On the way to....

MK · 11-02-2003, 06:54 PM

Friday night. It was cold and wet. The sun had just gone down and my better half and I were driving over to Bob's Big Boy. No....it wasn't for the mediocre food. We were looking for cars. Not just any cars. I am talking vintage cars. Classic automobiles from the golden era.

Normally the place is packed with classic cars and their proud owners that belong to a club called "The Road Kings". Usually you need a big gun and a lot of attitude to drive through the parking lot, but due to the rain we figured there wouldn't be anyone there.

We were surprised to see a handfull of diehards huddled under the carhop sheet-metal canopy of the oldest Big Boy left in America.

We circled round to see if there was anything that would be worth exposing ourselves to the elements...when I noticed a fine looking car. That was when I noticed the fellow standing next to this fine example of a golden era motor car was wearing a fedora and spectator shoes.

All right. I was sold. I needed to meet this guy. You see....usually the classic car crowd is dominated by guys who were in junior-high (middle school for you youngsters) or high school in the fifties and are reliving thier youth. These guys might like cars from the 30's-40's but they listen to Jan & Dean, The Beach Boys, Bill Haley & His Comets rather than Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey or Count Basie. Instead of fedoras, they have white t-shirts with cigarettes rolled up in one of the sleeves.

Here was a guy clearly into the golden era. He was talking to another guy about fine ride so I took a moment to look at this incredible vehicle. It looked brand new. It was a 1936 Chrysler Airflow. It looked amazing. It was beige, had a fladhead eight cylinder engine and suicide doors. It didn't get much better than this.

The guy's name was Chandler. He was wearing a hand painted silk tie underneath his v-neck sweater. His whole outfit looked vintage.

We talked about his car, hats and the Queen Mary event. It turned out that not only is he the So-Cal director of the Airflow club, but a swing dance instructor too. He said his club would be interested in attending our QM event.

He lives very close to me and he offered to give me a ride in his Airflow.

I plan to take him up on it this week.

Photographs will be taken, of course.

happyfilmluvguy · 01-26-2007, 10:17 PM

This was around 4 years ago, but that makes it the better challenge to find those photos!

I have not been to Bob's Big Boy, let alone their car show. There is a place here in the San Fernando Valley called "Cruisers" which is a carwash/diner. Every Saturday they had a car show. I went to one. It's great and so is the diner inside. I do not know if they are still open or if they car show is still active. There is also a cruisin' night in Alhambra on Main St in front of another diner, "Diner On Main". I have seen them arrive but have not stayed. They serve good food and decent enough prices ($4 and up), but the atmosphere doesn't scream "1940's or 50's". It's more modern, but the trip is good nonetheless.

Where is Chandler now?

ITG · 01-26-2007, 11:19 PM

Oh man, knowing MK is in London right now, I was reading this not looking at the dates and I saw him writing about going to Bob's Big Boy and I was thinking, "I didn't know London had Bob's Big Boys there." But I see it's an old thread. Hahaa! You got me there happyfilmguy.

11-02-2003, 06:54 PM	#1
MK The Guy in Charge Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Vancouver (not B.C), Washington (not D.C.) Posts: 4,785	On the way to.... Friday night. It was cold and wet. The sun had just gone down and my better half and I were driving over to Bob's Big Boy. No....it wasn't for the mediocre food. We were looking for cars. Not just any cars. I am talking vintage cars. Classic automobiles from the golden era. Normally the place is packed with classic cars and their proud owners that belong to a club called "The Road Kings". Usually you need a big gun and a lot of attitude to drive through the parking lot, but due to the rain we figured there wouldn't be anyone there. We were surprised to see a handfull of diehards huddled under the carhop sheet-metal canopy of the oldest Big Boy left in America. We circled round to see if there was anything that would be worth exposing ourselves to the elements...when I noticed a fine looking car. That was when I noticed the fellow standing next to this fine example of a golden era motor car was wearing a fedora and spectator shoes. All right. I was sold. I needed to meet this guy. You see....usually the classic car crowd is dominated by guys who were in junior-high (middle school for you youngsters) or high school in the fifties and are reliving thier youth. These guys might like cars from the 30's-40's but they listen to Jan & Dean, The Beach Boys, Bill Haley & His Comets rather than Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey or Count Basie. Instead of fedoras, they have white t-shirts with cigarettes rolled up in one of the sleeves. Here was a guy clearly into the golden era. He was talking to another guy about fine ride so I took a moment to look at this incredible vehicle. It looked brand new. It was a 1936 Chrysler Airflow. It looked amazing. It was beige, had a fladhead eight cylinder engine and suicide doors. It didn't get much better than this. The guy's name was Chandler. He was wearing a hand painted silk tie underneath his v-neck sweater. His whole outfit looked vintage. We talked about his car, hats and the Queen Mary event. It turned out that not only is he the So-Cal director of the Airflow club, but a swing dance instructor too. He said his club would be interested in attending our QM event. He lives very close to me and he offered to give me a ride in his Airflow. I plan to take him up on it this week. Photographs will be taken, of course. __________________ All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

01-26-2007, 10:17 PM	#2
happyfilmluvguy Call Me a Cab Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles CA Posts: 2,539	This was around 4 years ago, but that makes it the better challenge to find those photos! I have not been to Bob's Big Boy, let alone their car show. There is a place here in the San Fernando Valley called "Cruisers" which is a carwash/diner. Every Saturday they had a car show. I went to one. It's great and so is the diner inside. I do not know if they are still open or if they car show is still active. There is also a cruisin' night in Alhambra on Main St in front of another diner, "Diner On Main". I have seen them arrive but have not stayed. They serve good food and decent enough prices ($4 and up), but the atmosphere doesn't scream "1940's or 50's". It's more modern, but the trip is good nonetheless. Where is Chandler now? __________________ "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." -Walt Disney

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01-26-2007, 11:19 PM	#3
ITG Call Me a Cab Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Dallas/Fort Worth (TEXAS) Posts: 2,481	Oh man, knowing MK is in London right now, I was reading this not looking at the dates and I saw him writing about going to Bob's Big Boy and I was thinking, "I didn't know London had Bob's Big Boys there." But I see it's an old thread. Hahaa! You got me there happyfilmguy.