About The Palomar A’s

Club History

The Palomar Model A Club was formed in 1960

It was originally organized as a Region of MARC (Model A Restorer’s Club).  The Club founders wanted a statewide Model A “meet” to pick the best Model A in California.  The winner would then go to a national meet to compete with the best cars from the other states.

The first meet was held in Fallbrook in 1961 and was called the All California Model A Day and Antique Car Exhibition.  That meet still occurs annually today and is called the Fallbrook Car Show. The first year they held the meet attracted more than 2,000 spectators, 75 Model A Fords, and between 30 and 40 antique and classic automobiles.

Besides the Fallbrook meet, the other big event our Club participated in was a tour to Yuma, Arizona, for the annual meet sponsored by various clubs from Southern California and Arizona.  Our Club also participated in the annual campout event held in Idyllwild, which many of the Southern California clubs attended.  In the early days, our Club participated in many local parades, and almost all members entered their cars in “judging” events. (Interestingly enough, there were no judging standards in the early years.  The chief judge set his standards just for that meeting.)

How has our Club changed over the years?  In April 1963, we changed our affiliation from MARC (Model A Restorer’s Club) to MAFCA (the Model A Ford Club of America). 

Then, in 2010, we decided to establish an affiliation with both organizations, so we are now proud members of MAFCA and MARC.  In January 2016, we discontinued our affiliation with MARC and retained our affiliation with MAFCA. 

In addition, though our Club was initially organized to sponsor the statewide meet, we have now evolved into a social and touring club. 

Our Club’s newsletter changed from the “Palomar Region Bulletin” to “The Reflector”. 

The above history was provided by the Palomar A’s Librarian/Historian, John Frazee.