a cool thrill for me, so much Hot Rod History in that little Yellow building and here we are again for the huge show that generates so much excitement and popularity, that I hope one day Shige can buy next door and make this an even bigger event.

I have been attending these shows since I moved here from other shores back in 2000 and to go to this show is a superb social event for me, some people I have not seen in years but also some people I have seen the day before, this is a fun family atmosphere with Genuine interest in our “Hobby”- ” Lifestyle”

The sun seemed to be up early today and as I kicked the Royal Enfield into Life, I could feel the beads of sweat running down my face like I was about to be shot out of a Circus cannon into an awaiting Net, that was made of wet paper .  But the Royal Enfield jumped into life, ticking over like a well oiled sewing machine, I clunked the gear shufter into first and it ubruply Grinded into the gear and then it was go time, Revs up, Clutch out, arse down, elbows up and I am now off to Norwalk , with Blues skies and a full gas tank, life seemed to smile at me, as to say. ” Go on son, have a brilliant day.

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Well, as I took the back streets, it took maybe 10 minutes for me to pull into Norwalk Blvd, and slowly but surely I could see Hot Rods, Customs and every kind of style of machine on either side of the road, as I pulled up to Mooneyes, I was ushered into the driveway, where upon I was blasted by the sounds of the 50’s, some fella playing a stack of platters and I was digging the vibe Daddy’O!

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I took my Brain Box off and was Greeted right away By the Manager, Chico, such a genuine bloke that I have known for over 17 years now, he welcomed me and thanked me for attending, how nice is that? Don’t hear that much these days and it goes a long way in my book. ” What book is that I hear you ask?”  The book of Pleasantries!

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Man! Was it hot, not even 10:15 it was Hotter than the inside of a Pizza oven on a Saturday evening.  But I was here and there were a ton of like minded souls there, soaking up the Sun, the Sounds and all the cool vendors and machines that adorned this infamous place for a Custom Couture that I dearly love.

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I left my Brain Bucket sat on my bike, another cool thing with Mooneyes is its a safe place and I love that trust ethic at a show, very rare indeed.

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The next person to take time out of their day was the owner of Mooneyes and a super friend of mine.

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SHIGE SUGANUMA:  What a fantastic Bloke, flys over from Japan to meet all his Customers and genuinely take time to see how you are and ask about how things in the business and life is going, a rare find these days.

With more and more people pouring in, I wanted to get around and try and take a few snaps with my phone, not an easy task as so many people darting about but, I wanted to try and share with you lot what I did today, as many like my Blogs etc.

I walked along to the Vendors and wanted to say hello to my mate Keith Weesner, such a superb artist, always has time to say hello and another bloke I have known over 17 years now and as crazy as I into Hot Rods and Art, maybe even more so.

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So many rides parked all over the place, it was fun walking around, talking to people and checking the latest machines out.

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I bumped into my mate Big Dan from the Dynotones, these guys are the best 60’s Surf, Instrumental band anywhere, they rock it 24/7, try and ctah them at one of their gigs.

http://www.dynotones.com/

I saw so many rides there today, everything from Nostalgic Hot Rods, to Metal-flake Kustoms, it was great to see other rides that I have never laid my eyes upon and everybody seemed to be having fun.

 

If you are ever in Sunny So Cal, check Mooneyes out, they have all you need for your ride and what a historic trip down memory Lane you will have.

http://www.mooneyesusa.com/

 

As the day got hotter, it was time for me to do another quick walk about and say high to friends and cross the road to see vehicles that hugged the kerbside and boy was there some neat rides there.

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So, here is to the next event, this show is on until about 3-4 pm so go check it out, so easy to get to off the 5 freeway for Cars and Bikes, this has it all.

Check out the workshop too.

Hope to bump into you at this event next year, have a great weekend all of you.

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ANTIQUE NATIONALS FONTANA May 2017

Well, it was that time of year already, I almost forgot it to be honest and as Jennifer was washing her Motorcycle, I loaded up my Camera and jumped onto my Triumph and headed off to see the cool Drag Racing that will be going on at Fontana drag Way .

The Sun was out and so was I, I flew up the 57 freeway, then the 60 and then the 15 and then headed to Fontana, took me about 50 minutes and was great to see many Hot Rods and Customs lined up at the staging Lanes as I pulled into the event.

I have been going to this for 17 years, this was the 47th Annual Meet and a perfect day for racing.

