Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Only Yesterday Classic Autos, private collection and restoration facility






From a 1950's luxury yacht cruiser... the full set is Stewart Warner gauges
The above is the only '47 Ford Sportsman Convertible to win the coveted Dearborn Award for excellence in factory originality and restoration, is one of only 100 left to exist, and only 10 of these are in driving condition








the red bits in the spokes.. inlay, not paint


One of 6 to exist in the world, this '32 Le Baron Imperial Convertible Coupe is one of 28 produced




the two mirrors? One for the driver, the other for the navigator to keep track of competitors during races






1911 Ford model T Torpedo









A 30 year unlimited restoration













A 25,000 original mile 289 Cobra, CSX 2244. Owned by Chuck from 1984 -88... then he chased it down and bought it back in '99. It's emphatically not for sale





I love this restaurant... order the sample platter and enjoy! On 5th, near Island in the San Diego downtown Gas Lamp district.... ... I never saw this delivery Fordson before.


I think this style of organization is a thing of beauty, both above and below

Photos by Tere and I
Owned by Chuck Spielman and operated by his daughter, but if you call them for a tour, ask for JB, he's in charge of all parts tracking for each of the restorations and giving tours... he doesn't talk much though.
Starting with 3 vehicles, and growing and relocating to San Diego in 2001, it is the passion of commercial real estate businessman Chuck Spielman, whose family's Chevrolet businesses had operated from the 1920's to the 70's in New York.
From 6,000 square feet and one technician, the business has grown to a 30-40 thousand square foot building with 10 full time technicians performing maintenance, dyno tunes up to 2500 hp, service, and full restorations.
The collection is primarily Pebble Beach level museum pieces that are restored for those type of car show contests, and available to the public for short tours by appointment, "Anybody is welcome to come and see the place, the collection, as long as they call us first." Chuck said to Ch 8
The stories on most of the collection cars can be read like trading cards: http://www.oldautos.com/content/index.php/collection just go through the pages to get to the car you'd like to know more about