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I came across an unusual car show, and it turns out to be less than 20 minutes from me. The Stahls Music and Motor Museum in Chesterfield, Michigan is hosting an "orphan car show." Not only that, but it's not up to you to decide if your car is an orphan or whether or not you can bring it to the show. Rather, one has to apply to the show organizers using a form on the website, and THEY decide if your car is admissible. If they do, you are sent an invoice for the $25 entry fee and a packet of info describing how it all works.
I assumed Oldsmobile counts as an orphan because the brand is gone even though the parent manufacturer still exists, which is also true for Plymouth, Pontiac, Mercury, and Saturn. So I submitted "applications" for all three of my Oldsmobiles and asked them to pick the one I should bring, assuming they accepted any of them. They did accept them, and they want me to bring the '78 Toro XS. Cool.
Here's part of what they sent me in the acceptance email. Interesting that they will have "youth judging" with middle and high school students working with "senior" judges. Pretty cool about the "pass in review." They're going to tell my car's "story." I'd better write something up ahead of time!
This the first year for this show. I hope/assume it will be successful. It will be very interesting to see what other orphans show up, including any other Oldsmobiles. At least the place won't be clogged with Chevys and Fords!
The show will take place on Saturday, September 13, opening at 7:00 AM for vehicle check-in. Please plan to arrive early so we can direct you to your spot before the judging begins at 9:00 AM. Our volunteer team will be on hand to assist with parking and answer any questions.
The show will run until about 4:00 PM and will include youth judging, awards, and a special Pass in Review program where each car’s story will be shared with the crowd. We encourage you to stay for the entire event so guests can fully enjoy your vehicle.
Concessions and refreshments will be available on-site with two food truck options, and restrooms are located inside the Collection. Feel free to bring chairs if you’d like to relax by your car during the day and to watch Pass In Review.
Once again, thank you for being part of the inaugural Orphan Car Show. We couldn’t do this without you, and we know our visitors will be thrilled to see your vehicle on display. If you have any questions before the event, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
We look forward to seeing you, and your orphan, on September 13!
That's cool, and so refreshing to see a concerted effort to educate the "yutes" crowd in the classics by involving them in judging alongside experience folks. I suspect there will be Studebakers, Edsel's and many other orphans there.
Under ideal conditions i.e. such as directly after a perfectly tuned engine, you turn the key to the ON position (many/most cars by this time had a ignition key lock cylinder), pump the accelerator pedal several times (ensure you were in neutral - no NSS & such things), hold foot on starter pedal until engine started then release the starter foot pedal. As stated, under ideal conditions. Some cars required depressing the accelerator pedal at the same time you depressed the starter pedal as contact points, plugs, & the like (etc.) wore down since the last tune up. They could be hit or miss sometimes requiring a rocking chair right foot.
The Blueberry Festival in Plymouth, Indiana has an admission fee for spectators. It’s not very much, but it insures the people who are looking at the cars understands what they are looking at, and appreciates the time and effort to build a show car. It also gives the car show staff an opportunity to prevent bicycles, skateboards, and other potential dent/scratch causing acts of stupidity enter the car show area.
The Blueberry Festival in Plymouth, Indiana has an admission fee for spectators. It’s not very much, but it insures the people who are looking at the cars understands what they are looking at, and appreciates the time and effort to build a show car. It also gives the car show staff an opportunity to prevent bicycles, skateboards, and other potential dent/scratch causing acts of stupidity enter the car show area.
I like the idea for just this reason.
Do they also charge the owners of the cars? I never understood the concept of charging those who bring the actual product (the cars) to a car show.
Any cars w/ these two pedals I'd considered orphans.
Originally Posted by Koda
Was the idea you hit both with your right foot?
No. Left foot for the dimmer switch, right foot for the starter pedal.
