well today, I went to this car show and entered my car in it. I have a 1967 Buick Special Sportwagon with a 340-4 in it, dual exhaust, x pipe, it's muscley. check out my website to have a gander. Anyway, i wasn't going to enter my car originally, but when i got there, there weren't really any muscle cars in there, so I thought I'd have an easy first place. I paid my $20 entry fee, which is kind of pricey for a high school senior, and hung around waiting for my trophy. well to get to the point, I got beat by a: 3rd place: 1969 VW Kharman Ghia, 2nd place: 1960 Cadillac Sedan DeVille, and 1st Place: 2000 V6 Mustang with a body kit on it. None of which are muscley to me. I felt so gypped. I'm just letting out some stress by posting my story. the car show was held by Soundwaves, a car stereo place, where i got my windows tinted, and the criteria was a point system made out for ricers. for example, Wheel diameter: 20" 4 pts, 19" 3 pts, 18" 2 pts. etc. and stuff like that. Argh. it makes me mad. somebody hear me out.
You're preaching to the choir, bud. We all feel your pain. "Nice Chevelle." "I used to have one just like it. Had a 396 in it." "Yes, you CAN swap parts from a Buick 455 to a Pontiac and Olds 455!"
Same thing here too. Dad's 64 Riv got beat last summer by a Dodge Dart that was not in the league with it! Local Mopar club sponsered the event. At least an A-body Buick looks a little like a Chevelle. The Riv. doesn't get any looks some nights at cruise-ins because people know automatically it is not a Cheby. My GS gets lookers and then they say well, that's a Buick. "I thought it was a Chevelle".
Thats the reason I sold my GSX I got beat out by a rusted mustang . I didnt even place anything and I had the best car in the show. Even the guy who won 1st told me I should have had at least something!!!! It was a joke so I never showed the car again. then after awhile it was time to sell.
Well, it sucks not winning when you should, but I probably would not sell one of the Buicks because of it. Dad gets pissed, but I just keep taking mine to the shows and cruise-ins. Stick it in their face whether they like it or not.
I get screwed each time also. Just today a ford and two chivvies brought home the gold from my class. It's amazing how many people come over and say "nice car" "what a beautiful car" "it's so nice to see something different" Etc, etc, etc. and then the furd gets the trophy. You gotta watch those mopar and chevy clubs.........they discriminate all the time.........go to judged shows.........participant popularity contests are always a crap shoot. Don't feel like you have the lesser car, you know the truth. And there were likely others who always get screwed too, even at judged shows (most of them are rigged anyway) I could tell you stories...........last week at a show with 75 cars, great cars, with only 6 awards to hand out, a '59 elcamino took 3 of them........the guy could barely carry them all back to his car. He won his class, plus dj's choice and the "longest distance travelled award ) Anybody got a chevy emblem that will fit a Buick?:laugh:
hey ian. thats a nice looking car you got there. i dig the hood. makes me want to go and search for a wagon now :TU: pete
Most "shows" have nothing to do with how NICE your car is, it's WHO you know, and IF you're a MEMBER of the "CLUB", as to whether you WIN something or not!:Smarty: That's the EXACT reason WHY I don't belong to ANY "CLUB", because they don't know how to JUDGE the CARS, "FAIRLY"!:af::moonu: Let's make a rule for EVERYONE, but then we can CHANGE it to work for one of OUR guys, who has HIS CAR in the show. I've seen it happen too much. I attend the car shows, as a Spectator, only. I attend WITH my GS, or my Skylark, but I never "participate" in the events (No Car Show/Race, unless it's a BURNOUT Competition!:TU: ), because I don't like WASTING Money for an UNFAIR event!:Smarty: If people want to SEE my car, they can see it for FREE! If I want to RACE my car, I can race on a (Backroad) Street, for FREE!:Smarty::bglasses: I don't go to car shows to "look" at the cars, I go to see what FEATURES the cars have, and to see who's CREATIVE enough to IMPROVE the car. FACTORY STOCK Cars are "boring". Put ALL of the GSX's in a LINE, and they ALL LOOK THE SAME! Put the GSX with the TWIN SUPERCHARGER sticking out of the Hood, and that's UNIQUE! So WHAT, if it's NOT "STOCK", it's BETTER than Stock!:Smarty: That's what I look for, the ONE that STANDS OUT in the crowd!:TU:
I've learned after YEARS of entering shows, go, have fun and meet new people........its not very often that local shows or national shows (sometimes) are "straight up" about whats going on.........main thing is just go have fun but don't go with winning on your mind, you'll get humbled very fast. :TU:
