At my last job, every Sunday night there was always a bunch of enthusiasts’ cars cruising up and down the street in front of my office. There was obviously some sort of semi organized event going on nearby, and since I was always working, I couldn’t see any of it.
I’m changing jobs this week, and found myself with a free Sunday night. I decided to see what all these crazy car guys were up to every Sunday night. It turns out I worked a block away from “The Red Door Meet” one of the largest weekly car meets in the country.
I have never seen anything quite like this. It was obviously organized, but there were no people visibly running this event, it just kind of moves along without direction. There are no “Red Door Officials.” No police, no official corporate sponsor. It just sort of runs itself.
This is simply, a very diverse group of people with one thing in common. They like things that move. It’s an event you can participate in with everything from a bicycle to a 10 wheeled army truck. It’s heavy on the imports, but there is everything here from new Ferraris to clapped out old junkers and virtually everything in between. If you like cars and live in the NW, you should really spend a Sunday night at the “Red Door Meet.”
This custom VW Beetle was just one of the interesting cars at the “RDM” the night I attended.
The orange paint on this BMW really was that bright. The quality of the build was very impressive.
While imports were heavily represented, there was a large group of “Panther” fans present.
This slightly modified Monte Carlo SS looked great with those rims.
I love this Pontiac Fiero. Who would have thought these would make a good dune buggy?
Right hand drive Autozams are unusual even here in Portland.
This Firebird looks pretty cool all donked out.
This Datsun 1600 pickup was a well preserved daily driver.
I also put together this video of the event, to give you a better idea of it. Hope you like it.
I enjoyed my visit to the Red Door Meet. I saw an amazing assortment of cars, trucks, motorcycles and anything else with a motor and wheels. The mostly young and diverse crowd will erase any doubt that the younger generation is not interested in cars. No matter if you are an old fart like me or a kid, the ”Red Door Meet” is an event you will enjoy.
Great pics, and it looks like it was loads of fun. Good to see such a variety, and so many younger folks, compared to the average age of cars and participants in the Tampa Bay area. The Subie Gambler 500 racer looks like it made it through one of those events! I would love to do one, but there does not seem to be one in Florida….yet!
Looks pretty cool to me .
-Nate
Love the Fiero dune buggy.
The lead photo is the reason I would really have to think before selling my VW, those guys are just waiting for it… 🙁
Oy.
Those guys are pulling VWs out of junkyards and fields and the woods, most of them (like myself) weren’t even alive until the cars were already old junk cars to everyone else but yeah, that’s why there’s not as many left. Give me a break.
Hahahah as the owner of the bug in questions. You fools haven’t a clue even what you’re talking about. Worry about what’s in your garage and what you’re doing and not about my house. I don’t worry about your garbage
Agreed. I do not tolerate comments here that put down other’s expressions of what they want to do with their cars. To each their own.
The bug in the pics in my car. I rescued it and altered the suspension height. Everything is revesable and shouldn’t be looked down upon of my taste in style over someone else.
Ive gone off radically slowered cars never mind the worse handling just simple everyday tasks become a real chore, I helped a friend move his Volkswagen collection into temporary storage last weekend a 66 Kombi van and a 63 Beetle we moved then by trailer as neither are roadworthy, getting the Kombi onto the trailer then off again was an absolute mission why you ask, well despite the fact it runs and drives its lowered and has a big freeflow hanging out the back everything hooks up on the trailer or the ground, the beetle though engine less was easy its stock height and immaculately restored just needs finishing, and I will be helping to move them from storage to his new house it will be tricky but not impossible, but having your car look cool isnt all its cracked up to be sometimes, future barn finds
I saw a VW with the same opening windscreen (or similar at least) last year for I think the first time – Jeremy were these from the factory or aftermarket?
Thanks for sharing the show with us, some interesting stuff there.
Aftermarket. Like so much else for VWs. I don’t think Germans were any too interested in a flip up windshield.
They were factory options for split windshield Buses.
They are a recent aftermarket accessory for Beetles and other VWs. In fact, Jeremy, the guy driving the Beetle pictured, makes them.
My first Bus, a ’65 had the factory flip up windshields. Was a Westfalia, European delivery model. Camped a few days at Bass Lake, was loads of fun to drive in the heat with the windshields all the way up and the tailgate up as well. I think I paid $700 for it when it was 8 years old.
Could of used goggles, though.
To each their own, and with respect and appreciation. The world would be boring if everyone liked the same thing, or did the same things with their cars.
Oy vey .
Censorship here now .
-Nate
Censorship? You better believe it, when you call someone an “idiot” for building a custom VW. Do you need to go read our commenting rules again?
Stop thinking that your opinion and taste is the only right one. We’re here to celebrate all kinds of cars. And we don’t accept comments that piss on some of them and their choices.
