I'll be first to step up to the plate..Batavia was the last BCA show I'll ever attend

At the risk of having my thread deleted, or maybe even getting banned from the board, I really don't care, because I have something to say. I was thoughtful enough not to upset things at the show, but I don't like the way the BCA does things and after this experience I have decided not to renew my BCA membership.

I paid $30 at the BCA Nationals just to have my car picked apart by a bunch "experts" who walk around like they have something stiff lodged somewhere. That's after spending a couple months over the winter replacing good parts with better ones then cleaning and painting the underside of my car. Then laying on my back soaking wet cleaning it again just before the show so I won't lose any points just for driving it. Then having my lights checked, and nearly being disqualified just because my parking lights were out. :error:

Then I have to use crap oil filters, hose clamps, and batteries just to save my car from getting picked apart a little bit more. I've probly spent 4 times what my "incorrect" Riviera is worth trying to make it look good. I get discriminated against the Chevies and Fords around here enough as it is. Then I park it at a National Buick sponsored event, only to have people walk up to it and make fun of it just because it has the "wrong" motor in it. Really it's the right one, b/c I wouldn't put a 430 on my lawn mower let alone my Buick. I also think star wars air cleaners look like toys. (I'm really sorry guys...that's just my honest opinion)

I hope the people that were standing around my car who ridiculed it friday night in my absence are reading this. You weren't men enough to confront me but my wife heard it all whether you know it or not.

The fact is that I built my car to please myself, and we are very happy with it like it is. If anybody has a problem looking at a '67 Riv with a '66 motor, hood and GS emblems in it, THEN DON'T LOOK AT IT! :moonu:

Plain and simple......if you feel a car doesn't belong there, then just refund the money and disqualify the car. Last I heard clones are not illegal.....and I still have my '66 vin plates.....would re-badging my car be more acceptable to you guys? Or would you rather I just put a Chevy in it??

Hey you guys.....if you're so purist that you're offended by my Buick then that's just too bad. And I'm saying that to the same bunch who had beef with it at the ROA meet last year too. It was good enough for a second place award though wasn't it?

I'll continue showing my car locally, and the "best of" awards that I have won with it mean more to me than any gold, silver or bronze BCA award ever will.

Please let me continue.....

Then they expect you to pay another $28 per person to sit through a very long and boring :boring: awards ceremony after spending 4 days in the hot sun eating chips and pop in the hospitality room! ou: I heard the dinner began at 6:30 and the first one wasn't given out until after 9:00! The National Buick events are the only shows I've been to that expect you to sit through a ritual just for a trophy. :moonu: I didn't attend the awards dinner so I don't know if I won anything yet at Batavia, but after hearing a few stories I doubt it. And that would be sad, because I worked very hard over the winter and spent a lot of money on my car.

One guy from the modified class told me he saw one of the judges change his own judging sheet so he could win. Another guy told me the judge criticized him for not replacing his ORIGINAL convertible top with a 1" tear in it. I recall him saying the judge asked him if he was "just too cheap to replace it" :spank: and that they do make repro's. I think that sarcastic remark was crossing the line. At least the judge was man enough to say it to his face though. Another told me he lost points just because he had papers in his ashtray. Another told me he lost points for small pits in a piece of NOS chrome! :laugh: That's just rediculas. If I'd have known these gatherings are concourse, I would just as soon stayed home.

Sorry fort the rant, but go ahead and flame me.....call me a whiner....tell me I'm wrong....I can take it. My car's too good to get picked apart by a crew of constipated hosers. A good arguement would really make me feel a lot better right about now.

 

Okay then, I'll argue...

They have a standard which they judge against. If you don't want to build your car in accordance with their standard, then don't bother. Build it for YOU.

Of course if they dont' judge by their own standard, or that standard changes according to the situation, that's a different story!

-Bob Cunningham

 

From the sound of it, I think I lost some future interest. How many standards papers do you have to read to make sure the car is just perfect for the show anyways? o No: I hope I will regain interest, but some of these things are a tad bit "too scary".

