The purr of a newly built motor can cause goose bumps to form on the car enthusiasts arms. Cars know the way to a man’s heart. T is not immune. During his free time he can be found building his dream car in our garage, often with the kids. On our recent trip to America he compiled a Bucket List of his own which listed all the car places he wanted to check out.
One of T’s top picks was El Rey’s Garage which has been made famous by TV show Turn & Burn. As luck would have it we had booked a hotel in Santa Monica for the last leg of our Californian trip. With Venice just down the road we agreed to fit a visit in after a trip to the Getty Museum.
We arrived in the late afternoon to find one of the mechanics busy on a car. Having only glimpsed Turn & Burn during one of T’s night time marathon’s, I was surprised to find the shop pretty much like it is on TV. It’s no staged set. Real cars are on the lot in varying degrees of repair. People work here. It’s real. It has an authentic “Hillbilly-Hoodrat” which Brother JD has created himself. This intrigued me and I started to develop an appreciation for the show. Unfortunately Brother JD wasn’t at the garage.
T and the mechanic talked for a good 20 minutes before looking at the cars. Before we left the mechanic (whose name I never grabbed – sorry about that mate!) made a phone call and handed the receiver to T. On the other end was none other than Brother JD. A little discussion and he promised to meet us down at Venice Beach the next morning. Can you believe that?
Fast forward around 18 hours or so and we found ourselves down at Venice Beach waiting for Brother JD. True to his word he arrived, in a gorgeous black beast that rattled my teeth no less. Watching T become a little start struck was amusing. This quickly dissipated as he launched into a discussion about Australian muscle cars vs American muscle cars.
Brother JD didn’t come empty handed either. Master R was shortly in the possession of an El Rey’s Garage head scarf which he quickly styled to wear on his head. We were family!
Want to visit Brother JD at El Rey’s Garage? Head to 8741 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles.