A Year of Speedhunting

1 year. 365 days. 8760 hours. 525600 minutes. 31,536,000 seconds.

And we, human beings, are there for all of it.

So, with a population of over 7 billion, and all that time for each person, we can get a lot done.

We're a species that awards innovation, taking the extra step, improving things whether or not they need to be improved.

A year is a good amount of time to get things done, and as a Speedhunter, there are countless opportunities to do as such.

So, let's take a step back, and overlook what I did.



That, was my old bike. I had her for the better part of three years, before I moved to Glendora.

I stayed in Glendora for a week or two, before selling the bike, and buying my first project car: A 1966 Volkswagen Bug.



He was named 'Stinkbug', since my friend called it a 'Lil Stinker' on the right side of the I-10 Freeway. I went several directions with this car, as I had no idea what I wanted it to be. Referring back to the point I made in Grunge To Glory, the feature of VFlush's SR20 Miata, there are tons of these cars in the wild. It's almost a requirement, if not a requirement, to make yours stand out. In VFlush's case, there are just over a million Miatas, spanning four model generations and 28 years out there. In my case, there are 21,529,464 Beetles of Stinkbug's body style, starting in 1938 and ending in 2003.

At first, I installed a roof rack and some Fenton Mags, aiming for that boardwalk cruiser look. Then, I sold the roof rack, removed the old front bumper, and got a big ol' ducktail spoiler, going for the Baja 1000 aesthetic.



During that, I found something on Craigslist that I just couldn't resist: a 1960 Chevy C10, prime for the picking, and at a killer price: three Little Caeser's Hot n Readies, and a case of Budweiser.



She was promptly named 'C10Fold' after the expression 'Ten times greater'.

Unlike Stinkbug, I knew where I wanted to go with this right off of the bat. I wanted a bad ass, loud ass, wide ass truck that'd pull on any Corvette, Civic, Mustang, Camaro it wanted. Hence, the cheater slicks on the rear, the intentional keeping of the patina on the body, the bedless look, and the 454 big block that was being swapped in there before it all went wrong.



I had it all good, until... this happened.



I lost everything in there. Both the Bug and the C10, all the old and new parts I had, everything. Then, I lost my house, and had to sleep on a friend's couch while trying to figure everything out insurance wise, and all.

Then, I won.

I had submitted an application to Speedhunters as a dare from my friend one night, and by some miracle, I got the job.

Then, my great uncle passed away, and I inherited the old warehouse he kept in what is now Downtown Los Angeles.

The insurance money from both cars came in, and that helped cover the inheritance tax, the furniture, and the overall costs of moving in and all.

So, I celebrated by buying a daily driver/project.



A FC RX-7. More specifically, a 1990 base model S2.

I'll admit, this thing was a bit of a hooptie. Blown suspension, half alive 13B (which I still have around, thinking about it.), it goes on.

Now, after sinking a grand total of 14,967 dollars into that same Mazda, it looks like this now.



Whilst I was working on or dailying the FC, I came across another opportunity that I couldn't pass up: a crashed Porsche 911 for 'only' 7,000.



Yeah, she was rough around the edges, but thanks to friends I had made during my time in the Speedhunters team up to that point, the resotration was the least paniful and costly it could be. After taking her for a test drive once the engine had fired back up, she was promptly named the 'Widowmaker.'

I've sunk a good amount of money into this car as well, but, I think anyone who would compare the before and after photos of the car would say it was worth it.



But, enough of what I've done for myself in the past year, let's see how I've affected other people.

My job as a Speedhunter gives me ample reasons to travel the state, country, and even world. As such, my first feature saw me endure the cold of eastern Russia to capture the essence of a Russian teenager's Subaru Legacy. [Read it here!]



Then, I stayed in the state of California for the next four features, from a piece on the shop I was lucky enough to buy my FC's current engine from. [Read it here!]



To possibly the most unique Z33 Z car I've ever heard of, [Read it here!]



To the most wonderfully obnoxious S chassis, [Read it here!]



To the NA Miata with an absolutely wonderful swap, [Read it here!]



Then, my travels took me to Arizona to glance over one of the most unique R33 Skylines in our borders. [Read it here!]



And, most recently, I traveled to the home state of Nirvana, Washington (State) to look over quite the Volvo wagon. [Read it here!]



And all of these cars were amazing to travel to glance over, talk with the owners, and more! These trips really reminded me of really how diverse our wonderful little hobby is. From fire spitting track cars that could push 4 digit horses if they wanted, to humble home town heroes built with parts from the local salvage yard, they're all great; I love them all (some more than others, I will admit. No car guy is without their preferences.)

All in all, it's been one helluva year for me, and I'm quite excited to start a whole new one, and see what exciting adventures will lead in this one.

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