Hoping to see you at SoCal Vintage!

[Alexander]

 

8 hours ago, SydneyTii said:

Nice wheels by the way mate, look great on early cars.

Thanks, they are German Ronal Kleeblats in 5 1/2" x 13". My Grey car also wears period English Cosmics in 5 1/2" x 13".

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Alexander

[Alexander]

On 10/31/2023 at 8:42 PM, Alexander said:

Count me out.

 

I'm not going to bother and drive the 8 miles across the San Fernando Valley to the Sepulveda Flood Basin, where Woodley park is located.

Well, I ate my pride and showed up after all, but I didn't bring any of my cars. An old friend and 02 enthusiast  whom I met back in 1982 gave me call, and I met up with him at the show and saw some other old friends. I was only a 17 year old kid with my first 02, a 1968 1600-2, driving across town when this guy stopped next to me at a stop light in a car identical to mine. He said the local chapter of the club was having a get together in Hollywood. And, I followed him down there where I met some of the locals. It was a small gathering and some of the guys were selling parts. I distinctly remember a guy selling the bottom pad to the very early 66-67 dash for $5. It was in excellent shape with no cracks.

 

That was in 1982,when I purchased my 02 for a mere $500 and drove it home. It was Manilla with the two tone chocolate brown / black interior. And, it had some dings along both, the passenger and drivers side doors, but no visible rust. The car was all stock. I drove that car as basic transportation through college and beyond. And, I saw a nearly identical car at the show today, a 1968 1600-2 in Chamonix, just a little lighter shade of white from Manilla. But, in addition to the door dings and a ding to the nose grill, it also had some serious rust issues in the doors  and along the rocker panels. It was for sale with a price tag of $14,500.

 

This is one of the reasons I don't like coming to the  shows. Who does this hobby represent these days ? $14,500 ? Are you kidding me. But, this is still a bargain compared to a Porsche 356 or 912 in similar shape.  Porsches have gone off the charts in appreciation. During the early 80s you could have picked up a 356 or 912 in clean condition in the $2K- $3K range. I personally can't stand breathing the same air as some of the local classic Porsche folks and much of the classic car community these days; snobbery, attitudes, etc. That wasn't the case in 1982 where you were more often ridiculed for driving a "Volkswagen Porsche" such as a 356 and 912. 

 

In the pic below I'm at a gas pump in 1886, at age 22 with my $500 1968 1600-2 near my school at the time. I was probably getting fuel before driving back home across the Sepulveda pass , I had thrown on some ill fitting Apache gold wheels I had laying around. Notice the price of Premium fuel. The camera captured the moment when I had pumped 6.525 gallons for $6.84. That's $1.05 per one gallon of Premium octane name brand fuel at a gas station in the Sepulveda Pass which bisects Bel Aire from Brentwood, two of the most expensive neighborhoods in Los Angeles. In other words this was the high range for the price for fuel. These were the days when you can find a clean tii for $2,500. A clean NK 1800ti in running condition was in the $500 - $1,000 range. The salvage yards were littered with 02s and NKs. Most went to the crusher, fully intact.

 

So what am I supposed to say to somebody selling a dinged up and rusty 1968 1600-2 beater for $14,500 ? Can you blame people for trying ? I don't know, but I can no longer relate to any of it. It's all become BS as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Alexander

[Schnellvintage]

Alexander (Slav),

The devaluing of the dollar (federal reserve script) is what you're experiencing.  

It's not the people or cars.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Schnellvintage
added info

[FunElan]

 

Glad you still had a good time hanging with Jack and the Isetta. I went to take a photo of the Isetta and boom, there you were. 

[Alexander]

My God ! Do I really look like that ?

The camera put on 20lbs !

It must be the camera angle.

I'll never hire you as a photographer.

I've attached a better recent pic. I'm "VAIN".

Time to go on a diet plan.

There is no way I'll come out to another public venue looking like that.

I'm still stuck in the 80s and thinking I look like I did in 1986.

Not only that, I'm thinking I can still score a clean 1600 for $500 - $900.

And, go to the self service salvage yards and find 02s, NKs and Alfas.

Recently I found out my favorite local self service yard has been closed for at least 10 years ! What ?

And, I still have their price list photographed in my mind.

No wonder I can't relate to the new generation. Who are these people paying $30K for their 02s and asking $14,500 for rusty 1600 beaters ?

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Alexander

[OriginalOwner]

I saw you there wandering around.

 

And we were sorta/kinda "twins:"   you didn't drive any of your cars and I didn't drive my '74tii.  

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

 

[72pdx02]

3 hours ago, Alexander said:

My God ! Do I really look like that ?

 

 

I'm still stuck in the 80s and thinking I look like I did in 1986.

Not only that, I'm thinking I can still score a clean 1600 for $500 - $900.

