Event Coverage Juding @ car shows??

.............So, you're long past trophy hunting but, now that you've built a car from the ground up, you have concerns about competing against pro-built cars. Seems contradictory to me.

 

Never won shit. Don't care, either.

 

I only go to car shows that have a swap meet.
Never look at the cars. My ride is in the parking lot.

 

A few soldiers and myself drove a Army pickup from Ft. L. Wood, MO to someplace in IL, to attend car and air show. When we got there the lady at the gate asked if we were entered into the Military Vehicle class. I asked what do you mean, she said with a grin, if you are entered into the Military Vehicle class, you guys get in for free. Well in for free we went and at the end of the day, we came in third place with a active duty, dirty, Army pick up. Now some of you may asked, "did your vehicle have a "off post" pass?

 

Trophies have some nice memories, but the fun of going and enjoying the comraderie is the real trophies. I once went to a bike show on my old panhead ,with side car , along with some buddies. They wanted to show, and I didn't. I told them people would climb over the top of their new bikes to get a look at my old panhead. At the awards they announced a trophy for a guy that was not into shows, and I got a trophy for my bike in the PARKING LOT! Needless to say, all the way home, I kept putting it in their faces and asking them if they had saw my TROPHY. That was way more fun than actually entering,cleaning, etc.

 

The best part of any car show is the ride there and the ride back.

 

When I do rarely go to an event that has trophies. I pay the entrance fee. Then I proceed to the nearest trash can to throw my entrance number placard away.

 

Don't own a feather duster and never want to buy one.

 

Wow, you were right about the can but it's not worms...!
I've made my living on trophys, more accurately, awards. My gig is restoration but before the "that's easy" thing comes out, fuck that. It's not. If there were 2 classes in my sandbox I would likely stray away from those particular events. The Model A Club(s) have "Touring" and "High Point" divisions. Touring cars still have to be right, authentic, but get a pass on some things like repro parts. I don't play there and mostly due to lack of opportunity. AACA, CCCA, Packard Club, ACD, those are my venues along with concours events. I've taken the "big ones", no wait, scratch that...my clients have taken the "big ones" many a time. Over 150 times since 1990 to be correct. Those range from Best of Show, People's Choice, Concours class awards, perfect scores in CCCA and AACA, and the "Alvan MacCauley Award" (best prewar Packard of the year, one time win) 2 times in a row. Yes, I'm a pro shop and yes indeed have seen many a "home" restoration. Some right there, some a little sad. I too have seen huge mistakes from other pro shops. When I see Volkswagen carpet in a Packard rumble seat or ribbed stick on weather strip in place of a part that's available I can't lie about it. It taints my whole view of the rest of the car. If they were too cheap to by Hogshair at $80/yd, or a new window seal for $56, I'm gonna guess it's everywhere. I've seen things like that get a pass which is unfair. Not to me or my clients, to the car owner. Think about it for a minute. Is it right for him to now declare his car is 100% accurate because he got a favor? Not at all. I was shown a car by an ex employer that was done by his pal. "Make sure you tell him how good he did." "Yeah right, I'll get right on that..." as I see a crooked cowl because he mounted the body wrong, synthetic headliner going in because he had it, some of the most common painter's sins all over the body, a modern back up camera and screen mercilessly installed, all on a rare 30s import of which 4 are known. Upset at my initial judgements he cornered me leaving a couple nights later. "Why won't you tell him how good he did?" "Because it fuckin sucks that's why. Better I say nothing rather than point out (all those above and more)." "But he did it himself so..." "SO FUCKIN WHAT. There's right and there's wrong. This is wrong, and if it's right because 'he did it himself', then fuck me and every other pro who lives to accurately restore things to the standards that were set back then. I know, let's give a 4 year old who scribbled with a crayon and called it a puppy some space in the Smithsonian, she did it herself!" To his last day that guy could never understand my position. More important than the aesthetic or talent, those awards give provenance to those cars. Why award a half-assed example the same? Why steal from the rest who either reached the top themselves or supported that goal financially. Why steal from the next owner by declaring "wrong" as "right"? Fuck the crystal car, plaque, trophy, whatever. The record counts, the peer review matters. At least where I play it does. And don't ever remove the subjectivity of a human being making the call. Maybe he caught his girl fuckin around last week with someone who looks like you. Maybe his dog died. Maybe he's just plain jealous of all those cars he's looking at. Maybe a couple years ago you told him to go fuck himself, and now he's judging your car...? Did I say this was ever easy? Nope, never will. I couldn't imagine something nearly so subjective as judging another person's taste or vision in a hot rod. After clean and well built, what's next?

 

The only trophies that ever meant anything to me were the two trophies my Son Dan won at Billetproof a few years ago. He got Best Truck and Best of Show for his rpu. That meant a lot to me because I know the hard work , long nights, and frustration he had, building that car. For the people there to recognize that hard work it really was terrific. I have never seen him so happy in his life, and it was something he had done all on his own with his own two hands. Those two trophies have a place of honor in his bedroom.

Don

 

There are too many people who claim to have home built a car that forget the painter, upholstery guy etc to have an accurate way to divide classes that way, and what would you do with someone who bought a car? How much would they have to change to make it their home built car? Not to mention that judges have a thankless job at best.

 

For the most part the local cruise nite sponsored by the various villages/ towns in the area have taken over the small promoted car shows one could attend every Saturday or Sunday around here. I enjoy that I can jump in the car any night of the week meet up with friends grab some food,bs and check out the cars. It beats falling asleep in front of the tv.
Trophy show awards to me are sometimes subjective, club shows that award top 25 or whatever eliminate the judging but can still bring out the worst in some people, it is what it is.
Go to the shows, cruise nights, and charity events, if you are recognized with an award great, participating and all that goes with it should be your reward.

