Calspeeds Roadtrip Story to Dunkels

[Calspeed]

Hello,

Okay... so many of you have already seen all of the pics to the Dunkel Bros Porsche Show and Swap Meet. But this posting that I am making is more of a personal documentary of the roadtrip that I made to the show.

Since I drove from San Francisco and had to do an overnighter I consider it a roadtrip. And since it is of Porsche content I think you will enjoy it too.

Anyway, there are alot of pics so sit back and read and have fun. Afterall, its all about the fun. And our Porsches are sure alot of fun!

WARNING...! SOME OF THE CONTENT MAY BE DANGEROUS FOR THE MENTAL WELL BEING OF MANY OF OUR FELLOW NON-CALIFORNIAN PORSCHE ENTHUSIASTS.

Calspeed



The trip started in San Francisco at about 2045. Unable to leave earlier we planned to take our time with the trip and arrive in Fullerton at around 3am.

The drive down Hwy 5 was slow and tiring. We were stuck in a heavy central valley fog for about 200 miles. Speeds were kept to a reasonable 60-70mph which is alot slower then the common 80-90 speeds normally seen on Hwy 5 at midnight. Our first stop was more of a wake up stop as I was starting to feel very tired. Denny's worked perfectly for the needed much break.

The first fuel stop came at just over 400 miles into the trip. The huge 911 tank is wonderful for logging on serious miles. Once again, because of the heavy fog my eyes were getting very tired and the fuel stop was a welcomed one.





We finally arrived in Fullerton, California at about 0500. This happens to be Yuki's home town which is conveniently located ten minuteds away from the Dunkel Bros Porsche show.

[Calspeed]

Okay... I had to have her show me someof the sites from her hometown. We made a trip to her high school where whe was a cheerleader back in the 80's. Remember those days...? Duran Duran, Wham!, Prince... Good times man! Then we went to her favorite Newport beach hangout where we happened to get perfect beach parking.

That afternoon I washed the car in preperation for cruising Los Angeles that night. Also it would make getting the car ready for the show tomorrow alot easier. I noticed that there was not even one bug splattered on my car from the 400 miles drive to SoCal. Wierd stuff. But I attribute this to the heavy fog layer which kept away the bugs. Yuki's mom had a huge driveway that was perfect for detailing out the Carrera. Oh yeah... the temperature was in the 80's.

[Calspeed]

Yuki's brother had some great connections for getting us into some hip places in LA. We started out the night at a hotel called The Standard. We got in easily and made it up to the open air bar located on something like the 15th floor. But compared to all of the other buildings downtown we were dwarfed. LA is certainly unlike anywhere in the world. So we partied like Rock Stars that night and then went to some Sushi joint for dinner. We tried to make it back to the house at a somewhat respectable hour. Yeah right!

[Calspeed]

The next morning found me waking at about 0530. With things prepared the prior afternoon we were able to load up and leave within an hour. We found a coffee shop that was open and got ourselves a quick brew. I also saw a funky Carls Jr. that was obviously inspired by Disney. I needed a picture. Then we were in for a shock. By the time we pulled iup to the Dunkel Bros. property the places was already rolling with activity. There must have already been close to 200 cars already in the compound. Wow...! I thought 645 would be early enough but that wasnt the case for this event.

As the morning rolled on more and more beautiful cars filled the show area. The lawn area seemed to be all 911's but there were several other gorgeous models on display. One car the stood out was a perfect 911 Speedster. It had clocked an original 7k miles and was for sale for over 60k. It was beautiful with a price to match.

[Jim Richards]

Great pics! The bikini shot was especially cruel to those of us still enduring winter!

[Calspeed]

A beautiful Mercedes Benz Gullwing made an appearance too. It was appropriately displayed with a set of pretty Porsches. One of the highlights of the event was the display of early racecars. Those things were gorgeous. And when they fired up for the audience it was impossible to not hear then engines from wherever you were standing.

There were many beautiful cars that day but some of the ones that really made me stop and look were the following.

Not only did the exotics have an emotional effect on me but so did many of the daily drivers. The quality and preperation of many of these cars was incredible. It makes me think of how much more I need to do for my Porsche.

[Calspeed]

The collection of Porsche and assorted other automotive memorabilia in the Dunkel Bros compound was remarkable. There was just so much stuff there.

[Calspeed]

[Calspeed]

The collection of Porsche and assorted other automotive memorabilia in the Dunkel Bros compound was remarkable. There was just so much stuff there.

[Don Plumley]

Nice story and pics! I think my buddy and I spent some time admiring your cab, beautiful condition - did you have a tonneau over the pass seat?

Thanks!

[Calspeed]

Well, the show ended ealry for us as we needed to get ready for the long drive back to the SF Bay Area. We planned to do a top down drive all the way back home and the full tonneau top worked well for securing our bags on the rear shelf and keeping them out of sight. Before we left LA we had to hit another popular place with the locals as well as the high profile people. This joint was called Tommys. Known for their great burgers and reasonable prices. We had three burgers, fries and drinks for less then eight dollars. But we paid later with heartburn. It was worth it. Yum! Can you spot the celebrity J. Lo in this pics?

[Calspeed]

The night fell upon us too soon. We passed many Porsches on the road and it was nice to give them a honk honk as we passed. We called it a night quits once we made it to Solvang, Ca. We decided to stop there because of the great pastries the town is so well known for. Well, at 7am the shops were not even open yet. What is up with that? We could have stayed in Pismo Beach and had fish and chips. Oh well...




The morning air on Highway 101 was chilly. My guess is that we drove top down in the high 30's. The heater provided some relief frm the cold and the seat heaters were a nice feature. When the sun finally rose things began to get more comfortable.

[Calspeed]

The roads were long and straight in many sections of Hwy 101. We were able to make some good time for the first two hours of driving. I did some quick math and figured out our average speed from 7am to 9am was over 90mph. Wow... how did that happen? Easy in a Porsche.

[Calspeed]

A few rest stops along the way and a major traffic jam in the Silicon Valley area we made it back to the Golden Gate. We touch San Francisco soil at 11:00am. Not to bad I must say. A total of 1,228 miles were logged on and I ran at appx. 21mpg. All in all it was a great trip and I will plan on making the next big show in SoCal this year.




If you see your car in any of these pics please let us all know who you are. If you saw me pass you on the road let me know too. And lastly, if you want to caravan to the next event from the SF Bay Area contact me and we will try to set something up. I hope you enjoyed this story.

Ciao!

Michael "Calspeed" Carion
1985 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet

[atlporsche]

it's interesting to note that 2 frames up that you mention over 90 and your speedo says 120....

LOL!!

sjd

[Eric Mckenna]

Man brother ...
you make me want to go knock out a road trip and photo document the whole thing!! thanks gor the great pic's and story!!
Nice
Eric
78SC

[Jack Olsen]

Great write-up! It's nice to put some human faces on these events, in addition to all the portraits of sheet metal.

[ZAMIRZ]

You guys stopped at the original Tommy's burger, VERY GOOD CALL! I love your car calspeed, looks like you guys had fun heading down here to our neck of the woods.

[n8marx]

Nice story! A little tough to take considering I'm snow bound right now.

Quick question: Can you tell me a little about your wheels? I love 'em. Are they painted or satin finish? What type of paint?

[jpnovak]

Cool write up! I almost felt like I was along for the ride except that its cold and windy here in DC. Almost makes me want to move to Cali... Well almost. I just wish there were gatherings like this on the right coast.

Jamie