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Image courtesy of In My Garage
We all know Griot’s Garage for their quality car care products. They are renowned across the nation for having some of the best stuff on the market to help you care for your car. Whether it’s their famous Speed Shine or any of the various cleaning and dressing goods they supply, you know it’s good for use on even the nicest of show cars. The part that not everyone knows is that their corporate headquarters in Tacoma, Washington, is a remodeled Coca-Cola bottling plant. We challenge you to find a cooler-looking building for company in the automotive industry.
The first Saturday of every month, Griot’s puts on a themed car show, and invites everyone to drive in with their classic cars early in the morning. They’ve trademarked this event and call it: Caffeine and Gasoline. The event lasts only a few hours, starting around 8:00 a.m., ending around 10:00 a.m. 
There are two parts to these car shows: part one is just hanging out in the parking lot, where all the attendees park, and are encouraged to mingle. Part two is inside, and that is where the show cars go. The kind of cars that nobody would let sit out in the rain. They always do a theme, and last month the theme was Seahawks, and so everything was blue and green. This month’s theme was Hot Rods and Roadsters, so everything there was fast and mean.
We found a row of newer model Camaros, and a couple of Corvairs parked together. It turns out the recent rainfall and wet pavement weren’t enough to discourage drivers used to the wet weather of the Pacific Northwest. The cars outside were pretty cool, but the really cool cars were inside and under cover.
The ZL1 emblem belongs to the colorfully lit, black Camaro.
Inside, we found two custom Tri-Fives, a stunning ’58 Chevy truck, and an awesome ’69 Camaro. The two Tri-Fives were a pair of nearly identical ’55 Chevy Bel Airs, both built by a local shop called “Wicked Fabrications.” They were both powered by a 383 cubic-inch small-block engine, backed by a 700R4 transmission, and floating on an Art Morrison chassis. The one place they differ is the EFI: One is listed as having a “fast” EFI system, while the other specifically states that it has a Ram Jet EFI system.
The left two images of the car without the standard circular air cleaner are of the Ramjet injection car, while the image on the right is the 'fast' EFI car.
The event was filled with car enthusiasts young and old, and it was also a great time to get familiar with the Griot’s building and their staff. We hope to attend more of these throughout the spring and summer months, as the weather improves.
What do you think of this month’s Caffeine and Gasoline? Do you want to see more? Let us know in the comments section and we’ll keep you filled in as they keep having the shows!
