Wanna come inside?

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Steve Simmons
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Wanna come inside?

Post by Steve Simmons »

Thought y'all might get a kick out of a little story. Living in Southern California has its advantages and disadvantages like anywhere. One of the perks for a guy like me is being surrounded by a car culture so thick that you can barely cut through it with a knife. It seems that almost every day I'm running into someone who knows or knew one or more legends of the automotive world, or who at least has connections somehow to people I know. Once in a while I’m reminded of just how saturated with “car folk” we really are, and this morning was one of those times.

This morning my wife and I found ourselves dropping off her modern car at a repair shop to have something expensive fixed that thankfully doesn’t exist on my MGs. Just around the corner I noticed a ‘67 Datsun S800 wagon parked beside a ‘68 Subaru 360 Deluxe in the parking lot of an industrial complex. Not one to pass up viewing such rare machines, I stopped to have a look. Just then a fellow drives up and parks next to the MGA I was driving at the time, and we get to talking about the cars. Next thing he says is “Wanna come inside?”

As we stepped into the building we were greeted with thousands of square feet of rare cars from Isettas to Woodies, Jags to Alfas, dozens of micro-cars and rows of early Porsches. There were auto dealer signs, old gas pumps, furniture, antique televisions, even a working vintage kitchen. Turns out this was part of a collection I've viewed before, but this was triple the size with some very obscure stuff. There were cars here that most experts couldn't identify, from Trojans to a whole row of early 60's Fiat Multiplas... and those were ordinary compared to some others! He gave us full run of the place and dared us to squeeze into some of the microcars – Messerschmitts, Isettas, Fiats, etc - a challenge which we gleefully accepted. After an hour and a half of playing, we had to move along to less important things.

What is even more amazing than uncovering a hidden gem like this place is how many of them there are in this part of the country. The buildings are usually non-descript on the outside in order to hide their contents, so you can never tell where these collections reside. Next time you’re driving down a street in Southern California staring at the sides of drab, unremarkable buildings, just imagine what could be lurking on the other side of that wall!

Here is a small sample of the place, taken with my cell phone unfortunately...
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gorms68
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by gorms68 »

A friend of mine has a place like that, on a much smaller scale. You would never know from the outside what was on the inside. He has a few friends in the area with similar buildings too.

This reminds me of the day I was walking home from work. Never would have had this chance if I drove. A fellow I have waved to and passed several times takes a moment to further our chance meeting. Next thing i know I am inside his garage/shop and staring at a whole machine shop, crank lathe included.
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by equiprx »

We have a place around here that is sort of like that, called "The Candy Store". The only difference is, it's members and guests only and no one ever just says "would you like to come inside?" One day I was in the area and the front door was wide open, so I walked inside. After about three minutes someone, from a group that was having a meeting, and was very annoyed, asked me to leave. Even the members I know won't invite me.
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Jimmy
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by Jimmy »

You lucky dog, Steve.
Looks like a great place, especially when I noticed the Jeeps.
In baseball, running into someone is apparently a "collision".
But doing the same thing in a car somehow makes it an "accident".
tdskip
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by tdskip »

WOW!
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Larry Kluss
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by Larry Kluss »

Very impressive, Steve! Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by rally_x »

That's a nice collection. I remember there being quite a collection of vintage VW buses. It looks like things have been rearranged and there are some new cars. I saw it a few years ago when Car Night was held there a few years ago. The collection used to be housed in a few buildings in the valley but now is all in one place. It's a shame that Car Night no longer exists. Almost every Thursday brought a gathering to a private collection like this one.
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Steve Simmons
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Posts: 4107
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:45 pm
Vehicles Owned: .
1937 MG SA Saloon
1946 John Deere AN
1949 MG TC
1953 MG TD
1958 MGA Roadster
1959 Morris Minor 1000
1965 MGB
1967 MGB GT (UK-Spec)
1967 Austin Healey 3000 BJ8
1969 MGC GTS
Location: Co-Nay-Ho Valley
Contact:

Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by Steve Simmons »

Yeah, a lot of cars have changed since I was there last time. Whole areas have been re-done with "stuff" where cars used to be kept, and vice-versa. Back then, he still had one collection in the valley but it look like it has finally all been consolidated into one facility. They are also still moving forward on the Calabasas location.
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Scott Pettit
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by Scott Pettit »

Did somebody say "Jeep"? Whats a JEEP?
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Scott Pettit
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by Scott Pettit »

Did somebody say "Jeep"? Whats a JEEP?
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Jimmy
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Vehicles Owned: '74-1/2 MGB
'76 MGB (parts car)
'52 TD
'71 MGB staqtion wagon
'69 MGB (parts car)
'60 Sprite
'79 MG Midget (parts car)
'63 LBC
Plus, a Turbo S (with a damn roof) in the household.
And three Mercedes on 20" wheels.
Location: NM

Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by Jimmy »

What's a Jeep?
Americas only true sportscar, according to Enzo.
In baseball, running into someone is apparently a "collision".
But doing the same thing in a car somehow makes it an "accident".
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tannyo
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by tannyo »

Steve Simmons wrote:Yeah, a lot of cars have changed since I was there last time. Whole areas have been re-done with "stuff" where cars used to be kept, and vice-versa. Back then, he still had one collection in the valley but it look like it has finally all been consolidated into one facility. They are also still moving forward on the Calabasas location.
Steve,

Do you think you could arrange a viewing for Vintage Motoring?
spydermonkey
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by spydermonkey »

Smile when you say "Jeep"
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max71
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Re: Wanna come inside?

Post by max71 »

Yeah Steve, arrange for all of us to view. That would be sweet. :thumbs:
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