California Classic - Fun in Fontana

Fontana, California isn't synonymous with summer fun like many other destinations in the state. Even in terms of race track destinations, Fontana has yet to eclipse the name recognition of it's defunct neighbor, the markedly larger Ontario Speedway, which was shut down ignominiously in 1980. In fact, until 1983, the sight on which the California Speedway lies was occupied by the Kaiser Steel mill, which, among other things, made prefab steel hulls for Liberty ships during World War II. (Fontana was deemed far enough inland to avoid naval bombardment from the Japanese navy. Now all the steel mills are in Japan. Don't get us started...)

But steel is still very much in Fontana's life (if not its commerce), and at the California Speedway in particular. Spectacular events featuring America's best iron--such as the California Classic held this past September 6 and 7--are exactly why Fontana may yet become a premier destination. Wally World watch out!

The California Classic was a dandy of a car show, but there were also plenty of manufacturers set up in the midway, plus lots of live entertainment throughout the weekend. We found beautiful women in droves (okay, and their boyfriends), tons of new and used car parts, cars for sale, extreme motorcross exhibitions, ride-alongs in real stock cars, even a helicopter and an M1A1 main battle tank provided by the US Marines. Yours truly grabbed up the family, loaded up the Camaro truckster, and grabbed a few 2-for-1 Taco Bell admission coupons and headed out to "Fontucky," as the locals call it. We had a great time. Check out the photo album and see for yourself!

We found this 1965 Shelby...        read full caption We found this 1965 Shelby GT350 for sale for $35,000. The owner didn't fill out his tech card so we don't know his name. Maybe we'll get up the nerve to call the number on the "for sale" sign and see if the owner wants it featured.

Tiffany Chea of Corona, California,...        read full caption Tiffany Chea of Corona, California, posed next to Robert Briggs' Chevy Impala SS. We couldn't resist...

We coaxed Nicole Andrade of...        read full caption We coaxed Nicole Andrade of Milpitas, CA, to pose next to some dudes regular ol' Ford truck.(Hey pal, it's the only way your truck was gonna make the mag.)

The paint on Darius Buharis'...        read full caption The paint on Darius Buharis' '65 Impala was the shiznit (Stockton, CA). The tribal freakazoid design was painstakingly applied by Jason's Creations of Manteca, CA.

This is the rest of Briggs'...        read full caption This is the rest of Briggs' impressive '64 Impala convertible. It features a twin-turbo small-block Chevy with draw-through carburetion and no intercoolers. Briggs hails from Garden Grove, California.

Mopars are our weakness. Mark...        read full caption Mopars are our weakness. Mark Vates must've known, since he brought his '70 Challenger all the way down from Gilroy, CA--garlic capitol of the West. Vates' Challenger was packing a potent 400 with an Indy 500 stroker kit, Indy Sr. aluminum heads, a Mopar M1 intake and electronic fuel injection with 36 lb.-hr. injectors.

That ought to be good for...        read full caption That ought to be good for an honest 500 horsepower at the wheels on pump gas. If you're reading this Mark, give us a call. We'd like to shoot this ride sometime soon.

Gary James of Seaside, CA,...        read full caption Gary James of Seaside, CA, hauled out his '70 Hemi Challenger with a trick flip-top front end. Hinged front ends were extremely popular during the '70s in the period before Pro Street. (Remember "Two Lane Blacktop"?) This modern interpretation blends the two together nicely.

The Keith Black Hemi in Gary...        read full caption The Keith Black Hemi in Gary James' Challenger is nice enough to eat your lunch off of it. Enigmatically, it packs enough punch for you to lose your lunch.

The manufacturer's midway...        read full caption The manufacturer's midway was just as packed as the car show. In our opinion, the jerk selling 16-oz. bottles of bottled water for $5 each should've been shot. For God's sake, that's higher than the Staples Center.

