Failure

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NHUSA
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Failure

Post by NHUSA » Sun Sep 08, 2019 7:38 pm

As the country song goes — “What was I Thinking?”

I attended a car show today that was giving out a total of three trophies.
They were chosen by participant and spectator voting.
About 200 cars showed up and the three trophies (best of show, peoples choice, and best first date car) went to three Mustangs.
The mustang club had about 20 cars present.

One of the organizers came to me after the show and said that the T got second place in the people’s place category and he thought the deck was stacked by the Mustang Guys.

I guess it was just politics but this is the first time the T hasn’t received a trophy.
As usual, I had a great time talking with people and saw some great cars so the day was not a complete loss.
NH - Where I used to live - not the carburetor ! :lol:


Norman Kling
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Re: Failure

Post by Norman Kling » Sun Sep 08, 2019 8:20 pm

I learned about 50 years ago not to go to car shows where you have to pay to enter or that judge the cars. I do attend shows which are just for fun and to show the cars to the public or to schools or home for disabled etc.
Many years ago I drove a Model A Phaeton from San Diego to San Francisco and they had a show at Golden Gate Park. All the winners were local cars, some of which were over restored such as polishing off the sand pits on the engine, etc. The only other prize was for the car driven the farthest. It was from Florida. Cars drove all the way from New York and others joined them as the crossed the country, but only locals won the prizes.
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Henry K. Lee
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Re: Failure

Post by Henry K. Lee » Sun Sep 08, 2019 8:34 pm

People always ask me to take my cars to shows, I do not need trophies but if you are giving them out, be impartial about it.

That’s why I have my own fun!

My three cents,

Hank

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PDGx
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Re: Failure

Post by PDGx » Sun Sep 08, 2019 8:51 pm

As the population gets ‘younger’, it will happen more often.
If it doesn't have a ton of chrome, or a fancy paint job, it will get less and less attention. Old and original means nothing to the disposable generation.
If my short term memory gets any shorter, I won’t even have thought about what I’m going to forget.

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Re: Failure

Post by Tim Moore » Sun Sep 08, 2019 9:06 pm

A trophy is just plastic, I got over it years ago and threw them away. I can buy any trophy on eBay that I want and be the best at everything.

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Re: Failure

Post by Ruxstel24 » Sun Sep 08, 2019 9:19 pm

Fun is the main thing for me, sounds a little rigged, but you can't win every time.

They did have more categories at the show I was at a few weeks ago. My friend Bill won best antique with his 26 touring. Ours were the only T and one A beside us.

They should have a category for the least horsepower :)


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Re: Failure

Post by Burger in Spokane » Mon Sep 09, 2019 12:37 am

Trophies and trophy chasers are the epitome of everything I dislike about the old
car scene. For years, I just accepted it as how the old car scene operated, but the
chestpounders and assclowns and their car show events soured me to where I just
enjoy my old junk and let that scene of posers and phonies do their thing. I DO
enjoy shows that are just for fun and oriented to the non-cookie-cutter kinds of
cars, where competition for plastic landfill trophies doesn't turn the participants
into "those guys".
More people are doing it today than ever before !


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Re: Failure

Post by Loftfield » Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:15 am

I go to shows, pay or not, if the show is in support of a group or idea that appeals to me. I always go to shows put on by the local club, again mostly to support the group. I drive either a 1912 Model T touring, or a 1910 Buick Model 10, depending on my whim. I have not, and never will, win any prizes because the imperatives of most members and sponsors do not include age or preservation. Most "antique" cars today are those that people wanted as teens but couldn't afford, or are those on which they learned to drive, including the loss of virginity in the back seat.The rest are muscle cars with chromed after-market parts hanging out from all around the engine compartment. No trophies, but without fail my cars attract the most attention, get the most sincere smiles (especially when I let the youngsters squeeze the horn bulb), and I often get applause when I grasp the Armstrong starter and drive away. No trophy is as good as, or worth more than, the public approval of presenting vehicles, usually seen only in a museum, that even granddad never drove.

Now to define "antique automobile". After some thought I have decided that an antique car is any car that is older than you. My first car (I didn't learn to drive on it, nor did I succeed in losing virginity in the back seat) was a 1924 Model T Fordor. I was 16, it was 38. In my teens I wanted brass cars, couldn't afford one, now I can, so I fit the same imperative as most folks at car shows.