Originally Posted by Vintage Chief
Under ideal conditions i.e. such as directly after a perfectly tuned engine, you turn the key to the ON position (many/most cars by this time had a ignition key lock cylinder), pump the accelerator pedal several times (ensure you were in neutral - no NSS & such things), hold foot on starter pedal until engine started then release the starter foot pedal. As stated, under ideal conditions. Some cars required depressing the accelerator pedal at the same time you depressed the starter pedal as contact points, plugs, & the like (etc.) wore down since the last tune up. They could be hit or miss sometimes requiring a rocking chair right foot.
Obviously you never owned one of these cars. I had one for several years and it started every time, no magic involved. They usually had a manual choke and you could push them to start them if the battery was low.
If you knew the battery was near replacement, you learned to park them on a hill. Get in, set the choke, turn the key on, hit the gas pedal once put it in 1st gear and hold in the clutch. When it was rolling, you popped the clutch and away you went.
Last edited by OLDSter Ralph; Sep 9, 2025 at 04:59 PM.
No. Left foot for the dimmer switch, right foot for the starter pedal.
Obviously you never owned one of these cars. I had one for several years and it started every time, no magic involved. They usually had a manual choke and you could push them to start them if the battery was low.
If you knew the battery was near replacement, you learned to park them on a hill. Get in, set the choke, turn the key on, hit the gas pedal once and push in the clutch. When it was rolling, you popped the clutch and away you went.
Do they also charge the owners of the cars? I never understood the concept of charging those who bring the actual product (the cars) to a car show.
Yes, I don’t think I have ever been to a car show with awards that doesn’t charge an admission fee.
The Blueberry festival does have drive thru judging for people with higher quality cars that want to be judged. Basically you park under a canopy, and a bunch of judges look over your car. Since my car is far from show quality, I have never bothered. I go to see other cars, and talk with other people.
@Vintage Chief That looks like a Chevrolet Pickup 1959 or older with a straight 6 engine and a SM420 four speed. The starter button last appeared on the 1959 model year but only on the 235 6 cylinder. I really like those old pickups.
Edit- based on the appearance of the accelerator pedal it is a 1955 2nd series or older.
@Vintage Chief That looks like a Chevrolet Pickup 1959 or older with a straight 6 engine and a SM420 four speed. The starter button last appeared on the 1959 model year but only on the 235 6 cylinder. I really like those old pickups.
Edit- based on the appearance of the accelerator pedal it is a 1955 2nd series or older.
I learned to drive 'em on some 1940s cars lurking about cousins/family farms out in the fields. I owned a couple oldies. Last floor mounted starter pedal vehicle I owned was a 1953 GMC 5-window (we called 'em opera window) pickup I restored in the military in the 70s - ton of fun w/ that truck.
Do they also charge the owners of the cars? I never understood the concept of charging those who bring the actual product (the cars) to a car show.
May I ask what universe you live in? Charging a nominal fee to car show entrants is as old as the hills. The fee helps defray the cost of trophies, dash plaques, etc., and sometimes part of the proceeds goes to charity. About the only type of show that doesn't charge a fee is the weekly cruise-in at the local McDonalds or something similar.
Here's the event listing page out of the most recent issue of Journey with Olds.
I
I'll save you the trouble of squinting and highlight the registration fee section of each ad.
Only one of the events listed, the "Gathering of Oldsmobiles" sponsored by the Motor City Rockets, has no registration fee. That's because it's a very informal show amounting to nothing more than a large cruise-in limited to Oldsmobiles. No dash plaques. No awards. Nothing formal.
The registration fees vary from $10 to $40.
Last edited by jaunty75; Sep 10, 2025 at 08:12 AM.
As the chairman of the NTOC Zone Show listed above, I can tell you that after paying for tee shirts and trophies plus insurance to OCA, there is not a lot of profit left over. Some yes but not a lot and our entry fee is $40.00.
As for the orphan shows, the Hudson/Terraplane Club used to put on a Sweethearts & Orphans show every year near Valentines Day. Any brand that was not longer in production could participate. It is the only place I have ever seen an Allstate and the guy had two of them. There were also a couple of Sears high wheelers and numerous other cars your rarely see. Then the members all got too old to continue. The local chapter of AACA put it on for one year but did not continue. It was always a fun and well attended show. I love the idea of the drive through. The only place I have ever seen that is the Hilton Head Concours.