 

Maybe you should put a placard in the engine bay like others have to explain what they have. But yours should read somethig like " #1-This is not your car. It is mine. You don't have to /get to drive it. #2 I put this car togrther as I saw fit, with my own two hands. # If you really feel the need to nit-pick this car please just remind yourself of statement #1!! #4 anyone who has had to read #1 more than once can kiss my :moonu: Sorry for what appears to be more than"strict judging". Seems to be some whiny biiiiaaaches! :spank:

 

Joe - sorry you were upset by the events.....its not the way you should feel after showing your car no matter what the circumstances.

Were you entered in the Modified class ??

Have you posted your displeasure over at the BCA site ??

 

Joe dont worry man you built the car the way YOU want it cause its for YOU and whether you choose to have a 430 or a Nailhead in it its still a Buick motor so makes no difference,so who cares about all those BCA awards and BS all that matters is that you love your car because its the way YOU want it and its yours and its all that matters,thats one of the big reasons i dont attend show`s because you get every A-hole excuse my language to start nit pickin on everything,dude dont be upset its your car and you do what you want with it and who cares what everyone else has to say.

Thanks

 

Jeez... they'd have a FIELD DAY picking apart my car...

The only thing that is correct on my Riv is the one bolt holding on the piece of trim on the passenger fender.

 

I've been wondering how I want to proceed with entering my car for the 2006 event in Rochester MN. I was thinking of the "Driven" division, but might have too many incorrect items. Whatever I decide, I think I'll just stay away from the car once it's parked...

 

Last year, I went to the BCA in Plano, just because it was so close. I knew better than to enter 2NA in the 400-point class (too snooty) or the modified class (too "kustom"), so I entered in the Driver Class, 'cause that's what it is, a driver. Even there, it's probably too modified for that class as well...(and as it turned out, I wasn't able to take the 2NABOT, but went anyway and had a blast - hi, Adam!)

Always a problem with car shows, they're either wrapped WAY too tightly, or it's so wide-open that the ever-present newly-painted Chevy with a ton of chrome and NO craftsmanship gets the award.

Which is why I don't care about awards, I just take my 2NABOT and have fun. People who know good cars and good work self-identify themselves, and we have fun looking at each other's projects. That's all I expect, and I'm rarely disappointed.

But if somebody came along and started telling me what all was "wrong" with my car, I think I'd get upset. too. Knuckles for knuckleheads!

 

From what I understand, the Driver class is pretty much original or unrestored cars that are driven to the BCA event, right? And the modified is mostly the highly-modified and customized cars, like the Kustom Street Rod?

Which leaves a HUGE gap in the middle with nowhere for the driver-type cars that are moderately modified (say, overdrive tranny, headers, non-original seats, etc).

Which to me is a shame, because those cars are what I think it's all about - upgrading your car to make it better, but still actually driving it on some sort of a regular basis.

[RANT MODE: ON] :rant: Heck, anybody can throw money at a car to make it "perfect as the day it was made", or to customize it to the point that it's only a toy car. Both extremes are still GARAGE QUEENS, and while sometimes they're nice to look at - "ho hum..."

I'd MUCH rather see a nice clean driver with well-thought-out and well-done changes that make it "better" than the manufacturer could/would have built 30+ years ago. And on top of that, I'm a LOT more impressed by something that the owner has done themselves, instead of paying somebody else to do for them.

Real Cars aren't Bought, they're Built! :rant:
[RANT MODE: OFF]

 

Thanks guys.....now I feel better knowing I'm not the only one who feels this way. Man, do I feel better now that I vented.

As for entering mine in the modified class, I thought about that. But it just doesn't make sense when I have a stock motor and my car appears completely stock in every other aspect. I can't see making modifications that I don't want just to be competitive in a class I really shouldn't belong in. :bglasses:

 

That's a shame Joe.

These people that pick everyone's car apart really take the fun out of any event. :rant: I know it was a judged event. But it sounds like these jerks left their manners at the gate!
I have a lot more respect and admiration for a car that was worked on mainly by the owner with sweat and tears. (And the occasional bloody knuckle)
Not just throwing a bag of money at it. And then stand next to it at a show and wait for them to hand out trophys.
I will exempt those in the medical professions that need to keep their fingernails clean though.
Having gone to shows since I was a wee child I am kind of jaded by the whole car show thing. All the egos, and politics. :moonu:
Just too much BS to deal with.
I'd rather show my car by driving it on cruise nights.