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Re: Failure

Post by Kuhner » Mon Sep 09, 2019 8:03 am

For crying out loud it’s a 5 dollar trophy, big deal if you don’t win. Donate your entry fee to the good cause and enjoy the day.
I have a restored car that has won repeat senior grand National from the AACA, it doesn’t win every time I enter a show, I know how good it is, that’s good for me.
I also have my old roadster pickup, it has won a few trophies itself. Anymore when I enter one or the other I just pay the fee and request they do not judge. I enjoy answering questions letting people set in them, kids blow the horn, whatever.
It’s just a “fun” hobbie,
“I don’t like nice people. I like tough, honest people”. - Woody Hayes

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Re: Failure

Post by DLodge » Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:38 am

I have entered shows through the years, but never in order to win a trophy. I just like to let people look at the car and answer their questions. It's especially fun to encounter an old-timer who owned one as a teen. That said, I did end up with a handful of trophies through the years. They fell into two categories: (1) the "judging" was people's choice and the people attending the show to look at the cars were each given a ballot and asked to vote for their top three choices, or (2) it was raining or threatening to rain (either at the show or up to 75 miles away). The guys with the cars that usually won the trophies didn't show up, and I would end up with a trophy because there were only one or two cars in the class. When I downsized and sold my house three years ago, I looked for a place that might be interested in re-purposing the trophies, but didn't find one and had too much else going on. They ended up in a dumpster, along with all kinds of other stuff that I had once thought I would keep forever.... :D

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Re: Failure

Post by GJScholz » Mon Sep 09, 2019 12:17 pm

The real trophy is the smile on the face of someone as they are sitting in my car.
Greg Scholz
4th Generation Caretaker
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Survivor Class
http://personal.gregscholz.com/
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KD0UYN ‘73

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NHUSA
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Re: Failure

Post by NHUSA » Mon Sep 09, 2019 1:09 pm

What was I thinking.. when I decided to mention car shows here?

Dick Lodge said it clearly "I just like to let people look at the car and answer their questions."

Now the back story - As a teen I went to Antique Automobile "meets" with my mom, dad and brother in the 1919 T I now own.
I was a bit embarrassed because it was just a black era vehicle and not a shiny brass car or a soft top touring car.
I was more interested in hot rods, fast cars, and racing -- and girls.
The T didn't fit in any of the categories, didn't get a lot of attention, and never won anything. It was just there.

Then in 2010 the T came to my garage and every time I worked on it, I remembered working on it with my dad and felt as if he was next to me.
A friend persuaded me (with a lot of pressure) to take it to a big car show and to my surprise it got a third place trophy out of about 12 vehicles in it's class (Mostly pristine model A's) . Boy was I surprised, but the real fun was talking to people and carefully letting kids sit in the car.
The next year I took it to a couple shows, enjoyed talking with people, and it got trophies at each one including a first in class.
The following years the trophies continued to pile up at each show (usually first or second) and it even won a big "people's choice" trophy.

This year the T has continued to win trophies. At one show it got first place in class out of 10 vehicles and to my amazement "Best of Show" out of about 300 vehicles. At another it got one of the 10 "best of show" trophies (no classes) out of 275 vehicles.
Note: I have never gone more than 40 minutes away from home for any of the shows.

As time went on I realized that the T had won a trophy at every show that gave out trophies it has been in since 2010.
Now the string has been broken, but the most fun is talking with people, telling them how a T works, and letting kids (sometimes OLD kids) sit in the car.

There are two more trophy shows this year and if the weather stays good I plan on going to them.
NH - Where I used to live - not the carburetor ! :lol:

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NHUSA
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Re: Failure

Post by NHUSA » Mon Sep 09, 2019 1:12 pm

I just read Greg Scholz's comment -- I wish I had thought of that one! :lol:
NH - Where I used to live - not the carburetor ! :lol:

