Arizona Auto Auction Week – Judging the Future Classics
My friend Andy Reid was asked to be the chief judge for a new car show here in Arizona to compliment the already crazy week of activities. The show was titled “Future Classics” and the main sponsor was www.classiccars.com, where Andy is their East Coast editor. In a moment of desperation he asked me to help judge the European cars coming there.
The show was held at High Street near the Desert Ridge Mall and was a wild success with more than 150 cars in attendance. Hip hop and dance music was blaring and I got to see a wide assortment of cars, from 930 Turbos to a one-of-three optioned Mitsubishi Starion, (pretty ratty, but pure gold in the owner’s eyes!)
Both “diamonds in the rough” and beautiful custom builds shared the street. After the AZ Concours d’Elegance it was certainly different, but no less fun! The quality and craftsmanship of the work on these cars exceeded many I saw on Sunday and the attention to detail was amazing! You can see the some of the cars on their Facebook page, Future Classic Car Show.
The Best of Show went to John Garza’s perfect resto-mod done on a first generation Toyota Celica (top photo) with a four cam engine swap. If TRD built a Celica, this would be it! So cool! Also of note was an unmolested Saab 900S with less that 40K miles. The Chicago based husband and wife team of Arnie and Lena Press each won with their Dinan Stage 3 BMW M3 Coupe and Acura NSX. Both were absolutely beautiful cars.
I don’t often get to spend time with the “modern” stuff! Hope I get asked again next year.
Read More of My Blog Posts
Stardom Isn’t Easy – My Time in Front of the Camera
For some time now, many of our customers and shop fans have commented that we should have a cable show. I even replied to a request from a casting agent, as I thought hey, this could be fun. Obviously, that never happened and most people I’ve talked to said it’s...
No One Races Alone
A few weeks ago I got involved in an online conversation where someone claimed that the only reason we can’t go racing is that organizers would demand a driver’s meeting, and if we could just do the meeting on our phones we’d be just fine to go racing again. I quickly...
Cars and Stars, The Amelia Island Experience
I’m still recovering from the automotive love fest and spectacle that is the Amelia Concours d’Elegance 2020. It's been held rain or shine for 25 years now. Amazing! Estimates for the first event in 1995 was 2,000 people, I read they expected 20,000 for this year. It...
Breaking The News
Over the past week I had two customer visits from two different types of customers. It got me thinking about the differences between the two, both really nice guys who want work done on their cars. The main difference is that for one, it wasn’t his first rodeo with a...
High Quality Work Won’t Go Out of Style
I had the opportunity to spend time with my friend Tom Yang over the past few days. Tom is a considerably experienced Ferrari specialist and restorer who shares a common passion for doing things right. Tom has a great website you should check out. We’ve shared ideas,...
The 2019 Drive Out and Pop Up Car Show
Our second annual Summer "Drive Out" was great fun, looks like we're on to something here. Great weather, great friends, and some pretty great cars made a fun day at the shop. I need to thank the Sport and Specialty crew, Ken, Ryan, Kathy, Bill, Max, Jon,...
The Sport and Specialty Drive Out & Pop Up Car Show
Reserve Saturday August 10 for the second annual Sport and Specialty Drive Out and Pop Up Car Show. Bring any marque, model, or year of car, but get there. Daily drivers welcome! A Portillo’s catered lunch will be available, along with the usual subs and things....
Updates, New Crew Members, Jaguars, Alfas, and Healey Eye Candy
As official Content Strategist (Internet Guy) and photographer for Sport and Specialty, I get the pleasure of spending time at the shop to catch up on the newest work and meet the newest crew members. This last trip was preceding VSCDA's Blackhawk Classic...
A Winning Blackhawk Vintage Classic with VSCDA
Last weekend was the annual Father’s Day VSCDA Blackhawk Vintage Classic. After a Spring of rain, cold, and snow, it was a real pleasure to get out with a minimum of precipitation and a maximum of track time. Ron Soave and Jeff Poracik did an exemplary job as race...
Engine and Brakes for the Mustang!
What goes must stop. Ryan Vetter got a crucial delivery for Jim’s 1968 Mustang. Now we can do measurements and build arounds. We’re not in British Leyland territory with this one. Make sure to follow the Mustang's progress in our In the Shop section of the...
An Anniversary at Arizona Auction Week
This year marks the fifth year I’ve ventured out to Arizona for the magic of auction week. In 2014 I brought the 100R out to offer at Bonham’s and became smitten with the cars, sights, and people. It helps that I have close family here that I love spending time...
Top 10 Sport and Specialty “On The Road” Cars in 2018 – It’s Been a Great Year
It's that time of year to reflect on our accomplishments in 2018, and it was a great year for us at Sport and Specialty. We worked, we played, we raced, and we even hired a new operations manager for the shop! Things are already looking great for 2019, too.Looking...