Car shows and cruise nights

[Michael M]

Re: Drivers and Show cars
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smurkey
Shoot for excellence, settle on actual results...

SLM

I had the best Model A in the entire show recently...however, it was the ONLY Model A in the show!
Its worse when there is only two model A's in the show and the one that needs a paint job, has the wrong wheels, no windshield wiper motor or inside mirror and the drip rails are installed with phillips screws, wins first place. In many cases club politics influences the judgeing. I do mine like I want them and to hell with the parking lot car shows.


Not wanting to hijack another's thread, I thought I would ask here. Following up on the posts above, what are your pet peeves and/or complaints about car shows or cruise nights?

Mine is having my stock Tudor being grouped / judged against chopped and rodded 'modern' versions that bear no similarity except for a general shape.

[SeaSlugs]

hmm our local cruise-ins are purely just that. theres a place and a time and you show up sometime in that window and can leave whenever you want. no judging, just people looking at cars and sharing stories while a jukebox plays in the background...

[CarlG]

I pretty much gave up on winning any kind of mention at any of the car shows here. I just go for the fun and fellowship with my friends that do pretty much the same thing. Much to my surprise, I did take home a "second" certificate at one show, and was completely surprised by that.

The best "shows" though are the ones that I get at the grocery store, the gas station and places like that. One recent fill-up that I made, I was totally beseiged by several young ladies (late 20's) that wanted Oooooh and Aaaaaah, take pictures, not only of just the truck, but with them in the picture. Then there was the 80+ year old lady at the grocery that just stood gazing at my truck and smiling ear to ear. Those experiences are worth more than any of the trophies that I could have taken home from any show.

[jdfinch22]

our fire company car show is grouped in 10 year incriments so 1970 - 1979 and each group is seperated into 2 sub groups stock or modified 1st 2nd and 3rd place each sub group i do think that the stop at like 50 though. and anything before that is together but still seperate stock or modified. so a stock model a would fall in 1949 and before stock class

[stouchton]

Went to a nice car show at a local church. I was in the pre-40 class, but wasn't there to win anything. Walking around I saw a beautiful 1929 Franklin - new it was the class winner. Beyond that, there was one other Model A that was all reproduction. Mine was the only "original".

As the show went on, many people commented about my car - saying it was the #2 in the class. So I stayed to find out.

#1. 1929 Franklin
#2. The other Model A
#3. 1940 Rod (wrong class - there was a class for rods.....)

Now the kicker - the owner of the 1940 Rod was a member of the sponsoring car club! There is my pet peeve - sponsoring club should not be judged! Too many times they win when they can't even compete!

Ok.. I vented - thanks!

[huddy]

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A few years ago my bros-in-law & I went to a local show, and took 2nd place (HUGE trophy - very embarrassing) with my 20-footer Hudson Traveler survivor-driver in the "pre-1950 class"(!). The weather was really bad and there were only two cars in that category; I'd've placed third if there was three of us. At least we got a good laugh out of it.

[BlueSunoco]

Had a lot of the same experiences you fellows are saying.

I quit the car show circuit long ago because A.) I was tired of paying an entry fee and B.) the time factor. I didn't care to have to hang around from 9 A.M. til 3-4 P.M. usually sunny and hot to boot. Last car show I did enter they put me in a class with a 1935 Auburn Boattail Speedster, nobody else was in that one and there were a half dozen Model A's (Yes, owned by the show organizers and their buddies) I didn't care because I don't want trophies too much clutter,,just didn't like that I got put on the hook being not in their inner circle of friends. On the other side of the coin, about 30 years ago I entered our Galaxie convt. in a car show. The car was nice, probably a 2+. There was a guy with a '62 Galaxie convt. there, that was a show car. Immaculate. A #1 car easily. I won first he didn't get squat. Turned out it was all politics, the club doing the show did not like that guy. I felt bad for him after I found out.

No, I love cruise-ins like SeaSlugs said, that's all we go to anymore a heck of a lot more fun!!!!

[phat rat]

If your goal is to collect trophies it's cheaper to buy the trophies than build even a mediocre car. I'd rather be driving than sitting at a show or cruise. I went to a cruise last night for the third time this summer and did my usual thing, an hour and I was gone

[Skrain]

I'm kind of looking forward to going to the Somerernites cruise in Somerset, Ky.
Last one of the season is in October. Never been, so I'm not too sure what to expect.

[Pictou County T & A]

As a good friend of my says, " the only thing old on some of those rods, is the shadow they cast".

[marty in Ohio]

My pet peeve at the car shows is the display of historic license plates on the rods. My '30 town sedan is pretty much all original and I display a 1930 YOM plate. Last week I saw a bucket "T" with a 1926 YOM plate. Let me tell you there was nothing on that car that dated back to 1926.
There, I vented. It feels pretty good!

