coop

La Carrera 2008: So many on the trailer

October 27, 2008 by Gary Grant 1 Comment

In the last day, it seems like the landscape at the 2008 running of La Carrera has changed dramatically. First off, the Home Team (so to speak) of Gerie Bledsoe and Coop have loaded the Chevy on the trailer with a blown engine. Not to despair completely though, as Coop has become Co-Piloto for Ron Lee’s Killer Kurtis and Gerie is apparently aboard the #422 Mercedes from Kansas. Presumably the original Co-Piloto’s are suffering from Montezuma’s Revenge.

While Coop has yet to confirm this, his latest batch of photos show the Kurtis being worked on feverishly in a back alley shop somewhere. I hope the devil hasn’t had her way with the super cool car.

Otherwise, there appears to have been some hard core carnage in the ranks. A couple of Volvos appear to have some bendage, while the stunning Sunbeam Tiger seems to have had a fairly substantial off. Fortunately there has been no word of any injuries.

For those of you on Stig Watch, rumour has it that he blew an engine and has changed said lump and is flying back through the field.

Somehow, I was unaware that our man Gary has been back in Cali for many days now. Still, he manages to have his thumb on what little news is coming out of Mexico and has heard a few more stories. Be sure to head on over and read a few.

As before, Coop has shared a bunch of images with us. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and Coop has a knack of capturing life at it’s best. After you oogle the gallery after the break, visit his Flickr page to see more of life in Mexico. Then, head over to Coopstuff and buy some stuff! Your purchase ensures that Coop can continue to afford to go on adventures like this and share the trip with all of us!
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La Carrera 2008: Qualifying is done

October 25, 2008 by Gary Grant 3 Comments

Those two guys up above are Coop and The Stig. No, not that Stig, but the real Stig. If you don’t know who he is, then stop right now. Go read up on him and then come back. We’ll wait…

Stig Blomqvist is competing in the year’s La Carrera behind the wheel of of one of those killer Studebakers. Think Studes are slow? Give your head a shake, these tube frame monsters get motivated by NASCAR engines!

As regular readers know, the artist known as Coop has graciously allowed us to use some of his images to report on the 2009 running of La Carrera Panamericana. There really isn’t too much else out there for coverage so far, so we’re happy Mister Cooper has brought along his camera for the ride.

Qualifying was yesterday and our man Gary Faules has managed to get the qualifying times up. Gary also has a few stories he’s watching as the event rolls forward. Maybe rolls isn’t the best term to use here.

Here is the full qualifying list. You’ll notice that Stig will start 3rd on the road. Here in The Garage, we are obviously rooting for Coop and Gerie Bledsoe in the #395 Chevy, who are playing smart and taking it easy with a #42 start.

