TOM MALLOY’S RACE CAR MUSEUM - December, 2021

Tom Malloy was introduced to racing at a young age by his father, Emmett J. Malloy, who owned two open-wheel race cars and built and owned Carrell Speedway in Gardena, California. From a young age, Tom showed both a mechanical aptitude and an appetite for learning every aspect of his father’s business. As an eight years-old, he was firing up the heavy equipment at his father’s shop and moving the huge machines around the yard. But he was admonished by his father that he was never to race. Tom adhered to his father’s advise for many decades, but as Tom says “What began as a fun weekend in 1992 at the Skip Barber Racing School turned into an addiction of my own.”

Twenty years later, Tom’s shop is a collection of race cars and memorabilia. This collection contains speed cars from 1908 to current rarities Many of these cars he has raced, and won,  in the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The cars here include for example a Leyton House-liveried Porsche 962C, a Lola T70 MKIIIB, a Gurney Eagle Formula 5000 car, a 1935 Miller Ford Indy car and a McLaren M8E Can-Am car. But there is one car that eludes him to this day – his father’s 1950’s era Indy Race Car. Hanging above the collection is a banner with a photo of his dad’s car and team in 1954. 

We witnessed the pride and respect Tom has for each car as he fascinated us with the history and pedigree behind each of these meticulously restored tributes to car racing. This was an intriguing afternoon spent with an amazing connoisseur of the racing history. And for the good fortune of generations to come, Malloy children and grandchildren have taken the reigns to make sure this history is never forgotten. 

 PRIVATE TOUR OF SALEEN AUTOMOTIVE - December, 2021

Saleen is an American auto manufacturer that makes limited edition, high-performance specialty vehicles. They offer heavily modified versions of mass-produced cars such as the Mustang. Saleen has built vehicles from several models including a Ford Explorer, Focus, F-150, Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro. 

We were fortunate to have an expert docent, Greg Stacy, take us through both the historical background and present day production of Saleen vehicles. The founder, Steve Saleen is a former Formula Atlantic race car driver who came to meet us and regale us with stories of his love of cars. Raised in Southern California, Steve grew up around cars buying his first Mustang in 1969, a Shelby GT350. After modifying the car, he crashed that Mustang in 1971 but bought another GT350 a year later. Steve won his first race in 1973 at the Riverside International Raceway and in 1996 was inducted into the Mustang Hall of Fame.  

Saleen is not owned by Ford Motor Company. And yet, Saleen Mustangs are considered to be some of the rarer Mustang models available. Saleen’s production has grown from three models that first year to more than 8,000 modified Mustangs from 1983-2009!

We were enthralled by the level of expertise and commitment to safety that the mechanical engineers take in transforming these cars. Unfortunately we were not able to take photos of the cars we saw in production as they are either privately owned or prototypes. We were appreciative of the time that both Steve and Greg took on this most informative tour.      

 Veterans Day Parade - 2021

There was a limited Veteran’s Day Parade held Monday, November 8, 2021 on the West Los Angeles grounds of the Veterans Administration. Classic, Modern & Military vehicles participated in this parade while many patients along with their nurses and family members waved in appreciation. Because of the pandemic, this scaled down event is much different than that of the past. The VA coordinator hopes that next year more veterans and car enthusiasts can be involved again where we can picnic together while reminiscing over the cars.

 On August 17, 2019, the AACA SoCal was fortunate to be invited to Northrup Grumman in Redondo Beach, California, to view the James Webb Space Telescope that was being constructed and tested in a huge cleanroom. Click on the following link to read a recent article from the Smithsonian Magazine about the December 22, 2021 launch and description of its mission.

James Webb Space Telescope Article

 Jim and Sabrina Karras have just completed Episode 20 of their Hamburgers & Hot Rods Podcast that features members of the AACA SoCal discussing our club. If you watch the YouTube video below you can see a slide show along with hearing the podcast. Jim and Sabrina did a great job and make sure you visit their website at https://hamburgersandhotrods.com for more entertaining and informative podcasts about Southern California’s Car Culture and Related Food Scene.

Collector Car Appreciation Day 2016 was celebrated in Beverly Hills at a very special gas station. Watch the video to see three of our AACA SoCal members getting cheap gas and celebrating the special day. AACA SoCal members Jay Davenport, Robert Pritchard and Duane Hinkle participated in the event. Special thanks to Dave Kunz of KABC7.

Another video from Collector Car Appreciation Day 2016 by “The Car Guy” which features interviews with AACA SoCal member Duane Hinkle (1929 Ford Model A Roadster) and Bruce Meyer (Bugatti). Special thanks to Steve Ford, “The Car Guy”.