During the winter, as we call it in Southern California, there’s still some pretty cool car stuff going on. The Horseless Carriage Club of SoCal holds a yearly event for 1932 and older stock vehicles, the club dates back to 1951. The Club also serves as a resource for accurately restoring period cars, an art that is rapidly fading in this era.
Their Holiday Motor Excursion brings out some incredible examples of Model T’s, Model A’s, roadsters, pickups, sedans, coupes and a few vehicles that are hard to describe. From the early Fords to the luxurious chauffer driven touring cars, there’s something for everyone.
The contingent of vintage bicycles was strong, with many riders out for a Sunday morning jaunt.
Just don’t expect to see an LS motor or small block Chevy or Ford in this group, if it’s a hot rod there will probably only be four cylinders.
Talking to some of the participants, there was a thread running through many of their stories, “This was my great Grandpa’s car that he drove out from Cleveland” or “My late father and I restored this Model T roadster and showing it off is my tribute to him.”
Participants are handed a secret map for the 64th morning cruise of the San Gabriel foothills and a final meeting place to gather for lunch. Rather than shooting photos in the crowded Arcadia Regional Park parking lot, there was an awesome view from the street corner across the street as they left for their excursion. The sheet metal is nice, but seeing hundreds of these classic cars driving and running is a spectacle.
It looked as though most of these cars were driven to the park, but there were a dozen or so enclosed trailers scattered on side streets.
This is the third event I’ve attended, the majesty of the cars of this long-gone era are absolutely worth the trip. And they drive them!
To follow the Horseless Carriage Club of Southern California, here’s their website: http://www.socalhcca.com
Hit the images below to expand them and then scroll on to see ’em all!
Let\’s see more on the Autocar!