Where are all the solid axle and mid year owners ? I was the only solid axle in the forum parking There were only 3 midyears It was like C5 fest out there. I would guess out of the 1000's of Vettes less than 75 were solid axles or midyears. I got pics of most of them and almost all the cars in the special collection. I'll post them when I get home next week.

It is still frickin' hot today. It was supposed to cool off today but the temp at the bank said 98 Just stopped into my room to grab a quick shower, cool off and get some cheaper grub. $10 dollars for a sandwich and a coke. Now I'm off for the road tour.

I've also decided the best way to avoid going back rt 80 is to detour to the Corvette Museum and go back 64 and 81. Seems perfectly logical to me and I haven't been to the museum in a while and I'd like to see if I can take the tour and see them build a C6.

 

Did you see John Neas SR2 in the special display area?

 

I just got back. Man was it hot. Saw Mitch's L-88 in the special collection - very nice. To me the car corral was disappointing. I agree it was C5ville. Lots of C6s also. Lots of nice cars going through the auction. Watched a nice 65 fuelie go for 56K.



Mike

 

Just got back. We are guilty as charged, drove the 'o3. We were called "wimps" for not driving the '58 or the '63. Can you say "air conditioning" in mid-90 temps? I knew you could.
Auction prices were down... although a few cars that weren't great bid more than enough, only to see the sellers walk away. Very odd.
Vendors seemed down as well as the cars for sale, too.

 

Wimps is a strong word. I use sissy la la's

I grew up going to shows with my father in the old cars so thats all I know I guess. I love my C5 and after my father got sick we used it for going on long road trips as he couldn't take the heat. I hemmed and hawed for a few hours before I said screw it and jumped in the 57'. I never realized how much I missed road trips in the old ones. I like A/C myself but nothing is more satifying to me than driving a car you built with your own two hands across country. I talked to people at what seemed like every gas stop and traffic light along the way.
These old cars are like a time travel machine that takes people back to their glory days and they love to relate their stories


I had thought about detuning the 406 and adding air but after a few stop light challenges I think I'll keep the power. Most C5 owners cannot believe that an old car will smoke them. And one local in a Cobra Mustang was really shocked.


Tom

I saw the sr2 what a cool car, but did not meet John. He was always talking to someone when I was around. He seemed like one of the few owners that was taking the time to talk to people. He has the Sebring racer too doesn't he ? I spoke to him briefly at Sebring and read all that awesome documentation on the car from testing but once again he had so many people talking to him.

I saw Mitch's car too beautiful car

I think the glory days of Bloomington are over. The swap meet and car corral were nothing like it used to be and I had seen most of the special collection cars before so that left only the Auction which I could care less about watching when its 98 degrees outside. Carlisle is clearly head and shoulders above Bloomington.

The road tour was a blast One guy actually had a portable Christmas tree in front of his house to get you to stop and do a burnout. That seemed to work pretty well for him as we all left a little rubber. I had to cut the tour a little short to give a guy that broke down a ride to his trailer. Poor guy had a shark that was being certified Sunday and he had just put the original Firestones back on. He decided the tour would be fun but blew 2 of the tires on the tour. The second one took out some fiberglass too unfortunately. Hated to cut it short but can't leave a fellow Vette driver stranded.


I had a great time but don't know if I'll be back. With all the complaints I heard from both patrons and vendors I would not be surprised if it is even smaller next year.

 

I just read this on the NCRS website.

What a shame!

 

This is an interesting point. This was my 25th year in a row. I agree that the show is never going to be what it was in the 80's and its glory days are likely over. However, I've always felt that Bloomington was never as good as Carlisle on its best day, so I'm not making that comparison now. The fact is, the hobby as a whole seems "downsized."
Less people seem to be building cars. Less people seem to be having fun, having passion about the hobby.

I hear complaints every year. Granted, there are some business decisions being made that I dont like either, so I'm sure there are valid complaints by vendors, etc. But the fact remains the show is on a golf course now, and it is what it is. They fixed a lot of the problems from last year and I see they re-upped for 4 more years.

I would like to hear a lot more specific complaints that could possibly be addressed rather than, "its not like it was in 1984."

Sadly, the swap is very weak now, and Im not sure what the answer is. Have the sellers been chased away? Wonder what it would take to keep 3/4 of them from bolting on Sat afternoon? That hurts. The incredibly small field of cars for sale must have something to do with the entry fee.

I love the auction and never miss it. But I go to B/J and others, so I like that stuff. It just seems that maybe people should lighten up on all the complaining and get over the fact that it is never going to be what it was at the McLean County Fairgrounds. Its a nice little classy show now with some history to it, including a small swap, a good auction, Certification, Road Tour and nice cars on the greens.

