Automotive Addicts Anonymous meet 3 report

This meet was a whopping success, with a great turnout of cars, killer people, and bbq that kept everybody coming back for more!  I co-hosted this meet with Gollum from HybridZ, and wanted to wait for some pictures to start rolling in before posting anything here.

Some of these cars are obviously driven daily, used and abused, and all the more beautiful for it.  There was a nice sprinkling of rust, worn interiors, missing dashes, and tires reaching the end of their roads here.  This was exactly what I was hoping to see, I just hate when automotive enthusiasts feel too embarrassed to bring their car to a meet because it isn’t “clean” enough.  I say any car that runs and is fun to be behind the wheel of is good enough to bring out and introduce to the other cars.  It’s also a good way to get feedback and recommendations as to how to go about fixing the small issues that do exist.

We missed Craig in his v8 Scarab at the last meet, but finally got to see him this time.  The amount of documentation that came along with this car is quite literally staggering.  From the exhaust layout diagram to the original paint code, it’s all there on paper.  A Scarab s30 is a very special beast, since it’s one of the first designs to put a Small Block Chevy v8 (which really isn’t small at all) into a Datsun s30 chassis.  Realistically, the documentation is worth more than the performance gain and this car is a thing of beauty.  It gives off an aura of history and class that’s very difficult to match.

Some unexpected (but very welcome) visitors showed up in Mini’s!  These two little cars are superb examples of what a Mini should look like, and although I didn’t get to go for a ride in either, I’m certain that they run like they’re on rails.  Seeing the owners hop up and down on the front end barely moves the suspension, a strong indication that whenever they’re driven, they’re really DRIVEN.  I absolutely cannot get over just how small these cars are, the engines and alternators look almost like toys that you’d give to a child to learn the basics of turning plastic wrenches on plastic bolts.  These two machines are pretty serious about what they do though, and I’m sure they’re just a blast to drive around in.

Although I always love seeing well-built Z-cars (especially those with LS1′s installed), the diversity of cars at this meet really won me over.  A couple Toyotas, a Mitsubishi, the Minis, a motorcycle, and even an S13 came.  You’re certainly invited to head on over to the photo gallery and see some of the incredible cars that showed up.   Keep your eyes peeled for event hosting tips, we made a few mistakes with this one that I don’t intend to repeat.  I’ll go over the pro’s and con’s of how it was handled and organized, and go over what we could have done to make it even better.  With some effort, you could become the host of a local meet in your own area, or help to better organize a meet that’s already established.