Automotive Booty at San Francisco’s Treasure Island

There comes a time in event planning, automotive related or not, when you have that moment of panic. Not the kind due to the fact that coffee stirs at the espresso bar were forgotten, or when seating capacity of the VIP was completely overlooked – it’s the realization that you didn’t plan big enough and the success was more than you thought it could ever be.

Guests start arriving earlier and more often than expected. Head counts and guest lists turn into confusing scribbled notes and your trained staff look at you as to say, ‘this was not discussed in the meetings.’

Characteristics like these are easy to identify with my years of event planning, but even more recognizable when you are on the other side of the fence as a guest. Such was the case for the Cafe SpA staff for their bi-monthly Cars and Coffee event this March. The setting was one to hold a possible record breaking number of cars in attendance, beating previous marks of around 500. Add in the tremendous views of the San Francisco Bay and perfect 75 degree weather, and what we had was a perfect petrol storm.

Partner-in-crime Taylor Wrighton and myself ventured out early Saturday morning from Monterey, taking our recently purchased and restored BMW Z4. This was the perfect chance for us to stretch her legs and work out any bugs we might encounter on a long drive. She drove flawlessly and loved playing in Sport Mode.

Arriving with the first group of cars into SF’s Treasure Island, we noticed right away that there were to be many cars at this event and a lot of heavy hitters. Ferrari, Maserati’s, Lamborghini’s oh my! Not surprising was a healthy diet of all in many different packages, specs and colors with cars coming from the Ferrari of San Francisco show room.

After an hour of taking pictures near the famed 55 foot Burning Man sculpture, Bliss Dance, Taylor and I noticed that the crowd was not only growing, but the cars were backed up as far as the Bay Bridge with no signs of slowing down. Parking lots filled and over spilled into other areas not expecting to support classic and sports cars from owners of all ages. Staff felt that moment of panic- but the ever calm and collected Nickolas Christensen stayed the course, cooled the engines and made over 1,000 cars feel right at home in his backyard.

Mirroring the long time, successful yet recently expired Irvine Cars and Coffee event, Cafe SpA SF has now taken over as the largest premiere pop up Saturday gathering of gear heads in California. Support coming from the very high end super car owners of the Ferrari 599 GTO, Lamborghini Aventador and the Pagani Huayra as well as the BMW Golden Gate Chapter, Mustang clubs and American muscle car lovers- this event has the ingredients to be a longwith-standing assembly of enthusiasts.

The only question now is the where, when and how?

UPDATE: The next Cafe SpA Cars & Coffee SF will be held on Saturday, April 4th, 8-11 AM. Bliss Dance, Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA

Project Restoration: 1982 Yamaha SR 250 – Part 2

Some of the best advice of your lifetime can be lost by a quick tongue or a set mind. It tends to be subtle, so you need to have your eyes and ears open along with your tongue tied back. What does this have to do with a motorcycle? More than you would think, as simple principles in life can go a long way to reaching your car collecting goals.

A few weeks back I wrote an anecdote on a purchase of an ’83 Yamaha SR 250. It was a simple bike purchased simply because of a missed opportunity on the one that got away. A knee jerk reaction to this lost deal that was all but sewn up. What transpired was a cosmetic restoration with a fresh take on a now classic.

Shortly after Part 1 the bike was ‘finished’ in the sense that it was safe to ride, mechanically sound and had a much more streamlined look considering the shape it was in when we bought it. Taylor Wrighton and myself had a few classic California Sunday sundown rides along the Central Coastline before we started discussing the future of the bike. At this point we were 50/50 partners in cost; parts and labor. Both of us enjoyed the bike and wanted to keep it in our fleet, but wouldn’t be crushed if it went to a new home and freed up cash for the next build. This is where that simple advise comes into play.

Although I was torn and seriously considered buying Taylor out of the bike and taking it back to my garage, I remembered a conversation I had with an ex-coworker and dear friend. He said, in order to get to what you really want in this industry, business and in some cases life, you cannot get attached. Buy it, fix it, sell it- then do it twice. That’s how you end up with your dream car or close to it.

It was then we both decided it was time to list it and move on to an even bigger project. But not before it got its close up and beauty shots on a crisp winter day in Monterey. We found some sites organically one afternoon on our way to Tioga Road in Sand City in the waning hours of daylight.

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The bike went to a new home this week, and we couldn’t be happier for our little victory. The new owner couldn’t be happier with the final product, and he was like minded enough to understand our vision. It was s successful puzzle piece in the big picture after countless conversations, late nights and bloodied knuckles. We did what we had set out to do and etched the first notch on our belts, setting the stage for much bigger things to come.

That same friend with the timely advice emailed me not a day after his words helped shape my decision. It was a quote from Henry David Thoreau- “Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.” These words still hold weight today, with me especially.