I'll be back.

PS: "sissy la-las"... I like it.

 

I went to Bloomington this past four days and really enjoyed it. I sold quite a bit of C1 & C2 parts and had a great time! Yes it was hot, but if it got too hot for you, a person could always go inside and see the special collection or the indoor swap meet spaces. The Special Collection was incredible, definately took alot of pictures!
I was not around in the "old" days, I have only been attending the past four years, but I think the previous post was right. It is what it is!
I have been setting up national conventions for another variety of the Chevrolet breed for the past sixteen years and you find out quick, the complaints usually come from those who seldom contribute their time or efforts to improve it. Sometimes we may want to take a step back from it all and ask yourself, "do you want to attempt to do a better job at putting this type of event on"?
I agree, the vendors are disappearing and they need to address this soon! Why are they leaving? Try $700.00 for a corner swap spot. This person who has this spot said he will not be back next year. I realize the bloomington staff has alot of expences to cover, but the cost of a swap space needs to be addressed. I had a nice spot in the middle of a row and it was $85.00 which is more than fair for the space and two passes for the weekend. I have not complaints with the cost of the normal spaces, but these long time supporters are dissappearing!
No John DeGregory, Mary Jo Roener or Dewitt Radiator. I would like to see these persons return, I had planned to purchase from all three of them at Bloomington. They will still get the business, I just would have liked seeing them in person!!!!
I would grade the Special Collection, Certification, Food Vendors, Motel Room, Operation of the event and friendlyness of the Bloomington Staff all very high. I my opinion, the decline of the swap meet is the only thing that concerns me. I will be back there!!!!

Greg
1960 fi vette

 

I thought the show was great.

 

We did have spaces and our radiators on display and free catalogs. I personally did not go for the first time in 19 years and I think it was the right decision. Since we introduced our "Direct Fit" line of radiators we have been buried with orders. It made no sense to me to chase more business when I have people waiting for existing orders.
Then you have the cost. I figure with the hotel, food, spaces, and payroll it costs me about $3000 to do a show. So I would have to do about $15,000 in sales to break even and that's not going to happen at Bloomington. The vendors are dropping off because the sales are dropping off. People are just not going to shows to buy parts any more. Last year when I got back I had a couple people call me and said "how come you didn't go to Bloomington"?

 

Blame the internet...

 

This goes both ways... people may be buying on the 'Net more, but a bigger issue may be that people are selling on the Net more.

I had a piece of a swap space for the better part of 2 decades there... then a few years ago I found that I could sell every single part I had for sale on ebay without saving parts up all year to stand at a swap space all weekend long. Better deal. The Net may be killing swaps, as it is affecting flea markets in general.

 

I have been going to Bloomington since 1985 and it will always be my favorite car event of the year. I admit the show is not what it was but it is still very enjoyable. I personally love the Pheasant Run facility but since it is in the Chicago area I feel that this keeps small town Corvette owners away that do not want to deal with traffic issues although not a problem this year. Also I think that the heat kept a lot of people away this year as well. As for the swap meet I really feel with the advent of Ebay that the swap meet will never be what it was. I also thought that the Special Collection was great and next years promises to be a must see as well. My favorite part of Bloomington is the auction and Certification so as long as there are Corvettes to see being bought and sold and Corvettes being Certified I hope to go to another 40 or so Bloomingtons

 

I have no solutions to fix this or any other show. Maybe the problem is me. To me the hobby has just changed. It is now C5-C6 oriented. The people with these cars have plenty of passion about their cars, myself included. Just look at all the C5 specific vendors there were. This segment of the hobby is booming. I wonder how many Corsa exhausts were installed there ?

The focus on the older cars is just waning. I guess I miss the days of 20-30 old Vettes getting together and driving to a show and shine. Before matching #'s mattered. Just get it as close to original as possible, shine it up, and go. When I was a kid nobody brought a new Vette to a show and the vendors were almost all just guys selling and swapping their spare parts to finish their cars. I would say most of the vendors this year were in the business not hobbyists. I guess time marches on.

I think the venue is beautiful. They did a great job fixing most of the problems of last year. There was no traffic problem getting in at all and they had enough food vendors this year. The road tour was great to go on.. I've always watched it in the past.

I called before I left about a vendor spot and they said sold out, but there were plenty of empty spaces. That not only short changes me but also the guy spending 15 bucks to get in.

A car corral space is just ridiculously expensive.

I believe the swap meets will be facing an uphill battle with ebay and the simple fact that the major dealers have bought out alot of the little guys.

