AUTOCAR REGENERATION: Jeff Koch

You lucky folks in Southern California have a real treat this weekend. This Sunday will be the 3rd Annual Nissan Jam in West Covina at West Covina Nissan. Nissan, Datsun, and even Infiniti old and new will be represented, and from what we have heard it has become one of the premiere j-tin car shows in the US.

Obviously, go for the vehicular niceties, but don't miss out on the diecast fun to be had as well. There will be two booths to make sure you visit. Jeff Koch, aka @the_toy_pimp on IG, who is well known for his JDM-heavy booth at JCCS, will be there with all kinds of Japanese diecast goodness for sale from Hot Wheels, Kyosho, Tomica, Tomica Limited Vintage and on and on and on. (Emphasis on that "on and on and on" part. Anyone who has seen Jeff's booth know that it is a "have to see it to believe it" sea of diecast.)

It will be a perfect time to fill in gaps, or add some unique pieces to your Nissan/Datsun collections. Some of the items that will be there:

You will blow your entire budget at Jeff's booth, so we suggest before you go there you hit the Japanese Nostalgic Car booth first. They always have unique goodies for each event, including t-shirts and stickers, but they will also be showcasing large scale diecast for sale from Carriage House Models. We have purchased two models from Carriage House in the past, are in awe of their selection, and would love to see what they are bringing this Sunday. We hear it will be Skyline heavy, including this R34 Skyline from AutoArt.

We wish we could be there, as there is bound to be a ton (several tons actually) of machinery we would love to ogle over, plus a slew of diecast to acquire. If you go, let us know how it is...

Most residents of the western US are familiar with Interstate 15, which shoots from Los Angeles through Las Vegas, and on up past Salt Lake City. The I-15 is the main highway from LA to Las Vegas, and it can get bumper-to-bumper-packed on a Sunday afternoon as folks return to SoCal after a weekend binge of shenanigans.

There is nothing noteworthy about the I-15 from LA to Vegas, unless you are into large thermometers or deserted waterparks. The same goes for the I-15 north of Vegas into Utah. For the most part you drive straight, unaware of the breathtaking land that is crazy close, but hidden by the nearby mountains.

Driving the I-15 can be a treacherously boring experience, but there is one small place that breaks it up. The Virgin River Gorge, which is nestled in the far northwest corner of Arizona, sits between St. George, Utah and Mesquite, Nevada, and is chalk full of enough twists and turns to keep any driver awake.

Why am I bringing this up? Well, I spend a great deal of time in St. George, Utah for work, and occasionally I take a break from the grind to the drive the gorge to Mesquite and back, just for fun. Mesquite does not serve as a terribly exciting destination, but today it did. I didn't drive to Mesquite to get a couple of laps in the gorge. Instead, I went to Mesquite to eat landlocked sushi, chat with some friends, and see this:

This is the DR30 Skyline owned by Las Vegas resident and Instagram user @jester702, the same car we ogled over at JCCS earlier this year:

Last night, this Skyline hauled its owner, along with the owner of the white Hakosuka next to it in the photo above, @royshakosuka, and boxes full of minicars, from Las Vegas to Mesquite as part of an arrangement a friend we have in common, Jeff Koch from Hemmings Motor News, put together to introduce us, swap stories, learn about the secret society known as the Lamley Group, and trade some little cars.

I don't know if the three of them had a good time, but frankly I don't care. Because I did, and isn't that what matters? Hearing how Roy got his Hako, how Jay traded for his DR30, and then watching the ensuing wheelings and dealings in the empty restaurant parking lot was a blast. Oh, and getting a chance to take a ride in the Skyline through the deserted Mesquite streets wasn't too bad either. Being a member of Lamley definitely has its benefits.

If I haven't made it clear before, the DR30 has established itself as my favorite Skyline, so this was a particularly cool treat for me. So to celebrate, why not revisit the 10 different versions that Tomica Limited Vintage has done of the 6th-generation Skyline? Seems like a good idea to me.

(And incidentally, all 10 are available at Japan Booster.)