Here's a 1st- I left a car show after 1 hour!

Go to a local show- it's blowing like hell. Right next to the grass area is a dried up lake & the wind is blowing right through it. Guess which direction the wind is blowing- right through the dust bowl & into the car show & my black car! I'd guess gusts (every 5- minutes) were 60 mph+. Shit is blowing everywhere. Show boards are blowing across the field & hitting cars parked on the other side. Then a venders EZ up blows over & slides into a car 30 feet away- complete w/ 5 gallon sand filled buckets! I didn't dare open my hood. If the wind caught it- it would have been ripped right off the car! Wiped the car down (black) and 2 minutes later- looks like someone emptied their vacuum cleaner bag all over it. The topper? It was open to imports as well. Two cars over from me is a blinged out BMW w/ some loud-as-fuck sound system playing a fuckin movie. Either I leave or I start trouble.
I choose to quietely leave out the back way. Entry fee was for a good cause & tax deductable so I didn't care about that.
That's a 1st for me- leaving a show early.

What does it take for you to pack it up & go home?

 

I think you pretty much summed it up. I would have left too. Guess there will be days like that.

 

Two cars over from me is a blinged out BMW w/ some loud-as-fuck sound system playing a fuckin movie.

that's a good reason to leave right there.

 

so a beemer aided in running you off? where's your american pride??

 

i probably wouldnt have payed to park next to a bmw playing a movie. in fact i develope a real attitude whenever i have to pay to park. It makes no sence to me you pay to show a car so there is a show for people with out a car to pay entry to look at your car and its 15 dollor parking space. I would think theyd pay us to bring the cars, but hey i want to make money both ways too. maybe theyll start chargin you to leave, early.

 

No- it was just the last straw. I would have left anyway.
I usually run with a group but this time I was by myself. The guy who was suppose to meet me there didn't make it.

 

With out a doubt, the winds were caused by the imports sucking.

 

Entered my car in a local show in 2007 to support the police officers association. This was my first show an an entrant in 40 years. Last one was in 1967 at the Great Western Exhibit Center in L.A. with the Early Times Club.
Wont be doing it again. Too many idiots, kids all over your car, too many "experts" and the worse thing of all is that you walk around while most car owners have set up "camp" directly behind their vehicle. Folding chairs, coolers, radio, the whole bit.
Every once in awhile you are treated to some guy who thinks its nice to put a bigass stuffed animal in the driver's seat. (I'm not sure why, but its been going on for years)
At least the crybaby doll thing has gone away, for the most part.
Back in the 60's (you're no newbie, Steve, you know what I'm talking about), we would meet somewhere for a quick breakfast and head out for a drive to a museum or a place that had a broad appeal and a place of interest.
We (the Vintage Tin and the Early Times Clubs) would go to places like the Budweiser Brewery for a tour or the Arborteum, Nethercutt Museum, the Victory ship "Lane" for a tour in Long Beach, etc., etc.
Now everyone sits in a chair all day, gets blocked in so they can't leave at any shows, have to get in place at the crack of dawn, and so on and so on.

Car shows are OK to quickly walk through, unless its something like the L.A. Roadster Show or the GNRS where you spend a lot more time checking out the goodies, but as for the rest....NOPE!

In fact, I'm going to pull the '34 out in about 10 minutes and hit the road to points yet unknown....

 

I put 750 miles on my favorite hot rod over Easter weekend visiting family and friends. That's what hot rodding is all about to me. Except for a handfull of events like the Rust Revival or a favorite benefit, I don't care if I ever go to another show.

 

I don't know what show it was Steve, but I have learned to stay away from shows put on by cops or church groups. it's all about the money they can make, so every car that rolls in is accepted. I'm all for charitable causes, but there is only so much an old schooler can stomach.

 

What he said!

I didn't build my car to have it validated by people handing out 200 trophy's per event. I've been talked into going to a few of these and I think I actually died from the pain, as all I wanted to do was get in and drive somewhere in the country, and get away from the teaming masses.

I never understood radios in hot rods. My car has no radio, as I try to concentrate while I drive. In the last five years I can count on two hands the number of people who have tried to creme me. A radio that takes 40 amps or more to power is a sickness I won't even attempt to describe...

My last drive, I picked a town on the map, went there had a soda pop and ice cream, and then drove back home. What a beautiful day.

 

I quit going to local shows...I am a shit magnet...too many jack-asses cornering me. I dont even get a chance to look at anything. Just a bunch of old farts with cry-baby dolls leaning on their all-wrong cars sitting in lounge chairs.

 

I don't think I posted a thing about trophys- or having my car validated by a "judge". That's the last reason I ever go to a show. I've owned trailered show cars before- even a 55 show car that won Super Chevy 5 years straight. I'm all past the plastic award deal. I have boxes of that crap that do a great job of dust collecting.
Besides- the table w/ all the trophys blew over & broke alot of the plastic tops off them.

The only reason I signed up for the show (at the gate) was because a friend has a young son w/ juvenile diabetes & all proceeds go towards the disease. Thought it would be a relaxing day at the park- on the grass & checking out some cars, eating some greasy food (money collected is for same charity) & talk to some car owners & have a beer or 4. It was not about winning an award. But- I still like my car to look good.

For the record- 4 of us got up early yesterday for breakfast- then a cruise to Temecula, then up the hills to Julian for lunch & pie & back to a casino for some friendly gambling. Then to dinner & home. With all the detours- probably a 250 mile cruise.

