The author (in 2008) with his son, E. John Thawley III

John Thawley (aka Bob Waar) 1937-2009 – Author and motor journalist John Thawley died last month of complications from pneumonia. He was 71.

How to Hot Rod Small Block Chevys, How to Hot Rod Big Block Chevys, the Off Road Handbook and the cult classic How to Modify Datsun 510/610/240Z Engines & Chassis were all written under Thawley’s pen-name, Bob Waar. Those and the books that followed under his own name totaled some twenty titles over his career. John raced in Baja and Bonneville. He worked at Indy, Irwindale, Daytona, Pikes Peak and Riverside. He served time on the payrolls of Buick, Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota and numerous performance industry manufacturers.

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Some of you have no doubt heard of the Canby Datsun Show that took place this past weekend up in Oregon. Well this year there was the fine assortment of eye candy Datsuns and eyesore Ratsuns, but one truly bizarre 240SX Retro Oddity showed up in Glow Green to stun the crowd:

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May 17, 2009, Mission Bay, San Diego, CA

Southern California hardly ever disappoints for the sheer number of nostalgics it contains. Case in point is the Old Skewl Meet today in gorgeous (overcast) Mission Bay in San Diego. This was just a get together, a free event, but it attracted not only locals, but a few guys from Los Angeles and even the Bay Area!

510’s and Ae86’s always show up to these events, but there were a few other surprises as well. (more…)

Hotrod JNC’s are fascinating if for no other reason, they reflect the American hotrod’s influence in Japan. The JNC sub-culture took root some years ago thanks to the likes of Mooneyes and Crown Classics, but what shop has taken up the Datsun banner? GHOST FACTORY has: (more…)