2025 T-Shirts Now On Sale
2025 T-Shirts now available for Pre-order
- Women’s T-shirts will be sized and fitted for women and printed on a black colored super soft shirt in poly cotton blend (see photo above). Women’s sizes M-XL.
- Men’s T-shirts will be printed on a soft black shirt and sizes range from S-3XL.
- Order early as sizes are limited.
Click here to order now.
Online Registration Open for the 2025 Orinda Classic Car Show
2025 Orinda Classic Car Show opens online registration
It is official, the registration is now open for our 2025 Orinda Classic Car Show.
If you have a well-loved collector car, join us on September 6, 2025, in Orinda, California, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Come and meet old friends, and make new ones.
Our theme this year is “Power Meets Precision”, highlighted by our featured vehicles which will be the best of the 60’s & 70’s cars from the US and UK.
First Car ~ Selecting a Classic
First car ~ Selecting a Classic
As Told by Nico Morando
Here’s the story of my 1978 Volvo 242 GT.
As a sixteen-year-old sophomore on the brink of getting my driver’s permit and soon after my license, the first thing on my mind was what I was going to drive. Looking around the house, I was met with automatic after automatic, and it hit me, I wanted to drive a manual! I mean, is there a better way to learn how to drive than jumping into the deep end? Now the question was, what was the car for me? Something cheap, extremely reliable, safe (as far as you can get with older cars), but still a joy to drive with, most importantly, good looks.
And so became the obsession of scouring the internet for the perfect car, and oh boy, did I find it. The first time I saw a Volvo 240, I wasn’t too impressed, blocky, slow, family-style car, but just something about it drew my attention. I did more research and found that the company made a limited amount of a 2 door 242 GT version of the car, equipped with factory racing stripes, a corduroy interior, a sleek silver paint job, and some minor performance upgrades. This was Volvo’s way of trying to entice the market to look for sleeker, sportier cars while still being practically mechanically identical to the Volvo 240 already in production (note: 2.9M were made).
With my eyes set on the car I knew I wanted, 242 GT, the search began. There aren’t official numbers out, but it is estimated that Volvo imported about 1000 GTs into the US. While it is an extremely reliable car, 50 years will undoubtedly knock a large percentage of those off the road. I knew that I would have to talk to some specialists to find the gem that I wanted. While researching online I randomly found Rainbow Auto Service, a Volvo-oriented shop, up in Bellingham, Washington. Giving them a quick call, the owner, “Rainbow Larry,” said he knew of a guy who had one stored in his warehouse. However, the guy was not ready to sell the car. My dad and I gave the owner a call, and while he was unsure about parting ways with her, we told him my story and our family’s love of classic cars, and if the time ever came when he was ready to part ways, it would be going to a great family. 126 hours later he called back! He was ready and we became the 3rd owner of this beautiful 242 GT, 200,000 miles and all.
Key highlights: Corduroy interior with orange pinstriping to match the analog dash, racing stripes around the vehicle and rectangle yellow fog lights.
My Dad and I flew up Bellingham, Washington, which is practically Canada, half of our luggage consisted of a toolkit equipped with everything we needed (duct tape, zip ties, flat tire fixer, WD40, bubble gum, “everything McGyver would bring” my dad said – I didn’t know what that meant but I rolled with it) for the 900-mile drive home. We knew there was a high likelihood of a breakdown, but the owner had done some safety maintenance to get us home. The drive went almost too well, with our only problems being a squeaky belt, and a fog lamp almost popping out of the car.
While the car made it home, the problems with buying a 50-year-old car that had been sitting in a garage for at least 15 years started to arrive. I had to get it to pass California smog, fix a blown fuel pump, change spark plugs, track down fuses, and, most importantly, get a proper stereo installed. With all of this, I was learning to work on my own car for the first time ever.
The hard work paid off, and she runs great. Over the 8 months I’ve had her, she hasn’t broken down on me once. I now drive the GT daily to school, soccer practice, and anywhere else I need to go—all at a slow but acceptable pace. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, and I’m proud of my car. First cars are always special, and I hope she’ll last me many years.
Hilux ~ The Indestructible Truck
Hilux ~ The Indestructible Truck
As Told by Mitch Morando
The first time I saw a Toyota Hilux (pronounced “high lux”) double cab was in 1987 when I was in elementary school visiting my cousins in Japan. A 4×4 truck w/ 4 doors and a short bed is still one of the greatest ideas I’ve seen. Every trip abroad I would see the evolution of the Hilux which would never make it to the US.