 

I've never quite understood the concourse events, people spend thousands of hours finding the right bolt for this hole, the so and so must be perfect etc.. To me, that just seems like a dog show. After going to the ratfink meet last weekend, I know where I'll be spending my time in the future. It was great, I had no idea of who was in what class or even which class I was in, but someone came by and asked me to open the hood.
- Do you have anythig else done to the car? Like undercarriage?
* No, what you see is what you get, it doesn't get any better, sorry.
- Ok.

I don't know what happened with that, but there were so many nice custom rides, all different kinds, and people would take them down the track. It fealt great lining up against a 50's station wagon, only to be beat by it. You had seven second cars, and over twenty second trucks from the 30's all at the same time, it was really cool. If you don't like the concourse stuff, try finding something like this, to me this was much more fun...

 

BCA Show

Hey Joe -
Just remember a 100 years from now it won't mean anything - what matters is for you to enjoy your one-of-a-kind Riviera, and to keep on sharing it with others who enjoy it too ! ou: :bglasses: :beer :TU:

 

Joe

Wish I got to meet up with you, I am the worst with names and placing the faces. Anyway you could of hung out with us Northeast guys. I always felt shows were stuffy and boring, not that there is anything bad with shows. I do like to attend them from time to time and when I do go with my cars I have no intentions of winning. This way if I do win anything it's a nice surprise. I go to just BS and see everyone, check out the parts for sale and relax.

Anyway we were at the dinner too. Lot's of nice older gents and ladies, and as my father used to tell me, "You never get in the way of a senior when there is food involved :laugh: We had our own great entertainment, Doug Hecker. Haven't laughed so hard in a long time that we had to walk outside to calm down. Plus the photos shoot on the screen was nice.

Joe don't let this get you in the dumper I heard the Corvette Shows would drive you to drink, so these ain't too bad. Go to them, park the car hang out and socialize with friends that's the bottom line with me. Your reasons posted were the exact reasons why I left showing my Buicks in general and redirected to the racing scene. Can't change it, problems with judging has always been a problem with all makes since the first car show was thought of.

So if you are deciding not to go to another Buick related show, you should go. Show your car and be proud of it, because you built it for "you" and for you to enjoy. Plus you get to see your friends and hang out and relax.

 

My car is strictly MY CAR. The reason I go to car shows and cruise nights (and never one that I have to pay for) is the drive there, and taking a look at other cars. I pay no attention to the naysayers never have and never will. I'm not a huge fan of wild customs on the whole, but I always appreciate the work involved, and the tasteful ones, like yours, are my favorite

 

You think I'm funny? Funny how? You think I'm some kind of clown? Sent here to amuse you? Whatta ya mean funny? :laugh:

Joe, Rick's right. Just go to enjoy yourself and laugh. I'm sure the old fogies at our table and at the other tables in close proximity didn't think I was so funny, but trust me, after six drinks it's amazing what you'll laugh at! :laugh: And we really did have to go outside to collect ourselves. I had chest pains and tears running down my cheeks, I was laughing so hard. I tried hiding my face in my napkin, but it wasn't working. You're right though, 28 bucks to sit through all that blah, blah, blah and get shoved aside by senior citizens rampaging towards the buffet! Not a lot of value there. I learned from a few "BCA friends who shall remain nameless" what to do if I ever go back to one of their shows. Don't pay for the banquet. Go out to dinner somewhere else with your friends and come back to the banquet room in time for the awards presentation and pull up a chair by the open doorway and listen for your name. I saw about 25 people do that this year. Seems to be S.O.P for a lot of people. I agree with your theory of operation. "I built it for ME!!" is my m.o. too. :TU:

 

I have a lot of respect for those who go to the n'th degree to restore a car to concour's (sp?) condition. It involves a tremendous amount of time and money and patience, and for auto history's sake should be done. Having said that, I do not think ANY engineer involved in the design/performance of these wonderful old cars ever had a trailer in mind. They were built to push the limits of what Buicks were expected to do. It's in that arena where they shine the brightest. IMHO. They are the kings of the musclecar era and nothing but pure enjoyment comes from driving them that way.