It’s called “comment moderation”. Anyone who thinks this (or any web site) falls under the First Amendment is sadly mistaken. But you’re free to start your own site, and call people idiots all day long. You won’t be the first to do so.
As usual,
Paul is correct .
However, the simple fact is : lowering frameless vehicles exerts stresses far beyond their design limits and significantly rushes their destruction plus it makes them no fun to drive .
I was _WAY_ out of line here and I apologize for being so rude .
I’m still waiting for even _one_ lowered car owner to accept my standing invitation of a free tank of gas (High Test no less) and a free lunch if they’ll take a 25 minute drive up the Angeles Crest Highway for a good lunch @ Newcomb’s Ranch ~ this offer has been going for close to thirty years and not one acceptance yet so don’t tell me ‘give me a break’ when you don’t like driving your custom car .
I love old VW’s and especially the fancy accessories I cannot afford .
-Nate
People in my generation, who are the ones lowering and “destroying” these cars, curse the older generations for all of the horrid modifications we often find on these cars.
This will probably get deleted but I’d be willing to bet that Beetles being cut into Bajas and subsequently having the life beat out of them off road has contributed to the demise of more Beetles than lowered ones have.
Hey Adam, everyone knows the *highest* and best use for an old Beetle is as a base for a Baja Bug or Dune Buggy ;). To be serious though the fact is a lot of Beetles were rescued,as you put it, by being turned into Bajas. Sure there were probably many pristine cars that met the saw, but many were wrecks and the Baja kit was a cost effective fix with the added benefit of the completed vehicle being worth more than if it you had spent more to return to stock. I know the “narrow eye” my buddy had in high school had certainly been wrecked pretty hard before it was cut as there were crudely hammered out wrinkles behind the cut line on the front.
Nate, there certainly are limits to how far you can go in lowering without problems caused in part by the lack of compression travel left in the suspension. Personally I’ve had lowered cars that I used for daily drivers for 10’s of thousands of miles, but I did it right that includes getting the spring and shock rates right and making sure proper alignment can be achieved. Did they ride as good as a stock vehicle, no but they did handle better because it was done with that in mind in addition to “looking cool”.
And we don’t accept comments that piss on some of them and their choices.
Umm, freudian slip? What exactly are the “some” where that is acceptable?
Anyway, I think Doug’s original comment(not the insulting replies to it) is probably being taken a bit too personal. When you have a car that’s popular to customize – Beetle, Mustang, 240 ect. – there’s a hope that the person you sell your car to appreciates it the same way you did as is, even if it’s a well done build like Jeremy’s. Many customizations going for the same look aren’t.
Matt: “some”, meaning those cars that are not to our preferred taste. Presumably that’s not “all”, but I suppose that’s theoretically possible.I know you’re smart enough to have understood that.
But the fact that you had to make this completely unnecessary semantic-issue comment proves that some commenters invariably have to jump into a housekeeping kerfuffle. It’s just more stimulating than sticking to cars, right? Shades of Carmine.
This perpetually recurring issue of what is appropriate at CC in the comments and what is not is to me the most boring, tedious, negative aspect of running this site, and responding to comments like yours is a colossal waste of time and what wears on me the most here. Thanks for nothing.
Damn ~
Apologies all .
I make the stupidest basic mistakes over and over and I feel badly .
Paul’s got a thankless job trying to keep us happy and informed and here I shat in the punchbowl yet again .
-Nate
@ XR7 I think you have something there in that an owner who is attached and invested in a vehicle really wants to see the buyer keep it as is or finish it in line with their original vision of how the perfect (filling in the blank) should be. And of course many feel down right insulted by the potential buyer saying that they would have to change/redo something that they had worked so hard to get just right.
I currently live in a new area where every place looks pretty much the same. Living amongst utter conformity can feel quite stifling, and, ultimately, probably is. That VW isn’t my taste, and I get Doug D’s sentiment, but you’d only have to live for 2 weeks in some Truman Show place where every Bug was immaculate and you’d itch to see that one, believe me.
That is an amazing event!
Great photos of what looks like a fun event. Looks like a good variety of interesting stuff shows up.
I know the guy in the Bug! I met him when I flew out to Los Angeles a few years back for a huge VW show weekend.
Run what ya’ brung!
Sure beats “Cars and Coffee” in most parts of the country.
Fantastic photo quality – thanks!
The composition, the lighting and colors; beautiful photos, Tim. Thanks for sharing.
I know the sounds some of those cars make. In fact I think I can hear them over here on the east side of the Rockies.
I wish they had a similar meet within 100 miles of me here in PA. I have a 96 SVT Cobra ? but get tired of seeing the same old cars ? at shows. Lots of Mustangs and a sprinkling of GM & Mopar. The butt shot was a nice intermission and still showed a car.