La Carrera Panamericana 2008

DÃƒÂa 1 : PreclasificaciÃƒÂ³n Oct 26, 2007

Pos. No. Piloto Navegante Marca CategorÃƒÂa Tiempo Inicio DÃƒÂa 1 No.
Pre Hora Orden
1 10 Jorge Roberto Pedrero Zardain Marco Antonio HernÃƒÂ¡ndez ValdÃƒÂ©s Studebaker Turismo Prod 0:02:35 8:00:00 1 1
2 108 Bill Beilharz Jorge Ceballos Studebaker Turismo Mayor 0:02:36 8:00:30 2 2
3 110 Stig Blomqvist Ana Goni Studebaker Turismo Mayor 0:02:36 8:01:00 3 3
4 1 Gabriel PÃƒÂ©rez Torres Horacio Chousal Ford Turismo Prod 0:02:40 8:01:30 4 4
5 109 Francisco MÃƒÂ¡rquez GarcÃƒÂa Araceli RamÃƒÂrez Islas Hudson Turismo Mayor 0:02:41 8:02:00 5 5
6 114 Lars Stugemo Jonny Olofsson Stuebaker Turismo Mayor 0:02:42 8:02:30 6 6
7 133 Doug Mockett AngÃƒÂ©lica Fuentes Oldsombile Turismo Mayor 0:02:46 8:03:00 7 7
8 116 Pedro Pablo GarcÃƒÂa Jeusep Tunet RodrÃƒÂguez Volvo Turismo Mayor 0:02:49 8:03:30 8 8
9 51 Carlos Castillo Fregoso Carlos RamÃƒÂrez Cornejo Studebaker Turismo Prod 0:02:50 8:04:00 9 9
10 119 Gerardo Guerra Adolfo Guerra Ford Victoria Turismo Mayor 0:02:55 8:04:30 10 10
11 21 Leo Noetzel David Henry Foulkes Studebaker Turismo Prod 0:02:56 8:05:00 11 11
12 372 Richard John Tyzack Simon Jefferies Ford Mustang Historic C 0:02:56 8:05:30 12 12
13 388 Bill Shanahan Murray Smith Ford Falcon Historic C 0.02.56 8:06:00 13 13
14 454 William Bennie Steve Bennie Shelby Exhibition 0:02:56 8:06:30 14 14
15 115 OthÃƒÂ³n GarcÃƒÂa Silva Roberto Aguilar Cardenas Buick Turismo Mayor 0:02:57 8:07:00 15 15
16 370 Marc Davis Rupert Clevely Ford Historic C 0:03:02 8:07:30 16 16
17 141 Rusty Ward James Miller Studebaker Turismo Mayor 0:03:03 8:08:00 17 17
18 353 Hans Crhistian Zink Joern Kurzrock Ford Mustang Historic C 0:03:04 8:08:30 18 18
19 290 Richard Bailey Nate Wilson Vovlo Historic A Plus 0:03:06 8:09:00 19 19
20 88 David Gussack Nathaniel E Mundy Volvo Turismo Prod 0:03:07 8:09:30 20 20
21 120 Stewart Robertson Linda Robertson Studebaker Turismo Mayor 0:03:07 8:10:00 21 21
22 309 Brian DeVries Marc Noordeloos Porsche Historic B 0:03:08 8:10:30 22 22
23 335 Ricardo Vega Serrador Rodrigo GonzÃƒÂ¡lez Rosas Porsche Historic B 0:03:08 8:11:00 23 23
24 152 Richard Clark Andrew Prill Porsche Sport Menor 0:03:10 8:11:30 24 24
25 433 Carson Schller Shields Richardson Ford Victoria Original Panam 0:03:11 8:12:00 25 25
26 139 Alfredo Selbach Eduardo Selbach Studebaker Turismo Mayor 0:03:13 8:12:30 26 26
27 205 Sam Burg Dyana Marlett LT Sport Mayor 0:03:14 8:13:00 27 27
28 365 David Geldreich Wilhelm Ostrop Chevy Historic C 0:03:15 8:13:30 28 28
29 375 Jones Miller Robert Gehlen Sunbeam Historic C 0:03:15 8:14:00 29 29
30 334 Albrecht Haase Christine Haase Jaguar Historic B 0:03:16 8:14:30 30 30
31 358 John Gross Martin McGlone Shelby Historic C 0.03.16 8:15:00 31 31
32 421 Clyde Morter Carl Jensen Oldsmobile Original Panam 0:03:16 8:15:30 32 32
33 137 Steve Waldman Felipe Arguelles Ford Victoria Turismo Mayor 0:03:19 8:16:00 33 33
34 145 John Daniels Carl Wells Cadillac Turismo Mayor 0:03:19 8:16:30 34 34
35 357 Jerry Loftin Gary Jones Ford Mustang Historic C 0:03:19 8:17:00 35 35
36 257 Jo RamÃƒÂrez Alberto Cruz Volvo Historic A Plus 0:03:20 8:17:30 36 36
37 333 AndrÃƒÂ©s GÃƒÂ³mez Eaz Enrique Senior Porsche Historic B 0:03:21 8:18:00 37 37
38 405 Jan Lammers Chris Zeggers Porsche Original Panam 0:03:21 8:18:30 38 38
39 458 Charles Breed Bernd-Michael Rumpf Lister-Chevy Exhibition 0:03:21 8:19:00 39 39
40 32 Gustavo Robles Campos Gustavo Robles Jimenez Ford Turismo Prod 0:03:22 8:19:30 40 40
41 287 John Vos Alan Peterson Volvo Historic A Plus 0:03:22 8:20:00 41 41
42 395 Gerie Bledsoe Chris Cooper Chevy Historic C 0:03:23 8:20:30 42 42
43 277 Lars Kroiss Martin Rettenbacher Volvo Historic A 0:03:24 8:21:00 43 43
44 129 Enrique Bardasano Fernando Poo Studebaker Turismo Mayor 0:03:25 8:21:30 44 44
45 138 Baltazar Cavazos Chena Alejandro MarÃƒÂn MorÃƒÂ¡n Studebaker Turismo Mayor 0:03:25 8:22:00 45 45
46 212 Byron DeFoor David Hinton Jaguar Sport Mayor 0:03:25 8:22:30 46 46
47 301 Roland de Bargigli Jo Quartier Porsche Historic B 0:03:25 8:23:00 47 47
48 264 Sebastian Bleekemolen Jeroen Bleekemolen Porsche Historic A 0:03:27 8:23:30 48 48
49 253 Luis Barona Gael RodrÃƒÂguez Volvo Historic A 0:03:30 8:24:00 49 49
50 304 Juan Osorio Fernando GonzÃƒÂ¡lez Jaguar Historic B 0:03:30 8:24:30 50 50

Rest of the results and a huge gallery of Coop’s shots after the break
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The Road to La Carrera: Day 4 by Coop

October 21, 2008 by Gary Grant 1 Comment

It seems like the guys heading to La Carrera must have less access to the internet this year than in past years. In the last two years, we’ve had a constant (if inconsistent) stream of images, but there is very little this year. Fortunately for us, Coop has found the time to get into his Flickr account and upload some incredible images as they head to the south of Mexico.

How is our man Gary Faules doing? Suffice it to say that he’s having an incredible time with Hershel McGriff and somehow even managed to do some testing in a race car today!

