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SANTA MARIA Doug Adams When the end of May comes along here on California's Central Coast, the eyes of the custom car world focus in on Santa Maria-home to the West Coast Kustoms, Cruise-In Nationals. This year's event took place May 25th thru the 27th marking the thirtyfirst anniversary of the Kustoms Show. Despite threatening skies, cold temps, and good old Santa Maria wind, spectators turned out by the thousands for the Friday night cruise and the Saturday- Sunday show. I talked to some folks that caravanned down the coast from San Francisco and they told me that they drove in rain most of the way. The same story came from folks traveling up from the L.A. area. For once, Santa Maria was saved from precipitation. All of the events surrounding the show, and the show, itself went off without a hitch. After a few slow months, with really no show activity to speak of in the area, it was nice to get back out there and check out some cars. I was a little nervous going into this show though because not only did I have to get my material for Quick-Times, I had signed on to do a story for upscale deluxe news stand magazine. There is a little more pressure than normal when doing magazine coverage In particular, this magazine because the cars I photograph have to fit a specific period and the parameters of the Editor. This makes the show much smaller before it even starts. Add to the fact that two days before the show started, I received an email from my editor informing me that his management cut nine days out of his production schedule. I had to have all of my stuff on his desk the Tuesday after the show. Normally when I sit down to get my story together for an event, I do a little online research just so I get the facts straight. Then I combine that with what I have gathered and a few days later I usually have a result that I'm happy with. In this case, I had less than fortyeight hours to write a lead-in story, sort and caption thirty photos, and be ready for the post office Tuesday morning. Fortunately for me, Monday was a national holiday and there was no mail service buying me an extra day! Undaunted, I got a jump on things and started doing my research which gave me a good plan going into the weekend. Plus it taught me a few things I didn't know. One thing I always fear is getting the facts wrong. If incorrect information makes it by the Editor and into print, it's not a good day and can be career limiting. One thing I try not to do is just read some information online and put my own twist on it. So going in, I knew I had to talk to all of the people that own the cars that I was going to submit. But I needed more! I wanted to talk to some of the folks <strong>Page</strong> 10 that were there from the beginning, but wondered would I even see any of these people. With my plan in place, I took to the streets of Santa Maria and the Historic Santa Maria Inn. The Santa Maria Inn is the show's headquarters and check-in point for all of the participants. On the days before the show starts, the Inn is ground zero and a place to see some pretty sweet cars. Friday is really the busiest day at the Inn and all of the parking spots in front of and around the Inn are reserved for show cars. The parade of customs and hot rods is endless, and the action doesn't stop until well after the cruise ends later in the evening. I pulled in at about 9am and the place was already jumping. Since my F-150 really isn't show quality, I parked across the street behind a fast food place in a spot that would give me a clear escape route once the cruise was in progress. Armed with a couple Canon's (cameras), I was on the hunt and shooting. There was no shortage of targets. One thing that I noticed was that trend in car building has yet again shifted. It used to be Rat Rods were the thing and they were everywhere. Then, mild customs with flat paint were in. This was the year of the Mercury. There were Mercs everywhere you turned and conversely very few Rat Rods or true traditional hot rods in the crowd. After spending the day taking photos, I had some lunch at a local eatery and returned to the action. As hard as it was, I made the choice to forego a cold refreshing beverage in the Inn's bar. Instead, I got in line at the Inn's coffee bar. I needed to warm-up a little! When it came time for the cruise to start, I had my position curbside. Once the cars rolled out onto Broadway, I noticed a group of photographers forming in the middle of the street--a good vantage point for shooting both lanes of cruisers. I liked the light where I was sitting, for the time being. But as it got darker, I too made it out on to the street. After about fifteen minutes, I noticed this lady kind of patrolling the street. She eventually made her way to me and asked if I was with a magazine. I said yes, introduced myself, and she introduces herself as Penny Pichette. I thought I had just won the lottery because Penny is exactly the person I wanted to interview. Since I had Penny one-on-one, albeit in the middle of the street, in the middle of a car cruise, I decided to go for it. Penny really didn't give me any information that I hadn't already read on her website, but it was interesting how she told the story and played traffic cop and crowd control at the same time--never missing a beat. The story of The West Coast Kustoms Car Club and the evolution of The Cruise In Nationals started back
fax ads to 403-886-8600 in the 1970's when Penny and her late husband, Rich Pichette, bought a little burger joint called The Jet in Sunnymeade, California (south east of Pomona). Back then, the hot spot to cruise was Angelo's Drive In in Anaheim. It was quite a drive from Sunnymeade in a hot rod. So Rich and a few of his friends formed a club called The West Coast Kustoms, and The Jet became their weekend cruise spot. In the beginning, there were very few cars. But soon thereafter, the Kustoms popularity grew as did their membership. A group of guys from San Francisco heard about the club and wanted to join. With the club going pretty good, Rich decided to put together an event in the middle of the state that was equal driving distance for members from the north and south. Several cities were contacted and Paso Robles was the only one that would give the club a place to gather--park by the lake. In later years, the show moved to the center of downtown Paso until moving to its new home Santa Maria. Now each Memorial Day weekend, the West Coast Kustoms Car Club welcomes car clubs and participants from around the world to their little get together at The Santa Maria Fairpark. Things have settled in pretty good for the show in Santa Maria, and I hope it's there for years to come. It's nice having a show of this caliber right in my backyard. Enjoy the photos. We'll see what I can find for next month, Doug <strong>Page</strong> 11 JULY 2012
Page 1 and 2: Volume 18 Issue 7 JULY 2012 CREATED
Page 3 and 4: fax ads to 403-886-8600 PERFORMANCE
Page 5 and 6: FISHTALES by Catfish Since last mon
Page 7 and 8: fax ads to 403-886-8600 Dave Morgan
Page 9: DIABLOS GREASEBALL BASH As we all k
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Page 15 and 16: fax ads to 403-886-8600 ENGINES 360
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Page 23 and 24: While on the Funny car side it was
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Page 29 and 30: fax ads to 403-886-8600 2000 Monte
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Page 33 and 34: fax ads to 403-886-8600 1995 Capric
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