This past weekend my racing friends and I took a trip to the Los Angeles area to “piston vista.” Thursday and Friday were each packed with classic car museums followed by splashes of gin and tonics to help us tell exaggerated racing stories. Saturday was to be a low-key day, thus allowing us to prepare for the telling of more race stories that evening. Our morning plan was to visit Autobooks…nothing surprising and nothing exciting…just a bookstore.
Autobooks is a small place but I soon realized it has a large influence in the automotive domain. You might have seen it on tv shows like Wheeler Dealers where Mike and Ed arrived “unsuspectingly” to a rousing crowd. They often host author signings, well-known drivers, and car gatherings. In a few weeks they will host Ed Iskenderian, the founder of Isky camshafts…yes, that Isky!!! They really go out of their way to support and promote car culture.
We were greeted by the owner at the front who gave a hearty hello and an invitation to partake in coffee and donuts. I love donuts…so this was already turning into a great moment. The patrons were all normal car guys in that they were very approachable, very interested in anything related to cars, and apparently just as fond of donuts as I am. I was soon amazed by their book and magazine selection. I am certain that just about any car guy could find an interesting book to add to their collection. For example, I found a great Austin Healey 100 originality book, one that I wanted to purchase well before this trip. Being a relatively small car marque I never expected to see this book or the 1/2 dozen other Healey related books. This is a true gem in the world of automotive places that must be visited. This turned out to be a great moment.
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Then we walked outside!!!! A wonderful Excelsior Henderson motorcycle with an equally wonderful old looking sidecar turned toward the store, made a large elegant u-turn, and slowed to a park (these bikes don’t stop as much as they just slow down). Given that Autobooks didn’t host a car show that day, we were overjoyed to see classic machinery. Even better, the sound of that machinery was like a symphony whose players were valves, pistons, and gears…each contributing a unique sound that harmonized into something akin to music…music to teh ears of a car guy.
The rider pulled off his helmet to reveal a wild head of gray hair. Was this a crazy person? Should we approach? Absolutely, this person appeared to be the essence of piston vista!! This crazy guy was amazing…very approachable, easy to talk with, incredibly knowledgeable…dare I say a car savant!! My friends and I talked with the rider for about 20 minutes about motorcycles and about cars and about life. My friends and I extend a big thank you to this guy for a wonderfully normal conversation that made a another great moment.
Thank you Jay Leno.