For automotive enthusiasts, there are a lot of things not to love about California. However, it’s hard to knock The Golden State when it comes to car culture, because it’s vibrant with many different facets.
A staple of the West Coast scene is events, but in between lockdowns and work commitments I’ve only attended a small number of them in the past 12 months. So having a rare free Sunday morning, I just had to check out the Brekkie Car Club ‘Sunday Service’ at Period Correct.
If you’re in Southern California and can only attend one event, a cars and coffee meet at Period Correct should be it.
Getting to Period Correct’s altelier in Costa Mesa was my first challenge though. I had recently embarked on a journey home from Sacramento with my Mercedes-Benz 190E, which prior to this had been sitting idle for the past few years (read: almost 10). Before the drive, a couple of days were spent getting it ‘roadworthy.’
While this should have just involved a check of the vitals and a replacement of all the fluids, somehow I ended up dropping the suspension – with a blowtorch (definitely not recommended and something I now regret…) – and fitting some different wheels.
It was going to be a three-hour round trip to the event, but I wasn’t that confident in the car and definitely didn’t feel like wasting my whole day waiting for a tow if everything went south. So I settled on a 40-minute round trip, which would see me hitching a ride with my friend Jan in his track-ready Porsche 997.
On the topic of 911s, I stand by my previous statement that the 997 generation is one of the best modern performance cars money can buy right now. Am I wrong?
Usually I’d grab a tea on the way to an event, however Gustavo Menezes – a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and WEC driver – happens to live in Jan’s neighborhood and had offered up a cup of what’s claimed to be some of the best coffee around.
I could hardly turn that offer down, could I?!
Armed with perfectly roasted beans from Onyx Coffee Lab and some high-tech espresso shot-pulling tools, Gustavo went to work. I’m no coffee snob, but Jan wasn’t wrong; it was absolutely phenomenal.
Sunday Service was scheduled to start at 9:00am sharp, but these types of events always tend to kick off far earlier, and this one was no different.
The first thing I noticed – and I would have had to be blind to miss them – was a huge number of overland rigs, including a couple of Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia rarities.
Any event at Period Correct is sure to bring out an amazing selection of special cars.
A quick stroll around the main lot and overflow parking led me to many gems.
As expected, Porsches were in plentiful supply, but there was so much more – many of which were completed unexpected.
Like this Mercedes-Benz W114 with an AMG C36 M104 swap that looks like it came factory. Stay tuned for a full feature on this one…
But as much as I love Mercedes-Benz, this simple-yet-classy BMW 2002 stole the show for me.
The balance between style and function was impressive. From R888R-equipped mesh wheels to its meatball patina paint scheme and classed-up interior with wooden wheel, there’s nothing I didn’t love.
One bonus of this event was being able to spend time in Period Correct’s showroom.
There’s always historic posters, flyers, literature and cars that never seem to disappoint on display here, and this time was no different.
A morning spent with friends around quality cars and pleasing aesthetics is a morning well spent in my books. I’ll definitely be back for the next Sunday morning event at Period Correct – perhaps in my Mercedes next time.
Keiron Berndt
Instagram: keiron_berndt