This is just a thought I have which someone might like to think about and run with. Being California is the hotrod Capitol of the world,there would be thousands of visitors each year that would travel there to soak up some of the car kulture on offer,and try to get to as many hotrod shops and parts suppliers as they could.Visitors not only from all around the world but also from other parts of the US. Surely there must be someone or a car club here on the HAMB living in LA that could see some potential in offering paid guided tours to the types of things hotrodders would love to visit. Maybe if someone had a 20 seater bus and could fill it once a week,say $65 a head,minus cost you might clear $1000 a week for 1 days work. I've haven't been here on the hamb all that long but I have seen numerous post from international travellers asking what to do whilst in LA,surely an introduction to the LA car seen on a guided tour would be a must. In late May 2013 some friends and I will be traveling to LA for Pomona swap and LA roadster show and I'm sure that we would not miss the chance if it was available to participate in a guided tour to shops that we would normal miss out on seeing. Plus you get the added bonus of meeting some cool car guys from all around the world. Shoot me down if you like,maybe it's a bad idea but it's just a thought I had which someone might like to think about.
For $65 a head, I'll drive you around Muskogee, show you some okies, and also show you the car Merle Haggard was possibly conceived in!! Actually sounds like a cool idea.
I have heard of people going to california and visiting shops, but not on a tour. More a group of rodders just driving round a stopping at places. Cool idea but I would be worried about it intruding on the shops though. I mean the idea is cool and I bet they love visitors but they are working shops with projects and deadlines and whatnot.
California isn't the Hot Rod Capital of the world anymore. No Drag Strips, No speed shops, No more Cruisin (and I don't mean that mickey mouse cruise night) Bottom line, there isn't a car culture here in Cali like there used to be. You would be disappointed if you were to see for yourself.
When I was in the US in 2010 we visited a few shops and they were happy to show us around and we ended up buying T shirts off most. Obviously there are things that would need to be sorted out with the shop owners,maybe the tour guide takes you through the shop? Shops like SoCal speed shop in Pomona have tours at a certain time most days I believe so you would probably include that. You would need to organize something with the shop owners first,but if you don't ask you will never know
sounds like a good idea , meet up with the shops - they can push merch and add clients - or source projects - with good planning could be fairly workable - some sweet old slammed/chopped school bus , yeah , yeah hmmmm ....
To reply to jcmarz maybe it's not what it used to be but it still beats anything here. One look at www.socalcarculture will show there is something happening every day of the week,that's more in one week than we would have in a month
I travel also everytime around in the us and looking for shops and drag strips. The best information base is H.A.M.B - the members write informations. In europe you can buy a small guide book for californa named "cruizing california". There are some shops, junkyards, diners, ... inside. The inportant thing is to speak with the locals. On 21 dec I will fly to california and arizona to make one more time a trip. To look shops and buy a car to ship to europe. The idea with a guided tour is great cool.
Conceiving Merle Haggard in a car, good idea or not I am afraid that ship has already sailed. I personally donot think that Socal, LA in particular is the hot rod capitol of the world but I do see a guided tour to the stars so to speak as being a way to make some cash. it actually would probably be more profitable to sell maps to the hot rod starts. Less overhead involved and it would give the more independent hot rodder the opportunity to pick and choose and have more time at his or her chosen venue. Maybe a map and information booklet. A monthly updated cruise and show guide.
First off, it's a great idea and porknbeaner may have hit the nail on the head with his idea of a map and book. I was in the SoCal AAA office in San Diego and they're selling several SoCal museum books. Throw in some discount coupons for admission to the Petersen and/or the NHRA museum along with T-shirt discounts and you can market it as a $100 value for $15.00. Durango sells a local's coupon book for $18.95 and if you used every coupon, you'd save about $1600! Quite frankly, I'd not limit it to hot rods, but include sports cars, tracks and automotive oriented eateries. If I wasn't already rich, I'd jump on this like flies on shit!
^^^Please, come on, try to leave the state at least once in your life. CA is actually still a heck of a lot better than most without any doubt. Plenty of old car stuff around here and way more than a lot of places. And despite the whining, CA regulations and fees are pretty old car friendly. Anything per '64 is fully exempt from smog or safety checks and the registration fees are pretty low if value is low. Plus, you can still find old car projects and people to work on them all around fairly easily. No, it isn't the glory days of the 60's and 70's any more, but a hell of a long way off the worst state in the union by a long shot. Honestly, name one state that is clearly better, in history or even in the present - and provide proof.
