Even though I've known about the "Cars & Coffee" meeting in Irvine CA for a very long time now, I had never previously attended the meet, because it always happens so early on Saturday mornings, and it's so far from where I live. Cars & Coffee started as a meeting of high end exotics, supercars, and American muscle… the original location was at Crystal Cove in the Newport Beach area, but the meet eventually moved to the Ford-Premier Automotive Group, Mazda Campus in Irvine CA.
Going to Cars & Coffee early this morning wasn't originally my idea – apparently there was a bunch of talk on various Skyline websites, including my good friend Jay's (aka DropJay from JDM Ego) blog. Since alot of people on the various Skyline forums were hyping it to be the biggest Skyline meeting in the USA in quite some time, the other Speedhunters suggested that I go, and I agreed. Also, since it was something my friend Jay was promoting, and since he lives relatively close to me, I thought, "Okay, no problem, maybe I'll just cruise out there with Jay and his girlfriend Karen, or I'll just pick up one of my friends, and cruise out around 9am or so, check it out and take some pics. Shouldn't be too difficult, right?" Ahem…WRONG!
When I told my friend I'd be picking him up around 9 to go to Cars & Coffee, he laughed at me and said, "Yeah right man, everyone gets there at 6am, and the whole thing will be over by 9am!" Wait… what? 6AM? Like… in the morning? Since it's in Irvine, it means I would have to leave my house at 5 o'clock AM just to get there in time for the meet! That's just crazy. I don't even leave for drifting events that early, and everyone knows how die hard I am about going to drifting events!
Damn, no wonder I haven't been to Cars & Coffee before – I'd have to leave my house at 5 AM! Even the sun doesn't get up at 5 AM, that's just nuts. When I'm not out of town, I'm usually out with my friends in Hollywood or Downtown LA on Friday nights, and I'm just getting home around 5 AM! *sigh*
But you know… since we Speedhunters are a dedicated bunch, you know I had to make it out to Cars & Coffee to take pics for you guys, with or without sleep. So I cut my Friday night festivities short so I could wake up today at 5 AM, which was only 3 hours after I got home, because I wanted to see my friend Jay, his R34, and all the Skylines at Cars & Coffee. But guess what – I was at the event from the beginning to the end… and even though he was promoting the meet on his website, "DropJay" didn't even show up! Damn, what a flake! He probably decided to sleep in, like I wanted to do.
Haha, oh well, I'm glad I went! I saw alot of real cool cars, and also met the owners of several cars which I'll be featuring on Speedhunters in the future. I honestly expected alot more Skylines to show up, but I had alot of fun meeting the Skyline owners who did show! Not to mention the owners of some of the other cool cars I saw there… I was jocking more than a few stylishly modified Benzos, BMWs, Porsches, and American musclecars that I saw there… I'll definitely be back to Cars & Coffee again sometime soon!
Hope you all enjoy the pics, I'm going to take a nap now!
A ton of guys at the meet were breaking their necks when they found out this S15 Silvia with Super Advan wheels was owned and driven by a girl – Carolyn from MOB Works Autobody!
I love the vintage graphics on this Corvette!
There were so many Shelby Cobra-styled cars at the event this morning, but I didn't have time to go up to each of them to figure out which ones were authentic Shelby Cobras, and which ones were kit car replicas, like Factory Fives or Superformance cars.
OMG. This 1973 Porsche 911 RS is gorgeous. I'm not sure if this thing is an authentic RS, or an RS clone, but whatever… it's gorgeous no matter what.
R Gruppe has old school Porsche RS types on lock! Check the old school flat face Momo Prototipo steering wheel. I have one of those on one of my AE86s right now!
There were too many cars to look at; this is only one row, but I think I counted 8 or 10 rows of different cars, all lined up! Check out this Ford GT and the Pro Touring Mustang fastback…
I didn't drive my AE86 to the meet this morning, I drove a yellow Honda S2000 Club Racer, the third one behind this silver S2000 with Mugen hardtop and Racing Hart wheels.
Check out this super clean Camaro! 1967 maybe? I dunno, but I like it alot.
