Excessive68

How do you get ready for a car show? Prepare your car, Posters? And what do you bring for fun? Also- to keep people from touching your car?

Glass Act

Wash, clean, clean more, wax. Our 69 at shows is in a roped area so touching is not an issue. Our other Corvettes in an open public show, i have signs (below) in the windows to remind folks. But, I have no issue telling people not to touch them. Some get upset when I ask, but I don't care, better they are upset then me if anything happened.

Glensgages

When THEY pay the insurance, fuel-bills, up-keep, etc., THEY can do what they want:
until-then, stay-the-F-away!!!!!

vette 85

Outside or Inside:
A couple of chairs, flexible cooler with water, squirt bottle of water in case of birdies and or too hot out, lunch, cali duster for vette and wheels, spray detailer of choice, towels.
Outside:
A plastic base for a beach umbrella, beach umbrella.
Thats all I got

1982CorvetteDude

80% of the spectators appriciate the work and time that goes into these cars and usually keep thier distance or are very careful.

But there are those people that like to lean across your fender trying to get a closer look.....some even tried to open the door

Don't forget the snot nose kids that like to put thier clammy hands all over the car and are very "touchy touchy".....most times the parents don't say a thing to them. This is my worst problem.

Because of this I usually plant a chair right in front of my vehicle to monitor traffic and make sure that nothing gets out of line.

PRNDL

folding chairs is always a good idea.

I have tried a few different things to liven up the car show. Sometimes I bring my little replica model of my car. The kids love it! "Look mommy, it's a little car!"

Once I collected all my kids' soccer, running and basketball trophies and piled them all up on a table in front of my car in an attempt to impress the judges. Didn't work...

1982CorvetteDude

Don't forget the "legs" that stick out from under the car

I was going to do that with my lowered S10 a few years back but never got around to it.

I thought about doing it with my 82 and throw a couple wrenches on the ground by the feet

Don Rickles

Watched in disbelief, as someones dog jumped up on a sweet 66 next to my car a few weeks ago My mouth dropped as I yelled HEY, but not in time Minor scratches but still what were those people thinking?WB

rvazquez

Don't know if it is true or not, But last year at the first car show I entered, an old timer told me to cover the top of my chrome air cleaner !. It seems that the suns rays, if it is bright out, can reflect up onto the underside of the hood and blister the paint from underneath.Like I said, don't know if it is an old wives tale or not, but I do throw a cloth over the top when my hood is open

CF6873

This happened to a friend of mine's 66 vert. It did blister the paint on the underside of the hood.

Orangevette

Bring your headphones too, I like to listen to some tunes while watching the crowd go by. Get there early so you can maybe get a spot where you can sit in the shade.

lebvette

Most of the ones I go to are outside. A shady spot is worth a thousand dollars. The heat is tough down south. Other wise get a BIG BIG umbella. Stay by your car....to protect it, answer questions from admirers, and judges will usually ask you questions if your there. Look at other nice cars and you will know what you need to work on. My car will do great except for the engine compartment. I know that.....so I won't win anything yet, but it still gets alot of attention. I'll give you two thousand for a shady spot! Larry

Ironcross

This may sound silly, but clean the inside of the wheel wells. A Judges trick as to how clean the car is as they all should be, is run your finger under the lip of the wheel well. If it`s a dirty finger it could be the difference between winning and losing in very competitive classes. Also most Judges really dont like to be told by the owners how good their piece {Vette} is. As a Judge they should have already known. But to help them, a picture history Judges handbook would be a better way. Let the Vette speak for it`s self. Leave the hood, door and trunk open as they will not open them.

TheMongoose

Well I was watching this post as I needed this info too. Here's what I learned this weekend...They also award points for first aid kit, tools, jumper cables and I think there was one other thing...oh yeah don't cover the chrome air cleaner to keep the sun off your hood because then they won't judge the engine and/or will think oyu are hiding something and deduct points. It was a fun learning experience. I hope to do better at the next outing. Hope this helps some of oyu out there.

black77c3vett

have you ever hered the saying if you have to ask you cant aford it...
kinda the same goes for the shows.,.just go and enjoy.,or go and work man just have fun, life is just to short to....... good luck

vetteguy75

In addition to bringing the usual (chairs, water etc) I found this to be VERRRRRRRY helpful! It's battery operated (24 hours of continous use). Saved my life! Found it on line at http://www.batterysavers.com/Emergen...erated_Fan.htm



It folds flat and is light weight about 13" across and only cost about $40 each.

Excessive68

Thanks everyone! Great ideas and advice. My corvette is black and it really doesn't like to be touched. I really can't stand to see people touching any cars in shows. I really liked the signs. I will have some signs made up before the show. Happy 4th of July.

sperkins

By far the best car show investment I have ever made has to be a 10'x10' tent. It's also a good way to meet people as they usually try to huddle in your shade. You can get a good one for about $90. You'll have trouble getting it in a C3, so I usually throw it in the trunk of my fathers '56 Bel air.
Here's a picture from a recent car show where I took my '73 Olds. The tent really saved us on this day.

vettebuyer6369

1. DO cover the chrome air cleaner on a sunny day with a '67 or earlier car. I had the paint bubble off my '63 split window, and I've seen it before. If you are worried about judges, wait by your car and remove it for judging.

2. Do NOT get caught up in arbitrary "rules" that you think ALL judges or ALL shows follow. Car show rules change every weekend, and shows are often put on by people who don't know what they are doing. I've judged every kind of car show since the late 70's and I can't give you better advice than to ask questions about judging points, rules and classifications BEFORE or AT each show.

3. There is nothing more cheesy than stuffed animals (not cute), piles of trophies (no, we are not impressed) or stupid witty or off-color (nudies) signs & pictures. Have some taste.

4. Leave the judges alone during judging.

5. Have fun and don't let your life be ruled by the addition of another $3.95 plastic trophy.

Excessive68

Show is Saturday. My father-in-law is the president of the club putting the show on. I'm not even worried about a trophy. I'm taking the car for him. I built this car to kick butt on Vipers, new Corvettes, and whatever. It's nice looking too- don't get me wrong. But I focused on horsepower (800 hp) when I built the car. Take a look at some pics. I did get some signs made up. And I purchased a tarp at Costco. Hopefully the signs will keep the idiots back. I went to look at some cars 4th of July at a different show. Couldn't believe what the folks were doing to cars. I saw a lady reach into a car and honk the horn, her husband had his hands all over the car. Kids had food in their hands putting them on cars. A lady was resting on another car. Dogs on leashes right next to cars. Amazing how many stupid people there are. This is my 1st show- so I really appreciate the advice. My wife will drive there with a big cooler and everything else. We'll try to have fun!