Californian Cars PTII: San Luis Obispo

We didn't go out of our way to see any classics in California but that didn't matter- they are EVERYWHERE! It is such a breathtaking place for car buffs. The pride in some of these old cars is really impressive.

Halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco along the picturesque Highway 1 is a great university town called San Luis Obispo (Or "SLO town" for the initiated) where purely by chance we saw some impressive sights.

Below: First we drove past a Kaiser Manhattan (No I'd never heard of the make or model either- but I've done some reading since!). Check out the original 1954 TV ad for it here. It's funny how the language is different but the message is still exactly the same as the car makers use now.

Around another corner were some classics in a garage.

Below: We remembered seeing a shop which looked interesting the night before as we drove into town. So we drove around town until we found British Sports Classics and we certainly weren't disappointed!

You name it, they have it here. The selection, price, quality and passion of the staff were all a credit to the dealership. If you're ever near San Luis Obispo, make sure you visit.

I thought, why is this amazing shop in the middle of nowhere (kind of). Then it was made clear to me: SLO is halfway between LA and SF and all the car nuts love to drive their motors on Hwy 1 so therefore there is very much a need for a specialist service centre along that favourite route. So there you have it.

There were just so many beautiful machines. Here are just some of our many photos!

In the workshop we got chatting to Phil the mechanic from Birmingham in the UK. The shop's owner Peter Jurgens is a Brit who moved across the pond 40 years ago and is the man to see for British classics and their care.

Seeing hoses and belts hanging reminded me of growing up running around my family's shop A.A.Blatch in Australia. 

They had a huge selection of classic memorabilia, although most was lining the walls.

A sign I never want to see as I'm speeding toward it.

Californians trying to keep their British classics on the road is what keeps this dealership and workshop in constant business. What did they say about new stereos in classic Jaguars? They were fitted with 6 speakers. Two in the front, two in the back, and two under the car for the mechanic.

Just up the road again from British Sports Classics we were drawn to Scotts Shop, a panel beater body shop. Here we asked the panel beater Gary could we take some pics. There was some real Americana parked around the shop so it was great luck we drove past.

You're reading "Californian Cars Part II".

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