Project Restoration: 1982 Yamaha SR 250 – Part 1

“So boys, tell me- have you ever witnessed UFOs over the Monterey Bay? No?! Well the trick is having night vision goggles…”

A conversation like this should be of little surprise if you have ever purchased anything off a Craigslist ad. It only goes one of two ways- quick and easy or strange and awkward. This day, we were rewarded with the latter. Let’s back track a little from the UFO guy as I remind you of a post I wrote a month ago about my adventure in the Hollister Hills where I decided I would be looking for a personal road going bike. There was an itch I needed to keep scratching and after much research and soul searching, I had found the type of bike to make its way into my garage. A 2007 Triumph Scrambler was the object of my desire with its 1960s period paint scheme. The perfect transition from dirt to street and novice to Steve McQueen.

Well, sort of. There was the great bike within my budget located in Los Gatos, California, a small Northern CA town ranked 33rd wealthiest city in the United states. Contact was made, a time was set and in my mind this was the only bike for me. Not so fast say the Craigslist gods. On my way up, I got a message saying that the bike had sold the night before. Then comes the 7 stages of buyers grief- shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger and bargaining, reflection, the upward turn, working through, before finally acceptance and hope. We all experience some of these emotions when a deal doesn’t go down right, don’t we?

That’s when my co-pilot Taylor and myself met Don. After three storage units and a dozen basket case bikes later, we thought we had reached another dead end. He then mentions casually about ‘a few other bikes’ in another space that we might be interested in. We were willing to take the ride out to a location that has always been perceived  to be a deserted maintenance shed in Monterey.

After the decoding of a few locks, we finally got a glimpse of promise in our journey for my bike. But again, rows and rows of major projects which included total rewiring, engine and transmission rebuilds, missing tanks, missing wheels and overall rusty mopeds and bikes stacked side by side. Then, as if we were tied to the same rope, Taylor and I saw a bike tucked into the dark.

We pulled it into the light and give her a good look. We had some potential.

Our likely project came in the form of a form of a 1982 Yamaha SR 250, but at the time, we had little clue to its year and story. Neither did the owner. With so many in his collection, Don had a hard time remembering anything about any of them, except whether or not he had a clean title or not.

“Yep, that one is clean. And I never did any wiring on this bike…did I mention I was color-blind?!”

That might have something to do with the night vision goggles was my first thought. No matter, we had agreed that it had promise and would be a fun project to get back on the road. Was it the turn key Triumph I had been looking for that I could take the course and get right on the road? No. But the investment cost was considerably less and our vision for its styling made us excited to load it up with little reservations.

To our surprise, Taylor and I quickly got the bike to turn over and crank after a quick cleaning of the carbs, fresh fuel and a charged battery. She sounded period corrected with its side pipe and it didn’t run too hot before we knew we could work on the cosmetics more than the mechanical. Our bike is still in progress, so check in for part two of this 1980’s moto project!

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*Free Wash Included- 1967 Mercedes Benz 250SE Coupe For Sale

It’s very typical to hear Californians complain about a little weather. Scared and defensive driving is also the norm when challenged with uncharacteristic rain or snow to the area. This is what we have been experiencing on the Central Coast after a two year long drought which has troubled our water resources tremendously. I digress, as this is a story about battling the elements!

On a blustery Monterey afternoon, I received my daily call from long time friend and budding classic car collector, Mike Veitengruber. Now Mike and I have attended countless car events together including this year’s Porsche Parade, the auctions in Scottsdale, Gordon McCall’s Motorworks Revival and even strolled the 18th green at the Pebble Beach Concour d’Elegance. We also may or may not have polished off a few bottles of wine at some of the best eateries in Carmel and Pebble Beach. When Mike says he needs my help, It’s usually a win-win for the both of us.

OK- so we weren’t outside saving kittens from swaying trees, or getting power back to the homes of the masses, but we did shoot pictures for a 1967 Mercedes Benz 250SE Coupe to go up for auction on eBay Motors. This is a fine European example with the rare 4-on-the-floor transmission and some luxury options. 

Some of my favorite features include the correct Euro headlights, stainless steel exhaust and a color combo that any classic car owner would be proud to show off.

The problem on this day was finding a break in the much needed rainfall to get quality photos to post online. With he being in Pacific Grove and me in the Seaside highlands, we had a pretty clear view of the cloud break happening over the Monterey airport where his private hanger is located.

Once we arrived, we started kicking tires of some of his other projects in the shop, paying little attention to our small window of opportunity to shoot the car with sunshine. It ended up being a big wet mistake! Just as we pulled the sporty driver out of the 2,000 square foot building, mother nature showed herself again.

I’m sure it was comical watching two grown men laughing and yelling as we frantically attempted to get images of the car for the thousands of online searchers to see. After getting the essentials, we pulled the car back into the shop to take the remaining interior pictures- and to dry out finally.

By the end of the afternoon we had exchanged details about the car, expectations on its sale price and of course many stories in the meantime. Just before we left, the rain froze long enough for us to capture just a couple of dry shots on the blacktop of the compound. It did look great nestled in-between the hills of Carmel Valley, and I know it will look great in someone else’s garage.

The auction on this car ends this Sunday and can be found HERE.

Happy bidding!