Cars and Coffee at Oak Beach 2

September 17, 2018January 10, 2019 fittiLotus72 4073 Views auto show, captree car show, car show, cars and coffee at oak beach, cars and coffee captree, cars and coffee jones beach, cars and coffee oak beach, cars and coffee robert moses, classic cars, jones beach car show, long island car show, oak beach car show, oak beach inn, oak beach inn car show, obi car meet, old cars, racerhead, rat rods, road trip, robert moses car show, rods, the racerhead, theracerhead.com

As summer fades, the wonderful comes out of hiding

Another glorious Sunday on Long Island. The sky’s a nearly cloudless blue and it’s comfortably warm. September has rolled around; summer is fading fast. There might not be another nice Sunday like this before the cold sets in and everyone puts away their cars. It’s time for Cars and Coffee at Oak Beach 2.

We’re again at the former Oak Beach Inn parking lot on Long Island’s south shore. Arriving at the scene at 7:30am, there was no line to get in. Even so, the place was already very busy!

For the colorful backstory to this glorious asphalt, see the previous story. If you do not live close enough to visit regularly, plan a sunny summer weekend around this event. Clean beaches, surfside restaurants, two state parks and trips to Fire Island are very close by. If you can get to this car event early enough, there’s little traffic. The drive to and on Ocean Parkway is wonderful all by itself. Keep in mind that the cars start leaving before 9am.

This week’s highlight is rare and very fast cars

So what car stopped the place cold? The hot rod AMC Marlin (right and below), the split window Vette, Ferraris, Lambos or Porsche GTs? Nope. The hot rod Riviera or wicked crazy Vanderhall (above left and below)? Did anyone notice the white Ford GT (see below) tucked into a far corner of the surrounding parking? Nope.

It was this tiny car on the left. The Mazda Autozam AZ-1. Imported from Japan, it was never sold in the USA. Right hand drive of course, with a 660cc engine. The interior looks mint and comfortable. Did I mention the gullwing doors? With no insignias on the car, the owner was deluged with “What is it?” as soon as he parked. The car looked familiar but I really couldn’t place it either. One onlooker wanted to know if the owner had driven all the way from New Jersey to the beach through NYC. Not a crazy question for a tiny vehicle with meager power. What a wonderful car.