Come See These Cool Cars at the Annual 1A Auto Charity Car Show!

At 1A Auto, we just don’t sell parts, we live and love everything automotive. That’s a big part of why we’ve been putting on a charity car show for 9 years. Of course, the main thing is to give back to some great causes, but it’s always fun to show off our favorite pieces of machinery. If you come out to the car show in Pepperell, MA on September 9, there’s a good chance you’ll see some of these cool cars that belong to members of the 1A team.

Ratty Muscle LeMans

If you’ve been following the Engine Noise Podcast, you’re probably already familiar with Jeremy’s “ratty muscle” LeMans. It’s a 1972 that he picked up last September, after it had been sitting for over a decade. When he got it, it needed a new engine and transmission, as well as lights and some interior parts. Since it already needed an engine, Jeremy decided to go big and drop in the 6.0L from a Chevy Silverado. Nice! Jeremy assured us he’s getting it to this year’s car show, even if it has to come in on a trailer.

Some Rad ‘80s GMs

Our Sourcing Specialist, Bob, has a couple of rad ‘80s turbo GMs. The first is a 1987 Buick Regal Limited T, the other one’s an ’89 Pontiac Turbo Trans AM (#600 out of 1555).

The Regal was in great shape when Bob got it, but the Trans AM was coming off of an unfortunate run-in with a deer. He fixed up the fender, header, and grille, and now it’s looking great.

Some Euro Imports (With a Couple Secrets)

You may remember some of Nick’s posts on this blog about drifting and Euro imports. So you probably won’t be surprised to see Nick has a ‘91 Golf MK2 for a cruiser and a ’99 BMW 323i drift car. But they each pack their own surprise under the hood. The Golf has a 2.8 L VR6 turbo swapped in, and the BMW has an LS V8. LS Swap all the things!

A Beastly Mitsubishi

Kyle, our Product Analyst, has been playing with Mitsubishis since he was a teenager. He’s owned 8 Talons or Eclipses since then. When he picked up his ’91 Galant VR4 (#1788 of 2000 US models) four years ago, it was basically just a bare shell. That kicked off a two year project to get the car running and legal. Kyle used Mitsubishi parts he acquired over the years, or auto parts he could salvage from other VR4s that were headed to the crusher.

He’s run a 12.2 at 114mph at New England Dragway in the VR4, but figures he could get into the 11s with better tires. He also plans to autocross it after replacing the tires. Kyle brought the VR4 to last year’s car show, and plans to bring it again this year.

The Answer Is Always Miata

Dan (not me, another Dan), a Senior Product Specialist, picked up a 1995 Miata 3 years ago. It was actually his first manual transmission car. Welcome to the club, Dan! The car was in good shape when he got it, but seeing over 200,000 miles on the clock, Dan decided to change the spark plugs, spark plug wires, timing belts, water pump, serpentine belts and some seals and gaskets to make sure it was at its best. The car also came with some sweet decals that he chose to remove for some reason.

Now he’s in the process of modding it. He’s planning to install a turbo and some bigger brakes, and hoon it on a street course (sounds like a blast). For now, though, he just likes to drive it around when the weather’s nice. We’re thinking September 9^th will be a good day for a cruise.