Once I unloaded my back pack, I had my trusty camera in my hand and walked the Pits to see what we had this year, plenty of great Nostalgia vehicles all over the place, its like a candy shop for the eye, seeing peoples rides that they chose to drive up to this part of Southern California and have a go at hitting the loud pedal on the 1/4 mile drag strip.

People from all over had turned up, I spoke to a fella from Western Australia, and then saw a bunch of guys wearing Flying Norwegian’s tee Shirts, had a chin wag to them and they wanted to come and check the place out, as they had flown in to race at El Mirage Dry lake next week with their Belly Tank racer, which was stuck at Customs, awaiting clearance, so a Great Experience for them for the first time.

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I never tire of this event and the reason is the weather is usually always good, the cars and bikes are fantastic to see, and also everybody is happy and wiling to talk to you about what they are up to and what their vehicle is etc. A totally cool event with a great vibe, fun for everybody in the family too.

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The other thing I like about the Fontana track is that you get close to all the action of racing, you can sit in the grand stand or stand by the fire lane and watch along the fence, you can see, smell and hear the Vintage Flatheads or the Hilborn injected Hemi’s as they hit the Loud button when the lights change from double Orange to green.

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The Pits are a great area to see people working on their cars etc, Heck you could even help sometimes, be it pass a wrench, push a car or jump right in and help on the Motor etc.

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I did not do a car count this year as i was so immersed into the event of trying to at least capture some of the rides that were attending this great show, but a nice turn out none the less and am glad that i managed to make it out here to Fontana raceway, this is right next to the NASCAR track as whilst cars was were racing up the Drag strip, you could also hear the roar of a few V8’s on the Oval track getting some lap times in.

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They also have a Go Kart track too that had a race on as well as drifting saloon cars too, so something for everyone and worth the trip up to these parts for sure.

If you are going to visit, I would make sure you take plenty of liquids, some good walking shoes and a hat, as the Sun can really bely down here, plus if you want to walk the whole track side, well you can as the pit area is huge and fun to take your time and have a look at all the vehicles that are there and, to the sound of screaming motors running beside you up the 1/4 mile is something to experience.

 

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I saw my Fellow Compatriot ” Tony Thacker ” Walking about taking photos with Ryan of Hop Up magazine, always a great social event too, best place to catch up with friends and of course make new ones.

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No attitudes, just all enthusiasts and a healthy fun vibe was felt all day. I have always dug the California lifestyle and even though I have been here 17 years, still feels like just a couple.

Below is a few sets of snaps that i took and you can look at your own time, many cool styles of cars and genre’s and I am sure at least something there to make you smile, you may not be able to smell the leaking 97’s, or feel the heat of the Fontana sun burning the back of your neck but, you can sit back with a can of your favorite suds and take in some of the cars that was at this super cool show.

 

 

Plenty to see whilst you are here and I loved it all, it is a relaxed atmosphere for racing and I have been to many race tracks over the years, if you want to just hang out and check things out at your own pace, what better than to come to this event, try and make it next year if you can and spread the word, the more, the merrier.

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A Little bit of everything for everyone here in SoCal and I love the coupes, Roadsters, Sedans, Tudors and of course then theres the Gassers and Rails too.

I loved them all to be honest and already looking forward to next years event and hopefully can drive up in my Flathead powered 28 Roadster. Check out these rides below, just take a look at that Tri-Powered 4 banger Three Window Coupe. Really a rare machine these days and thats what I like about the Antique Nationals as there are so many Nostalgic rides here to look at close up.

So much cool Nostalgia to see, I was sure glad I had ridden up today to check this event out. I should of taken a few more but after a while, I simply forgot what car I had taken a pic of.

I am certain that you have a favorite amongst the snaps that I took on this Saturday and, if you can make it for next years event, I know you will be smiling all weekend. There is a constant running of motors, the sound of laughter and the announcer is pretty cool, letting you know who the driver is and what car he has brought to race etc. So look below as I have quite a few photos, but I wanted to share all I saw with you.

I took as many shots as I could until my battery ran low on the camera and hope that at least some of them grabbed your attention.   The Branch Family  ( Above )had a Blast too.

I know a lot to look at, so you can imaging how I felt walking around taking this all in again for another year, this seems to get bigger and better at every event and next year I hope to be driving up to the Drags in my 1928 Model A Roadster and join in with everyone.

 

I wish this was a two day event to be honest, then I could take my time and take it all in, time flies faster than some of the 1/4 milers when you are here but a full weekend would be a blast.