Another reason a show might charge entrants is because it shows commitment on the part of the entrant. This assumes they offer pre-registration. In the case of the show I started this thread about, pre-registration is the ONLY way you can enter, and, like I said, they charge you $25 if your car is accepted. The organizers are going to perform a fair amount of work getting the show field ready and ready to accept cars, they're going to advertise to the public about this show and the cars that will be in attendance, and it wouldn't do to have people register but then never show up, which is more likely to happen if they didn't have to make any kind of at least a semi-formal commitment. Registrants might still not show up, but it's probably far less likely if they've paid a fee.
Can I ask how you heard about the show? I only stumbled across it because I was looking at the Stahl Museum's website because of an article in Old Cars magazine.
Received an email update from the show organizers. Among many other details, they said there are about 70 cars registered. It will be interesting to see what's there.
The show turned out to be excellent. The weather was cloudy most of the day, which kept the temperature down, and there were a few sprinkles in the morning, but really nothing to detract from enjoyment of the show.
The pass-in-review was a real nice touch as it gave people a chance to really show off and talk about their cars for the crowd, and the two emcees, especially the "top hat" guy, were quite knowledgeable about cars. Each car that was chosen (they didn't choose them all) had about 5 minutes on display. The emcee would talk about your car and then ask you questions about it (how long have you owned it, where did you find it, any special features, what restoration work have you done, etc.). It was a nice way to pass a couple of hours during the slow time of a car show between everyone arriving and setting up and the giving out of the awards.
There were some non-orphans there, including three Chevys. I asked about that, and they said that they hadn't been getting the response they wanted during the pre-registration window, so to make sure there were enough cars to make it a decent show, they started letting in non-orphans. Then, as the registration time period drew to a close, the situation turned, and they got a lot of registrations right at the end. So many that they didn't need to let in the non-orphans, but they didn't know that would happen, and they couldn't very well tell these people that they can't bring their cars after they were told they could.
There were also a couple of Citroens. I don't think those are orphans, either. The brand still exists, it is owned by Stellantis (what isn't?), and you can go out and buy a 2025 Citroen, at least in Europe. But whatever.
Another humorous note. I heard that several people had showed up, I don't know if they were spectators or had old cars with them, and thought that the show was a charity event to benefit orphans. You know. The human kind. These people had to be educated about the concept of an orphan make of automobile.
Also, in spite of the fact that it is clearly stated on the museum's website that only pre-registered cars were allowed, a number of people showed up with their orphan car, anyway. They were not turned away. The parking lot was large, and they were allowed to park around the edges of the lot. It worked out well. Can't turn away people with old cars, right?
I took a lot of photos, and I can't post them all here, so here's some of my favorites.
1972 Opel 1900 sedan. This car was parked right next to mine, and I had a lengthy conversation with the owner. He said he found it nearby and couldn't pass it up. You don't see these at all nowadays, and he said it's because they were never seen as anything other than utility vehicles with no potential future collector interest, so to find one in this condition 50+ years later is hugely unusual.
1977 AMC Pacer. I always think of these as John Denver cars because that's what he drove in the movie "Oh God" that also starred George Burns (as God!)
1969 Citroen AMI. Very interesting car. Unusual looking with weird big headlights that seem too big for the size of the front end. The side windows don't roll up and down. Rather, they slide back and forth.
Here's the interior of the Citroen. Look at how the steering wheel is attached to the steering column.
1941 Oldsmobile 98 Custom Cruiser. The owner of this car was interesting. It was brought by a lone, older woman who never seemed to want to be far from the car. She was always either sitting in it or not more than a foot or two away from it. When it was obvious that I want to take a photo of it, she got the hint and moved about four feet away from it. But she was very nice.
1966 Toronado. Have to include it. The car was beautiful.
I'm not showing a photo of my '78 because that would be self-serving.
