IronMike Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 I was looking for some information on car clubs. I was approached this weekend about joining a local AACA region. My car is a nice driver but not a show car by any means. Since it is an original unrestored car my intentions are to preserve it as much as possible. This car has always been a driver and I want to be able to continue enjoy it in this manner. Some of the club members car's in the local AACA region are pretty exotic and very well restored. When my grandfather had the car he belonged to the AACA but he never had this particular car judged at shows. I wouldn't mind being in a club to share an interest with like minded people, but don't really have the desire to turn my car into a concours trailer queen......lol. Anyone out their have any club experience? Input appreciated. Thanks, Mike Quote
Dennis Hemingway Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 We belong to an open car club. We have a monthly meeting, caravan to car shows, put on 2 car shows a year, and just have fun driving our cars. The Club's name is "Just Cruisin' 4 Fun" Barstow, Ca. Dennis:cool: http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/justcruisin4fun/ Quote
Don Coatney Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 I am a member of the Murfreesboro Hot Rod Club. Link below http://www.4mhrc.net/index.htm Quote
TodFitch Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 You will probably get as many differing opinions on this as on, say, restore/original versus modify/rod. On the restore/original side, this is my take. You should belong to several clubs: 1. A general, all makes, club will get you contacts for all sorts of odd ball needs (nickel plating, upholstery trimmings, etc.). 2. A make specific club to help you find what you need on your specific car. And to help you find out what is original for your car (not that you may care to keep or make it original but is is often good to know what was there even if you don't plan on keeping it yourself). 3. Some local club that has good events to get the car out of the garage. This might be a local region of a national club. Or it might be a strictly local club. In either case there will be members that can recommend local suppliers and services which is a big plus. By the way, the AACA has a "Drivers Participation Class" for non-concours vehicles at its meets. And they have a "Historical Preservation of Original Features" classification for original cars that have not been restored. I have been a member of the AACA national since the mid-1970s but am not currently a member of a AACA local region because the ones near me don't do much more than monthly meetings which is not my thing. From the point of view of a club, some web site/discussion forums could be considered a club. At least based on the "services" I think a club should provide. A case in point is this site: You can get all sorts of information about parts, vendors, repair procedures, etc. from here and there may well be somebody on the forum that is local to you that can actually come on over and lend a hand. If you inclination is toward modifying or rodding a car I would guess there are similar considerations for joining a club. Or not. I am sure others will chime in on this one. Quote
moparjack44 Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 I'm a member of Tidewater Mopar, NSRA, and Goodguys. These clubs pretty much allow anyone, not a by invitation only, such as AACA. Jack Quote
Norm's Coupe Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 Just because you join a car club doesn't mean you have to completely restore your car to like new. Many people in car clubs will do as you want to do. Just drive it and keep it up as is. Nothing wrong with doing this either. That type of car is called a "Survivor" or good non restored "driver" by most people. Car clubs can be fun. However, if you go with something like the AACA or a Marque club such as the POC, Ford V8 etc. you usually have to join two clubs and pay dues to both the national and the local club. But........If you join an open car club such as mentioned by Dennis and Don, you only pay the dues for that local club. You'll also find that the local clubs like mentioned probably won't try to tell you how to restore your car. They don't care because it's your car and do not judge on complete originality. Plus you get a better cross reference on ways to fix you car should you have to. Just because you drive and enter your car in a show doesn't mean you have to enter the judging part, even though you are a member of the club. So I wouldn't worry about the condition, unless you are into getting trophies. This is true regardless of what type club you join. The real purpose of any car club is for car people to get together and enjoy their cars. Quote