Not enough demand. i think a more lucrative idea would be to perfect your craft then start targeting celebrities, musicians and atheletes; Alot of them are into cars, but don't have time or expertise to build a hot rod. But they sure do have the money and willingness to spend it on a decent ride.
I can get my 63 Cad Limo running and pick em up at LAX for Famoso Tours. Although I think it is done already for I see groups of either Aussies or Swedes at Famoso usually. They say they are group tours thru the magazines there?
I don't know about so cal anymore as I left a looong time ago & don't care to go back . There was a saying back then " Will the last one out please bring the flag". Tours just get on one of the mag tours or cruises. Shop info & places to see just ask on the H A M B or try google. Back in the day the cops weren't all that car friendly either. I had a 55 vette & would be setting @ a light & they would motion me to pull over just to checkout license & registeration. Loud pipes, lowered front or motorcycle, you were pestered to death. Kid stole my vette & first question they asked was how far are you behind in payments, are you divorced or seperated.I lived in Belmont Shore & they found it in San Pedro & in court the little rat got off with joy riding & they treated me like I was the criminal. Sent me a postcard (3 days later) when they found it & put it in Victory tow yard @ $25.00 a day storage. Yes sir I called them everyday for an update. Their answer was "We will let you know if & when we find it"
I know, run an old Limo tour, or Rent a Wreck with old 4 door cars for tourists, give them a map and the keys to a 4 door 64 Chevy, highlight the map in yellow showing the hoods they should avoid.
For the guys who think selling maps might be the go,the problem with this is people would drop in anytime during the day and yes this would cause problems,but with a guided tour everyone shows up at the same time and leaves the same time,maybe be there 30-40minutes once a week.if the tour guide has done his homework he could talk the tour through the projects in the shop,minimal interference to the shop. How much would part suppliers love a bunch of hotrodders turning up eager to buy parts they usually have to order online and sometimes wait weeks to
Firemansteve- That time of year is the best time to come here. All the shops are expecting visitors and quite frankly would be disappointed if they didn't come by. Let me know when you will be in town and I'll try to clear some time to show you around. This is good old "Southern Hospitality" California style! By the way, it's free. Rick
Well I am certainly not a modern shop owner and probably would not be a good fit here but having run a shop more then once in my lifetime I cannot think of any time that I would want a busload of people interrupting my business. I got a ticket for following too close in bumper to bumper traffic in 1980. Got another ticket one time for my tail lights too dim, @ 12 noon on a sunny day. Not brake lights tail lights. Never the less the thread is not to bash Calif. it is about a way to hustle money in good old LA.
Being in LA I would say it would never work. Its not like tours of the stars homes. Shops are spread out all over the place and LA is a big city. Traffic is a nightmare. Plus the fact that I personally do not want to be interupted when working on a customers car. I am charging by the hour and I have to a, make a living and b, make sure I only charge the customer for actual hours worked. Its not fair to a customer for me or one of my guys to have to start and stop on a project. Once pulled off a project it takes a bit to get back up to speed. Its neither honest nor fair to charge a customer for that. Also the question of liability. I really do not want folks traipsing through my shop. I think if you want to go visit a shop, contact that shop. Maybe they will set up a time where a visit is less intrusive. But to just think shops will welcome busloads of visitors at random times is unrealistic
The idea is so-so. New twist on an old existing business model. The key becomes the issue of standing out among competitors. I believe the secret to your success will land on your tour guide. Hire something like this, and you may see success my friend!
An organized, scheduled tour would be best, that way Hot Rod shops could opt IN or OUT of the tour schedule. If a shop knows that a group will be visiting from noon-1:00 on the first Friday of the month, they can plan for visitors. T-shirt sales, good will and maybe some future work is the return to the shop owner. The shop would then have an established, open visit time and would not be so inclined to drop everything whenever someone dropped by on a whim. Visitors would also be more comfortable on the tour knowing that they didn't barge in on a busy shop. There's dozens of cool shops in the greater LA area as well as Petersen and NHRA museums. The stops are so spread out that a tour guide could probably offer 2 or 3 different tours. Schedule the tours on a Friday to coincide with Roadster show or Pomona swap meet weekends when out of towners are visiting and build in a good lunch stop. I envision one of the 15 passenger 'party bus' style vehicles.
I was in LA earlier this year after Viva, got to finally hit up the Petersen museum (as well as get tickets to the Price Is Right!) and maybe 65 bones is a bit spendy for a tour, but I would have considered something like this. Not a bad idea.
Dumber stuff has made fortunes. Watch nickolodeon comercials and right before your head explodes, you'll see what I mean. Tours once a week or once a month and BLAMMO!! Even if its just a good network. you'll have a good network.
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