Recalling my times with Momo

I have a couple of them, one in the M3:

And another on the sim rig:

Just checked something in my old Momo catalog. In 1992, we sold the Prototipo for $169. I’m going to assume that was list price.

In today’s money, that’s about $370.

Current list price for a Prototipo? $269.

chandler said:

David S. Wallens said:

We didn’t do much in wheels–just not our thing–although we could purchase directly from Panasport.

We had a set of these in stock, though. I want to say 15x7 4x100. If I could find that set now: Nardi road wheels by BBS.

These are what Axe Healey has on his mini.

Yes, I noticed the Nardi wheels on the Mini and, yes, totally jelly. 

HOSE ME DOWN!  This is THE perfect thread--memories! Our 510 had a beautiful Personal steering wheel and I had never held or experienced such a gorgeous steering wheel while in high school when my brother and I bought that Datsun 510.  My current 240Z has a MOMO in it now simply because I could not find a Personal steering wheel at the time.  

I am lamenting I knew nothing of Automod and wish that I did because the selection was pretty good (ok somewhat limited, but heck) and this was probably because I was living in CA at the time, but we still had places like FAR Performance in Mountain View to buy Datsun performance parts from.  

In reply to DavyZ :

Automod was cool, and we had a lot of Datsun customers. We stocked a ton of parts for Z-cars and 510s. If you needed an air dam, we probably had one in the back. (We kept lots of Xenon pieces in stock and, dang, I can still remember the part number: 3124.)

As I recall, most shipments were going to other shops, not necessarily retail customers. This was all pre-internet. I’d love to see another boutique-type place today. Could it work? 

Speaking of Cibie, I'd kill for a pair of Bi-Oscars. I had a couple on a 510 that I had to use adjustable throttle linkage rods on, mounted at the top of the housings and the grill, just so they wouldn't shake at speed. Ah, the fabulous '80s.

I still have that Autombile issue in the basement someplace.

In reply to offroadwine :

We had some NOS Cibie lamps at Automod. Should have bought them when I had the chance. 

Reading thru this reminds me of a swap meet I was at where a guy had a literal dump trailer full of NIB Kamei aero doodads.  Must have gotten it from cleaning out a distribution center there was so much.

Had I had more foresight, could have bought the whole things for pennies on the dollar.  

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

Phase 1: Collect Kamei castoffs.

Phase 2: ?

Phase 3: Profit.

Really, Phase 2 would be take it all to Radwood. 

Great thread! I worked for Brian and Automod from 1976 until about 1986 or '87. One of the most enjoyable jobs I ever had. We did have only quality accessories. Interesting timing on discovering Grassroots Motorsports and this thread. I'm having lunch with Brian and one of my friends and former Automod co-worker, Al Harper this coming week! Cheers, Chris Sanor

kayakamper said:

Great thread! I worked for Brian and Automod from 1976 until about 1986 or '87. One of the most enjoyable jobs I ever had. We did have only quality accessories. Interesting timing on discovering Grassroots Motorsports and this thread. I'm having lunch with Brian and one of my friends and former Automod co-worker, Al Harper this coming week! Cheers, Chris Sanor

Welcome to the family!  We love our car stuff so you should fit right in here.

David S. Wallens said:

I still think of all the cool parts that passed through my hands at Automod–and I could have bought it at cost.

When did you leave Automod? I bought so many Momo, Kirk, and random other bits and bobs from that place. I even bought the Momo Benetton steering wheel from there in 1996 just prior to doing the VR6 swap in my Golf Harlequin. You had mentioned Panasport, which Automod printed me the document, and I bought my first set of Panasports from there as well for our "Honda Carland" D-Mod poop-nugget.

Note - I still have the steering wheel in the original Momo box.

My snow tires were pretty good.

kayakamper said:

Great thread! I worked for Brian and Automod from 1976 until about 1986 or '87. One of the most enjoyable jobs I ever had. We did have only quality accessories. Interesting timing on discovering Grassroots Motorsports and this thread. I'm having lunch with Brian and one of my friends and former Automod co-worker, Al Harper this coming week! Cheers, Chris Sanor

Wow, small world and please say hi to Brian–just seeing your note.

I worked there from 1992-’94. 

And, yes, Brian was a stickler for quality products. He only carried brands that he believed in. 

In reply to metallitubby :

I put a Momo Beneton in my CRX–this is post-Automod–because it was the least expensive Momo I could find on eBay. Looking back, I shouldn’t have sold it with the car. 

I recently came across another Automod catalog here in my stuff. I need to flip through it. 

Rabbit is in paint/body for a few more days (hopefully) so no pictures.  I managed to find a matching set of 80's Momo pedal covers, shifter, and wheel.  Silly detail but made me happy to find it and have the interior come together.

In reply to 84FSP :

The details make the difference. I still have an eBay alert for a Kamei Dosen Boy for the 911.

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to metallitubby :

I recently came across another Automod catalog here in my stuff. I need to flip through it. 

I still have two Automod windshield banners (unstuck and probably dead) in my toolbox. I used to spend every cent I made on my Harlequin VR6, from the Kamei mid-hatch spoiler, Momo Benetton everything (which matched the Harlequin paint scheme), and lived out of European Car magazine. What a fun time that was.

In reply to metallitubby :

Wow, can’t recall ever seeing an Automod windshield banner. Somewhere I have a few smaller die-cuts. I should scan them.