Norm's Coupe Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 Mike, Simply going to local cruise ins without being a member of any club is nice too. You still meet lots of car guys and get to talk to them, and ask questions. You also can become good friends with those you want to. As such, you can still get together without the cruise in, help each other with repairs, go to swaps together, etc. Sort of like an unofficial car club. I don't belong to any clubs anymore, but get together with a lot of car guys for such things. Quote
oldmopar Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 Norm before you head off to other worlds just though I would remind you of the p15-d24 club even had a plate topper and a short lived newsletter. I still have the plate topper in the garage Ed Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 Norm is a member of the Greater Wisconsin Driveway Cruisers Quote
Norm's Coupe Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 Ed, I guess you could say I am a member of this club. The newsletter ended because people didn't send in any articles. Was getting too hard for me to keep coming up with new things to write about by myself after about a year or so. Plus, the forum sort of took the place of the newsletter because it is an everyday newsletter in it's own way. I still have my topper too. The newsletter and simple promotion through street rodder magazine did seem to help swell our ranks here greatly though. I still get calls once in awhile at home from people I don't know wanting to know how to join that sees that ad in the old street rodder magazine, or on Hemmings. (it's still listed on Hemmings web site under clubs). When I get them I always send them here to join us. Quote
Dennis Hemingway Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 Norm before you head off to other worlds just though I would remind you of the had p15-d24 club even a plate topper and a short lived newsletter. I still have the plate topper in the garage Ed Ed, If you look at the front of my car you can see the P15-D24 Owners Club plate topper. I had to repaint it this year so I painted it to match the car. Dennis:cool: Quote
Captain Neon Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 The only car club I am currently a member of and recommend is P15-D24.com. I am a subscriber to the POC's Plymouth Bulletin. I think that accurately classifies my involvement with the POC. I attended a meeting of the Rocky Mountain POC when I lived in Colorado, but promptly realised that they just liked to get together for a monthly meeting. Not my thing. Right now, I live in the Green Hills of Missouri, and have seen few if any antique cars much less '40s and early '50s American iron. I'd be interested in joining a truly local club, but doubt that my work schedule and interests would work well with what might be around locally. I am content to be a lone wolf, and post on this forum on a regular basis. Our local Sonic burnt down, but I am content with making a 2 hour drive to the nearest drive-in cinema in St. Joe when I have a Saturday night away from work. Quote
oldmopar Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 Ed, If you look at the front of my car you can see the P15-D24 Owners Club plate topper. I had to repaint it this year so I painted it to match the car.Dennis:cool: I took mine off when I sold my 47 bis coupe. I was thinking of selling the topper on ebay as a rare collectible for a few hundred but think I will save it for my 4 door a 49 1st series, which I work on in between other projects ,and will use it when I finally get that car on the road Ed Quote
Norm's Coupe Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 Dennis, I think that topper looks better the same color as the car. Ed, actually mine is hanging on the garage wall too. Quote
moparalltheway Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 The aaca is a fine organization. Just come to the TN State Fair grounds Feb.1st for the Stones River Region swap meet and see for yourself. AACA members have lot's of knowledge for most all makes. Quote
TodFitch Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 I'm a member of Tidewater Mopar, NSRA, and Goodguys. These clubs pretty much allow anyone, not a by invitation only, such as AACA.Jack AACA will accept anyone, no invite needed. Don't even need a car. They do, however, hold pretty seriously to the concept of keeping cars original or restoring them to original. So don't bother with them if you like modified cars. Quote