Great write up, but you’d be mistaken thinking there’s no one to run RDM.
It’s been successfully ran for over 4 years now due to hard working, behind the scenes admin who try to keep the riff raff down to a minimum. Over 20 volunteers try to keep in check over 1000 people every Sunday. That’s why they’re hard to see.
Trust me, I’d know. Hope you can make more of these. Nice photos ?
I must agree it’s well run. What I was commenting on was the lack of any visual authority figures. I didn’t notice anyone walking around wearing “Staff” or security guys. I do know from working in the neighborhood, the police are there some nights but it’s very low key. There was very good vibe among the crowd the night I was there.
I’m sure it takes a bunch of behind the scene work to pull this off so seamlessly.
I am the owner of the vw bug. Thanks for the pics and the write up was awesome.
I’m glad you like the post. I have a few more shots of your car in my flicker album of the shots I took that day. There are lots more good photos from the RDM too.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34350489@N05/albums/72157683967127304
yeah my dude, rdm is an official organization, with over 60 volunteer admin, that also have help from police when needed, as well as approval from all of the local businesses in the area, for the event to he held. that’s the reason why we are allowed to be at that location and have the event every week. good article and great photos!
Donks work for me sometimes and other times not. But for some reason I’m digging the donked Firebird. It’s the kind of car that needs radical change, and it got it.
It somehow brings out the car’s lines. I’m drawn to it too.
Not a fan of donks, but that Monte Carlo looks good. Probably has a lot to do with the matching colors and the wheel size not automatically being the largest one could buy.
I like this car show. It shows that there can be diverse sets of auto passions all in one meeting.
I wish there was something like that here in MD, but all the car shows here have nothing but Camaros, Mustangs, Cudas, Vettes etc. You cannot fault a young person for thinking that all the camaros made were SS or Z28 and all the Mustangs made were Boss and GT.
Is the thing that is on the window of the VW Beetle some kind of air cooler? I am guessing the air flows into the inner chamber and comes out colder?
It is an evaporative cooler aka swamp cooler
Paul did an article on the swamp cooler here.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-capsule-firestone-thermador-car-cooler-swamp-cooler/
I’d never seen one in period.
The Fiero is awesome!
+1
Looks like a great show. I’ve never been a big Fiero fan, but I’d take that one for a cruise any time – preferably on the dunes or a dirt road somewhere.
Having little to say that hasn’t already been said about the cars themselves, the photography is amazing! Just stunning. That shot of the couple walking arm-in-arm with the gathering as a backdrop should be on a gallery wall.
People loving cars!! ..I’d love to be there.. Great pictures Tim!! you tell a beautiful story.
Personally I like the Subaru, as my son and I are thinking about building a lifted Outback with maybe a post apocalyptic vibe. I was given one of the original Legacy based versions a few years ago with the typical blown head gasket 2.5. So we are thinking about a 1″ or 1″+ lift, tall winter tires, and a plastidip job for his winter beater. I let him use my SUV last winter because where he lives going to school requires 4WD or AWD several per year. Even with cable chains on new winter tires and traction control he couldn’t make it up the hill in his car. So he reluctantly has agreed that while he would prefer the V8 powered SUV, the Subaru would work, but that he wouldn’t want to be seen driving a stock Outback. Hence the lift, large tires and a dipping but w/o the tube work seen on many lifted Subarus around here and certainly not with an air filter hanging out exactly where the front tire will sling mud, snow and water at it.
This event looks like a blast! Great pics, great story. I’m not a fan of donks (and really dislike seeing them on true classics) but I gotta admit, the cars sporting ’em in these pics are pulling it off, bigtime. Definitely digging the black Monte. As has been said, the reasonable size of the rims and the color coordination are what make it work for me. I’d wheel that bad thing proudly, anyday. I’m not usually a fan of slammed cars either, looks to me like the suspension is broken, time to call the hook lol. Hydraulics? Do you know how much you have to butcher a chassis for those?
Fact is, none of the cars featured are my regular cup o’ tea, but they were all pretty cool nonetheless, and I really got a kick out of this article and the video. Made me want to go.
Would I ever build a car like any of these? No. But I’d wheel one of my classics to this show, just for the variety and change of pace, if I didn’t live across the country (in the steel buckle of the rust belt).
It was very cool to see a huge, diverse (I hate that word anymore but I can’t think of an appropriate synonym right now lol) event with what looked to be a mellow crowd, and while their tastes may be different than many of ours, they were all there to glorify and enjoy the same thing each of us here is obsessed with –
The Automobile. And that’s OK in my book.
Looks like an incredibly diverse group of vehicles and people. That blending of car cultures makes for a great show! Wish we had something like that around here…great photography as well.
Good day. I am the owner of the grey patina bug and well as the in the last article. the green one known as the dirty pick. thanks for the writeup.