Lucky buggers!

More images after the break
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Coyote Convoy through the eyes of Coop

October 18, 2008 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

On the way down to the southern tip of Mexico, you just know that Coop’s lens is clicking away constantly, what with all the incredible scenery and a bunch of race cars surrounding him. Unfortunately, internet service is spotty down there and we may not get as much coverage as we’d like from our usual sources. Coop is going to try to blog a bit, but in the meantime, he’ll post what photos he can in his Flickr page.

Mister Cooper has agreed to share some of his images with our readers….after the break of course.
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West Coast friends of The Garage are headed to La Carrera

October 16, 2008 by Gary Grant 2 Comments

Even though it is so damn far from Ontario, the La Carrera Panamericana race has had a huge effect on The Garage. Forgetting the immense history behind the event for a moment, we have made a bunch of friends through our coverage of the event over the past couple of years. The most obvious is our regular West Coast contributor, and close friend, Gary Faules. Through La Carrera, we’ve also gotten to know that devilish artist Coop.

Last year we followed Team California’s Best as they attacked the legendary event. This year, Gary is on his way south from California with Hershel McGriff, the winner of the first La Carrera to celebrate the event rather than compete. Mr. Cooper is once again acting as Co-Piloto for North American Director of La Carrera Panamericana Gerie Bledsoe. Gerie and Chris left yesterday, leading the Coyote Convoy to the south of Mexico.

If I’ve gotten my dates right, Gary and Hershel left this morning in a big bird, eager to cheer on the competitors. We’re hoping to get some photos from Gary and Coop over the coming days and we’ll be sure to pass along anything we can.

Good luck guys, we wish we were there with you!

The Old Crow is the new face of Tommy Hilfiger

March 4, 2008 by Gary Grant 2 Comments

Through the eyes of Coop and Aaron Von Minden, we’ve been lucky to grab some glimpses of The Old Crow, a land speed record racer built from the fuel tank of a fighter plane that both of the guys worked on. Owner Bobby Green was approached by the minions of Tommy Hilfiger to see if he would be interested in having the historic racer involved in a bit of a photo shoot. One thing led to another and Bobby & friends built another car in an incredible 2 days and both cars became the focal point for Hilfiger’s 2008 Spring ad campaign. Currently, The Old Crow is on display in Amsterdam.

Bobby has the full story on The Old Crow blog and we’ve got some video for you after the break.
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Holiday gift giving guide: Coop Stuff

December 3, 2007 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

We’ve started our Holiday Gift Giving guide with a whole bunch of art, and I have no intention on changing that theme just yet. I’ve been very lucky to get to know a few guys on the west coast through this journey that is The Garage, and one of the most influential has been the mightily talented artist, Coop. Mr. Cooper has opened my eyes to the history of hot rods and his own unique styles.

Fan’s of Coop’s blog and Flickr page will be happy to know that their loved ones can buy them their very own Coop art and bits of Coop goodies from the appropriately named Coop Stuff store. Just be sure there are no kiddies around when you open the page up if you’re uptight, as they will see Coop’s boobies!

The about to become classic Helmet print is 22×22 inches and is one of 50 signed and numbered pieces for only $100
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Coop makes dots special

November 19, 2007 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

One of our fave artists here in The Garage, Coop, has taken some time away from his muses (or should that be musi?) to spend some time painting dots. These aren’t just any dots though. This dizzying blur of red, white and blue dots melds together at a distance to become an American motorcycling icon.

As always, very cool Mr. Cooper. Very cool indeed.

Coop visits So-Cal Speed Shop open house

November 4, 2007 by Gary Grant 2 Comments

For those who just can’t get enough kool in their lives, we can be thankful for the lens of Coop. Yesterday was So-Cal Speed Shop‘s Hot Rod Halloween Party and Coop was there to document the gathering on digifilm. As always, the images are awesome! To get the full deal, visit Coop’s Flickr page. If you are a Flickr user with your safe search turned off, you can also check out Coop’s other fun goodies.

The Coop interview at The Jalopy Journal

August 31, 2007 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

Caution: Boobs Ahead

Not really, the sign is a warning for the evil speed bumps the Mexicans call Topes. This shot was captured by Coop at the 2006 La Carrera Panamerica.

We promised some fun today and who are we to lie? Over at The Jalopy Journal, lucky Ryan Cochrane spent some time interviewing the man himself, Mr. Cooper, aka Coop.

“When I drew that Devil with a cigar clenched in his teeth, it was a one-off thing for a Zippo lighter. It took me about thirty minutes from start to finish, and I had no idea that it was going to become my trademark, my Flying Eyeball or Rat Fink.”

As a late blooming Coop fan, I hadn’t really known too much about the man’s background, only what I’ve picked up from a few e-mail conversations. Oh yes, and my obsession with his Flickr page. When you visit, be sure to uncheck the safe search box on your own Flickr account so you can get the full effect.

Now, enough of me! Head on over to The Jalopy Journal for the full read.

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