I love the style of this Mustang!!! From the black hood and front fascia, to the vintage Shelby and Gulf decals to the American Racing Torque Thrust wheels. I dig it.
Super clean, SS, and for sale!
Check this black JZA80 Supra with 19 inch Work Meister S1 wheels, pretty nice. If you look closely, you can see the European-spec hood scoop!
-Antonio Alvendia
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
that supra is gorgeous
gosh is that a street-legal s15?
Love the Grand Sport clone there. Nice! We'll need to do a feature on that car!
Yuppppppp! Street legal S15! She drove it in to the meet, and like I said, the guys were all breaking their necks!
Didn't that S15 belong to Jay Pizarro?....I talked to him a month ago or so, and he said he sold it....a while back....lol
On another note....I bet you, that cops rarely harrass folks at Cars & Coffee; perhaps because the majority of old farts that show up with their prime rides got so much dough.....
On the other hand, everytime there is a Drift Day competition, a Formula D event, or whatever import event is scheduled, cops are always looking for that Asian dude with a fart can on is EG......talking about racial profiling....
no, it's not Jay Pizarro's car. Jay PIzarro's car is light blue now, and it says drift avengers on the side now. it will be at formula d new jersey.
Super hot S15.
that is indeed a 67 Camaro.
I am suprised how i really like the look of the wheels on that supra.
But he sold it right....(unless he's been lying to me....lol).
I swear, that S15 looks like Jay's Silvia (when it was featured on Modified)....
Anyway, nice cars....
guys let's be honest here. there's no street legal s15 here in the u.s., just s15's that are driven under the radar in states where epa/dot laws are not strictly enforced
i dont know the exact details burabuda, but she can drive it on the street, and cops wont harrass her for it, her paperwork is legit. so yeah, i consider that street legal...? no?
Alex, sorry I was half asleep when I was typing your reply... the other way to tell for sure that the S15 pictured above is not Jay Pizarro's Silvia (aside from the fact that I told you it's not, because I know the current owner of Jay's car)... the car in the photos is an S15. Jay's car was an S14. =) Haha
You got me there.....you're right.....lol
I swear I remember Jay's Silvia being silver, with those Super Advan wheels, and the Vertex Ridge body kit and Project Mu brakes.....oh well, nice catch Antonia....lol
Why the S15 shouldn't be legal ? The SR20DET it's not smog legal here in Cali. Maybe she registered the car else where and transfer her licence plate here in Cali.
There are also few counties (left) up here in NorCal that are exempt from smog, so technically the SR20DET would be ok.
The RHD, needs to pass the CHP inspection along with other burocratic paperwork. Let's just say it's a gray area.
a lot of stuff is "street legal"
just depends on how and who looks at it
i just noticed that the yellow reflection off the s15 bumper makes it look like bondo LOL
Thanks for the shot of my 03 Honda S2000, nice to meet you guys, by the way that Black SS was a fake it had a 6 cyc. engine when he opened the hood.
Alex
correct, felix, "street legal" s15 needs to be in quotes
yiso,
that S15 was super clean. the girl who owns it works for MOB, which is a pretty top notch body shop here in southern california. the demo cars they turn out have awesome paint, so it's obviously not bondo - the bumper is an aftermarket fiberglass one anyway (Vertex). the yellow reflection came from the yellow skyline parked in front of the S15! haha
do you guys want to see more cars & coffee coverage in the future? i can't promise i'll go alot, but maybe once every 2 months, i think i can do it...
hi boys... and especially HI ANTONIO!!! it was great meeting ya (again) yesterday, glad you made it out there. oh and thanks so much for pasting my car on here =) next time youre down here i promise well go get oj!! and just to answer everyones questions 1. no my s15 did not belong to anyone here in the states, only previous owner is whoever use to drive it in japan 2. i know this for a fact cuz i was there when my baby just got delivered to me 3. yes its legit, no grey areas and no need for the "quotes" so pull me over n challenge me all ya want but youre just wasting your time =)
i won't challenge you. i'll be too busy drooling
I want to pull you over Carolyn.....lol, I don't think I will waste my time.....lol
hahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa you guys crack me up
That Supra with the Work wheels is was in Sport Compact Car in the USCC (?) event they do every year right? I remember it having a slush box but having some considerable POWA. The S2000 with the Racing Harts looks off to me. They look to "Big" for the car in my unprofessional, completely biased opinion.
