The SoCal Vintage Is More Than an Event

Right about June—maybe even May—the anticipation grows. November’s SoCal Vintage meet is months away, but you’re already hearing the questions: “Will I finish this by November?” “Will I see you at SoCal Vintage?

Cars queue up to wait for the opening bell, then grab their goodie bag and find their spot on the lawn.

Fast forward to the first Saturday of November.  Autumn is in the air. The Southern California high temperatures may have only dipped from 75 to 73, yet the mornings are brisk. The cars are queued up before organizer John Barlow and his team of volunteers descend on Woodley Park. As the vintage BMWs wait to enter, the heat in the cars—either intentional or accidental—helps until they’re parked with their drivers holding their coffee with two hands.  

Sponsors and vendors ease into the park and follow flashlights to their spots To funnel in close to 600 cars, registrants have been pre-directed to one of three entrances, segmented based on their cars’ vintage-ness. While it might be frenetic for the volunteer staff to keep the flow moving, cars are coming in at almost five per minute, smoothly navigating into their corrals.

Isetta taxi rides were a hit in 2024.

June’s E30 Picnic in Washington is a destination for many from Southern California and beyond. The Vintage in North Carolina spawns pilgrimages. Similarly, SoCal Vintage is visited from countless states in multiple time zones. There are some familiar cars and many returning attendees. Invariably, people have been working feverishly throughout the year to finish and show off their cars, or just be present. 

Rial Barnett drives his rare, restored 2000Ti to his B-Sedan sponsor booth, past the team with La Jolla Independent, who also made the four-plus hour drive from San Diego.

After about a four hour drive from San Diego, Rial Barnett was an early bird, loading in his B-Sedan sponsor booth in the morning twilight, replete with his freshly restored 2000Ti. “We were excited to sponsor the event for this third year, but it was really the fervor around getting the car finished in time,” Barnett says. “We came close! I’d say we got it about 87 percent of the way there. We really had to hustle the month leading to it, but it was worth it. It’s a fairly rare bird and it was great to see so many people genuinely interested in it and asking questions about it.”

Barnett was not alone. As the darkness yielded and the lawn began to take its structure for the day, examples ranged from show cars to maybe-go cars. Some bring tents for themselves and others set up mini-encampments, inviting passers-by in for food, beverages, and good conversation. “It’s great to see so many families and kids at SoCal Vintage,” Barnett continues. “There’s no ego. People come to share their car but also to ask questions and learn.”

The vendors and sponsors support that vibe. “It’s a community here,” says Matt Schwartz, one of the event’s founders and caretakers, John Barlow’s, right-hand people. “These aren’t vendors in the sense that they’re hawking products simply for the sales. They’re there to connect with the community.  All of them are at SoCal Vintage because they’re also enthusiasts. They contribute to the event.”

Each year offers something a little different, whether it’s the cars that are “eligible” to attend or the theme or the layout. The 2025 edition introduced a new layout of the vendor/sponsor booths. “We had more sponsors this year, so we changed up the layout this year,” Schwartz continues. “It allowed attendees to interact with them in a more organic way. There wasn’t a daunting wall of vendors.”

Rey Rivera arriving in one of the 2002 examples he had at his Reyn Speed Shop booth.

It helped that almost every sponsor and vendor booth featured intriguing vintage BMWs.  Reyn Speed Shop brought an arsenal of cool 2002s out, many sporting some of the new EFI solutions Rey Rivera and Co. developed. DieCast Support Group probably sold more 2002 model Hot Wheels that Saturday than many months combined.  

The Angry Ass tent makes quite an impression on the SoCal Vintage landscape.

Schwartz lauded Angry Ass for traveling from many states away and bringing one of his favorite displays. “I always like the Angry Ass booth and the way they set up their booth,” he says. “They have a unique canopy that’s visible from anywhere. It was pretty cool, very inventive.”

Winning Best of Show was probably pretty cool for Brian Retke. No telling if it was better than winning the Julian Pies, though!

And Julian Pies…well, some will tell you they come to SoCal Vintage for Dave Smothers’ pies, not for the cars. Smothers contributes close to 50 pies for the event.  The awards presentation in the early afternoon has blossomed beyond “who will win which of the six or seven awards” into “I hope they’ll call my name for a Julian Pie!”  And like so many other supporters, Smothers consistently brings out his own vintage BMWs from the San Diego area.

Event co-founder John Barlow awards Arizone resident Chris Kohler with Best Classic for Kohler’s ALPINA B7 Turbo. Note the table full of Julian Pies to the left.

The pies definitely generate excitement at the end of the day, but for Barlow, it starts early. “Even when it’s cold and dark, everyone is amped up,” Barlow says. “There’s such intense energy knowing that behind all those headlights waiting to get in are hundreds and hundreds of vintage BMW owners and fans. And then you know it’s going to be another great day.”

As the entry rush subsides, Barlow almost—almost!—gets to relax, but he does get a chance to see the fruits of his labor. “There is an energy of seeing people all in their clusters, looking through cars together, YouTubers doing their interviews and getting content,” he says. “That energy is so gratifying. It’s great to be able to put on an event where enough people get together and enjoy the day like this.

“SoCal Vintage is a community. It’s people reconnecting after not seeing each other for a while. It’s a staple of the year for people. This first weekend of November is always BMW and then the France/Italy show the next day in the same spot.”

Stephen Villagrasa and Doreen Fernandez had a busy weekend with SoCal Vintage on Saturday and back in the same spot at Woodley Park for the Italian and French show Sunday.

Stephen Villagrasa is a stalwart attendee at both events, often bringing his 400,000+ mile E30 318iS to SoCal Vintage on Saturday and then returning Sunday in his Alfa Romeo Alfetta sedan. “I look forward to the weekend every year,” Villagrasa says. “You see people at these shows that you don’t normally see throughout the year at Cars and Coffee meets. For some, they target this weekend to bring out their cars for some annual exercise. Owners are always a joy to talk with since they inevitably have a story or two about their cars.”

Winner, winner, chicken din–….er, Julian Pies!

SoCal Vintage has become one of, if not the must-attend events for vintage BMW fans.  It has even blossomed into a year-round community, punctuated with monthly events in the Greater Los Angeles and San Diego regions from March until the eponymous event the first Saturday of November. So while we might be a little more than two months past the most recent vintage BMW assemblage, we’re also two months away from the next SoCal Vintage activity.  

The SoCal Vintage community gets together with events monthly at event supporters like Reyn Speed Shop, captured here from a summer meet Rivera hosted.

“These events are basically ways for people to get to know our sponsors even more, to check out their businesses,” Schwartz adds. “The events are usually held at the businesses of the supporters from the event. It’s sort of an informal extension of the sponsor relationship. For example, in the summer, Reyn Speed Shop hosts an open house as a destination for a drive. We do similar activities with 2002 AD, La Jolla Independent, Wanderwall Society, and more. 

The theme for 2025 was the 50 years of the 3 Series. The 2026 theme hasn’t been selected yet, but if they hold serve with the 2024 theme of the E24 chassis, do you think it’s time to gather some E26 M1s?  Either way, with the 2025 event still fresh in people’s minds, 2026 is bound to continue to enhance the vintage BMW community.