For us air-cooled folks, the mention of LIT starts off our season. Even though it’s in late February, and we are busy working on winter projects for the upcoming season, LIT is in the vintage Porsche epicentre of a sprawling city called Los Angeles.
LIT is an abbreviation for the Literature and Toy Show – run by Stoddard. It started out in 1983 as a swap meet for old Porsche literature, information and memorabilia. That soon turned into a swap shop for parts. Fast-forward to 2024 and over the last decade it has become the Saturday morning anchor event for LA Porsche Week. The festivities begin on Thursday and run until Sunday. It’s those festivities that had us head down for two consecutive years now. In 3.5 days we covered over 500 miles. LA is HUGE and spread out, still, we like driving. We even got in a Canyon run – a must-do for any fan of driving. I’ll talk about that further on. So here’s how we… LIT’d!
THURSDAY
Steve and I arrived at LAX about 10:30am. It was 20°C sunny and clear. LIT takes place at the LAX Hilton, and this year we stayed at another hotel next door. Being very familiar with LA, it’s quicker to walk to the hotel than to wait for any shuttle. Plus, the 2019 Boxster we rented from Turo was parked between us and the hotel at a lot, so that was our first stop. Next up, the LAX In-N-Out Burger. It is now our tradition.
From there we head to the Sierra Madre open house/meetup in Eagle Rock, where we meet up with some friends and fellow UCR members who are down here for a bit. The street that they’re on is blocked off for Vintage Porsches and there are many of Cali’s finest on display. The Longhood and Aircooled scene in LA is as thriving as it gets. Some of the best restoration shops, machinists, and part suppliers are all there. Many of us wrench on our cars – from minor things to complete restorations. Anyone who does this, has ordered parts at some point from these LA shops. So seeing these companies inside and out, meeting the people you place your orders with, and getting to know the owners of these awesome cars, is just fantastic. This will be the pattern at all the stops. Sierra Madre had a nice choice of local craft beer and coffee, plus a fully opened up warehouse to check out.
After that we decided, while in LA, to head to East LA and check out the Beverly Hills Car Club. This place is famous and a must to check out. Go in through a gate, and once in, you will get lost in cars. You can wander around freely. You will see at least 40 to 50 old 911s, and hundreds of vintage cars in various conditions. If you want to buy one they’ll put it on a lift for you. You do your due diligence and that’s that. Seriously, if you’re in LA don’t miss this.
It was getting close to rush hour and supper time, and our friends came up with a great suggestion for taking the long way home and grabbing a bite along the way. From East LA we headed North and West towards the Valley. Passing Reseda and just before Calabasas, we headed south to get on the Mulholland Hwy. It’s a twisty road that is a great gateway to the hills of LA. It snakes along the peaks joining tiny towns, and eventually heads south to the ocean, meeting up with PCH (Pacific Coast Hwy) just west of Malibu. It was at that point where it heads south that we stopped for supper and a neat place known by fellow car enthusiasts.
Once on the PCH, day turned into night as we cruised with the top down heading south, with hills to the left and ocean to the right. Passing Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, and hanging a left at Marina Del Ray, it was back to the LAX to finally check into that hotel, some time around 9:30pm (12:30am Toronto time). Thursday complete.
FRIDAY
Wake up bright and early as Rod Emory decided on a pop-up swap meet in a Torrence parking lot about 20 minutes south of us.
It’s amazing how these famous families in the Porsche world still get up at 8am to sell parts and hang with the community. Emory Customs started the whole Outlaw Porsche culture – their builds are legendary – and here I am buying some turn signals and a horn from his shop while chatting with his family.
From Torrence, it’s a pretty long haul back north to the base of the Angeles Crest Mountains. It’s also the base and entryway to the Angeles Crest Hwy – also known as the Canyons. There’s a Canyon run going up to Newcomb’s Ranch – an old outpost halfway up the non-stop twisty paradise. Once there, it’s another car meet. Then back down the mountain toward LA. The main road is closed in a section, which is even better as the B-roads detour is just incredible. I would say it’s the best driving in North America. An old 911 is the perfect car for the job. The Boxster was fun and did its job well, but we were really missing my 86, and Steve his 67S. One day…
After a quick lunch and a fantastic canyon run, it was time to head south to Costa Mesa to get to Auto Kennels Open house. Auto Kennel is a unique dealer in a unique setting. They buy and sell very specific cars with stories. What’s unique is that the units adjacent to it are filled with other auto folks – indie 911 repair and such. Again, another pizza and drink-filled car meet. Tons of great examples and more meeting people in the scene.
Next up, a few minutes away, was a trip to Car Parc. Car Parc restores Longhoods to a concourse level – including bespoke options and all-out dream builds. Their shop and showroom is a work of art on its own. They were just about to close up and get ready for their open house on the Saturday, but were kind enough to let us nerds geek out for a bit. It was also my first time meeting Magnus Walker who happened to pop in. After a brief chat, we were off to another open house.
We headed north up the PCH to Long Beach to visit John Willhoit’s open house. John and his team have been restoring 356s since 1974. He’s one of the best in the world at it. What’s also great is John and his team are super cool humans, and they’ll chat, explain, and show you all sorts of amazing things. Their engines are incredible – they sell a kit 2.2L 356 engine that does 165hp – perfect for any 356 or 912. Again, his examples are top Concours level and works of art. We missed the food there but that was ok, as it was our yearly meetup for good steak with our friends. After a great meal it was back to the hotel to rest up for The Big Show.
SATURDAY
LIT sells an early bird ticket with a 7am entry (vs the normal 9am) – and that’s the option we went with. The main event is in two massive halls at the LAX Hilton. Rows and rows of parts for sale from all over the world – and products from manufacturers and companies like PMB who do great brake restorations etc.
There are a ton of folks selling literature such as service manuals, hard-to-find, out-of-production shop manuals, old sales brochures, and any other print matter you can think of. Decklid badges, radios, and diecast models of any size and vintage are all here.
It was also here that I bumped into Wayne, the founder of Pelican Parts. He had mentioned the Pelican Open House later on that day. I had plans to show my friend some non-car-related LA sites, so we finished up early doing that and then headed down to Pelican.
By the time we got there, they were wrapping up. I asked a guy if I could pop in just to show Steve around. It’s a very cool thing to see as it’s a massive man-cave. Wayne was there and invited us in for a bit – just him and us. We chatted for a bit and he suggested one last stop at the Porsche Experience Centre as it’s about 10 min away.
Why not?
It didn’t occur to me then but we drove past the Singer factory. The Experience Centre is interesting. The track is huge, and they service race and Cup cars there. There are a ton of packages you can buy, and they have a restaurant.
And that was Saturday. We went for some good Mexican, returned the car, and went to sleep. Sunday afternoon we were back in Toronto. Until next year!
If you have a desire for Porsche Classics of all vintages, you can’t miss this – LA Lit is one big incredible week. </>
