Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Jones
I don't know about blue-ribbon restoration, but I hope the 68B I am working on at least wins a participation trophy. What a challenge!!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stretch Cab
Greg, a "Participation Trophy" isn't that kind of like a "Best of Show(ing up)" trophy?  |
To begin with, this is getting WAY skewed IMHO as most people have no idea what Fine-Point restoration is even about, ...much less what restoring a (any) car to that level entails.
To begin with, at a MARC/MAFCA meet, you must have the minimum of 14 items to even be considered for F/P adjudication. Most cars that attend a MARC/MAFCA National event cannot even qualify. Therefore to imply that if someone shows-up they will receive a trophy is kind of a slap in the face. If the vehicle
does pass the minimum standards in the preliminary judging, then it is awarded a white ribbon. As stated above, only 5% or less of all the vehicles registered for the meet can even meet these qualifications.
Secondly, as a veteran in restoring a Model-A to F/P status, there is WAY more to restoring a vehicle accurately & authentically than just to make it look pretty. Most F/P participants did not restore their vehicle to win an award. They did it because they pushed themselves to produce excellence. From my experiences, most people who work on Model-As do not have the stamina, determination, and/or the ability to actually 'restore' authentically. It is the challenge in replicating something in exacting detail, -and pushing oneself to learn new things about the craft that drives most F/P restorers to do so. Ironically, most F/P restorers do not get upset if they do not win top-prize as they typically take the mindset to go home and make necessary changes to better their vehicle. Personally, where I have been most upset with F/P judging has been when the Adjudicator made an inaccurate or incorrect deduction on something that I knew was correct.
For each of us here, we should never be critical of someone else's accomplishment & craftsmanship when that Restorer's results exceeded our own capabilities. This probably should even include ridiculing those Restorers who choose to restore a Model-A to that level. I personally applaud anyone's efforts that want to restore correctly, ...even if their accomplishments are better than what I can produce.