1970 American Motors AMX. When I was in high school, a family down the street had an AMC Javelin.
1959 Imperial. Just a beautiful car with the epitome of tail fins.
1962 Corvette. I had a long conversation with the owner of this car as well. He was funny. He probably spent the entire seven hours of the car show wiping it with a cloth. When it was drizzling lightly, a few drops would get on the car, he'd wipe a spot, a few more drops would immediately fall on the place he had just wiped. He'd wipe it again. More drops would fall. More wiping. I suggested that he wait until the rain stops and then just wipe it once. He just laughed.
He said that his father bought the car in 1966 and kept it good shape ever since. His father has since passed, he has charge of it now, and he is keeping it in as pristine a condition as possible to honor his Dad, because his mother ordered him to, and just because it's so beautiful a car.
When I first saw the car, I asked him what year it was. He said 1962. I said, "oh, the last year for the first generation Corvettes." He said, "correct! few people know that." I said, "I watch Mecum a lot."
1970 Oldsmobile Rallye 350. This one is owned by mister442 in this forum. Had a nice conversation with him (Chuck) as well. Very nice car. Both his car and my car were part of the pass in review..
1959 Oldsmobile Super 88 wagon. A low-rider. I'm not a big fan of lowriders because they look like escapees from the kiddie-land at an amusement park. But I include it because it has so much patina and because it is an Oldsmobile.
1982 Delorean. The owner drove the car all over the area, including through the pass in review, with the doors up.
It's not THE car from Back to the Future, but it is signed, on the dashboard, by Christopher Lloyd.
1959 AMC Metropolitan. Just a cute little car.
A row of distinguished visitors. The museum rolled a few cars from its collection out onto the edge of the show field just for display,
From left to right:
1927 LaSalle 303
1927 Franklin Series 11B coupe
1929 DuPont Model G. One of only 273 Model G's produced in 1929. DuPont Motors was in business from 1919 to 1932.
1934 LaSalle convertible coupe
Finally, here's a view of the pass in review as it was going on.
Here's a list of all the car I saw. Not all of the cars there, but most of them.
1916 Overland Model 86
1920 Elgin Model K
1928 Packard 526 Four Door Sedan
1936 Packard 120 Coupe
1937 Nash Coupe
1937 Nash Lafayette 400
1937 Packard 1501 Dietrich Victoria
1941 Oldsmobile 98 Custom Cruiser
1947 DeSoto Custom Convertible
1947 Hudson Big Boy Pickup Truck
1947 Mercury Eight
1948 Fiat 500 Topolino
1949 Oldsmobile Two-Door Sedan
1950 DeSoto Custom
1952 Plymouth Cranbrook
1953 Woodill Wildfire Roadster
1955 Plymouth Belvedere
1955 Plymouth Belvedere (there were two of them)
1955 ****** Pickup Truck
1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk
1959 AMC Metropolitan
1959 Ford Anglia 105e (English)
1959 Imperial Crown
1959 Oldsmobile Super 88 Station Wagon
1962 Chevrolet Corvette
1962 Pontiac Tempest Lemans
1963 Chevrolet Corvair Spyder
1963 Plymouth Sport Fury
1964 Chrysler New Yorker
1964 Chrysler 300K
1965 Citroen 2CV
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado
1967 Plymouth GTX
1967 Plymouth Valiant Signet
1969 Chevrolet Nova
1969 Citroen AMI
1969 Intermeccanica Italia
1970 AMC AMX
1970 Oldsmobile Rallye 350
1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Convertible
1972 Chevrolet Nova
1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Holiday Coupe
1972 Opel 1900 Sedan
1973 Jeep Commando
1974 Pontiac Firebird
1977 AMC Pacer
1978 Oldsmobile Toronado XS
1980 Plymouth Volare
1982 Delorean
1983 Plymouth Fury
1987 Pontiac Fiero
1988 Pontiac Fiero
Last edited by jaunty75; Sep 15, 2025 at 05:16 AM.
crowd in the classics by involving them in judging alongside experience folks. I suspect there will be Studebakers, Edsel's and many other orphans there.
