cars and coffee in oakdale
august 15, 2026
After 4 months at the old Rite Aid in Oakdale, this last Monday, just 5 days before our next Cars and Coffee in Oakdale, August 15, 2026, we lost the use of that location. We knew it was coming, just not this soon. This turn-about was kind of sudden, but one of our car buddies, Mike (you'll see his green Rambler Rogue in these photos) pulled me aside at the Del Rio Show last week to tell me about this new location. Mike said that the owner of Los Capitanes Mexican restaurant in the Save Mart Shopping Center (technically, its called 'Foothill Oaks') in the east end of Oakdale actually wanted us to start doing shows there. At the time I felt secure about the Rite Aid spot, so didn't think too much about it. But 5 minutes after hearing the news, I was standing in Los Capitanes. The owner, Santiago is a very nice fellow and he was very welcoming and open to us using his location to hold our Cars & Coffee events from now on.
ABOVE: Now, I had a problem. With only 5 days before our next show, how do I spread the word that we've changed locations? I'd just put a flier on the seat of every car in the Del Rio show last week (540+ cars) with the old location. So, of course I went online, I texted and emailed everyone on my list, and this morning at 6:30 am I stopped at the old Rite Aid on my way through, and put up fliers directing anyone who didn't get the message to our new spot. One on nearly every tree in the place.
BELOW: And it worked! I was worried that people would be confused, frustrated or just not show up. But this was our best show yet with, someone told me, 42 cars at our peak.
Cars and Coffee in Oakdale, August 15, 2026
So, let's see some cars already!
ABOVE: This very original-looking 1949 Pontiac actually sports a built small block Chevy. A very nice lady named Shirley drives this one.
BELOW: Her husband Craig drove this cute little Ford Anglia, still with its original 4-banger.
ABOVE: Eddie's lovely 1955 Ford Crown Victoria always turns heads. It's for sale, by the way, for $41K. It's this clean through-and-through.
BELOW: 1962 Buick.
ABOVE: Valley Classics Co-founder Darren's 1965 Chevy C10 stepside. He just dropped a new tranny in and got it running just in time for the show. He brought his lovely wife Amy too.
BELOW: Justin's '65 Mustang and Mick's '52 Henry J.
ABOVE: Dan's exceptional '69 Camaro RS/SS. Wow!
BELOW: Valley Classics member John's very original 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo.
ABOVE: This was my pick in the Peoples' Choice vote, this lovely 1971 Chevy El Camino just pushed all the right buttons for me.
BELOW: New Valley Classics member, Lawrence's rough-and-ready '73 Baja Bug is named "Ugly Betty". I wonder why?
ABOVE: This particular shade of red looks incredible on this C7 Corvette.
BELOW: The '69 RS/SS and Mike's 1967 Rambler Rogue convertible, one of only about 6 made. Mike is the person who turned me on to our new location. Thanks again, Mike.
ABOVE: Jack's clean '65 Ford Falcon Futura.
BELOW: Of course, the Mopar Mafia showed up in force. L-R: Silver 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT; green 2023 Challenger Demon 170; red 2019 Challenger Redeye. Flanked by another Mopar beast, the orange 1980 Dodge Power Wagon. Go Mopar!
ABOVE: And it here is, up close and personal. Dale's like-new 1980 Dodge Power Wagon.
ABOVE & BELOW: This little mid-60s Toyota Corona 4-door holds a secret and packs a whallop! Under the hood sits a totally race-built Toyota 22R 2.4-liter engine. They came in most Toyota models from 1981 through about 1985 and made up to 135 hp stock. But his one isn't stock. Those are two Webber side-draft carburetors, equal-length headers and a monster ignition system. And unknown mods inside. Who knows how much it makes now? It looked well put together too. I'll bet it's fast.
ABOVE: My (Andy) 2005 Ford Mustang GT. I've done a lot of work to it, but it's subtle, hard to spot. I shaved the radio antenna off the right-front fender, the windshield washer nozzles off the hood, all the emblems and the faux gas cap off the back. Smoked every lens on the car, custom grilles and gas cap, and 19-inch Bullitt rims, new front chin spoiler, and dropped it 1-1/2 inches all around. Oh, and a new paint job in its original Mineral Gray with the ground effects apron blacked out along with the door handles and rear wing. The engine is a stock 4.6-liter 3-valve V8, nothing trick, but hey, they make 300 hp stock. Enough for an old fart like me to have some fun rowing through the gears. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I especially like the stance.
BELOW: Our winner for the Peoples' Choice was Ed in this gorgeous '66 Shelby GT350. Congratulations.
In conclusion, I try to get around and take pictures of every car, but cars were pulling in and out all morning, some fairly late and sometimes they get missed. If I didn't get a photo of your car this time, I'm sorry about that. Keep coming back and I'm sure I will. Thanks for coming. See you next month.
ABOVE & BELOW: And this is the new home for our Cars & Coffee events in Oakdale from now on, I hope. It's a great location, trees for shade, some lawn, easy to find and get to, good visibility, just the right amount of space, well known in the area. We're blessed and grateful to have such a fantastic place, and we have Santiago at Los Capitanes Restaurant to thank for it. He invited us and we're happy to oblige. Of course, he's hoping that more business will come to him from it. From what I saw this morning I'd say it already has, resoundingly. I saw several people eat there or carry out meals. They serve a great breakfast too, which is nice to have at a Cars & Coffee in the morning. They wanted me to know that they also do a traditional American-style breakfast with pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, the works. Please patronize Los Capitanes Restaurant at 156 S. Maag Avenue in Oakdale, in the Save Mart shopping center. I think you'll discover a real treasure, the food is fantastic!
