C2Jeff

I entered my new car in the AACA show that was held today in Coral Gables, FL just for fun and to see how it would stack up. Even as I parked the car, the Vette owners around me said stuff like, "Now that's a Corvette!" Several other Vette owners showing their cars came up to me and told me my car was a shoo-in to win a trophy. The owner of the only other '67 there - a Lynwood Blue with similar interior as mine but with side pipes - came up to me and told me that he thought mine was nicer than his and would surely win. Apparently, the judges didn't agree and my car didn't even place while the other '67 came in third.

I hope to get the judging sheet to see where my car lost points besides the obvious stuff I already know about.

But, Jeez, if my car can't even place in a fun show, imagine the hard time it'll have at an NCRS judging! And to make matters worse (and I'm not saying this to rub it in the noses of those of you stuck in the Polar Vortex), I got a hellacious sunburn!

Oh, well...

(PS: Two of my favorite non-Corvette cars there - a perfect '54 Jag and an old Packard, both pictured below, did win).

Nowhere Man

AACA judges cars against one anther NCRS does not. AACA is a good club for pre war cars not Vettes. They know nothing about them. So before you bash or question a club learn about them.

C2Jeff

I think you're reading between the lines something that simply isn't there. All I said was that the judges apparently didn't agree with the Vette owners. I wasn't even hinting that I'm bashing them or questioning the club because those thoughts never even entered my mind! In fact, I plan on joining the AACA Miami chapter as well as the Sunshine Corvette Club. I only want to see the judging sheet because I want to know where I need to pay attention to details that are costing the car points. I was just surprised and disappointed because my fellow Vette owners against whom I was competing had all crowned my car in advance so I had high hopes.

Nowhere Man

Did you look at the car that got first? If so that was your standard.

dcaggiani

C2Jeff:
1st lesson in local car shows - do not go to win a $10 trophy. There is subjectivity and dare I say at times, social politics at play. The local events are great to learn about other cars in the area and to meet their owners to swap stories. Helping to raise money for charities is also a strong draw for me....

I had a similar experience about a year ago with my highly engineered and nearly perfect RestoMod. It was painful to lose to the guy with a bunch of bolted-on chrome. Had no one understood the level of work that was done to my car? Yada yada...... In the end, I learned that it really did not matter - I know what I have and if I really want to compete for prizes/trophies (which at this point is NO) - there are better venues to pursue.

As far as judging goes, if you have a Corvette to NCRS standards, get it judged by the NCRS to compete against yourself in terms of how well you executed your Corvette.

Best of luck and sorry you had this experience.

Cheers
Dan
(in Boynton Beach)

www.facebook.com/vetterodder

vetterodder.com

65GGvert

I'll give you some free advice. When you leave your hood up like that, put something over the chrome breather that won't blow off. The center of the breather lid will focus a beam of light up on your hood that can burn the paint off the top side (painted side) of the hood. It will bubble up the paint in a matter of minutes. This is not speculation I have seen it several times and last summer it happened to me. The wind blew my towel off the breather and bubbled my hood paint. It's not cheap to strip and repaint and get it to match, so avoid it in the first place. Either leave the hood down, or cover the breather lid. I can send pictures if you'd like to see what it can do.

1963GrayGray

[QUOTE

I hope to get the judging sheet to see where my car lost points besides the obvious stuff

[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately the judging sheets are not available after AACA shows.
It is a totally different environment than other types of shows.
Not better, not worse, Just different.

Dave

C2Jeff

I did meet some nice people, and one of our forum members, RK-TECT drove over with his lovely wife and daughter (so, he had to leave his '66 home) and lent some moral support, so it was a fun day and I have no regrets. I did learn about the sun reflecting onto the underside of the hood and bubbling the paint at the show so even though it didn't get to the right angle to cause that, I know now to be mindful of it, but thanks for the advice, 65GGVERT.

I only have one regret from today: that I didn't bring an umbrella for shade and didn't bring sun block because I really do have a burned face, neck and arms.

Fat Mike

As Dan (dcaggiani) said, subjectivity often dictates placement. You could go up against the same cars next month and if there are different judges, you could come away with much different results. I have judged car and motorcycle shows for years. When judging with one or two members in "team" judging, I was often surprised that our opinions varied so much when looking at the same car.

Regardless of how you finish, you still have a fantastic car and one that lots and lots of people would be proud to own.

Gary's '66

65GGvert knows of what he speaks. Cover that air cleaner or you might be leaving a show with more than a sunburn.

rtruman

I have been to many car shows there is a lot of politics involved. You might have a fingerprint on one glass -2 paint dirt showing under stainless or a thread under seat.
First you have to know what there are looking for. Don't ever take
that personal there are different rules for each car show.
You know right away if your corvette is outstanding .There reasons
don't really matter .just have fun show your car to others that enjoy looking at it . In fact I had the trophy's tops cut off and gave
to the kids in the area.

nassau66427

You could improve your odds of getting a trophy by painting your metal kick panel trim blue and making sure that the welting on the kick panel carpet is also blue.
Sorta like this:

w1ctc

Going through the AACA judging book may give some insight on
the judging results.

Zoomin

I think you'll quickly find it's more enjoyable to go to cruise-ins than car shows.

C2Jeff

That's already on my list! It looks awful the way it was done.

rich5962

Absolutely in agreement.

AACA shows are fun to attend, but not to enter. Whole different set of guidelines.

The winners are usually trailered, and those of us that like to DRIVE our cars to shows, typically don't have a chance at a AACA event. There's one here in Vero Beach on March 22. Seven years ago I took my '59 after spending a week getting it ready just after we moved down here to FL.
At the last minute, a few nights before the show, my wife asked if she was going to take her E-Type too. Huhhhhhh? I scrambled for a few hours cleaning and detailing it for her.

Guess who got the trophy!?!?!?

dahogan

I used to love bringing home cheap trophies, but over time it just got boring to wait around until presentation time. Now I only go to charity shows and leave when I want to unless I am judging.

savewave

I belong to a local AACA chapter, but have the only Corvette in the group, so there doesn't seem to be much interest in them. Actually, I think most of the members in my chapter consider a '65 Corvette to be a "new" car.

I display my car at charity events, but am not into judged events. My '65 isn't "correct" and I enjoy driving it a lot better than cleaning it.

YMMV and I'm okay with that.

MrPbody

The dirt on my cars IS the trophy I receive. and I get a trophy at every show I go to, even the ones I don't enter.

Russ

ptjsk

Not to worry. You already have the trophy....you're driving it!

Unless you're going for a specified certification or something similar, just enjoy the ability to drive your car there.

As many have pointed out here already, politics seem to find there way into most any event. Unfortunate, but a reality.