What vintage racing event would be complete without a presence by one of the most famous, iconic vendors of speed equipment in history? Founded in California in the late 1940’s by hot-rodder and dry lakes racer Dean Moon, Mooneyes has been in business since and, thanks to an infusion of cash from Japanese enthusiasts, continues to build many of the same products it started making way back when, and many more. My own 1:1-scale ’56 Chevy sports several Mooneyes add-on accessories! For a firm with this kind of pedigree, its only right they get some prime real estate for their tent, right near the big sweeper turn on the infield.
I’ve called this post a diorama detail rather than a construction entry because the construction actually took place quite a while ago; in fact, this is the first of the sponsor kiosks that went up, before the car maker’s sponsor tents, but because Mooneyes stands alone as a different kind of vendor, their presence at the track is a different thing entirely, and thus gets it own space.
As you can see, helpful and knowledgeable sales dudes greet the growing crowd as employees and spectators alike watch the nearly endless parade of badass cars of all shapes and stripes passing in front of the tent from the inspection area on the way to the paddock. Several of the company’s own demo and project cars are on display, including a Ford Anglia gasser panel van, a wild custom ’56 Ford Ranch Wagon with a big block V-8 mounted amidships in a custom built frame, and a chopped and lengthened VW with tire-smoking torque from a radically built air cooled flat-4. A mid ‘70’s MoPar van gets the crew around the track whenever needed for publicity shots.
Whether a passerby is looking for an overflow tank for a ’32 Ford or an air intake for a ’72 Nissan Skyline, Moon has it, and it not only works, but it looks good, too! This is stuff for serious performance enthusiasts, so if that’s you, then step right up and place an order for whatever you need, and take home a cool T-shirt, too!
I can’t believe how great this looks and your right, this is an essential addition and a great find!