CHAPTER THREE: PEBBLE BEACH
The only surviving 1919 Miller TNT. Body is cast
aluminum. Harry Miller and Fred Offenhauser built the Leo Goosen-designed 183”
DOHC four banger, resulting in 125 HP (they also rebuilt Eddie Rickenbacker’s
blown up Peugeot engine in 1914). Testing at the Beverly Hills Speedway board
track indicated the engine design couldn't produce enough poop to justify a
trip to the Indy 500, which the car had been built for. We still considered it
to be badass.
Racers were scattered around like Easter eggs for us to discover...
The last item on our itinerary was the Concours de Elegance
at Pebble Beach, California. Our job was to get a usable photo of one
particular car that was debuting there, for inclusion in a magazine feature story I’m
working on. A tough assignment, but we gave it 100%. As it turned out,
we didn’t get the shot, but had lots of fun walking through the surreal crowd
that had somehow apparently been astral projected from the 1983 Kentucky Derby. We weren’t
in Bonneville anymore (though we smelled like it). Again, my apologies for some funky photos. Remember, I save the good ones for my work.
They came by land, sea and air
(my helicopter shot didn't turn out), from points around the globe, to witness the most elite gathering
of collector cars ever. Most left with lightened wallets and satisfied smiles.
Various auctions during the week averaged nearly two million dollars per car.
This guy had been pacing us since Wyoming. We even
stayed at the same fleabag motel in Rock Springs. He looked innocent enough,
but we knew it was just part of his ruse. We took him for a CIA agent, or a
buyer for a fabulously wealthy Middle Eastern collector (both use the same
M.O.)…
We ducked into a nearby car wash to
knock off some salt and roadkill. We also cleaned the car while we were there.
You only get one chance to make a first impression.
Historical photo of the Gosson Bros’ triumphant debut at
Pebble Beach. We didn’t ribbon, but took satisfaction in having the only
vehicle driven cross country to compete against the world’s finest. Immediately
after clicking this shot, security personnel escorted us to a vendor stocking
decent tire dressing, where we were released and ordered to use it ASAP.
The people with this snarky Model 40 roadster already had quality
tire dressing applied and were allowed to stay.
How our competition arrived. This is Row 1 (of several)
at the Transporter Field. Cheaters!
Random shots of inspection, prior to one of many auctions at the event.
Woodchip walkways were bordered with this trick see-through printed
fencing. Cool idea.
Decadence was laying around all over the
place. This entitled driver made his own parking spot without incident, while
the GBR HHR was repeatedly moved from legit spaces to make way for cars that
were apparently more worthy. Okay by us – gave us something to do.
This made us grin…
This made us gasp.
All of the manufacturers had giant
displays. Some of the oldtimers, like Cadillac, had fun historical stuff, like
these factory prototypes.
With so many thirsty cars gathered, refreshment is
a must, and pebble Beach has its own. A bit spendy, but nobody in this crowd
complained.
While there was no Hot Rod class present this year, we did find this Lincoln powered Deuce in the art display building.
More Deuce art.
Based on a Bugatti design, these LS powered tributes were
available at Show Special pricing. Dirt cheap, compared to anything else on the grounds.
Did I mention my longtime love of Bugattis? Sadly, I’m
ignorant of the company’s history, due to a life lived wearing hot rod
blinders. But I really dig the styling and engineering. I hereby vow to take a
Bugatti crash course ASAP.
Concours Day is what Pebble Beach is known for,
so we followed the lemmings to the ocean and dove in. Refreshing, yes. Just the
thing to wash the salt and nitro from our eyes.
If you dig Mercers, this was your lucky day. Judging in
progress.
Drag racers at Pebble Beach?! John Bessey and
Donn Vickrey at Competition Classics (in Carlsbad) brought this ’65 Shelby Cobra
Dragonsnake and made our day. Shelby made six of these, but only two with the
coveted Stage III-D competition engine. It sat in Anahiem for 30+ years before
Bessey and Vickrey got their mitts on it. These guys do nice work. They
restored a ’57 Ferrari that fetched 12.4 million bucks and the Dragonsnake is
also expected to get their palms nice and greasy.
I didn’t even know it going in, but I really get off on vintage motorcycles. Get a load of these guys…
This Maharishi shipped a few of his rides to the show
and did well.
Oh yeah. The reason we were there was to shoot Geoff Hacker’s ’47 Kurtis Comet at the debut of the Sport Custom class this year. We can't show you his car here, due to corporate magazine paranoia, but here's Professor Hacker, sharing documentation with show judges
after a grueling tow from Florida. He was extra crispy, but didn’t complain
once. This weekend was the fruition of a decades-long ordeal to have Pebble
Beach recognize Sport Customs and they were very well received at the event.
Congrats, Geoff!
Some of the other Sport Customs at the Concours…
And with that, our work at Pebble Beach was done. We were humbled, inspired, honored and baffled, all at once. We shot
this image on the way back to our secret media parking spot, then headed
north to Oregon.
A short 12 hours later, we pulled into my driveway to
enjoy a view of my neighbor’s entry for this year’s Burning Man festival. For
the record, he survived with minor brain cell damage and a slowly improving cough, but the boat/car (towing a trailer) is hopelessly clogged with alkaline
dust.
