The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk car clubs?

Hi everyone....I'm not sure if this is the best place for this question, but I figured it's a good place to start.

I have recently bought a '56 GMC and am still pretty new to the restoration game and need some advice on possibly joining a car club, but I know even less about them than I do about working on old trucks. Basically am looking for a group of people to do shows with and to also get hands on help when needed beyond the wealth of knowledge I can find on here. Also one of the goals of this project (besides restoring the truck of my dreams) is to help my kids (2 boys and 1 girl) to learn to love the classics the way my wife and I do.

Long story short.....does anyone know/recommend a club in the Olympia/Tacoma areas of Washington or even a national club that is like this? Most of what I have been able to find just sponsor large shows and publish a magazine and seem to be made up of people with lots of money to show off....not really what I want my kids think car collecting/restoring is about. Thank you for any and all help.

Welcome, Jon.

As you can see from my info, I'm not even close to you. However, from my own experience, I recommend you look for cruise-ins and show-and-shines in your area. If WA is like TX, these things are happening continuously; it becomes a matter of how far you want to drive. These are the "show what ya brung" events, where you'll see cars/trucks from beaters to top-notch. Ask around those events. Oftentimes you'll see smaller regional clubs having a presence there.

Around here, Sonic Drive-Ins are frequently busy on Saturday nights. A nearby Hooters had their monthly "Midnight Madness" show recently.

You might want to look over list:
link 1
link 2
link 3

Bill

If your truck has an inline motor, there are two chapter of Inliners International in your state. Check out www.Inliners.org website for more info.

Jon, my experience with clubs includes the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America (VCCA) and 3 of its local groups called "Regions". I have also partiocipated in events with some other clubs.

In the approximately 50 years that I have enjoyed the car hobby I have not found any groups outside of racing where even a significant minority of members actually do any work that requires creativity and skill.

Most guys I have met either order parts from a catalog and run only those items that are for sale that way or pay others to do everything.

Forums like this seem to be the places where actual gear heads "meet" and share information.

Hi Jon, I don't know Lacy very well, except as an exit I drive past going other places.

In Seattle and Tacoma there are lots of car shows and if you go to a few and strike up conversations with the owners of the trucks most like you want yours to be you should quickly learn which shows near you are best and you'll have probably met at least one or two club members along the way.

The Olympia chapter of ATHS is pretty active including doing an annual show out in Shelton. If you are restoration oriented ATHS is a good club to join. The show in Shelton always has a good mix of modified and original trucks.

Try going on the 'HAMB' forum on JalopyJournal.com. It is a traditional rodding site but there are plenty of folks on there and I bet some are near you. I believe there are 60,000 plus members.

Do an introduction if you join.

Guess I am one of the lucky ones. I can go to a different cruisin 7 nights a week during the nice weather.They are places where you can get accuainted with people who share your interests,and are a big help when it comes to restoring or streetrodding a vehilcle.I have gotten some good advice from people and I have given a lot of them, some good advice.I always steer clear of the so called clubs,cause they all seem to want you to join for various reasons,and there is usually money involved.The biggest thing to have when you start a restoration is a basic knowledge of mechanical things and how they work.There is a wealth of knowledge right here on this sight for restoring op upgrading your old vehicle.I streetrodded my 55 pickup,cause thats the way I like to do things. When I fire it up and take it out for a ride or to a cruisin,I realize that there is a lot of me in that old pickup,which is a good feeling.

I know for a fact there are a few hot rod/car clubs down in Tacoma, but I forget the names. I am a motorcycle club guy myself! (Brit Iron Rebels) A Club called the Mischief Makers sponsors Hot Rod a Rama in Tacoma in the area of the Swiss Tavern in August. Don't let the Tavern throw you, it takes up several blocks and 90% of it is accessible to under 21 folks. I plan on taking my 14 year old son. They didn't do it last year, but I went the year before, it was a blast. Loads of cool cars and trucks, all pre '65, no trailer queens and a build it yourself vibe vs. Microsoft exec-rich-guy who-bought-a-hot rod-vibe...They should have some pretty good rockabilly bands as well, maybe a pin up show. A couple of good vendors, last time there was a pinstriper working on scene...Heres a link

http://hotrodarama.com/about.html

I am not associated in any way....

As far as Clubs in general, I can say that being in my motorcycle club has made the whole experience 100% better. Riding is fun to begin with but the addition of good friends and a collective knowledge of bikes and mechanics, not to mention places to ride to has been in valuable...If you can find the right Club, go for it!

..the first thing you should ask in considering a club is to see their mission statement and a copy of their By-Laws. I'm not saying they are bad if they don't have this but a good purposeful club will have these. How do I know???
I joined a club several years ago and it was ran by some people who's way was "my way or the highway". Well, after about a year the club members decided if we were going to do it we would do it right.
I consider the club I belong to one of the best. An elected group, of which I was a participant, wrote a mission statement, studied lots of clubs and bylaws and wrote our own. We registered as a non-profit orginization.
What have we done in the past?.... and present?
So far this year we have done a cruise in to benefit the Hemophiliac Blood Disorder Roundation which included an auction of stuff from teddy bears to Nascar stuff like fenders,drivers jackets, autograped stuff ect ect. They got ALL proceeds.

Last Saturday we helped the March of Dimes put on a show.....last year we donated $500 to two soup kitchens, $1000 to an after school program for needy children, helped some families at Christmas with cash donations, did several cruise-ins for children, and a couple adults who had lukemia and some other disorders...oh, and we set up a minimun donation of $500 each year to the local Vocational school for a deserving young man to pursue auto mechanics. There are other things we do as well.
How much does it cost...... dues are $25 per year. From the club funds the members eat a Christmas dinner and the club pays for the meats/drinks for a yearly picnic.
We do visit other cruise's/shows as a group. There is no drinking or profanity allowed period...if so we do have a policeman member to help take care of that.... and speaking of law enforcement we have a get together set up for the 17th of this month at the gun club to help them in a cause.

So, am I proud of our club. Yes, I watched the tears flow as checks are delivered to needy families, cancer victims of all kinds and so the list goes. While it may seem like I"m bragging here we do not as a club. When most folks find out what we do they just say "man, I didn't know ya'll do all this". We go about our business in a business kind of way. Just knowing we are making a difference is satisfaction enough.

Sorry if this is so long but hey, a good car club is a good thing for the community and surrounding city/county. I just renewed my membership for the 10th year.
Very few of the members are "well off" We drive show cars, clunkers, originals
hot rods, rat rods. We like oldies music, good food and talk car and truck stuff. Life is good.

Thank you everyone for your ideas and advice....And you guys are right, this probably is the best place to get specific advice for the ol' girl, but am looking for a club to have camaraderie and possibly public service projects, I've ran EMS for about 14 years and am a member of a volunteer fire department so I like groups that help others and this is a good way to get my kids involved too from the sounds of it. Thank you again, and I definitely look forward to using anyone and everyone for advice and guidance for this beginner Gear Head.... :-)

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