GSCA Nats ideas- car show, judged, etc. BRING YOUR BUICK! Even the rotted out ones!!!

Those war stories are great. I have some good ones as a kid when we all used to carpool together. 8 or 10 trailers.
Using our old park Ave or the wagon for years to tow.
Looking back definitely not the smartest thing compared to today's times.
3 years ago I borrowed a 2013 e350 van to tow and it had 650k miles on it.
The year before that I bought a 500 dollar suburban that needed cam and lifters. Drove it there and back towing with the engine making noise the entire way. Lmao
Sold it when I got back.
John jr

 

A lot easier/less to worry about these days w/cell phones & hopefully a little more $ than we had back then. Can always get a U-Haul/tow dolly or find a Mini-storage & bus terminal/airport/car-rental or Uber to the parts store.

Back in '86 (in '85 I rolled my '72 GS on the way home...) the rear in my '70 GS 350 4-sp grenaded on Beech Bend Road leaving the track Sat (even made several passes that day). Nowhere to pull off & we ended up in the grass. Someone staying at our hotel passed & went & dropped their car off & came back to rescue us. I found a local guy on Sunday who delivered a Chevelle rear to us @ the Ramada & took me to the parts store downtown to get the hybrid u-joint (all for $50). The gas station in front of the Ramada used to have service bays & there happened to be a guy in the shop Sunday afternoon that burned the OE plastic u-joint retainers out for us. We finally got on the road around 6PM. I assume the blown rear (I've heard along w/some others) is still buried in the brush behind the hotel. Somewhere I have pics of the car jacked up in the parking lot w/no rear. Everyone leaving asked if we needed anything. I guess we were both 19 y/o at the time but it all worked out & we made it home.

 

OMG that is nuts. But whatever you got to do and glad there are some nice people out there to help.
john jr

 

Just put it on your list and come. Well worth the money it costs and we only go around once.
john jr

 

Wow, looks like 2024 is going to be awesome, I can't wait to be there!

 

What's the date again?

 

May 15 - May 18, 2024 Be there!

Link: We have 2024 dates!!! May 15-18!!! | V8buick.com

 

May 15-18. Even if you can't bring the car, fly into Nashville or Louisville.

 

I REALLY want to bring my car out. We'll have to see how business is looking as we get closer. I was able to attend in 2023 as kind of a "bucket list" type of thing. Now on my bucket list is getting my car out there. SLC to BG is not something to be taken lightly but it'll be a fun adventure for sure. My wife MAY accompany me if I'm able to make it out this year (I will have to stop at various quilting things along the way for her bucket list). I've also been able to create a bit of a buzz in our local Buick groups to have others thinking about heading out.

I flew out to Nashville last year, rented a "sport sedan" (late model Camaro) and drove up to Bowling Green. I think it could be pretty fun to get groups that would "convoy" together from the west or wherever. I'm 1700 miles each way. There were two Utah cars out there last year. (Grand National racing guys) I've been able to keep in touch with one guy a bit through FaceBook (not my favorite medium but it's ok, I guess---so many ads)

 

Didn't really fit in with the Buicks but I still had a great time.


I don't really see ANY GSX cars in Utah. There's one that parked next to me (I'm still not sure if I should have parked where I was) and one across from where I parked? Pretty cool





Ran into three Utah plates last year.

 

Exactly the memories, stories and how friends are made
john jr

 

Hey Jr. 1988, Ask dad about the valve spring and the Holildome parking lot...

 

My only other suggestion is that the show classes be broken up into years, it would be a good thing. 1960’s, 1970, 1971-72 together and 1973- up, and GN classes, Survivor, and Modified/race cars.

 

Well damn it turns out my whole family is traveling to Florida for a wedding right around then. No way could do both. I just realized I am now almost 1,400 miles away from Bowling Green.

 

This has been brought up to Sid Meyer alot since he is in charge of the show. The largest hurdle is nobody wants to volunteer to judge cars.
There are a few people that are thinking about coming on to help judge but until we have a dedicated group I can't promise a change for 2024 on the judging.
I'm learning as I go here with the show myself as I'm not a car show guy but more of a cruise hangout type if not racing.
John jr

 

Then or around then.
You can fly from b.g. to Florida or vice versa. Lol
Just saying.
John jr

 

I would judge a Class, not the whole show, it might be easier to do it like that. A few judges for each class. Also with an easy form of 1-5 points per catagory, like Paint1-5, Interior 1-5, cleanliness 1-5, Engine 1-5, Originality 1-5. It’s simple but easy.

 

I'd judge but I'm more of a "hot rod" kind of guy than a "concours" type. Nothing wrong at all with "concours" and I appreciate the massive effort and historical value of "concours" and "restored" restorations. I'm kind of a "year 15" type guy more than even a "day 2" kind of guy. I don't care if the right hose clamp is used for the right year of car. (again, super cool that people put that much effort into that, it is cool to see). That said, I spent a TON of time looking that concours stuff. Got some great pics about how things "should" be.

I followed this dawg in being towed by a late model F150 EcoBoost. I knew I was in the right place. Who's ever seen a white GNX?


I spent a ton of time looking at a cool '66ish Electra



Something with a 1985 type tach, Keystone Klassics, an Alpine stereo and Dunlop GT Qualifiers (I hope those are all gone....dry rotted for sure by now) and maybe some air shocks are more my kind of vibe. I didn't really see any of those per say but these rigs really caught my eye. The black '72 was an exceptionally fun car to me. Loved chatting with the owner and his brother from Chicago. He said it was only missing 2 options. I couldn't find them.











I had an awesome week. Part of it was that I was by myself and didn't have to be concerned about anyone else. If I wanted to watch racing for 4 hours, no biggie to anyone. If i wanted some nachos, I'd go grab some. If someone had time to chat about their rides with me, I chatted (probably overly so?).



My point of posting is, IF YOU HAVEN'T GONE BEFORE, GO!

 

Ive judged for at least 5 years. Seems if ya volunteer to do it once you are expected to do it every year. Last yr I did not but spent the day as more of a spectator and just hanging out. I also am more of a hotrod guy. Still judge all cars by the same standards. Is it neat , clean and presentable. Condition matters even if its not "correct"

 

If you both or anyone wants to help judge even 1 class its a huge help and in reality wont take much time at all. Please contact me or Sid Meyer as we get closer but thank you. I really appreciate it. Like Briz said for the regular classes its not as intense and correct as the concours. Sid has his team for those cars because they got to be as perfect as possible. I myself am more of a regular car guy, driver with mods to make it unique but nice too.
John jr 9144698617