 

Two thoughts come to mind. "If it won't go, chrome it" and you can buy a trophy with anything you want engraved on it for less money than it would cost for the polish and wax to get it ready for the show.

 

How do you prove homebuilt vs. professional built.
At what point does homebuilt become professionally built?
If the chassis is built by a shop, but everything else is done by you, then is it a homebuilt or professional built?

If you're passed your trophy chasing days, why do you care if you're competing against professionally built cars?

 

I don't attend shows with any expectations of receiving a trophy but if it happens I am always appreciative that someone feels my car is worthy of recognition. HRP

 

What actually seperates you from a pro builder? its not talent lots of talented builders out there that are not pros, maybe its the shop? Nope, you don't have to have a big shop to be a pro, it just this little placard, something that proclaims you to be what you are. Just get yourself one and join in the fun.

Actually Good guys used to have what they called home built haven. The owner/builders filled out a form and they took them at their word. I had a friend that used to enter his car in that class, he was a well known (and still is) builder here in the mid west, and has made a very good living building cars for people, but it was his car, he built it himself and didn't get paid to do it. He lives on the property where his shop is, and he has a separate place in the shop away from the eyes of the general public. Home built.

 

Trophies=Sense of humor...

 

LOL if you win big you have to take it apart to fit in in your car for the ride home.

I actually have a trophy that I won at a truck show in an OT mini that I was driving in the '90s. I don't know where the trophy actually is but its here somewhere. Now for the fun part of the trophy, I was not entered in the show I was covering the show for an Ezine I was working for. I rolled in early the first day and asked if they had beater parking, they showed me where I could park. I was not there for the trophy give away a friend was there camera in hand when they called my name. So he went up and accepted the trophy. LOL

 

Trophies for a "home-built" class is like giving participation trophies to every little league ball team, regardless of whether or not they win any games. It basically says, "My car (or truck) is a below-average piece of junk but I still want a trophy."
I was president of a car club 25 years ago and we had a show. There was one guy with a very poorly done Chevy AD pickup, bad bodywork, bad paint. You could see where the bondo had been applied, like pancakes. The paint had both heavy orange peel and runs. It was just a poorly done truck. The owner of said truck talked loud and long to anybody and everybody, "My truck is home built! I did all of it myself! This is home built!" Pretty much kept repeating himself all day long until trophies were awarded. The truck that won first place was absolutely beautiful. Paint a mile deep, smooth as glass. Fit and finish spot on. Very tastefully modified. Well, after trophies were handed out, Mr. Homebuilt came up to me, the prez of the club, wanting to fight. He was cheated out of his trophy by that professionally-built truck that won first place. It was no fair for us to make the home-built guys compete with those who had their cars built for them. What Mr. Homebuilt didn't know, and I was obliged to inform him, was that the "professionally built" truck that took first in its class was built at home by the owner, including body work, engine, paint, etc, in a one car garage. He called me a liar and stomped off.
Since then, whenever I see someone wanting a "homebuilt" class to differentiate from "pro-built," I want to ask, "How about you take the time, learn the skills and make the effort to compete with the pro-built cars instead of just wanting a participation trophy?"
Lots of truly amazing hot rods and customs are out there, made at home entirely by their owners.

 

I laugh at the people that carry every trophy they won and place them around their car at a show. It tells the judges "look at all the trophies I won and if I don't get another, you don't know what you are doing". If you had a class for home built cars someone would just hide their trailer a couple blocks away and drive up. I see it at registration at the Louisville NATS. Guys park their trailer in the corner at the stadium and pull up, get out and stretch, like they just drove 300 miles. Just drive your car and have fun with it.

 

I got one last year about 4" tall..For smallest car with biggest dog..[Crosley and Sheppard-Husky]...

 

Not a show, but I followed my boss in his '41 Ford to auction (Mecam I think) in my '37 Chevy pickup to give him a ride back to the office after he registered it. We pulled in together and went inside to do the paperwork. When we came out, the auction guys were prepping my truck for auction. They already had the license plate off and gave me hell for not leaving the keys in it. They were nice enough to put my plate back on so we could leave.

 

.............Always nice to get a free detail job.

 

LOL I went to a show once with my Kid and my then Ex in an OT plane Jane Ford that I had stuffed a Boss 9 in. The kid wants me to enter and they put me in comp class. We didn't have the clean up stuff so the kid proceeds to borrow stuff from a guy with a very nice Corvette, he protested until we met then I grinned at him and he decided that we were having fun. Trophy time and the guy that runs the show calls the kids name and she got a t shirt that said, 'The Most Fun at a Car Show."

I asked later the guy that run the show said he had to improvise, we couldn't win anything with the car but the kid had so much fun that she deserved something.

I don't do shows as a rule, why would I, I drive beaters.

 

Two Classes:
Home Build

 

I saw a very young guy with his car at a laid back show that did not have any awards.
It was a car he was "fixing up" with what he had for skills, and lack? of money.

He was standing a few cars away from his own car, and you trophy golden boys were laughing and pointing things out, and laughing even more.

The kid looked so depressed...

I felt like quitting the "hobby" that day.

 

Sorry
Two Classes
1. Home build
2. T. Trailered
U. Undriven
R. Rod
D. Division

 

I'll throw another thought out there, and that's quality. Anyone can do perfect paint and body finishing. No matter the car, color, venue, there's a peak, a plateau if you will, where it ends. You can have a dozen top flight finished in one expo, and if they all hit the mark you shouldn't be able to tell who painted what. So at home or in a pro facility perfection is attainable. This thought fits this topic if you give it a minute.