Saturday, January 30, 2010

Hot Rods Lead To Porsches

Pits at Bonneville. Photo NHRA Collection


So-Cal Coupe push start at Bonneville. Photo NHRA


Alex Xydias in coupe. Photo NHRA Collection


As the So-Cal Car sits today. Photo, Phil Toy

Some time ago I was chatting with George Taylor, our local Autocross Inspection Chair about a past club member, Russ Lanthorne. I met Russ about 1970 when he was a teacher at La Jolla High School. He had just purchased a white 1967 911S and also a Speedster that he was running at Holtville. Interestingly the 911S had previously been owned by Fred Davies, the owner of Davies Motors, a Rambler/AMC dealer in Pacific Beach. Fred had traded the "S" into Bob Brown Motors in Santee for a newer car. Russ loved that "S", but had racing in his blood...and here is how he got started.

Years before Russ and a friend, who's name was Jim Gray, chopped and channeled a '34 Ford coupe and ran it successfully at Bonneville. The So-Cal Speed Shop founder Alex Xydias saw the car, made a deal for it, modified it some more, and debuted it in 1953 as part of the So-Cal Speed Shop racing team. He immediately set records at Bonneville, where it topped 177 mph and also ran it at dragstrips, turning 121 mph in the quarter mile setting more records. Don Orosco now owns the car, restored it and showed it at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it won it's class. It is one of the most famous racing "Hot Rods" in the world and it all started with San Diego Region member Russ, and Jim Gray.

Friday, January 29, 2010

A Sunday Outing





So, I'm sitting around thinking about heading to the garage to tinker with one of the cars when my lovely wife Monique asks..."Do you want to go to the Antique Show with me?" Hummm...what should I say..., so I blurt out "Sure Honey." Well, you know, what are the chances of any car parts being there...slim to none!
Guess what, boy was I wrong. Quite a few old metal signs, and old automobilia toys...it was cool bringing back old memories. The one thing I came home with, was a Messko tire gauge at about half the price I would have paid at some kind of car swap. What a find...now I'm ready to head back to the next one.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Farewell Monterey Historics

The End of an Adventure
or
The Beginning of an New One

If you're into vintage racing you may have heard by now...the end of the "Monterey Historics", that is, as we have come to know them. The year 2009 was the last year the forger of the famous weekend, Steve Earle will be in charge. The name will stay the same for 2010, but will change in 2011, and no doubt the event will also evolve. SCRAMP will take over the operation of the event starting this year.

A little look back for us now. The "Monterey Historic" Races were conceived and brought to a reality by Steve Earle in 1974 and have continued to this date. The basic idea was to bring out old races cars(not updated) that were no longer competitive running with the current cars of that day. It was to reignite memories of those cars that we saw in days long gone and to create new ones for young people. Who would have ever guessed that in 1974 that idea would fashion an entire week of car events that it has become today. It is without argument, the most prestigious vintage race event in the States and possibly the world.

For us as a local Porsche club, our first adventure to the Historics began in 1977, and we would again return numerous years to the party. For Porsche during these past years, it would be honored three times, first in 1982, 1998 for the 50th Anniversary of Porsche and again in 2009. For those three years there have been more Porsche race cars gathered there at Laguna Seca than any place in history. That brings me to the name that was chosen for that event. It was the "Monterey Historic", not the Monterey Vintage Races. The name "Monterey Historic" denotes the use to promote "Historic" race cars and in some cases famous drivers of the past. It's not the type of racing where someone goes out and builds a race car out of a vintage sports car. They are two totally different things. One hopefully does not go out and trash a historic car to win, winning is not the point, that's not to say racing is not spirited, it is. At the last Historic's I focused two multi--million dollar Porsche 917's rub and push at each other trying to gain the lead. This brought back a time warp of memories how they were driven in the past.

But, lets look to the future. Steve Earle has now turned his full enthusiasm to an event called the "Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival". It is his intention to move a lot of the aspects of the Monterey Hisctorc's to this new home of Infineon Raceway in Sonoma this June 4, 5 and 6. This includes the vendors, car club corrals and more. Hopefully this event will grow just like the Historic's have... it may take some time, but Sonoma/Napa is a heck of a place for a vacation. Us involved in the stuff called Automobilia look forward to a new adventure, fun and another reason to get into our cars and drive them!

 
Here is the link to get tickets.


Monday, January 25, 2010

Rescued From Russo and Steele

As you can see, Skip and Leslie's Carrera Speedster now has a smile on its' face. It was rescued from the auction site with no damage and no worse for the wear. However, they report that many other cars were not so lucky with many sustaining heavy damage as the tents collapsed. The photo was taken at their new shop on Sunday.

It was no doubt a happy homecoming.

The Carrera Speedsters now bring about $300,000.00 on the market. The Carrera Speedsters have a 1,498 cc 4-cam engine producing 100 h.p. with a top speed of 125 m.p.h., and started production in 1956. The most famous of the racing Carrera Speedsters was the Bruce Jennings car. The GT-designated cars had lighter aluminum doors, bumpers, hood and engine lid with some trim items deleted.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

My first Real Post

To start off my Blogging I'm going to tell you about one of our PCA members.

Our Region recently lost a long time member. Pat Scanlan joined our Region in 1968 and was a avid Porsche owner even to the end.

I'll tell you a little about Pat. He was a past Board Member, Concours Chairman as well as hosting numerous Tech Sessions on Concours and how to cosmetically maintain your car. His passion was teaching members of our local club how to participate in and injoy the sport of Concours.

I came to know Pat during the year he joined the club. He took this young kid and said, "Will you Co-Chair an club event with me?"...and I did, my first event that I Co-Chaired.

Pat came into the Porsche world first picking up his 356 in Europe, then moved on to his '68 911L, a 914, a 356 Speedster, a 964, a 911 Speedster and a 996 all of which had the best of home.
But some of my best memories of Pat still to this day are the two years we spent working on the Alan Johnson Racing Team. It was two years of racing up and down the West Coast and making the SCCA Runoffs in Atlanta both years. I think in my mind we had the ultimate team owned by Alan...a team that had low points and high points, a team that within those two years became family all with Pat always there with his integrity, creatively, ingenious way of fabricating what we needed to win. Without Pat...I'm sure our team would not have been the family that it was.

I have lost a true friend, but the Club has also lost a true enthusiast of the "Old School" type. Godspeed Pat.


Last years BOD charged me with the honor of creating a perpetual award in Pat's name as his estate donaed $5000 to our club.

The Award reads:

Pat Scanlan
Perpetual Concours d'Elegance Cup
"Best Porsche Representing Excellence"

This award is in honor of Pat, whose passion in San Diego Region of the Porsche Club of America, was teaching the joys of concouring and to further the enthusiasm of participation in that sport to fellow club members.

Pat was a member of San Diego Region from 1968 to 2009.

In honor of his contributions to the club, it was established and is awarded to the highest placing San Diego Region member in our traditional yearly Concours.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010