allyolds68

Does anyone know about this club? I assume they cater to older Oldsmobiles but they say 1897 to 1978.

http://www.antiqueolds.org/

The only reason I ask is their national meet is less than an hour away from me this year and I was thinking of stopping by.

starfire

I'm a member. The national meet is smaller than the OCA, but it is still worth attending. Typical car show with nice cars, a swap meet. It is hosted by individual club member(s), so it is not as activity filled as an OCA meet, but it is still a nice time. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you stop by. Lots of nice Oldsmobiles there.

rocketraider

I would really love to go to this year's NAOC meet, if for no other reason than to see the Elmira NY POW camp my great-great-grandfather was held in during the Civil War. But, as usual work has thwarted it. I can't remember what it's like to be able to take vacation when I want it as opposed to having to juggle it around what's happening at the plant.

Mike, I think you'd enjoy their show too. Lot more laid back than OCA.

jaunty75

The NAOC has an interesting history. They were originally formed (around 1980, I think) pretty much as a protest against the domination by Cutlasses at national OCA meets and pretty much any Oldsmobile car gathering. Their president back in the March 1992 issue of Runabouts to Rockets even made mention of the differing "character" of Cutlass owners and how it was an undesirable character. Pretty strong words at the time, I thought. Originally, the club only allowed Oldsmobiles of model year 1960 and earlier, as 1961 was the first year for the Cutlass.

Over the years, though, and in recognition, I believe, that their club will whither and die if they don't bring in more recent models as it's hard to maintain a club whose cars must be 1950s model years or older as the years go by, they've been advancing, little by little, the latest year they will recognize.

By 1991, when I purchased a '64 Jetstar 88, they had advanced the latest year to 1964, so I joined the club and attended their national meet with the car in 1993. I always thought it was a bit silly of them to choose the sort-of arbitrary date of 1964 as that lets in some Cutlasses but not all of them. They've since advanced the year to, as you point out, 1978, so now they've let in all of the Cutlasses the club was originally formed to exclude, and there's no real justification for the club's existence anymore, in my opinion.

I wonder what's the significance of 1978. It was the year that the Cutlasses underwent another wholesale styling change after the 1973 to 1977 era, but so what. The club was formed to avoid Cutlasses. Why base your eligibility year on Cutlasses?

Anyway, the club goes on, and, given the turmoil going on now in the OCA, who knows? Maybe the OCA will fold, or at least start to whither, and the NAOC will end up as THE national Oldsmobile club at some point down the road.

D. Yaros

The only significance of 1978 is that it is 35 years before 2013. The NAOC has decided a car must be at least 35 years old to belong. So, next year in 2014 cars 1979 or older will be eligible.

Interesting about the anti-Cutlass origins. Was not aware of that.

jaunty75

Below is a letter to the editor that appeared in the May 1992 issue of Runabouts to Rockets. It refers to an editorial written by the then-president of the NAOC, Woody Hyde, that appeared in the March 1992 issue. I don't have the March issue. I kept the May issue for other reasons, and it just happened to have a letter talking about this issue.

Note specifically the last two sentences of the second paragraph and his bullet items #2 and #4. Remember, this letter is a point-by-point response to what the president had said, and in #4 he is refuting the notion that allowing the Cutlasses in would mean allowing in the "wrong kind of people."

(Note also his item #1, which is a response to an argument by Woody Hyde that the club NOT increment by one year each year the latest model year the club will recognize, which is what the club is now doing.)

The letter is in two pieces because it appeared over two columns, so it wasn't possible to get it all in one scan. I chopped off the letter writer's name in the interest of his privacy.

olds68

i joined the NAOC last year after all the garbage started in the OCA. I heard that the NAOC is a much friendlier, laid back and non political group as opposed to the OCA. This is what we need in a car club. I fully intend to attend and have already registered for their national meet in Elmira this coming June. With the GMO withdrawing their bid for the 2015 OCA Nationals, this may be the last time we see an Olds National meet in our section of the country for a long time.

Kennybill

Wow, Cutlass owners "undesirable characters." I don't know about that but those 442 guys their a pretty ruff bunch! Lol Ken

toro68

I have been two NACO events (2001 and 2007) - had a great time!

wmachine

Oh, yes, and there is more to the story than that, too.
In the early '80s was when the Oldsmobile Performance Chapter of OCA was formed too. Why? Because the 442s and high performance cars of the '60s were being snubbed by OCA. A '64 442 was not yet an antique car. Never saw it in print that OCA didn't like the hot-rodders, but it was pretty evident.
Whether to be a separate club from OCA was continually debated over the life of the chapter, but it remained a chapter with the feeling that overall, it was a better route to go. Eventually the Olds Performance Chapter faded away as the high performance Olds became more mainstream in OCA and the older detractors themselves "faded away".

BlackGold

Even if y'all don't join the NAOC, it's worth attending their National meet if it's in your neighborhood. I joined after attending their Nats in Lansing a couple years ago. I met several members (in both show and swap meet) who used to work for Olsmobile and walked away with some good information, documents, and parts. That year they also featured 7 (I think?) Olds Limiteds parked under a tent, including one barn find. Spectacular

If you like OLD Olds, you'll be better served by NAOC than OCA. Despite being a smaller club, you'll see more pre-war cars at the NAOC Nats than OCA.

allyolds68

I don't have any problem joining. My OCA membership is up in May and I'm not renewing. I'm not even active in the OCA and I'm sick of the drama.

I can't afford to take a couple days away from work or my family but I'd like to check it out. It's only about 1 1/2 hours away but at 10 mpg it's an expensive trip. Thursday would be best because I'd really like to take a run on the track at Watkins Glen. Hopefully I can join the crowd for just a day.

The club seems like it's stuck more in the past than the OCA. The website is archaic and, at least on the face of it, seems to be a lot more interested in pre-60's cars. Hopefully they aren't too up tight...

jaunty75

This was the whole point of the club's formation, originally.

Note their logo:




See any post-1950s car in there? I don't!

olds68

I have been assured by friends I know in the OCA and NAOC, that the A-body cars are more than welcome. Besides, these cars are now antiques being 40 plus years old. I will test the waters when I show up in my bright red Ram-Rod......even if it is only 45 years old!

76 Regency

Hey guys,

I've heard of the NAOC before but never looked into joining because I've been in the OCA since the mid 90's. I don't see any reason not to join both and see what each has to offer. Especially with the drama in the OCA lately, I'm all for testing the waters of another club dedicated to Oldsmobile. Now that the 2015 OCA Nationals in New England are cancelled (which I'm furious about!), I'm even inclined to pursue the NAOC. I'm glad I saw this post. Thanks!

Kennybill

I was a member of OCA but let my membership expire about a year ago. The "drama" was the straw that broke the camel's back in my case. Having just retired, I'm looking to get back into Olds' more once I get caught up with projects, if I have enough life left in me. Lol I'm going to put this NY meet on my to do "wish list." I think the OCA shot themselves in the foot, maybe both feet, by the drama and the cancellation of the 2014 meet. I think they'll lose a lot of people and they like me will be looking for a new club. Time will tell. Ken

Oldskeeper

I've been with both clubs for about 25 years on and off, I have never heard a bad word spoken about other Oldsmobiles.
I have been to both national meets and enjoyed them, yes the NAOC is a smaller venue but they make it work. I go to the Homecoming every June and we have a great time there as well. ALL of these events have some form of controversy but WE choose to ignore it!! To bring up this stuff from the past does nothing to improve the club or make people feel welcome.
Go to the nationals and relax and enjoy.
Thanks for listening.
Steve