This past weekend was quite epic. Not only did I attend Radwood SoCal, but I also went to a humongous flea market filled with incredible automotive paraphernalia. Here, have a look.
OK, so the LA Auto Show is upon us, meaning Matt, Jason, and Thomas are out. Lewin is sick, leaving Mercedes and me fending for ourselves, so you’ll have to excuse a rather simple, sub-1000-word blog about the GOLD I found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena. That’s this giant thing:
First, we have the toys; there we many, including a Jeep Gladiator/Wagoneer set! The Gladiator is a cement truck and the Wagoneer is a family-hauler. These things are high quality, made primarily of painted stamped steel. The seller of these two was asking $75 apiece, which is a bit rich for my blood, so I moved on:
Here’s a flatfender Jeep, along with… some kind of race cars? Can anyone identify these two?:
Oh and here are some old Mustangs, a 1960s Cadillac, an old Corvette, plus there’s a whole line of vintage pickup trucks!:
More importantly, what the hell is this?!:
It looks French; I’m not sure why I say that, but it just does.
Oh and check out this amazing Ford Thunderbird artwork:
And behold these cool old traffic signs:
And this INCREDIBLE Raymond Loewy poster. Look at that Studebaker blocking his eyes!:
I did not buy any of these items because I’m a cheap bastard. Instead, what I scored was:
Check it out!: An excellent condition Jeep Gladiator Tonka toy:
In traditional DT-fashion, it’s got a missing front axle, so I have to find one of those. Still, $25! Only five dollars more was this Mercedes mechanic’s coverall:
I know it probably seems random, as I’m not a Mercedes fan, per se. But it was $30, and more importantly: It fit me perfectly and was comfortable. Would I rather it bea Jeep coverall with an “Earl” or “Bubba” patch? Sure. But I’m never going to find one of those that fits me this well, so Mercedes it is!
So that was my day at the Flea Market, and while maybe I should end this blog here, I just have to tell someone else about what I did after the market: I went to a “Sound Bath.”
Yes, that’s what this culty looking gathering is on a hillside in Malibu:
Here’s a little clip:
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I cannot believe how quickly my life has changed from this:
So, the picture with the flat fender Jeep with the push cars, the little black one with the number 30 on the side is a Cox Thimbledrome. Really neat little cars. They were well built and you could actually get a little engine to put in it.
The little mystery cars are tether cars from the 1930s and 1940s. Most were made of pot metal, but some were wood. Most had .049 model airplane engines and the bodies tended to be midgets. You drive a stake in the ground and tie the tether to it and they run around in circles. Folk were pretty fucking simple minded back then I guess.
Ref the two unidntified small cars, they are dirt track midgets. Very popular in the mid-west. See: https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&q=dirt+track+midgets&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Yup, I had the pickup version of that Tonka Jeep (HONCHO!)—with working tailgate. I don’t think I was the original owner, but I loved that thing.
I do remember getting a Tonka car carrier in about 1976 or so: a steel tractor and trailer with articulating ramps. On the trailer were a high-quality plastic Mustang and, I think, El Camino.