01 Mar Truly an Original
Whether building hot rods or high rises, Mike Harrah only knows how to go full throttle
In a profile for Velocity, a magazine targeted at car enthusiasts in Orange County, Mike Harrah shared stories of his favorite car acquisitions. There was his first car, a 1956 Chevy Nomad he bought at age 14 and restored from the ground up—taking it from an immovable heap filled with acorns and sporting four flat tires to a loved machine he drove for nine years. Harrah also remembered the time he was cited by the DMV with a $1,200 fine for selling cars without a dealer’s license. He was 17-years-old and would buy decrepit, perform basic maintenance and turn them around for a profit. Even in those early years, it was clear that Mike didn’t just love working with his hands, he also knew how to turn that drive into a successful business. Writer Patrick C. Paternie aptly describes, “Developer Mike Harrah lives the lifestyle of a highflying, high horsepower renaissance man. He’s equally at home sitting on drums for ZZ Top, the driver’s seat of his 3000 HP, 632 cubic inch Chevy Dragster, the head table at his award winning Ambrosia restaurant, or the pilot’s chair of his Gulfstream G IV business jet. “Mike’s personal garage has come a long way from that Chevy Nomad, but his love for fast cars and fast living remains the same.