In 2023-2024, our family moved to Lisbon, Portugal, for work, and I immediately began to learn about their passionate car culture. We didn’t need a car to get around Lisbon, as it’s very walkable, but our apartment did have a rare parking spot. Portugal is a left-hand drive—obviously a sign. And what if I could find a 1987 Hilux? The probability is slim, but the journey and challenge are part of the journey.
So I connected with locals and over several months, my absolute butchering of the Portuguese language, many hand gestures, and Google Translate, I started to find a few 1980s-era LN65 Hiluxes. All were in very bad shape and many had their beds converted into flatbeds as the only people who bought these were genuine farmers. The Hilux is a brute-force work truck, indestructible, and easy to fix. Case in point, Top Gear’s infamous “Killing a Toyota” where they fully submerge a Hilux in the ocean, set it on fire, drop it from a 10-story building, etc. Still started.
Hope began to fade. Then João messaged me one day saying that he got word of a farmer who had an old Hilux. João went to go see it and sent me pictures. My brain almost exploded. Stored in his barn for many years was a 1987 Hilux and in pretty decent shape! With some much-needed basic maintenance (timing belt, brakes, minor surface rust, etc) I had my daily driver. People looked at me funny, who was the “idiota” driving a pickup truck in Lisbon’s narrow streets!
Moving back to Lafayette I was certainly going to bring the newest family member.
2024 T-Shirts Now On Sale
2024 T-Shirts now available for Pre-order
Winning entry:
Student design Contest
The winning entry in our Student Design Contest was created by a 10th-grade student, Sam (Fangyuan) Cao. Sam’s art successfully combines the beauty of the Cobra (our featured vehicle this year) with a nostalgic feel.
2024 T-Shirts now available for Pre-Order
- Women’s T-shirts will be sized and fitted for women and printed on a heather royal blue colored super soft shirt in a poly cotton blend (see photo above). Women’s sizes S-XL.
- Men’s T-shirts will be printed on a soft navy blue shirt and sizes range from M-3XL.
- Order early as sizes are limited.
Click here to order now.
Online Registration Now Open!
registration for 2024 now open
Registration is now officially open for the 2024 Orinda Classic Car Show. Join us on September 7, 2024 10 am to 2 pm. The featured vehicles this year are ORIGINAL Shelby Cobras (we will be hosting 15 of these at the car show) and also this year we are paying tribute to the 60th anniversary of the Ford Mustang. Registration closes September 1, 2024 or until we sell out.
As usual, your well loved, storied cars of any model are always welcome to enter our show.
Welcome to our 19th Annual Orinda Classic Car Show
A message from Bill Waterman
Welcome to 2023 Orinda Classic Car Show – on Saturday Sept. 9th in Orinda Village. We had a great show last year and this year our theme cars will be LAND YACHTS! We loved seeing the 70’s Eldorados and 60’s Lincoln Continentals last year. So for this year we want your 1960’s – 1980’s “Luxury Cruisers” (any make and model, but luxury cars such as Lincoln, Caddy, upscale Buicks, Olds, Ford, Mercury are all welcome).
True Land Yachts
So, if you have one of these beautiful cars please enter it now- or tell your friends that have one. And of course, we want ALL types of cars, from muscle, retromod, exotics and all types of classic and special cars, like yours! Please mark this date in your calendar and plan on entering your car soon – the all new website is now open.
For classic and exotic car owners and fans our Orinda show is a uniquely fun and exhilarating experience. The show is always FREE to spectators, and proceeds benefit the OA’s Seniors Around Town (SAT) free seniors ride program. And for those less captivated by cars, please still come check it out – just have fun AND support worthy causes at the same time.
I hope everyone can come out and have fun at the show and raise funds for a very worthwhile cause. The Orinda Association, the Car Show Committee and partner Orinda Motors and its Orinda Classic Car Center all thank you very much!
Online Registration Now Open!
Land Yachts Ahoy!
Registration is now officially open for the 2023 Orinda Classic Car Show. Join us on September 9, 2023 10 am to 2 pm. As usual, your well loved, storied cars are always welcome. The featured vehicles this year are Land Yachts! So for this year we want your 1960’s – 1980’s “Luxury Cruisers” (any make and model, but luxury cars such as Lincoln, Caddy, upscale Buicks, Olds, Ford, Mercury are all welcome). Click link below.
The big boys were really made for the open road where living room comfortable seats made the front seat seem like a plush couch with a windshield and steering wheel in front of it.
