The Cars and Coffee event was held on Saturday, July 20 in Azusa. It was a perfect day for Healey driving, it was cool and traffic was light, except for me. I guess age is catching up with me or maybe I’m getting a little lazy at that. Rather than taking the cover off my Healey and pulling it out of the garage I decided to drive my beat-up Toyota. I have to admit that this was a big mistake, when I arrived at Dominic's shop I was greeted by an angry crowd shouting “Where is your Healey?” Believe me, this won’t happen again.
Visiting Dominic's shop was a show stopper. The experience was like visiting a museum for Snap-on history. It was also an example of what a "man-cave" should be. A lot of hours and sweat equity went into the final result. Thanks to Dominic for a great tour, the coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts.
Next the group drove one block to club member Hema Ratnayake's shop and warehouse, and this was another adventure. There were about sixty plus cars, mostly British, in various stages of refurbishment or decay.
What was outstanding were the number of Healeys in various stages of restoration: some concours and others in bare metal form. I believe Hema’s passion is Austin Healeys at heart.
This was a must-see event. For those who missed out on this experience we will schedule another event in the near future.
The day ended at Max's Mexican Restaurant in Azusa with a late lunch and more Healy talk. In attendance were Phil Caliva, Ron and Sandy Davies, Don Fisher, John Hedbom, Dex Kaytis, Tom Mauss, Tim McNiff, myself, Jay Miller, Hema, his wife Janakie and son Raveen, Tom Spangler, and Bill Wilkman.