---
title: "Diamonds in the Rough Pack South Carolina Cars & Coffee Meet"
description: "There are some diamonds among the rough of Mustangs, Evos, and Ferrari 308s."
date: "2018-04-06"
modified: "2018-04-06"
authors:
  - name: "Talon Homer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/talon-homer"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/19923/diamonds-in-the-rough-pack-south-carolina-cars-coffee-meet"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "car show"
  - "cars and coffee"
  - "classic cars"
---

# Diamonds in the Rough Pack South Carolina Cars & Coffee Meet

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/04/cars_040-e1522958324572.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

About once a month, people from all over the upstate of South Carolina gather in the parking lot of Michelin's U.S. headquarters to show off their Mini Coupes, S2000s, and [911s that are ever-inflating in value](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/19308/check-out-this-custom-rwb-style-1989-porsche-911-show-car-for-sale>). This article is not about any of those. It's about the really special cars. The cars that only appeal to someone with a more discerning palate.

## The VW Club

![message-editor%2F1522951013245-cars\_040.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522951013245-cars_040.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522951066841-cars\_085.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522951066841-cars_085.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522951108713-cars\_057.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522951108713-cars_057.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522951146435-cars\_091.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522951146435-cars_091.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

A recent show turned out to have a lot to offer to Volkswagen nerds. Parallel parked in the back of the lot was a pack of classic VWs, book-ended by some Beetles, and a cherry second generation Scirocco. The Scirocco is a rare sight in the U.S., especially one in such great shape. In the center of the lineup was a golden Golf with a tidy looking VR6 swap. Deeper in the crowd was a Karmann Ghia coupe, which mates the utilitarian Beetle underpinnings to a much prettier body, and another Golf that looked like it was on its way to a time attack race.

## Sports Classics

![message-editor%2F1522951733262-cars\_015.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522951733262-cars_015.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522951784787-cars\_019.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522951784787-cars_019.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522951838589-cars\_077.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522951838589-cars_077.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522951872874-cars\_120.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522951872874-cars_120.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

There was also a good selection of Euro and Japanese classics on display. The first car is a mid-'60's Datsun Fairlady roadster, the precursor to the Z Car line, and one of Nissan's first big hits in the U.S. market. Next is an [Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/18440/watch-the-alfa-romeo-that-was-dropped-off-a-flatbed-shatter-its-oil-pan-at-hoonigan>). Its two-liter four-cylinder engine cranks out about 130 horsepower, which was a great number for the time.

The third photo is of a C10 [Skyline](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/16334/where-the-legend-of-the-nissan-skyline-was-born>) 2000GT coupe. The C10 was the first Skyline to bear the Nissan name, as previous iterations were built under a smaller manufacturer named Prince, and it was also the first generation of Skyline to wear the letters G T and R. Then we have a brilliant orange BMW 2002. The 2002 is a fun sports coupe that the Bring a Trailer crowd has recently decided is worth a stupid amount of money.

## American Iron

![message-editor%2F1522957214936-cars\_052.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957214936-cars_052.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957241605-cars\_038.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957241605-cars_038.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957516623-cars\_122.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957516623-cars_122.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957548037-cars\_051.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957548037-cars_051.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

As far as American classics go, there was the usual crowd of hot rods and LS-powered muscle cars, but there was also a 1969 Shelby GT500. The '69 cars are kind of the ugly ducklings in the Shelby family. They do away with the Mustang's iconic four-light look, in favor of a front end trying its hardest to look like a Camaro. On the other hand, you can't go wrong with that paint color, and the 428 under the hood. Then there's this beautiful Mustang Mach 1, and an immaculate Trans-Am, flaming chicken proudly displayed. One of my favorite cars of the day, however, was this '50's DeSoto Firelite. DeSoto was the mid-level division of Chrysler, until it went belly-up in 1960.

## JDM Yo

![message-editor%2F1522957627933-cars\_114.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957627933-cars_114.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957695149-cars\_115.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957695149-cars_115.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957717068-cars\_055.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957717068-cars_055.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957753316-cars\_110.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957753316-cars_110.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

This plain looking Japanese sedan is known as the Toyota Mark II, and it was available with a variety of inline-six engines, the top of the line being the high-tech turbocharged 1JZ. Then there's everyone's favorite Kei car, the [Autozam AZ-1](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/15100/this-autozam-az-1-thinks-its-a-supercar-and-we-love-it>). It oozes quirkiness out of every seam but is almost matched by the next car, the Toyota Sera. The Sera is a hatchback coupe that features butterfly doors, and it looks like it drove off the set of Demolition Man.

## Supercars

![message-editor%2F1522957807075-cars\_002.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957807075-cars_002.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957836236-cars\_006.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957836236-cars_006.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957851881-cars\_007.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957851881-cars_007.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

There was an assortment of Ferraris at the show, a California, a 488, and a couple 308s, but I didn't feel like taking photos of those. Instead, I got one of this man cozying up way too close to an Aventador. There was also a McLaren MP4 that's been modified by HyperFast Development up in Charlotte. In its current trim, the car makes more than 1,000 horsepower and does 193 miles per hour in a half-mile.

## Oddballs

![message-editor%2F1522957909743-cars\_061.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957909743-cars_061.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957931318-cars\_030.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957931318-cars_030.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957964239-cars\_050.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957964239-cars_050.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522957986194-cars\_117.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522957986194-cars_117.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

![message-editor%2F1522958014097-cars\_069.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1522958014097-cars_069.jpg>)
*Talon Homer*

Here's everything else, including a [Morgan Three Wheeler](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/16608/morgan-3-wheeler-vs-ferrari-458-spider-a-very-biased-comparison>), the only car quirkier than an Autozam, and a Plymouth Scamp GT. Only about 1300 Scamp GTs were ever made, but there are roughly double that many available on Craigslist right now. Other favorites were a Corvair wagon, a GMC Syclone, and a 968 convertible, which is the 944's weird cousin that Porsche never talks about.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/Motor_Friend>)