Look, it's Elvis! He escaped...        read full caption Look, it's Elvis! He escaped just in time for another performance on the main event stage. Apparently, he's switched from Cadillacs to Corvettes, a move cleverly orchestrated by GM's sharp PR machine...

The chicks here were doing,...        read full caption The chicks here were doing, what else--checking out jewelry. We were checking out them and so can you.

West Coast Corvette's commodious...        read full caption West Coast Corvette's commodious booth was graced by the presence of Roy Wallen's '66 big-block Corvette coupe (Colton, CA). We loaded up on free color catalogs while ogling the many fine 'Vettes at Fontana.

The large cooling tower at...        read full caption The large cooling tower at the center of California Speedway is the only structure which remains from the original Kaiser Steel mill complex on which the speedway was built. Nice touch...

We found the lovely Samantha...        read full caption We found the lovely Samantha Alarcon taking applications for credit cards at the MBNA booth. That meant she couldn't run and hide (like all the others!) when we pulled out the camera.

This super rare 409-powered...        read full caption This super rare 409-powered '61 Chevy Impala belongs to Charmagne Hindelang of Phoenix, AZ. Charmagne bought it new 43 years ago where it lived a peaceful family life--until it was stolen, wrecked and burned last year. Guess you could say she made a few improvements while it was in the shop!

We found shade and kind souls...        read full caption We found shade and kind souls who gave us water (and cool t-shirts!) at the MagnaCharger booth. This is their new LS1 blower kit which we featured in the July 2003 issue of PHR. Installed on a bone-stock C5 Corvette, this thing makes a conservative 450 hp. That's way better than an LS6 for a lot less moolah, and it comes with a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty. To finish off our shameless plug, here's their website: www.magnacharger.com.

Mike Face of San Bernardino,...        read full caption Mike Face of San Bernardino, CA, was in proximity of his car--a '70 Chevelle--and ended up getting it shot as a feature for PHR which you can see elsewhere in this issue. See, it does pay to hang out with your ride at a car show (especially one that's in California near our office!).

Old meets new in this Model...        read full caption Old meets new in this Model A five-window coupe with a tuned-port small-block Chevy. The early track nose gave racers of the period an aerodynamic edge that is functional and beautiful.

"Hey soldier, I like your...        read full caption "Hey soldier, I like your ammo!" Lisa Cary of Fontana, CA, stands dangerously close to a 120mm Sabot round packing a warhead of dense, depleted Uranium. Fired from the main breech of an M1A1 main battle tank, it's designed to pierce through the thickest armor plate and explode on the inside. Yeah, that's about right...

For reasons beyond our understanding,...        read full caption For reasons beyond our understanding, the Marines' tank was a chick magnet of major proportion. No doubt this lass already knows the Abrams weighs in at 69.5 tons and has a top speed of 42 mph, thanks to a 1,500-hp gas turbine engine.

Ronal wheels look really cool...        read full caption Ronal wheels look really cool and aren't that expensive. Here's what they look like on the Ronal C5 Corvette Z06 show car.

The motorcross exhibition...        read full caption The motorcross exhibition was a big hit as onlookers eagerly waited for one of the performers to dash his brains on the pavement. No one did, but Billy Green did perform his trademark "kiss of death"--without the death part. Does that just make it a "kiss"?

Mike Abssy of Asuza, CA owns...        read full caption Mike Abssy of Asuza, CA owns this '30 Ford Roadster. It packs a Cadillac V8 mill like many of the period rods of the 1950s. Back then, it was a common practice for better-heeled rodders to swap Buick or Cadillac power into a Ford body for a better power-to-weight ratio.

This small-block Ford powered...        read full caption This small-block Ford powered '23 T-bucket is owned by Marv Anders of Fontana, CA. Marv lives so close, he probably drove it to the speedway. (Shame on him if he didn't!)

As we left the speedway, they...        read full caption As we left the speedway, they were still pouring in by the hundreds. This is clearly the type of event SoCal is starving for--even in the hottest part of summer. Next year is sure to be even bigger!