 

Dean
It was this show. Didn't know about it until my friend asked me to come & bring the car out. I usually never do these local shows.
http://www.socalcarculture.com/Images/041909JDRF.pdf

 

WOW $25 dollars to have your car sit in a dust bowl,while listening to some jerk off in his BMW play some shitty movie,unreal! I respect your charitable standards ,maybe just donate in the future with out rolling up to the show.I know how you feel,about these things.What makes me laugh is the plastic trays of fake food hanging on the window like a diner used to do.Stuffed toys and crying dolls are still are out there, i saw a few at goodguys in del mar.I am only 33,so could someone tell me who grew up in the 50s,40s and drove customs and hot rods did people do this stuff back then? when did stuffed animals go from grandmas bedroom to custom car shows?

 

Up here in the north country a car show will often have a swap meet attached to it, my car typically stays in a car show the exact amount of time it takes to cover the swap meet.

 

next time you get asulted by audio noise, uncork them headers give it right back ! !

 

hey not all of us who bring imports to shows are driving POS's and are disrespectful like that guy in the beemer. yea i agree you should have opened up the pipes and disrupted the movie. I go to the shows to enjoy other peoples cars, I know some of the really young guys can have cars that some of you guys don't like, But i make it a point to spend time looking at the ones that have had real effort put into them. Some of those guys in their late teens or early twenties,this may be the first car they built, and they may have worked really hard on it. I don't respect the guys who have a car that they haven't put any work into it at all, but it should be more important that we are all car guys and lets not trash each others cars. I've always made it a point at shows to not do anything to disturb the other guy showing his car, and to try to learn as much as i can from the other owners there,about their particular build. If you spend a buch of time hating on someone elses car,takes away from your time to enjoy yourself

 

I left a local cruise-in just this past Friday after only about an hour. Doo-wop music blaring out of the PA system, the local Chevy SSR club triple power-parked (one was even dragging a little matching trailer) and guys with show boards and feather dusters - all this at a simple Friday night cruise.

 

viewed one at cleveland autorama with cameras for rear view mirrors, four televisions, even NOS......kid honestly musta had 50 g's in this ride ! ! lotts a dope pedlin man ! !

 

Couldn't have said it better--I go to two or three "shows" a year--mainly because I've been to these shows / runs for years. Not too many new shows / runs thrill me--I do admit to doing the folding-chair thing once in a while--but I gotta get up and walk around or my ass hurts!

 

Fed up? Start your own event, drive, meet someplace for a shop tour, go SOMEWHERE!Q

 

What he said!!

 

All of the above is why I really enjoy going to NoSurf's this coming week-end. It's not really a show, just some gear heads that like to get out and drive their cars. Ya better like driving down a dusty country road, cause that's where you'll end up at Jay's place.

Meet up for breakfast, go on a drive, go to a local attraction, end up at an old time drive in malt shop, then to a park, then back to Jay's place for movies on the barn.

It don't get any better.

See ya Saturday Jay, and everyone else.

HellRaiser

 

Made the right move bro. No mixin' species for me either. Got to keep the classic factor at a car show.
Michael

 

hey if you don't like someones car don't look at it, what gives you the right to think other peoples cars should be excluded from a show just because you don't like em? i could see a specific show for a specific car, excluding other cars, but i'm glad around here whoever wants to show up at the local cruise in or local show is welcome, I don't go to shows to look down my nose at other peoples cars, i go to hang around other car guys,enjoy myself, and maby get something good to eat. Thats the point.

 

If the entry fee is for a good cause,I'd take my Caddy to a damn import show.

 

What kind of cheese do you want with that whine? If the weather was that bad, why bother paying the entry fee in the first place? Just make a donation and leave!
Jerry

 

I went by the windy show. Got there about noonish as a walk in because I'm too indecisive to finish my roadster. The windy was fairly typical for the area. It was the first time I'd been to that park, would have been perfect if it weren't windy. I didn't see the beamer, was it by all the PT Cruisers or with the purple MB?
I did see a lot of nice cars I hadn't seen before.

 

Seems to be getting off the original topic here as in "...what made you leave..." instead of bashing shows in general. Face it kids, time marches on. I have the Summit Nat'ls on as I post this and how untraditional the current crop of pro drag racing is, except the dedication, discipline, lifestyle (albeit severely upgraded!), and the nitro. There's still some spirit there. I can recall from swap n show meets from the 60s n 70s that there were rude assholes in attendance. Some of em smug pompous braggarts, some of em posers in today's vernacular showing real trashy cars and bashing the genuine good stuff. Things like that tend to stray away from the deep rooted community of hot rodding and customs or even restoration these days. Back in the 70s there was one time we left a show early. Had a wonderful club sedan entered for judging. Not because it was ours, we honored the show and the car itself with 1st rate restoration everywhere, pristine presentation, fully functional. The car that took us (it was a show that was both sujective and objective) was poorly restored, ill-fitting panels, enamel paint with dirt and orange peel you could see from 10' away, even rust stains on the canvas top. When we politely questioned what happened we thought it was simply some transposed result in tabulating the final score. Nope. We were told "...you didn't expect to beat an open car did you?..." and that was it. Dad was beyond angry and several of the show officials came over to us to ask our permission to protest and change the outcome. We knew nothing of that action, just went to ask what's up. They too were pissed but again, we never brought it to their att'n. Wanting some level of revenge dad hops in my Camaro conv (had it there for sale) and says get in, proceeds out onto the test track at the show and rails around at full tilt. At about 110 on the speedometer I reminded him of the sloppy front suspension and he slowed just a bit...100. We drove back to our spot and loaded up soon to be surrounded by club officials who begin to scream n yell at us, worried they'd lose the location for that stunt. Dad said " I hope so. You fuckers don't deserve it...have people like us work hard and support your event, spend our money and time to be insulted by the likes of you. Shove it up your ass." And we left about 4-5hrs early. Some of you "local lifers" here around Motown may recall the show. Yep, that was us.