greg g Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 If you are interested in maintaning you car as an unmodified survivor, you may want to check out the Plymouth Pwners Club. They are a national org with many regions. Thier reason d'eta is to encourage the factory originality of Plymouth cars and trucks 25 years of age and older. They put out a very nice monthly magazine and have technical directors versed in all things plymouth by model range. Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 We still have a local/area car club.....Heartland Antique Auto Club....here in the Joplin area. I belonged to it back in the 70s, but sold the 47 Plym coupe and didn't have a useable old car for a while...so I dropped out. They still put on an annual show at the local mall, have meetings and probably do some tours. I just haven't decided to get back in. Got an application for the Plymouth Owners Club when in Tulsa in June of 07, but not sure there are any members in this part of the country. The nearest region is in the St Louis area.....about a 4 hour drive from here. They have a regional Mopar Club, but most cars in that are the later models with V8s......like Cuda's and such. They have invited me to join, but don't think I will. I only manage to get to 3 or 4 cruise-ins during the summer.....there are several around here. And maybe attend 2 or 3 shows.....due to having other things to do. You can meet others at these events who have similar cars and/or interests......so I don't worry about the club thing for now. Except that, our P15 is usually the only old Chrysler product to show up at area events. There is one Airflow now that sometimes appears. Occasionally some other, so, kinda hard to compare notes on our particular model. This forum is my best source of info......have learned over time, a lot of things I didn't know about my car. I enjoy attending one show near here, at Carthage, MO that is part of their Maple Leaf Festival (3rd weekend in Oct). Sometimes my son-in-law goes with me. I have fun working up displays of my "valuable junk" in the trunk for folks to look at. One of my favorite group of trunk things is my invented matching yellow items with the "Plymouth Builds Great Cars" signs. Plus the "Old Plymouth" gas and oil cans. Anyone can do something like this to tie in with their own car. Quote
Andydodge Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 Yep, current Secretary of the Mid North Coast Hot Rod Club, been a member for about 7-8 yrs, also member of the Chrysler Restorers Club of NSW, Australian Street Rod Federation........both of these since the early 70's.....i enjoy fence sitting.....lol...andyd Quote
Jim Saraceno Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 What you want to do with your car is what you should do with it. Whether you join a club or not. There are plenty of clubs out there and they all have a little different focus. Just talk to someone in the club, voice your concerns and they'll let you know if you're a good fit or not. Quote
moparjack44 Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 Tod, I love 'em all, but I lean toward HotRodding. Jack Quote
moparalltheway Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 I am a member of the aaca and have a few modified cars. Some have been displayed in the aaca museum in Murfreesboro. The aaca national events are mostly stock. The chapter sponsored car shows are for all. Quote
IronMike Posted January 6, 2009 Author Report Posted January 6, 2009 Thanks for the feedback. It has been a while since I have had a driver so I am looking forward to hitting some of the local cruise-ins this summer and meeting some folks. I will be checking out the swap meet Feb 1st in Nashville for sure. I checked out the Stones River Region's web site and it looked like an interesting mix of cars. I am not a trophy hunter so my interest in car clubs is mainly for the fellowship and shared knowledge. I have an 11 month old son and I want him to have the opportunity to grow up around the hobby like I did. Some of my fondest memories are working on the various Packards, Studebakers, Dodges and Plymouths that my Grandfather restored over the years. He has had some pretty sweet rides but the 50 Dodge Coronet that I have now was always his favorite (it was his last car to part with, he's 84 and doesn't drive anymore). We took it on a couple of fun drives to Dearborn to the Henry Ford motor muster in the mid 90's. So I am anxious to get out and get on the road for some family fun. Hopefully meeting up with some of the folks on this forum, you guys have been a wealth of information. Sorry to be so longwinded must be the Teacher in me. Thanks, Mike Quote
moparalltheway Posted January 6, 2009 Report Posted January 6, 2009 Don't forget the swap meet Feb 1st. Bring your son. Look me up. Quote
steveplym Posted January 6, 2009 Report Posted January 6, 2009 I'm a member of Goodguys, but mostly for the extras you get like a magazine every month full of pics and discounted entry to their shows. I belong to a local club, Southern Illinois Street Machines. All of us are friends and cruise together, as well as hang out. Great to go out to eat on a weekend or get together for a potluck. We have modified, originals, street rods, etc in our group. There is no discrimination against anything you want to do with your car. It's your car, as long as you are out enjoying it and having a good time who cares? We put on two car shows a year and give our money to charity by buying Christmas gifts for local nursing homes and kids who are less fortunate. It's a lot of fun and very rewarding. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.