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Re: Failure

Post by Duey_C » Mon Sep 09, 2019 10:41 pm

Neat thread. :)
Kuhner is kinda right too, It does take money to supply nice prizes for some participants to bring stuff....
It works, beautiful cars show up. I like the '66 and '67 Pontiac Tempest/Le Mans' personally. We usually get a couple of nice/blue Poncho's. Beautiful! They are not perfect, thank goodness.
Unless there's a T there. Then I MOVE while a song is on to see.
Some bring things to compete, others bring things just for fun all across the board there.
Truth be told, mostly we're just regular folks out here. Nice people. Cool.
The show I've worked at for 20 or 21 years is what I'm babbling about. It's amazing how much they still pay the DJ/announcer that hasn't brought a model T since the very early days. I wonder if I could park one next to my setup, just for fun instead of out in the classes. :)
Lucky the TT would be most obscene. He'd get serious attention tho. If I set a block under the front axle for the tire that likes to lose air...
Something to aim for! :)
Just to mess with any hoity-toity's.
Since I lost my mind mind, I feel more liberated

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Re: Failure

Post by RustyFords » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:57 am

When I win a trophy at a car show, I wait for a while and find a discreet place to give the trophy back to the organizer (and thank him for the honor) so that he can use it the next time and save some money.

I've never seen the point of collecting plastic trophies and don't want them. Running in a pack to the car shows with other old car buddies, talking to someone about my car, letting people sit in it, etc....that's the real fun for me.

A few years ago, I was helping clean out a garage of a deceased old car buddy of my dad's. The widow wanted to know the value of the big ticket items so she could sell them and was giving the rest of the stuff to my dad including a couple dozen trophies. I took them to a swap meet and offered them up for a dollar apiece. Nobody wanted them for that price but the little kids were constantly looking at them. I ended up giving them all away to any kid who wanted one.
1924 Touring

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Re: Failure

Post by KWTownsend » Tue Sep 10, 2019 9:46 am

The last time I was in a car show was one that was organized by the charter organization that supported my son's scout troop. I took my 1911 and another father of scouts took his unrestored 1966 mustang and we parked next to each other. We both enjoyed the day and loved talking with all the people. We were both entertained as the attendees, one after the, other would walk over to the front of his car with camera in hand, then turn to take a picture of my car! My friend call his car "invisible" as it sat next to mine. The earliest category they had was cars from the 1920's. They did not have any categories for pre-1920 cars! So I entered in the 1920's category and was presented with a second place trophy. The only other "1920's" car was a 1929 Model A. It was all fun and we all laughed about it.

The important part was that the proceeds from the show went towards the civic work the organization provided, like supporting my son's scout troop. And yes, the scouts helped all day long starting with the set up early in the morning and clean-up after the event was over.


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Re: Failure

Post by Russ T Fender » Tue Sep 10, 2019 12:09 pm

A lot of the local shows support great causes but do not have very sophisticated category designations. At this show I was in the Ford category. There were 35 Fords, only one Model T and two from the 30's. I ask not to be judged as I would rather see trophies going to the newcomers. Hopefully it will encourage them to stay active in the hobby.
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Re: Failure

Post by Hal » Wed Sep 11, 2019 12:49 pm

It's been a while since I entered a car show. I really enjoy showing our cars, but the last few years, we have just been so busy with other things, we haven't gone to one. Like many here, I have no use for a trophy. I've won several over the years, but have now gotten rid of all but one. I keep my AACA 1st Junior for my Model A. I did the restoration myself and managed to win a national prize, so I'm proud of that one. Local shows? Not a real high standard. Almost ALL shows in this area, you have to pay to get in, but they are always a fundraiser for some worthy cause. Frankly, I'd probably spend more than the usual $20 entry fee if I did something else for 4-6 hours on a Saturday, so I would probably be saving money by entering a car in a car show. I have left before the awards on some occasions and I've sat and talked with interested spectators, rather than going up front for the awards on many other occasions. I don't do it for the trophies. I do it for the fun of it.


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Re: Failure

Post by Matt_A_1926 » Fri Sep 13, 2019 10:46 am

I go to plenty of car shows and while I usually enter, I have no real interest in winning. I go for the fun, the talking and the sharing. While guys with pristine cars polish their rides and sweat with nerves as kids approach, I open up the door of the coupe and let the kids in to have a seat so long as they are respectful. It always makes for a lot of fun and possible converts to the old car hobby. P.s.-putting a cup over the starter button helps prevent accidental starter presses from feet.

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