There’s one place where you can see everything from a Porsche 962 to an Itasha Autozam AZ-1: Radwood. Naturally, the one in the heart of Texas—Radwood Austin—is the biggest (and arguably the coolest).
There simply aren’t many other car shows in Texas where you can display something like a stock Honda Prelude and have it get the kind of love it deserves.
A well-used Porsche 962 exhaust. , Stef SchraderLess flashy, but still exciting to see. , Stef SchraderThe full itasha AZ-1 had a full chrome wrap. , Stef SchraderStef Schrader
You could do Cars and Coffee, but there’s a high chance that your glorious Soviet Lada will be overlooked in favor of a Dodge Charger Hellcat that’s definitely going to hit a curb after the show, and is most likely still wearing those yellow lip guards. Sure, custom cars, antiques, specific marques, and subcultures have more specialized shows, but your un-slabbed, pristine 1981 Chrysler New Yorker might have a hard time finding the right home to show off even with a matching luggage set.
Thus, people from all over the state and even farther flock to the show dressed in their best 1980s and 1990s gear with cars of the era along with other items from the time, like bag phones, Pogs, and of course, cassettes. Outdated modifications and accessories aren’t a drawback here—they’re celebrated.
My 80s car was broken this time, but I donned a late-80s Fisher-Price shirt and a side ponytail, grabbed a couple of the toys featured on my shirt and snapped some photos of things that caught my attention anyway at the largest Radwood gathering to date.
The best part of this show is walking around and hearing all the stories that go with these cars. Many of the cars are driven and enjoyed, so most attendees have a special story behind their ride.
Stef SchraderStef SchraderThe proof: only 10,124 miles on the odometer. , Stef SchraderStef SchraderEven the dashboard only had a couple barely noticeable cracks, which is a miracle to those of us who know how badly these get annihilated in hot weather., Stef SchraderStef SchraderStef Schrader
My best-in-show pick wasn’t one of the well-preserved models or even particularly rare, but rather, it was a 10,000-mile 1983 Porsche 944 purchased from the salvage auctioneers at Copart. This car came to the show from College Station, Texas, after getting its frame bent straight, and it still had a missing pop-up headlamp and a bashed-up front end. It was originally intended to be a parts car for another 944, but the great condition of the rest of the smashed-up car and its low mileage convinced the family who bought it to fix it and drive it.
So, enjoy this gallery of the stuff that fascinated me the most from last weekend’s Radwood show at Driveway Austin, from M5-swapped BMW wagons and rally-inspired road beasts to cool details like headlight wipers.
Dee Snider’s very own Jeep Wrangler. , Stef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderThe Peugeot 205 GTI had been on , Stef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderPorsche 962, Stef SchraderInterior, Porsche 962Headlight, Porsche 962, Stef SchraderPorsche 962: It Has the Meats, Stef SchraderThe Suzuki Alto Works included all of the Radwood-era buzzwords stitched onto its seats., Stef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderMini: The Beetle of Britain. They were built in the era, so they count!, Stef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderPlease enjoy this turbo as large as your skull., Stef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderI even found my exact dream car at the show: a manual aircooled Porsche 911 in Guards Red with a ducktail spoiler. Swoon., Stef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderThis car ran the Lemons Rally, which is a fun event for questionable vehicles that I highly recommend., Stef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderThis was? is? a Mazda Miata., Stef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderThis Toyota with an off-road park sticker on the side cleaned up incredibly well., Stef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef SchraderStef Schrader