I heard this exchange more than once this weekend between vendor and buyer. Either a vendor saying I can get XX on ebay so screw your offer or a buyer saying why should I buy it from you when I can get it on ebay for XX. I think the whole swap meet concept is lost on people new to the hobby that don't know how hard and fun it was to find parts before the big book catalog dealers came along and everything is a mouse click or phone call away. The need for a swapmeet is fading out.

I think it is a great show if it was in my backyard, but not one I want to spend 1k dollars to attend every year. I'll be back just not every year. I must say no matter where the location of Bloomington the people running the show and the people of Il. could not be more accomodating.

I don't think the heat had anything to do with it. It's hot a Bloomington every year.

What the hell am I complaining about ? All told I met some nice people, had fun and got to drive the 57' 2000 miles with the top down Life is Good !!!

I'll stop my rambling now

 

It's because it all used to be about the cars. Now it's all about the money.

Guys spend more on their trailers and tow rigs than the Corvettes originally cost. No one drives their cars, they're too worried about their "investments".

Why do the cars have to be so perect and everyone chases the HP when no one drives the darned things?

Just like Southern California beach property. When we were teens you could rent a shack of an apartment on the beach for $150 a month and you'd get 6 guys splitting the rent. It was just fun to hang out at the beach all summer.

Now, cracker box condos 6 blocks from the beach are over $1 million bucks and summer rentals are $5,000 a month.

The beach has been ruined. It's not fun anymore. It's all a yuppie statement. People move here from all over the country and EVERYone needs to live at the beach.

So, whenever $$$ takes over, the fun disappears.

 

Good thread. I always look forward to BG. I've been there 15 years in a row and always have a good time. The swap meet is my favorite part of the show, but no doubt the swap meet is on the decline. Here are my opinions as to why:

1) The same baby boomers that were buying and rebuilding solid-axles & midyears 10-15 years ago have now moved on to C5/C6. Let's face it, the baby boomers drive the Corvette hobby and market.

2) So many cars have already been done. There are only so many cars out there. Very few parts cars left.

3) I thank Dana Mecham for saving BG from bankruptcy and keeping the show going. His emphasis is on the auction part of BG. I think he couldn't care less about the swap meet. I understand, but the swap meet is still an important part of the event and if vendors were treated better and prices a little more reasonable it could still be viable.

4) E-Bay.

5) Vendor burn-out. I know from personal experience that it's damn hard work. Inventory, pricing, transport, set-up, security, tear-down, etc. all for someone to haggle you down $2.00 on a part or walk away saying "I can get it cheaper on the internet". I never did it to get rich, rather to meet other 'vette lovers and talk cars. If I had a good time and covered my expenses - I was happy.

I plan to go to BG every year they have it. I am optimistic that the show will evolve along with the hobby. We need to take the changes in stride and offer constructive advice on how to improve it. The folks at BG will listen to you! They are good people who want to have a great show.

 

Bob,
Yep, John also owns the 56 Sebring racer------------------plus, he also owns a 56 SR1 (they had the big, rear brake scoops on the side like the Sebring racer), plus a highly documented 57 airbox SCCA racer (to be restored to race condition), plus a 58 HD brake/FI car, with ALL the parts (to be restored), plus a genuine 270 hp (2x4 with batwing) 57 Chevy (black of course), plus a "Beach Boy Car" (you know, 4sp, dual quad, positraction, 409) which he bought in 62, drove it to college during the week and raced it on weekends. It is a black, red interior 2dr Biscayne-----------------ultra plain jane! No radio, no heater, virgin 409 (except for a set of headers). These are just some of his cars!
He does not drive, nor does he need a "status symbol" car (you know, such as a yuppie Bemmer, Cad, Mercedes, Lincoln, etc, etc. He is a VERY unassuming, down to earth, genuine person. Whatever you need, he will help you out-------------------------------unless you cross him. Then you are on his list for life!

 

What happened to that race car is nothing short of horrible. Do any officials know who did it? (Bloomington offices/ Local Police??)

3 of my good friends went for the first time. They all got Gold awards and said it was a great show/ experience. Provided my coupe is repainted in time, I plan to go next year.

 

I was there. Oh yeah, it was hot. Wasn't there more than three midyears? Mine was there. But I agree also with your comments. Finally found a model of a 64 coupe, in the swap area,which is what I have. Picked it up and the front bumpers fell off. It was a plastic model, basically falling apart. I asked the guy how much, a buck? Holy sh-t! Did he spaz out. Found out he wanted $425.00. He says, get the he-l out of here. Kinda pissed.Is this realistic, or was I in a different zone at that time? I hope this guy isn't a forum member, but if he is, and he reads this, I apologize for anything I might done to irritate you. I'll still give you a buck though. I'm sorry, I mean't two bucks.

 

On Saturday I only saw 3 in the forum parking, but I left at 3 ish