.................then there's the one I was at last summer at the fire hall, judged by the AACA. In this show, you MUST have your hood and trunk open to be judged or lose points for them. What a joke that was.............this guy next to me with a '67 chivelle convertible, spent half the day fixing his top so it would go back up............when the judge came over to judge mine, his door was open so far he could not get through to mine to look at my interior. When the judge asked him to close his door he said to the judge "no I'm not f*&%#ing closing my door, you *&%hole"............obviously they were friends. Anyway, this chevy had collission damage on the r/r quarter, his trunk was full of junk (I saw in there as he was getting his tools to fix the top) and his hood was only briefly opened by the judge. Neither I nor any of the spectators I ever saw his engine........I can only imagine. Keep in mind, I kept my mouth completely shut. He ended up getting first place, I got nothing, and the other cars there that IMHO opinion should have placed on top got second and third. I felt his car was not worthy but that's the way the ball bounces.........I will never attend that show again. I was so pi$$ed had to leave after that because I did not want to appear as a sore loser or make a spectacle. Later, I met a senior club member at a cruise night and told him what happenned...........naturally, he was surprised I was hosed! :spank: :rant:
Joe, Not all clubs are bias against other makes. Last year we took our 70 GS to the impala Nationals. Won Best Buick, Best Muscle Car and to our surprise took Best Of Show! Was guite a surprise! Was not done by popular vote, that always makes a difference! Hope you have better luck next time. Paul
Anyone can BUY a trophy. Local club makes sure they have enough to go a minimum of 4 places in each class, and they must have 40 classes, and then, have ties if more trophies are needed in a class. In MOST cases it is more Subjective than Objective, and If the entry is for a good cause or benefit, GREAT, otherwise SO WHAT. Most local Judges wouldn't know a straight car if they were hit by it. Look at it this way, If you car is Nice, be PROUD of what you have & enjoy it. The Other guy has to clean his Dust Collector.
I know! The only best of show I have gotten so far was from a Chevy club, but it was not a local one. I live in Buffalo, it is a Chevy town..........the engine plant has been located here for over 75 years (I think). We have a million car clubs here..........too much politics. I wonder if there is any Buick bias in Flint Michigan?o No:
Any show which uses wheel diameter as a criteria is a show I wouldn't even bother entering. Your wagon is far beyond and far more historically important than a freaking wheel diameter. You own a Buick. Hopefully because you love them. Get used to being dissed. People know virtually nothing about them. Even seasoned muscle car folks don't know a whole lot about them. You've dared to be different, I respect that in and of itself. Don't worry about the gound effects junkies. All that stuff looks like crap anyway in my humble opinion and detracts from the car's value as well.
Them officials must watch HP TV. They had a late model muscle car build up this weekend. And their late model muscle car build up was an 03 mustang???
After going to my second car show this past May, I realized that many just go to win and others go for the fun of displaying what they love. In this show they had about 15 classes one being all Buick. While I was walking around I was surprised to see one Buick, a 65 Skylark (can be seen here -- LINK -- under Car Show) that was in a different class called "Special Interest". The car was beautiful but when I tried to talk to the gentleman, I noticed that he was there mainly for one reason and that was to win something. After going back to the "Buick section" I spoke to someone else where they told me that the 65 Skylark was in the Buick section the past two years but never won anything. In the end the 65 Skylark did get third place, getting beat by a cobra and first place was given to a van (photos of the van are also in that link above). As for the 65 Skylark, I don't think he was even happy with third place. I enjoyed myself that day looking at other cars and just relaxing soaking up the beautiful day. I didn't win any trophy but I did win something and that was compliments from people that stopped and looked at my LeSabre. Those compliments are more important to me than any trophy because it is those people that see how much love, time and money you invest into that car. Everyone will have their moment of fame. Take it in stride and just be thankful that you can enjoy the day and what it has to offer... Like they say, winning isn't everything.
I learned a long time ago, If you go to a show looking for a trophy - you'll end up disappointed. I go - put my car out there for others to enjoy - and thats all I expect. BTW - trophies are nice but sooner or later they all end up in a box in the basement anyways.....so just enjoy showing your car for the pride of owning it
Wow, thanks alot guys, you sure know how to make me feel better. I did have fun talking to a bunch of guys and making new friends, which I actually did. Those jerks also put out a flyer that said "awards for ... highest truck... etc." and there wasn't an award for it. That guy was pretty pissed off too. Thanks again, Ian
Dad definetely goes to win! He loves his cars and thinks everyone else should too. Now, his opinion is that an extremely nice Red Convertible Buick might have a chance (as the kids say now "Bling Bling). But, I tell him that there will be a very nice red Cheby there that will beat him. Just go, meet people, talk to a few knowledgeable ones that appreciate your car, then drive home with a smile! At least that's my ideal of shows. Try telling my 68 year old dad that and he just tells me to shut up. I guess Father's know best!!
