VFA-14, the Tophatters, the Navy's oldest active squadron, they've flown 23 types of aircraft, changed designations 14 times, and operated from 20 carriers and battleships

The military Pit Crew Challenge is down to 2 teams for tomorrows final match, USMC helo mechanics vs USN helo mechanics

See Tere's post of the finals: http://justacargal-s.blogspot.com/2011/09/coronado-speedfest-pit-challenge.html

 take a close look at the above photo, the guy on the right was in such a rush to push the car... he missed and started pushing some other guys head!

Escondido Nitro Night was a blast

Just a couple photos to show you how big the crowd was. This side street is a full block, and between the buildings in the below photos is an alleyway, that is to tell you how large the area is

These are just a a couple of the photos, and none of the videos... they take to long to load, and it's late already.

Speedfest starts tomorrow at North Island Naval Air Station, more racecars, more airplane and helicopter displays, and the "Military Pit Crew Challenge"

 A big variety of factory race cars, NASCAR racecars, entreprenuerial racers, and drifters too

 

 Race cars that haven't been here before were found in the Pits

 and MINI's! About 8 Mini's are going tobe racing in the under 2 liter class (last year there may have been one)

 Wander all over the pits, you will stumble across all kinds of cool things (I found the STIG)

 New aircraft displays!

 the Military Pit Crew Challenge has teams from the Navy and the Marine Corps racing the each other to turn in the fastest time to change the tires and fuel a car... it's for bragging rights, and might become a coast to coast challenge.. totally safe, using water into tanks with pcv dump tubes instead of gas... then reusing the water for the next team. (safe, clean, reuseable)

 

So head over to Coronado Island if you are in San Diego, bothe Saturday and Sunday, and have a great time. Test drive Corvettes or Camaros, see the great big car show behind the grand stands, watch the races, check out the repairs and maintenance in the pits, and spot celebs.... Jay Leno's Big Dog Garage has at least one car racing, I've seen Carroll Shelby here in the past, Adam Corolla races every year... never know what you'll find at the race track

Could only afford to look half stupid, and only replaced one brake light lens

So try to figure out if they bought the drivers side (normal) or the passenger side (stupid)

Doc and Marty went back in time, way way back... The DeLorean has been found

Found on http://holodrome.tumblr.com/

Get to Escondido tomorrow night if you love cacklefests, it's Nitro Night

http://cruisingrandescondido.com/

Learning something new all the time... Plymouth made an SUV.. 1974 to 1981

http://www.mclellansautomotive.com/literature/items/plymouth/b28438-plymouth-1974-brochure.php

this is one of those odd examples of a car company that never made trucks (in America anyway)... like Mercury or Pontiac doing the unthinkable.

Super Stock Dodge, of the B/FX truck variety... 413 dual quad with a fibergalss front end built by Dragmaster, that ran 12.69 1/4 mile

Effing awesome. Similar truck bad assness was the 426 Max Wedge Dodge trucks http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-is-rare-426-max-wedge-in-dodge.html

Why did Dean Jeffries' Mantaray have a 289 Cobra engine? Cool story

Dean painted the first AC Cobra several times for Carroll Shelby.... painting it in different colors in order to fool magazine editors into thinking that many cars had been built... when actually only one prototype was.

So in appreciation Carroll gave Dean a 289 Cobra engine

Below is what it looked like in 1973 from http://www.huffreport.com/archives/oldpics/the70s.htm

photos from http://www.myrideisme.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/701.jpg
and http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/gallery/15647/Dean-Jeffries--Mantaray.html

Barnfind 1958 Gullwing 300SL found is rarer than most, it's one of 29 factory racecars, special alloy metal bodies, plexiglass windows

The owner of the car, Tom Wellmer, had received the new 1955 special alloy M-B gullwing coupe in New York as a graduation gift from his parents. He drove it into the 1970s until the transmission broke.

Then he put the car up on jack stands and began taking it apart. He took the wheels and hood off, the interior out and removed the transmission. And then the car just sat ... for more than 40 years.

Read about the 40 year buried treasure (restored it's worth about 2.5 million)  from a Santa Monica garage on http://www.vancouversun.com/cars/Classic+mystery+solved/5375859/story.html#ixzz1YeLyh6aC  found via an article on http://classiccars.about.com/b/2011/09/20/missing-competition-special-mercedes-gullwing-found.htm

Follow up: Hemmings wrote about this a week after I did, and wrote a good piece that the commentors had a lot more to say, and worth reading. http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2011/09/19/1955-mercedes-benz-300-sl-alloy-body-gullwing-the-ultimate-barn-find/

Mox Miller customized a 1958 Impala right after buying it, but has never driven it, and has kept it garaged ever since

Found in Hot Rod Magazine, June 2011, Sitting Pretty dept

Why go to so much effort to have the coolest car you can make, if you will never in 60+ years ever drive it?

Gasser BMW 2002

Images from http://www.socaleuro.com/forum/showthread.php/51002-Gasser-2002 learned about it in the June 2011 Hot Rod Magazine Roddin' At Random section because Jim L sent in a photo from a car show