[Ross/Kzoo]

There's too much angst and high blood pressure at car shows. I just go to the cruise-in. Come when you want and go when you want and talk to fellow car guys. That's a fun part of the hobby to me.

[glenn in camino]

Here in Placerville California we have The Hangtown car show every year in May. It's a mix of rods, customs, super cars, and vintage originals. It's sponsored by the local Lions club and judged by the local town merchants. This last May I won Best Vintage Original with my freshly restored, stock, 31 sport coupe.

Placerville is a gold rush town that got it's nickname Hangtown back in the old days when it was ruled by the vigilantes.

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by BlueSunoco

No, I love cruise-ins like SeaSlugs said, that's all we go to anymore a heck of a lot more fun!!!!

oh yes, i bring my chevette and get all sorts of people and hear the billion stories about them haha. usually the stories end up slower than snot but wouldnt die!

I like going for the fellowship and stories, theres always going to be politics but if you just float around and look at other peoples cars its rather relaxing. usually we just go as thier always at or near a restaurant within walking distance so park look around go inside eat come back out look at the new arrivals then leave. i get to eat dinner and people get to oogle at my car haha

Ive only seen a few (a very few) model A's at the cruise ins unfortunately, usually the oldest car is a '34 Chrysler airflow (not that its a bad thing - very interesting car) but i see alot of model A's in my area but always driving so dont get to chat...Have seen a 20's Whippet - guy was driving from Michigan and happened to come thru the town on a cruisenight and decided to stop in and mingle.

[Dusty]

I try to do shows every weekend in the summer, I have collected many trophies and have sense donated all on them to the cub scouts. I enjoy showing my car as it always draws a crowd. I loving telling them about it and I'm surprised as to how very little knowledge there is of theses cars among the general public. It gets me out and I always have a good time. Yes its nice to get some recognition with a trophy but for me it is about socializing and learning about other cars. I know there are some that want to go to war about why they didn't get a award and there is even one guy that has sold and purchased 3 cars sense I been doing this if he didn't get the trophies he thought he should have got with the cars he had. He just bought a Good Guys award winner and only received a top 20 trophy at the last show, so I guess this one will on the chopping block shortly

But that is his and their problems I go for the fun and relaxation.

dusty

[rosenkranswa]

I enjoy going to our local shows, and an occasional national club show, mostly for the fellowship of like minded folks and the chance to share our cars with the interested public. Occasionally I take home a trophy, but that's incidental. Lately I've taken to making up little displays to go with the cars which its fun to talk to. For example, we have a show coming up next weekend for which I've put together a poster I call "America enters the war years, 1942/43" which will be shown with our '42 Ford Tudor, '42 Willys Jeep, '43 Willys MBT, '43 M3A4 hand cart, and a pair of wartime bicycles. It describes what was happening during those years and each of the cars/items. I also have a poster describing the technological evolution from the Model T to the Model A to the Early V8 Fords which I show when I have all three of the cars there. Drives the judges nuts, do they judge the cars or the display? But I've had some of the best conversations with people of all ages which is what I do it for.

My pet peeve - rods that purport to be something they aren't, like a 1929 Model A sedan that has maybe 5% from an actual 1929 Model A and has a state antique car plate. Some of them are beautiful works of craftsmanship, just don't call them a Model A. I've been enjoying some of the resto-rods lately, actual old time rods from the 40's and 50's that have been restored - and they call them what they are, "1951 Deuce Coupe Rod."

[whirnot]

I like going to some shows for the opportunity to talk to interested people about the history of the Model A and mine in particular. We love winning trophies but it isn't our reason for being there. I do agree that stock model A's should not be grouped with hot rods.

[Ted Duke]

One of my sons restored my 1966 IH Travellette ($ door pickup) that we bought new the year he was born. It had been converted to a farm truck in 1980 and saw some hard use age, but little more mileage. He did a beautiful job of restoration on it. He recently took his mother and I to a cruise-in and there was a lot of interest, by those who had never seen one and those who remembered them. Lot's of fun. I prefer cruise-ins to car shows. Someday I will have my 29 Rdstr PU rolling and will frequent a few of them here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

[Dave Mc]

Racing provides the True Winner, Car Shows all too often Prove who is best connected

[Smurkey]

I never go to a show that charges an entry fee...ever.

That's like charging the players to play football and letting the spectators in for free.

I couldn't care less about winning a trophy that the fees pay for.

(sometimes they're for a charity or something...even still, pass the hat among the visitors not the features).
JMO

Steve