Walter I think its just an allusion, because of the way the shot is taken, if you ever get a chance to see my car in person I'm sure you would change your mind..
That's probably true. They look like they are 20's in the picture!
Hey guys I found this link with a bunch of pics of Cars and Coffee.
http://www.pjcruz.com/cc060708/index.htm
I noticed in the pics at least 4 Skylines had a Florida licence plates. How odd is that? And some other from Arizona. The only licenced in California I think it belongs to the owner of SP Engineering (correct me if I'm wrong)....what's gives?
Walter and Silver Shadow:
Hahah that's my wide angle lens making Silver Shadow's car look reDONKulous! It's super wide and makes his wheels look alot bigger for sure.
man cant believe how strict it is over there in cali. to hear that sr20det's are not street legal sux big time.. so does that mean 4age's arnt street legal 2? wat about the RB engines? or the 1 or 2 jz?
That's ok Antonio, I still appreciate you taking the time to take the shot.
outta state plate = not having to pay some douche to test only smog our cars every damn year =)
I have to go through "test only" smog with my AE86s every other year and it sucks! not to mention, my 86s aren't even fast or anything! most of em only have bolt on stuff like TRD header, intake piping, flywheel, clutch, 2way LSD, exhaust, etc... still, since most 86s require test only, it's a major PITA.
i would definitely register my cars out of state if i wasn't so in love with the cool looking cali plate. some states have pictures of oranges and mountains and horses and stuff like that, i definitely am not trying to sport that on my car. i guess i have to deal with the test only smog hassle then, damn.
o true man what a hassle. is that the 4age blacktop 20v? or are you running the 16v? man lucky i dont have to go through that here in NZ we don't have to worry about that, i dont have an 86 but an ae111 with the blacktop 20v, although their starting to get a lil strict on some of the stuff.. does it cost much to have that smog test?
I was thinking about ordering a set of CA vanity plates with the whale tail in the background for the Manga.
Thanks for the heads up Carolyn....:-)
"some states have pictures of oranges and mountains and horses and stuff like that, I definitely am not trying to sport that on my car".....lol
Antonio, you just made my day.....lol
IIstroke, nahh not a 20v, my car has a late model AE92 high comp 4AG, in Japan they call it the kouki kyu-ni engine. not a ton of hp, but it's enough for me.... i like my car looking relatively original. i also have another car with a fully built up HKS 5AGX engine... but that's in a car that doesn't get smogged. that car is a race car, it hasnt even been registered in about 10 years.
haha glad i could make u laugh, alex.
I hate to nitpick but when you title an article "SKYLINES INVADE..." don't you think it should have more than one Skyline pic?
yeah i probably should have posted more skyline pics, but i didnt cause i got caught up talking to carolyn and her friends and a bunch of the skylines started leaving by the time i realized i forgot to shoot pics of them all. my bad. maybe next time.
there weren't many skylines though! man, when i get AE86 meets together, there's TONS of em all over the place... i guess skyline owners are fewer and far between.
oh thats right throw me under the bus why dont ya antonio!!! LMAO i think you forgot to take more pics cuz you were too busy thinking about your orange juice!! ya know what i have pics of the skylines, lemme email to you later that way you can make F3INT(((AP3X happy =)
haha WHATEVER carolyn... i didnt throw you under any bus! lol... but yeah, you missed out on the OJ. that joint is off the hook!!!
well if ya wanna head out this way this weekend lets go get some OJ
Oops! Carolyn, I didn't read your post until just now! I went to Cars & Coffee last weekend with some of my boys, and we DID get OJ instead of coffee... it was so good, it was made from fresh squeezed "freeway oranges" that the amigos sell on the side of the road. awesome.
I just adore your shots .. Together with the fab. Chevelle SS
I just adore your shots .. Together with the fab. Chevelle SS