Well, my 17 year old daughter saw the adverts for the local club's fall car show, and asked about entering her '79 L82. We discussed it, the time it would take to clean her basic daily driver for the show, and especially realistic expectations of her car against some of the top flight local trailer queen C3s. Don't get me wrong, her car is nice: everything works, and the paint is new, but the engine is stock with new parts where needed, old stuff where we haven't had to replace, the suspension & underside is old, worn, & original (nice patina of, um, well, RUST), and while the carpet is new, the seats and steering wheel are pretty ratty. It is a wonderful car, though, with the aluminum wheels and the (poorly fitting) mirrored T's, and her pride & joy, just not a show car.

She was still psyched for it, so I gave a hand and we cleaned & polished all that we could after work & school. I didn't even go to the show for the first several hours, letting her register, setup, etc.- no problems! She loved talking to people about it, and what we have done so far, etc. When I arrived, she took off for some lunch, and missed the judges.

Due to questionable weather (a few quick rain storms), the crowd was about 1/4 of the usual turnout- many of the local cars stayed home, safely tucked in their garages. When time for the awards came, though, she walked away with the top award n her class (we didn't ask how many were in the class!). Needless to say, that took a proud girl to a beaming girl! I don't think she plans to do any more shows, but will continue to enjoy the local cruise-ins when her friends can come out, also.

It turns out that this little show will probably cost me quite a bit, though. About mid-day, I saw my wife talking with the local upholstery shop about the seats (wait a minute- where did my wallet go?!?!), and I was "informed" last night that a new steering wheel WILL be purchased this week, with or without my blessing. The ladies are conspiring against me!

 

Congrats for your daughter. Any pics?

Why not have her join the forum?

 

Remove the idea from your head that her car needs to be good enough to get a trophy. The purpose of the car show is to have a fun outing for car owners AND make some money for a worthy charitable cause. Keep your focus on that purpose.

Be enthusiastic about her wanting to participate (notice I didn't use the word "compete"). Your enthusiasm will justify hers and keep her interested in attending. Offer her some advice on how to prepare the car, but don't get **** about how perfect it needs to be. Let her do the preparation and then she will find out at the car show whether she is happy with that level of preparation or if it was 'too much' or 'not enough'.

This is her gig...be a 'friendly adviser', not the "director".

 

Well said......

 

Pics of daughter...
holding award....
in front of car?

 

If your daughter's car was the red 79 I saw at the League City show it is a very nice car. I spent a few minutes looking it over. L82, aluminum wheels and factory spoilers is a tough combination to beat.

 

Thanks Dan, that's the one!

I agree with the earlier posts about being there to participate & have fun- and believe me, even if she had not brought home anything, she had fun! I just tried to ensure she wouldn't EXPECT to get something, and be disappointed if it did not work out. Seeing the passion that other owners have for their cars is definitely contagious.

I also appreciate the advisor vs. director post- that is why I didn't tag along. I only showed up mid-day so she could have a break & get some lunch with her high school friends (sitting in the TX heat/humidity for 7+ hours can get to be a drag). OK, and I wanted to hang-out with HER car & the other car people, too.

I will post some pics of her & the car.

 

First time trying to upload a pic, we'll see if this works. Not from the show, but here is her car, in a classic American Power pose from earlier in the year.

 

Good looking Vette!

There is nothing like a Mechanical Daughter.

Butch

 

Its great to a see a young person take an interest in older cars and experience the trill of showing the car and sharing their passion with others.

 

No doubt she is very excited! My congratulations to her.

This 1979 (beside my current 1974) I drove for 17 years. I loved that car. Still do. The pic was taken yesterday.

 

John, if she doesn't do anymore shows, she at least went out on top! Does she drive the 79 to school? Nice looking Vette!

 

 

Congratulations to your daughter and the family effort. It bolsters the passion of many generations for these cars and it won't be long for your daughter to have the "while I'm at it..." virus start putting ideas in her head. Welcome to our world.

Terrific shot of not only her beautiful car but of BB 35, USS Texas in the background. I love big gun boats.

 

Great story and what a great day for her. Congrats

Most 17 yr olds are into 4 door Hondas with a 5" exhaust pipe! Good for her to follow her dad in the car culture. You are obviously very proud of her. Great looking car.

 

Yeah, that is her daily driver to school & work, although she will NOT be taking it to college next year! You can always find it in the school lot, sitting alone, as all her friends know not to park close to it.

The tough part that we have is she enjoys the lines of the car, the T-tops, etc., and doesn't mind the dated performance. In her mind, the Corvette should be a beautiful grand touring machine, not an all-out race car, and the late C3 fits that like nothing else. Her Dad, on the other hand, prefers POWER and HANDLING. So, who will win on the November project decision... new front suspension or new seats?