 

No wonder I can't relate to the new generation. Who are these people paying $30K for their 02s and asking $14,500 for rusty 1600 beaters ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel the same way. I didn’t make it this year. I chickened out. The thought of driving my 1600 up the 5 from SD put fear in me. I’m envious of everyone who made the long commute. My car barely leaves the garage. I’ll need to get it out more to build confidence I guess. I hope someone will share photos soon. The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last. 

 

[bublinki]

Hey Alexander,

Why do you have a photo of a young Charlie Sheen standing next to a Chamonix '02? 😮🤣

Your comment on the photo is too funny! Sometimes at work, my patients and I reminisce about our "younger days" when we looked so different(translation: Good!). I tell them, these days sometimes I look at myself in the mirror in the morning and ask, "What happened to you?" and I cannot stop laughing. Ageing is a bitch, but it is gonna happen.

I have been trying to make the vintage for over 17 years, but marriage, kids, life has always gotten in the way. Ha, ha, ha.

Maybe next year...

Cheers "Slavs".

Philip

[bmw_e30]

i want to get rid of that popcorn ceiling.....

[Tdh]

Man, I’m a little sad that I didn’t make it this year. I stuck around the east coast and did a rally with my youngest son as the navigator. 

[Alexander]

34 minutes ago, Tdh said:

Man, I’m a little sad that I didn’t make it this year. I stuck around the east coast and did a rally with my youngest son as the navigator. 

It wasn't a very large turnout like during the pre-COVID period. But, the weather was nice. I was the only person at the park wearing 3 layers of clothing because I was trying to be incognito.

[Alexander]

8 hours ago, bmw_e30 said:

i want to get rid of that popcorn ceiling.....

About 5% - 10% Asbestos !

But, brake pads and clutch disks are more like 60% asbestos, or at least they were until recently.

[Alexander]

On 11/5/2023 at 7:25 PM, bublinki said:

Ageing is a bitch, but it is gonna happen.

I have been trying to make the vintage for over 17 years, but marriage, kids, life has always gotten in the way. Ha, ha, ha.

That photo was taken at the crest of the Santa Monica Mts. on Mulholland Drive, separating Bel Aire and the "West Side" from the San Fernando Valley. I commuted to school in my 1600 in dense traffic 90 minutes to cover a mere 25 miles in just one direction. And, at the end of the day there was the return trip back home.The university had 30,000 undergrads and another 30,000 employees with parking spaces available to 10,000 students,only. Parking for non-residents was prohibited in Holmby Hills except in a small park a mile from school or further down in West LA . So, I walked the last mile from the park. I got so tired of it that I just started sleeping in my car and going home for the weekend. But, when you're 6' 3" the 02 gets pretty cramped for sleeping. The construction work on Aaron Spelling's mansion awoke me in the morning. You can pull off looking "good" and being broke at 22, but not at 58.  

 

It was a different time and world back then. I worked on my car at my family's residence over the weekends. Driving it really got all of the bugs out. Once you go through just about everything, it's a very reliable car. Most of the parts were dirt cheap, and the junkyards were littered with these cars. 

 

The School of Architecture at the University only had a graduate program. But, as an undergrad I walked in one day just to check it out and ask questions. There was a 1967 1600-2 in Florida, parked nearby. "Maybe, I'll also talk too the owner of that car" I thought. One day I was talking to a staff member in one of the offices about the program etc. She was very nice and helpful, explaining the car was owned by the Dean. But,when he walked in he was such an A-hole, making disparaging comments about me etc. how dare I disturb his staff, blah, blah, blah. Then about 15 years ago his car popped up on the FAQ. I immediately recognized it. The A-hole must have croaked. And, the new owner confirmed that the car, indeed, once belonged to the Dean for the School of Architecture at UCLA. In the end, I got the last laugh. 

Edited November 7, 2023 by Alexander

[mr-blazer]

5 hours ago, Alexander said:

And, the new owner confirmed that the car, indeed, once belonged to the Dean for the School of Architecture at UCLA. In the end, I got the last laugh. 

 

Great L.A. story.

[Alexander]

On 11/7/2023 at 5:32 AM, mr-blazer said:

Great L.A. story.

I got a lot of those stories, all with my 1600s which I continued using as a main source of transportation around LA and Hollywood for nearly 40 years.

 

I crashed Leonardo DiCaprios's New Years Party in 2000 with my 1600. The security thought I was Matthew Perry and allowed me in. But, the real Matthew  Perry was there as well. I stayed away from him hoping to remain undiscovered. At one point an intoxicated entertainment attorney tried to stuff me into a limo with some ladies. "I don't have blue eyes and this guy will sober up at some point and recognize me as an  imposter" I thought. So, I got out of there.

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by Alexander