Radwood San Francisco 2023 photo dump

The boy and I went to the show. To be frank, the magic is gone. Too corporate. There were a lot of cool cars, but the soul of the earlier shows was MIA. Too bad.

We parked across the street from Pier 30/32, next to this old E-Class.

Let's get started!

These Mondials are just so rad. I think even mainstream car enthusiasts like them now.

I swear I thought this 550 was much newer than it actually was.

Ever since I saw Derek Tam-Scott's yellow Miura at Berkeley Cars & Coffee, I have been listening to the Carmudgeon podcast. The Rover and Citroen have been discussed in detail on the show.

This Maserati made the trip worth it. I've seen every Quattroporte generation except the fourth. And here's the QP IV!

I spotted this Alpina a few days before the show near the Caldecott Tunnel and tweeted about it. Turned out, one of my followers was riding in the Alpina at the time!

Rchen was kind enough to let J sit in the back of his taxi. On the armrest was a Tomica version of the same taxi.

I had not seen an Excel in over twenty years. This was a Boyz N the Hood tribute.

Previa with swiveling captain's chairs.

This 1993 Wrangler was identical to mine, other than the engine size.

J has been obsessed with Humvees lately. Look how excited he was.

And finally, this X90 in the parking lot should have been in the show!

Facelifted Audi S8

The suspension is amazing. It's also cool that the car's body will rise 2.5" when the door opens for easy ingress/egress.

Cannonball Run record holder is Audi made to look like Taurus

My Daily Driver: @DeadclutchDB's 1983 Audi Ur-Quattro

1. How did you come to the decision of buying this car?

My first car was an '86 Audi 4000 Quattro which started the addiction, and as an avid 70s and 80s Audi enthusiast after my first it was the pinnacle of the era's lineup. Wide body, turbo, AWD, manual, all the boxes checked! After prices started to climb a few years back I began dedicating a significant amount of time in to tracking down one to purchase, and when something affordable came up for sale on QuattroWorld within 45 minutes of my house it was a no brain'er.

2. What has your ownership experience been like?

Unpopular opinion, but daily driving a Ur-quattro was rather disappointing. The overall package is very pleasing to drive solo, very well planted through corners and the purr of the 5 cylinder plus its massive laggy turbo whining in at higher RPM was an experience everyone should have. Everything feels very well put together lacking the typical 80s car rattles and squeaks. It certainly feels robust, that is until you're accelerating with any other modern traffic. Even with my engine being modified to European spec, it was lackluster comparatively. Simply put, a V6 Toyota Camry will outrun you to 60mph without breathing hard, even large diesel trucks have the oomph to upset you behind the wheel of the rally legend. So I wanted more horsepower than the 200 I was playing with, easy... right? Begin the long road of disappointment.

Having owned so many 80s Audis of the past I knew the pitfalls of the complete lack of factory support and aftermarket part-scarcity but that was part of the fun for me, as an at-home mechanic keeping it going by all means without having factory part support was a challenge I gladly (foolishly) accepted. What I didn't account for was how that lacking and aging part supply would play a role with the California Smog checks. You see, it started with my Ur-quattro tail pipe passing California smog at PZEV levels, however still failed its initial smog check due to a missing EVAP valve. I found a used replacement via a Porsche part # and was able to get passed the smog check, but it did bring up a very serious point of contention with my ownership: Smog acceptable performance or lack there of for California.

The way California engine conversion laws are written, even engines that smog 100 times cleaner than the original are not acceptable to convert depending on what OBD2 sensors need to be in place, how they are installed, what the ECU is doing with all of the information, and how the wiring to those sensors back to the ECU may have been modified. Those IROZ 07K 5 Cylinder TT-RS powered Ur-quattros are all not legal under any circumstances here in California, even though they smog cleaner than the original engines they replaced. The only real upgrade over stock is a 20v turbo motor (AAN or 3B) which have great power potential in their own right however both are quickly approaching 30 years old, have their own part scarcity, and with California smog still in play will be limited to ~250 horsepower to still pass the sniffer (or you know, 50hp less then that V6 Toyota Camry). If you live in California, the Ur-quattro is a car where you need to be completely happy with it in near stock form, or find another chassis to play with. The purists out there would say "find another chassis to play with!" so I suppose it's for the best.

3. What is your fondest memory with this car?

The way people reacted when driving or at car shows will forever be my fondest memory. It's not like other hot-rods I've driven where you get waves and thumbs up, instead you'll notice looks of confusion or interest as you drive around town. The typical car-folk responses you get are replaced with stares that continue as you pass by, generally people wondering what it is you're actually driving. Seeing people's heads turned with eyebrows raised in the rear view mirror is a great feeling even if I didn't get the smile and nod from the get-go.

4. Why do you love cars?

Automotive repair and fabrication have been a passion of mine since high school. I went to college for ASE certs before changing my career path but the wrenching addiction never left, and some 50+ cars later I'm still having fun with it as a pastime even with my local smog.

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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!

2019 Radwood Norcal photos

Another success!

After over a decade of going to car shows and museums, I am pretty jaded. But the Radwood shows, which focus on 80s and 90s cars, never disappoint.

Of course, the parking lots to these shows often have true gems, like this 4WD Toyota cargo van.

And this Aztek.

This diesel VW Dasher was recently purchased from this used car lot, which always has interesting inventory.

This old Subaru sedan was very clean.

When I posted these pictures on Twitter, this Escort GT and Buick Regal got the most comments and nostalgia-filled stories.

One of ten McLaren Mustang M81.

This was the highlight. Francisco bought this from a Michigan widow. The Impulse had been in storage since 2006! Two-toned, turbo, RS.

I thought this was a concept car, but it's an Acura NSX widebody. And it's for sale.