east european invasion

Some friends from Austria came by on friday.
One was the guy I got the van from, Sepp.

The deal for the free van was when he came back out to California,
he could use it to pick up parts.
Well he had already spent all his money and had everything shipped out east,
so there was no need to use the hauler this time around.

It was funny as he figured that I'd sell it after he left it here almost 2 years ago!
On the flipside,
we had the van all cleaned up, oil changed and ready to go for him,
so now the wife used it to visit her family in Camarillo/Ventura.

Sepp's a great guy,
but he's definitely tunnel-visioned on his quest for speed parts and hot rods.
His goal is to have the most, the best collection, in Europe.

Sepps Garage

These links are just a fraction of what he hasn't uploaded yet.

Sepps Garage

Fortunately he brought along his friend Kremsi to offset his addiction.

Sepp, Kremsi, me in beach clothes

This was Sepps multiple time in the US,
but it was Kremsi's first time out of the 200 miles of his hometown in Austria!
He knew California only from magazines or TV shows.
What better reason to take him to the gritty paradise of Ocean Beach!

Hodad's - OB

Let's get a little background on Kremsi.
In Austria,
every car needs to pass an annual inspection - very strict.
-turn signals, brake lights, rust issues, glass, fenders etc.

Kremsi is an inspector,
a cross between a policeman and a DMV agent.
It is easy to imagine him in uniform,
making you crap your pants.

Sepp is the exact opposite,
a perfect match.

a real hamburger

Neither of them had any type of hamburger other than McDonalds or Burger King.
This place in OB, Hodad's,
has arguably the best hamburger around.
It's worth waiting in line.
They had never had onion rings either.
There was no talking after the food was ready.

typical OB

Let's get some more background on these Austrians.
They live in a town of not many.
It snows in the winter,
there's probably 29 girls in the town they live in,
and Sepps married to one and the dad of another.

The waitress had sat us in an unusual spot,
right by the cash register and path to the bathroom.
The guys were amazed at the amount of girls walking around,
in bathing suits and shorts, on the street.
Good way to realize what I now take for granted.

fun in OB

So after some midafternoon beer drinking and people watching.
We went on a brief shop tour that I didn't take any pictures of.

cruisin with Sepp

After that I took each of them for a spin around Point Loma in the RPU.
Kremsi was amazed as this car is totally illegal in Austria -
Loud exhaust, open wheels, open engine, no seat belts, no indicator lights...
(He has an Audio Quattro - almost rally car style,
and Sepp's goal by the end of their 2 week trip is to get him into an American Hot Rod.)

Since Sepp's a bigger guy,
he's really into the full-fendered Lincoln Zephyrs, (and Hemi's)
but he does have a running '29 roadster stashed in his workshop loft for the winter.
After the drive around town he said he'll probably forklift it back down.

Real quick,
Sepp lives in a 5 house village miles away from Kremsi's town,
so he's guardedly free to drive his stuff out in the country,
but if he goes into town he cautiously uses "dealer plates" to skirt the law.
Amazing what Europeans sacrifice to hot rod around,
besides having to pay per liter what we pay per gallon.

austrian's unite

Funny thing about these guys is they live within 200 miles of where my grandfather was born.
I'd love to visit that area someday.

After this they were off to Pomona for the LA roadster show,
and then hopskotching to other hot rodding friends up to San Francisco,
where they'll fly to New York to start shipping the parts stash over there.

Good times.

TP