I am partial to Model A’s and loved this as it sat in the pits, great look to it.

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Cool 28/29 Roadster with the 4 banger, how Nostalgic is that with 16 inch skinny Bias Ply Firestones and an angled windshield, gives this a Period look.

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Body work is great, hope mine looks half as good when I remove my fenders this month and get a few miles under its belt.

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39 Tear drops, louvered Rumble seat deck lid and Moon discs, set this apart for sure.

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Now theres some money sat in a row, not often you see that right?

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So, until Next year, Many thanks for taking your time to see what I got up to on Saturday at Fontana in Sunny Southern California.

 

Mooneyes Christmas Party 2016 Irwindale

I got to work and noticed some fog and gray clouds looming as I opened my shop on a Saturday Morning, but- None the less, today was the annual Christmas Party that Mooneyes host at Irwindale drag strip and it is a not to be missed event for me, mainly because it is an awesome time for me to meet many friends from all over the place and get to ctach up on how they are doing etc.

Pulling the Triumph out onto the Road and firing her up was a good feeling as the trip is only up Three Highways and about a 35 minute ride, although as its close to Christmas now, plenty of traffic and a sharp eye was needed to watch out for cars trying to cut lanes at the last minute.

Time flew by pretty fast as I cruised at about 80 all the way and mostly in the car pool lane, my idea of that is that it is the safest route to take, being that there is a Divider wall to my left, so only things in front of me and to the side have a chance of getting me, as opposed to riding in the middle lane and being open to all and sundrie.

As I pulled off the 605, I could see the line of traffic that were waiting to get into the drag-strip area, I knew that some people had actually arrived at 3AM- for them to get a good space and enjoy the hundreds of Vehicles that attend this Hot Rod and Custom extravaganza every year.

Being on a Two wheeled machine does has its advantages, as I rolled on by everyone and right up to the entrance with no wait at all, and that’s a nice feeling for sure as some of these poor buggers had been sitting a long time in traffic.

As I pulled in to the event I could see the Sea of multicolored vehicles that were lined up similar to a Chinese military show, but that’s the only comparison to that as everyone was smiling, laughing, cooking, drinking and even dancing, and I knew today’s event would be a blast.

Most years that i have attending this show has always been cold, windy and a few ties it has been raining its arse off, and, as I left my shop in the fog, I thought to my self. “Oh no not again” But I was mistaken, as pretty much as soon as I got off my steed, the sun was coming through the clouds and could feel its warmth as I approached the entrance to the show.

 

I have no idea how many vehicles turned up, predominately it was Chevy and Ford, but had a sprinkling of Dodge, Chrysler, Studebaker and even Volkswagen’s were there in many guises.

 

I took about 60 odd photos with my I-Phone until my Battery decided to tell me on that phone that it was time for it to shut down and have a melt down, but I did get many cool shots and wanted to share them with you.

I get many people from all over the globe check my blogs out as a lot of us do not just have an interest in Motorcycling, it covers a vast spectrum of interests from Hot Rodding, Drag racing, to Low Riders and Full Custom Machines.  there was plenty to see and, if you can ever get to Southern California and check out @mooneyeschristmasparty you will be amazed at the fun you will see.

So much to see and I hope you like some of these photos that I have taken, there would of been many more if my battery hadnt died on my phone, but enjoy all of you.

The weather turned out awesome to be honest and I am met many friends that I had not seen for a long long time, so glad that I ventured out to Mooneyes Christmas Show as it never fails to be entertaining as so much is going on there and always different cars, Rods and Motorcycles to check out and people are more than willing to tell you all about what they have done.

So many different styles of machines and to be honest I wish I had enough Battery to show all the drag racing that was going on all day as that was so cool to hear Motors flat out on the 1/8th.

Many of these I have not seen before and it was great chatting to all the owners and finding out what they did to heir ride, where they are from and some even gave me some great contacts for vintage parts etc.

That Green Roadster was a Raffle Car a few years ago at Ventura and boy what a sweet ride that is, the guy who won it only had ONE $20.00 ticket and he won the ride, so awesome.

Next up is my mate Becky Sue from Anaheim Rod & Custom, a really cool Girl and great family and Hot Rod shop, so glad she got to drive her Comet. Great Job Becky!

Few more video’s this time the cars coming down the side of the track after their runs on the 1/8th mile at Irwindale.

Awesome Sling shot as it cackles its way to the pits.