It has become a tradition for many Porsche enthusiasts to travel to Los Angeles for the annual LA Lit and Toy Show at the Hilton LAX Hotel. And as we’ve told in reports from previous visits, several restorers and shops take this opportunity to put themselves in the spotlight. An open house is a fantastic way to do so.  Nothing else this year. The last few years, we always drove 2 hours south to Fallbrook to the California Porsche Restorations open house. This year, we decided to take another spin. We visited some open houses closer to our base hotel. 

LA Lit Show 2019 - TRE Motorsports
TRE Motorsports

Our first stop was TRE Motorsports in Van Nuys. TRE Motorsports performs service and repairs to a wide range of street and high-performance vehicles and specializes in Porsche. During our visit, we noticed nothing but Porsche’s in and out the shop. The early green Porsche 911 that was unloaded from the truck took our attention. It was rotten all over, and we wonder how on earth they could get this car back to live.

LA Lit Show 2019 - LA Dismantler
LA Dismantler

After that we left for a visit to LA Dismantler.  LA Dismantler is not the shiny spot you might expect when you visit an open house. Crash your Porsche in the greater area of Los Angeles, and probably your car will end up at LA Dismantler. Crashed cars are dismantled and the unbroken parts are happy to find a new car.  We were surprised about the number of cars and parts stored in the warehouse at LA Dismantlers. This might be the spot for you when you are in the market for a missing part for your recent Porsche.

LA Lit Show 2019 - John Esposito Restorations
Esposito Restorations

 Next stop on our little road trip was Esposito Porsche Repair. John Esposito has built his shop with a huge passion for Porsche. His business started tucked away in the corner of the shop of a friend, building one car by another. Mouth by mouth advertising made the shop to what it is now. This is a place where cars are being worked on, not a showroom. But hey, who cares. After all, most of the shiny classic Porsches and garage queens at several concours d’elegances started a second life in a shop like Esposito Porsche Repair.

LA Lit Show 2019 - Sierra Madre Collection

Back in our rental-car and on to the event of the day : the Sierra Madre open house. Last year, Sierra Madre had Colorado Blvd partially closed for the open house. This year they were somewhat more moderate. But in our opinion the Porsche parking in Mt Royal Drive, adjacent to the Sierra Madre warehouse was even better. When we arrived, the street was packed with Porsches. It was a coming an going of Porsche enthusiasts.  Hundreds of people from all over the world coming together and sharing the love for Porsche while enjoying a glass of local beer. One of the highlights at Sierra Madre was the 911Millenium book, probably the largest Porsche only coffee-table book in the world, with pictures by renowned German photographer Rene Staud.

Thanks to all the shop owners for the generosity !!!

 

Picture Gallery of our Thursday Open House Tour during the 2019 LA Lit and Toy Show 

Pictures by Vintage Race Photography