I have a silver 75 convertible that I drive everyday rain or shine (except snow & ice days) AND I show it at every car show, world of wheels etc that I can. I have completely redone the interior, the top, chromed the engine and continually clean, polish & wax her at least once per week. It is definitely a head turner in the day-to-day world. Out of the 20-some-odd car show I have attended, I have won 4 first place and 2 second place awards...and these weren't the shows where I was the only Vette in my class. Lately, whenever I compete in shows, the awards seem to prodominantly go the "trailer queens" in all classes or the ones with the wildest paint jobs or the MOST chrome..... I have yet to see a "daily driver/show" category. One of the shows, I competed in the Antique Class (since my Vette was almost 30 years old)...I won 2nd place...1st place went to a 1938 Hudson (Cherrry!). I competed against a 1966 GTO, 1955 Chevy Nomad, and several other REALLY OLD cars. It was nice to come in 2nd but, come on....ANTIQUE CLASS?

Here's my question....what can I do the make my Vette "stand out". I am sure alot of you experience the same situations I do...GREAT looking car...but just seems to miss the mark.... I want to keep it original & pristine. My next "step" is to replace the stock wheels with chrome Cragar SS mags. Any help or ideas will be GREATLY appreciated....Hope I made some sense here....the next show I plan to compete in is Sept 10-12 in Shreveport.....

Thanks!

 

A silver C3 is always number 1 in my book...

 

nice got any other pic's

 

Nice '75. Kind of partial to them. Mine started out stock but now I am building what I want.

Just FYI, the aluminum rims were not available till '77. Rally wheels were the only ones available in '75. And BTW, Cragar SS's won't fir without spacers, they hit the calipers.

 

I always like to see the cars with their history outlined. Like pictures of when they got it, what they have all done, and other interesting things setup around the car. It shows what work went into it and what it is now. Just an idea.

 

Good looking ride.
I have the same problem with mine, The more I do and the better it looks the worse I do??????????? Doln figger.

 

In my experience what sets a winner apart from an also ran is the details. Start under the hood. You don't have to chrome out the whole compartment but make sure that whatever you have is painted and clean. Make sure all your hoses look good and that the clamps are shiny. I don't particularly care for the armour all shiny look so, when I had rubber hoses, I cleaned them with spray cleaner and put a good rubber dressing on them to give them that matt look. Make sure all the bolts on the engine look good. If you don't have stainless bolts take the one's you have off and dress them up with a wire wheel or a buff. Then spray them with some clear lacquer so they stay nice looking. Make sure the paint on the engine looks good. If there is grease in the grooves and crannies clean it off and maybe repaint the block. On my car I painted the brackets with Eastwood spray grey which is a natural steel looking gray and then covered them with a clear engine enamel. It's held up well and gives a nice contrast to the black engine bay and red engine. Look at you're relays. If they are dull or pitted take them off and clean them on a buffing wheel. Clear coat them afterwards and they will look like chrome. Take a look at your wires and harnesses. If they are dull or dirty looking clean them with some lacquer thinner so they look new. Also clean and repaint the hinges and make sure the underside of the hood is clean and painted. Make sure you're alternator and master cylinder look good too. As for the engine bay I like to do it with Krylon Satin Black and I make sure the dust flaps over the a-arms are fresh and clean. Also clean the control arms and paint them if they need it. Moving on to the rest of the car make sure your wheel wells look good. I did mine with POR-15 and they look great. They are also easy to keep clean. Take a look at your calipers if they show through the wheel. You can get kits to paint these or use spray paint made for calipers. Look at the backing plates and make sure they aren't grungy. If they are you can clean and spray them also. The exhaust system should hang evenly. Look at the differential and make sure the pipes hang an equal amount under it on each side. Also look at your rocker covers. If they are pitted or dented or just dull either replace them or refinish them. You can use oven cleaner to remove the anodizing and then buff them to a shine. Clear coating them keeps them that way. Make sure you're doors are hung as straight as they can and that the weather stripping and wiskers are in good shape. C3s aren't known for good door fit but try to get it straight as best as you can. Wheels and tires should be clean and shined. The interior should be clean and all exposed bolts and screws should be in good condition. If the gauge console and center console need refurbishing you can repaint them using the same Krylon Satin Black as you used under the hood. If you have leather seats give them a good leather treatment before a show and also give the vinyl a good cleaning and shine. If some pieces look worn clean them and redye them. Make sure you're brake and accelerator pedals are in good shape. Don't armour all these or you're gonna have a bad day when your foot slides off them. Just clean them with spray cleaner and leave it at that. Check the tracks on the seats. If they look bad clean them and refinish them if needed. Make sure the door panel chrome is clean and shiny. If the black in the handles and locks looks bad respray them. Give the windows a good cleaning and use Rainx or Castrol Accuview on the outside. This will give the windows a shine and also help keep them cleaner.
All of this doesn't cost very much. For around $50 you can get all the paint and buffing supplies you need. It's a very time intensive process but it can be stretched out over a long period of time. Just work on one piece at a time and pretty soon you will have a beautifully finished car. Usually these are the cars that everyone gravitates to at shows, not because of any individual trait but because the whole package is well executed. Just remember the old saying, "God is in the details".

