Member Stories ~ San Francisco Old Car Picnic

By Josh Deitcher

The Old Car Picnic this last weekend at Golden Gate Park did NOT disappoint. According to event organizers, there were over 650 vehicles that attended. Along with this impressive number, I can only suspect that there were thousands of spectators, hundreds of pounds of meat BBQ’ed and millions of stories and laughs shared.

If you have never attended the Old Car Picnic, it is an event that is truly San Francisco, or maybe a nod to what San Francisco once was. I mean… they let us park on the grass at Golden Gate Park guys!

Not a traditional “car show”, it is an event for enthusiasts to gather with their cars, trucks, vans and motorcycles and spend a day at the park cooking, eating, conversing and looking at row after row of classic cars. It is very similar with our “Vairs at the Vault” event. A celebration of the classic car culture and the people who keep the hobby alive. No trophy hunting here. Just mutual admiration.

As some of you have read, club member Laurence Jones recently acquired a 65 Monza coupe. Not just any old Corvair sitting in a yard. This car has a bit of a SFBA pedigree being previously owned by Lu Goni and Paul Lacey. I was excited to see this car in person and Laurence was excited to take it out for a drive, so it was decided that we would take the cars out to the Old Car Picnic.

Getting there was an adventure in itself as there were many rallies around the city. The only silver lining about being stuck in traffic is that the folks stuck next to you will almost always strike up a conversation about your Corvair.

Once we were in the park, we found a great spot and made a day of it. Even among a sea of over 600 cars, the two Corvairs sat proudly and shined proudly for the sea of onlookers, photographers, story tellers and curiosity seekers.

When we decided to walk the park, we found two other Corvairs at the far end of the park. It was a really great day.

If there is interest, it would be great to have a large SFBA showing at the event next year. The Corvairs are very well received and the event should be one to check off of your list.