Winning Friends and Influencing People at SerialNine’s Block Party

It had been well over a year and a half since SerialNine held their last block party, and I was starting to worry that the original block party was a one-time thing. But on June 5, the guys at SerialNine put my worries at ease.

With very little promotion or even notification leading up to the event, the guys at SerialNine easily filled their parking lot with cars from all over the greater Vancouver area.
That’s sort of the beauty of SerialNine. With the block party being the second event they’ve organized, they’ve managed to create a very laid back, un-pretentious atmosphere that still draws out quality cars and people. In fact, now that I think of it, I don’t recall any annoying engine revving or burnouts.

What’s even more impressive was the heat that day– with little to no cloud coverage, the temperature rose over 30 degrees Celsius. For our American readers, that means it was around 89 degrees fahrenheit. This meant I couldn’t wear my flannel, and I’m dude that loves to wear his flannel.

Instead of retreating to their A.C.-equipped homes, a lot of people stuck it out for the majority of the day – chasing the shade as it moved from one building to the next.

Full disclosure: I thought I was going to show up and Kevin of SerialNine was going to unveil his six-speed track-ready Toyota Celsior. I created this narrative in my head because the last time they had a block party, they unveiled his oni camber iteration of the car and it spent the next two years thrilling many, confusing some and angering others on the internet.

Turns out the Celsior was still up on the hoist in the shop. So, I snapped a few pics of his Altezza instead.

I also managed to get one last shot of Gerard’s six-speed Aristo before he switched to one-piece wheels.

Visiting SerialNine and seeing Gerard’s JZS always reminds me just how I like Aristos, but also makes me feel shame because I sort of neglect mine. So I parked my big blue whale next to this 2JZ GTE-powered S14. It seemed fitting as both chassis’ share the same power plant.

SerialNine block parties mean something, even though there’s only been two. It’s like some type of weird call to action that all RWD Japanese Sedan owners must heed. Imagine that SerialNine is Ron Burgandy blowing their conch shell, and us sedan owners are the Channel Four News Team.

Once they blow that horn, we come running – no matter what state our cars are in. Ryan Van Bal is a perfect example of this; he trailored his project President to the meet, as you see  above.

It might sound odd or even crazy, but this isn’t the first time a project car has been towed to this event. Anthony Bell towed his Laurel to the first block party and won the people’s choice award. This time, he arrived under his own power, but there was no people’s choice award.
The fact that there were no awards this time around didn’t seem to matter or bother anyone. Instead, people just sat around trying to stay hydrated and chatted about cars.

Two years ago, I attended the first SerialNine Block Party as a guy who had just moved to Vancouver. Everything was new and exciting, but now I know people and I’m familiar with the scene. Going to SerialNine on that scorching hot Sunday wasn’t just about collecting content, like it was two years ago. It was about going to hang out with friends and maybe take a few photos. And the beauty of these events is exactly that: it’s more about community than anything else.