DIORAMA DETAILS – Choosing A Ride for a Day at the Track!

“Es Ay Tee You Are Dee Ay Why…night!” So sang the Bay City Rollers with a Billboard #1 hit in 1975, and that year is going to be significant to tonight’s post. I’ll tell you why in a bit, but yeah, I’m posting LATE tonight, dear readers! Usually, my weekend posts drop in the morning, but this is the first time in a long time I’ve had a Saturday almost all to myself, and I’ve been enjoying it! I’ll show you a little bit of how, and why it relates to Drag City and the sprawling, ever growing scenery around it!

It started with a Friday night dinner with my cub Jason and his family at Old Santa Fe, followed by a night at the movies – something I rarely do these days – when I humored J by accompanying him to a screening of The Smurfs movie! Hey…stop laughing! OK, I’m not a Smurfs fan…you’re probably not either. But Jason is; that’s one of his Saturday morning memories. While I was watching all the Hanna Barbera and Filmation stuff, he was watching Smurfs, so, OK, sure; free movie? Why not? Well, it turned out to be a far more entertaining film that I was expecting! Silly, of course, but fun! We had a good time! And since I crashed at his place that night, I woke up this morning only a couple of miles down the road from you know where! And you know what that means!

I was more restrained than usual this time around and kept to the 50 Cent bin and the dollar wall for the most part, buying only one premium and three regular price main lines, but I still came away with some great stuff, and one in particular really stood out: it’s so cool that, yep: it has to go on the diorama!

I swung back by J’s pad to drop off the cars I got for him and to make sure the kitters, Turbo and Nitro, had enough food and water. And so, content that the cats were playing quietly with their Hot Wheels, I left Jason’s place and headed to the office to do some network diagramming (yes, I had to work for a few hours even today) before heading home to a quiet evening at home with my toys-something I have far too little of these days! I had a project in waiting that I wanted to work on, and that’s where we’re headed next!

Being down in the basement to do a little more rearranging on the diorama got me thinking about heading to the track with my buddies on a summer race day…

Since I am your conduit to what’s going on at and around Drag City, Jason and I, and now Roxy as well, are essentially functioning as reporters from the scene. “The Holy Grail,” my old gray ‘56 Chevy Two-Ten sedan, is an excellent conveyance for two or three people and their gear: it’s got plenty of power, is decently reliable, and great on the highway. But I have been wondering if we need something a little bit more utilitarian: something a little newer, a little more versatile, a little more truck-like. Remember that the 1980s were the era before the reign of the SUV! “SUV-like” vehicles did exist: the Chevy Suburban, the Ford Bronco, the Toyota Land Cruiser, to name three off the top of my head: but they were much more like trucks than today’s SUVs, most of which are more like cars. So, I was thinking about some good candidates for such a vehicle for us to jaunt down interstate 8 to Wardglenn.

Now, of course we’re going to want something classic, something with some gravitas behind it: but we also need something that’s functional, something that makes sense. So, after a little bit of thought – but not much, I assure you! – 3 vehicles sprang to mind for this purpose:

1. 1965 Land Rover Series II
2. 1975 Chevy Blazer
3. 1985 Toyota SR-5

Hmmm… which one to choose? It seems they all have something to offer…

1. Land Rover Series II

Pros: Iconic, photogenic, rugged as hell, looks great with desert dust and vintage signage.

Cons: Slow. Like, “watching the taillights of your own patience fade into the horizon” slow. Not ideal for parts runs or beer hauls to Turn 14.

Vibe: Colonial rally romantic. Cool for show, frustrating in practice.

2. Toyota SR5 4×4 (’85 style, BTTF spec)

Pros: Light, fast, reliable, looks killer in bright blue, and has pop-culture clout. Also very plausible as a real mid-’80s vehicle in Wardglenn.

Cons: Slightly less “American muscle,” but balances that by being universally loved and respected — even by old-school V8 heads.

Vibe: California cool with just enough grit. Works for late-night escape missions and hauling greasy engines.

3. Late ’70s K5 Blazer

Pros: Total badass. Big V8. Drop the top and it’s a rolling party. Plenty of room for tools, lawn chairs, and Roxy’s coffee gear. Retro-perfect.

Cons: Gas-guzzler. A little bulky. Loud even when you don’t want it to be.

Vibe: All-American. Think “Turn 14 BBQ command center.” Jason’s probably already called dibs on the tailgate seat.

🔧 So what’s it gonna be?

If you want style and grit, with a wink toward cult movie charm? SR5 in bright blue is a killer pick. If you want authority and utility, with American grunt and a touch of dirtbag luxury? The K5 Blazer is the undisputed beast. If you want vibes over practicality, with an unbeatable silhouette and storytelling presence? Land Rover’s your spiritual choice — but maybe not your functional one.

Well….OK then, so then I had to think about what Jason would want (and I can ask him, since he’s real) and then I had to think about what Roxy would want (and she’s not real, but I can ask her “AI representative” for her input).

So how do you think that went? What would you choose?

If you’ve ever read this blog before, I have a feeling you know what my choice would be! As for Roxy’s preference…Roxy would absolutely have an opinion, and she wouldn’t wait to be asked. She’d probably eye the Blazer, smirk just slightly, and mutter something like:

“Hope you’re not planning to let that thing idle for twenty minutes again like last time. Smells like unburnt regret.”

Then she’d climb into the Toyota, fire it up on the first crank, and be halfway to the parts shack before I could say “let’s go.”

As for Jason — I need to ask. Jason can be painfully practical at times.

So, I did! And I reminded him that since this is 1986, none of these rigs have air-conditioning, but they will ALL have stereo tape decks, because we can’t road trip without mix tapes! Once that was out of the way, he made a couple of good points about the Toyota: it’s too small for both of us and our gear, let alone 3 of us…and then on top of that, it has no security: its a truck, everything will have to sit in the bed, and no weather protection besides! And the Blazer? A gas guzzler! Too big, too noisy, too flashy!

So, Roxy picked the ‘Yota. J picked the Land Rover. Your bumble blogger? Well, I say J is right that the Toyota is too small, but as appealing as it is, the Land Rover is too slow! Its not gonna be any fun thrumming along in the slow lane on the California interstate with 67 horsepower no matter how good the gas mileage is! And on top of that, the LR is also going to be the most uncomfortable of the 3! If the Blazer becomes the crew rig, we all know who’s driving most of the time…And we definitely know who’s controlling the stereo!

But there’s one overarching reason why I’m pulling rank on my friends, and that is…THE HOT WHEELS MODEL! Because not only do I have 3 of them, one of which I’ve opened and done a little extra detailing on with the paint pens, but I also have a new little pile of 3D-printed figures that I’ve been waiting to paint! And now that I have some time to do so for the first time in ages, I say its time to get this party wagon rollin’! Break out the acrylics and the brushes and let’s go to work!

And there you have it, dear readers: the reason this post is dropping right before midnight! I spent the night working on this “tableau,” for the first time putting myself and my friends on the scene! So, you oughta jump in and ride along with us! If you’re a fellow gearhead who either remembers the ’80s or wish you’d been there, I can promise you a good time!