cbernhardt

Any of you who have shown your cars probably have one (or more) of those signs that say "Look all you want but Please Do Not Touch" strategically located in your vehicle. Well, after I took my car to a few car shows I got tired of asking people to "Please don't touch the leather upholstery" even though my "Do Not Touch" sign was in plain view on the seat. So I made up a new sign (see image below) and taped it to the convertible top lid, just behind the top of the seats.


Well, nothing is ever idiot proof. At a show this Saturday three seemingly sane adults walked up to the car, read the sign, fingered the leather sample, and then put their sweaty hands on the seat backs to "just check and see if it was real leather".

So now I'm looking for a more forceful deterrent against unwanted fingerprints. I was thinking about something like a talking car alarm so that when I see someone start to stick his hand into the interior I can press a remote control botton and the car alarm says something like "Please don't touch me there", or "Touch me again and you lose a finger". I've seen some talking car alarms but they were preprogrammed with unchangable messages. Anyone know of such a car alarm/recorder/annunciator that might work.

Charles

62fuelie

Well, set-guns have been outlawed for quite some time now. However, I'm sure you can still buy steel traps in a lot of areas of the country. Might have to mailorder them somewhere. Doubt they still make the bear trap size, but some of the ones intended for smaller critters might do the job. You could stragegically place them around the interior of the car when you park it. You'd need to carry a broom handle or something similar to disarm the traps prior to storing them for the next show. Might want to check on your general liability coverage before trying this, depending on how liberal/conservative an area you live in.

richscorvettes

Charles,

Fortunately, 99% of the folks at shows are usually careful around the cars. But there are those that just make you cringe like the people walking unruly dogs, the 2 year olds pushing carriages instead of being in them, those who "look" by having to run their hands along the body or feeling the upholstery and those leaning over the fenders to get a closer look at something. :eek: We had one fellow who opened the drivers door and popped open the hood and another last week who opened the trunk! But the vast majority are just nice folks who stop to chat and appreciate the cars without having to put their hands all over them.

We haven't used any signs but years ago there was one company who had an alarm (I think Beverly Hills Motoring [?]) that you could program with any message you wanted. They are likely out of business now unless someone else has come up with one. I always thought it would be fun to program some sort of message to make your point without insulting them on the first message and something stronger if they don't get the point the first time. :lol:

Rich Lagasse

396 RAT

I have seen several rare cars use stantions and a velvet rope affair
as a barrier.
My car is unrestored, And I can only handle (1) car show per year.
Not sure how you guys do it?
I choose carefully and have a great time every year!
This year it was the Concourse at HB, last year Plastic Fantastic,
the year before that The "Cure" show at the El Toro air base.
Maybe you should try my approach? Drive more & show less?
Other than that, there is a Forum member here that may be able to help.
6' 6" 250+. He may be able to convince them from putting their grimy mitts
on your car? :boxing


[Modified by 396 RAT, 2:40 PM 7/27/2003]

58Mike

Gee whiz, Mark, you're worse than my wife!!! I only weigh 245 pounds!!!!! :lol:

I think a modified version of Ed's idea (bear traps) might work. But instead of actually installing traps, place pictures of what happened when someone DID reach in: mangled arm, face showing excruciating pain . . .

- Mike Greene

bdrake

Sounds like my mother-in-law, reads the do not sign and does it anyway. Most of the time I have good luck and people respect the cars but occasionally you'll run into the people that no sign will stop. Was at a show a few years ago and a guy had an alarm setup, drove me crazy going off all day long. I swear people set it off on purpose just to hear it tell them to step away from the car.

I hit three different events this weekend, an evening cruise-in, an actual show and then straight downtown for a festival type event with a cruise-in and live cruise. The last event is the one to watch out for but is also the most fun. We have the cars, food, kids, live bands, beer tents and a whole lot of people with no idea what kind of effort, time and cost goes into them. After cruising bumper to bumper for almost an hour and never getting out of first gear (temp was ~230) I park away from the main crowd. Do not park by the main entrance, the beer tents or in direct line to the band. After the car cools down I close it all up and join the rest of the family already up by the stage. The car will get touched just about every place I go so I try not to worry about it and accept that it is just part of the risk anytime I pull out of the garage. After the first chip or scratch the next one doesn't seem so bad. :cheers:


[Modified by bdrake, 4:14 PM 7/28/2003]

396 RAT

"Gee whiz, Mark, you're worse than my wife!!! I only weigh 245 pounds!!!!! "

Hmmm, I am 6' 3" 230, in that photo next to you, I look like a pup?
Are you sure? I thought I was being nice? :lolg:

DansYellow66

Please - don't start another car show horror thread!! I haven't recovered from the last one where the kid on the bike wouldn't stop touching the member's vette and the guy lost it and decked the kid right off of his bike. After reading all the follow on horror stories that everyone wrote in response, I had nightmares for a week and didn't take my car anywhere for 6 months. :banghead: :banghead:

propwash

I took my car to a show and shine at the local berger joint a month ago , a hispanic guy came up and knocked on my finder like it was a front door. I turned around in time to see him do it again on the nose. I know what he was doing, he was checking to see if it really was a glass car. My paint is 5 months old. I about ripped his head off with my mouth and felt like doing allot more but didn't see the use in it.I wish I would have paid better attention in my H/S spanish classes. Fortunately no harm was done.

STING67RAY

i guess we have all had similar situations at car shows. when we were at a show in n.y. on the pier, two idiots opened a car door and the female sat in car while other idiot took a picture. the owner of car started yelling and they moved on. a short while later she laid across hood of another car while he took another picture.that owner went ape sh.. on them.
car show organizers finally made an announcment that the cars are for looking at and not touching. and no bicycles allowed.
i think same announ. should be made at all shows several times a
day.we should get together on this.
just my .02 worth.
d.s. in n.j.
:rant:

mogulmike

How about locking the car and rolling your windows up to keep those grimmy hands off? I've also seen the velvet ropes. I had a 67 327/350 with the BB hood and somebody got upset when they noticed it wasn't a BB. Then he wanted to start arguing with me about my hood. I asked him what he drove to the show and funny thing he turned and left. My experiance has been 1% of the car show patrons are a problem. Just make sure there is a nicer car there than yours and you should be fine.

1KULC7

At one car show that I was show my car, I sat by the car most of the day. I went to get lunch for only about 15 mins. When I returned, there was a guy, about 40 years old, SITTING in the drivers seat. I told him to please remove himself from my car, his excuse was, "I thought you could sit in show cars, after all are they for show and demonstration". :troll :troll :troll

Can you believe this fool?

:jester

HoldHard

Saw a sign this past weekend...

" If you have to touch this car, you better be NAKED "

:lolg:

HoldHard

cbernhardt

Down at the bottom of my "Please Do Not Touch" sign I have (in small letters) "Unless you are Naked or Wearing a Bikini". Only had one offer so far but HE was pretty ugly and I don't think he was carrying a bikini.

Charles