 

Vettfixr was very thorough in his reply. And I agree 100% with his comments, particularly the slant on detailing and cleanliness. Once the detailing is done initially it is very easy to keep the car that way. And you certainly have taken that first step. Pretty car!

Having said that, despite having a very clean car I have never won so much as a bottle of bug and tar remover. There is always some politics associated with these events and I am not an "in" person. In fact, although I enjoy attending the get-togethers, I generally do not even bother to register. Or if pre-registration was necessary, I do not display a card on my windshield. The satisfaction of being there and speaking with the people is my elixir.

 

Paul, that's a damn sweet lookin' car.

 

If I had your car, I'd pass on the cragars, and install some ralleyes, then
install a set of Hooker headers. The chrome sidepipes and ralleyes will look
great with your silver paint. Then clean up everything. It's the little details that make a show winner. Polish up stuff like your wiper motor, hinges, the little clips that hold your vacuum lines, ect.ect.ect.

We've shown our car 4 times this year and taken 3 1st's and 1 second. We show in the Modified Corvette class, all years. It's a tough class when you throw in all those years, but we've beat out some brand new Vettes and some really nice C2's.

Good luck!!!

 

Thanks Vettfixr. I enjoy that car very much. My point in posting was to indicate that there can be a myriad of reasons why a Corvette does not win a trophy. I don't pretend to understand them all and quite frankly I do not care. I keep my car clean and drive it (I do not own a trailer) and self-satisfaction is more important to me than the praise of often dubiously qualified judges.

The pics are from a show yesterday. It was about a 120-mile round trip. After the engine had cooled down I gave it a light mist of diluted Simple Green to get some oil mist cleaned up. These things do leak! But I am ready for the next outing. Half the fun is in the maintenance.

 

All good advice. Along with politics and the GOB (good ole boy) syndrome, are the liars. Those are the ones who trailer their cars in, then display them as daily-drivers. There's no way to compete with the politics or the liars. You've got the right attitude: enjoy your car and the show.
BTW - go with the rallye wheels, they will set your car off.

 

Trophies?? I don't need no stinking trophies. All they do is take up space and collect dust. If I was to win one at a show, I would gladly collect it and then quitly give it to some little guy as a show reminder.

The real treasures at the shows is the people you talk to and meet.

 

A detailed engine compartment usually wins the day.

 

Now THAT'S sure a clean looking engine compartment!

 

Sure is nice!! And Clean Too!!

 

Just wanted say thanks for all the input....I will definite do the detailing for the upcoming show.....

I have also been thinking about side pipes.....

 

Put some rims on it .

 

Those are some of the cleanest vette's I've seen......
Personally, I say DRIVE THE DAMN THING !!!!!!
It aint no paper weight !!!! If those ARE daily drivers, I say ya'll rock !!
I can't seem to keep the freakin dirt off mine.

 

I believe '76 was the first year for the aluminum wheels.