Who We Are

Pistons & Pin-ups (P&P) is like most cars and coffee type of car events, only more. Inspired while taking a shower, I came up with the idea of combining the fascination of pin-up models with the love of cars… trucks and motorcycles, too. All genres are welcome including classics, hot rods, lowriders, muscle cars, exotics, sports cars, custom motorbikes, and just about anything of interest with pistons. We’ve even had a “tank” appear numerous times.

The P&P kick-off event was held in February 2022. This fun event is free for all to attend. Just show up! It’s held on the first Sunday of the month in Sunset Beach, CA right along the iconic Pacific Coast Highway—the “Yellow Brick Road” of car culture in California. I typically have two pin-up models attend and sometimes more. Photo ops are available upon request from the models. Just ask!

My Vision

While still a small car show, my goal is to grow P&P to 100+ show vehicles attending each monthly event. Beyond how big it becomes, my other aims for P&P include building relations with local communities and businesses, supporting charitable and equal rights causes, promoting goodwill, and being a fun and unique part of the huge car culture in SoCal and around the world.

My Story

When I was five years old, I remember that Christmas eve. It was 1961 in Brooklyn, New York. Why? Well, for one thing I have a rather good memory. There was a toy car, my toy car, in gift wrapping paper I couldn’t wait to unwrap and play with. It was a beige plastic 1:18 scale model 1960 Plymouth Valiant. This was decades before I realized I was a car guy. I remember getting tucked into bed and forcing my eyes closed so I would go to sleep. Then, when my eyes opened it would be morning so I could run to the tree and open my present. This memory lives inside me like it happened yesterday.

My very first car was a 1967 VW Bug. I was 16. I wanted a cool car like a jacked-up Mustang Fastback with fat rear tires. Living with my mother and sister in Huntington Beach, CA and being a sophomore in high school, I was just a kid with no money. With help from my mom, I found a car my $400 could buy. I hated VW Bugs and didn’t know how to drive a manual shift. I didn’t tell my mom that. When she drove me to the buyer and left me there with my new car, I had to figure out how to shift on my first drive home. Second and third gear took a bit of a beating, but nothing too bad. Over the next six years I learned to appreciate my venerable VW and even learned how to change the oil and do a brake job. Back then, we used Chilton’s Auto Repair Manuals referring to those small black & white drawings to figure things out. I was petrified to drive my VW after completing the brake job fearing I did something wrong. These thin curved pads stopped my car?! Fortunately, my penchant for detail and being a perfectionist led to a job done properly. The new brake pads stopped all 1700 pounds of my Bug just fine.

Fast forward to 2008. I had money saved and was tired of always doing the financially responsible thing—save and invest. That didn’t seem to be getting me where I hoped to be anyway. So, I decided to buy a dream car I could afford. Months later and after much thinking and research one car remained on my shortlist… the Acura NSX. I ended up buying a first year car, a slightly modified 1991 repainted in pearl yellow. It was love at first sight! That was when I became a bonafide car guy!