Drivers and Show cars

[gweilbaker]

Malak,
That there asphalt glider exudes kool!

[Skrain]

Originally Posted by MALAK

Now this is a fine-points car>>pick-up<<as it has many fine-points (pointed pieces of steel, sharp pointed edges, pointed cracks, etc) left by the farmer who hacked the back end off to make room for the PU bed.

Tom

Now THAT'S "Old School" improvisation at it's best!
And, it's a slick looking ride, too!

[Bill in Al]

I love to drive "Old Jo".She needs help at times and I do the best I can to keep her going.If necessary I get help, otherwise I'm the electrician,mechanic or I do whatever needs done if I'm capable.She's beautiful in my eyes and that's what counts!

[midgetracer]

I think that most restorers restore their cars to the best of their abilities and financial resources. Very few say a poor job is acceptable, and we get better with practice. My recent restoration is a better job than my first. That said, I love to see an amateur restoration going down the road with the driver smiling than a half done car waiting for just the right OEM part. just saying.

[Fred K-OR]

Another question along with this same thought-How many Model A's from 1928-1950 were "show" cars? Especially from 1929-1939.

[CarlG]

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If there were any "show car" Model A's in the 50's, I never saw any. They were mostly just "old cars" that were cheap enough that us young-uns could afford them.

[jerry of whidbey]

had my tow truck in fine point blue ribbon in bend one day the next day took it on the grand tour up the mounton ran out of gas on the way down 428 points

[theHIGHLANDER]

Not just Model As, but lately my Packard brethren have been driving the wheels off their cars. At Amelia last year the just finished 33 Conv Victoria was rolling 65 on I-95 in FL. At the bottom of that bridge in Jax he ended up with a flat tire. What to do, horror of horrors! Here's what we did:



If it was 1933 you have to jerk the spare outta the well and flop it on there, right? Not a scratch, not a mark. In all fairness though I was running backup in my dually with tools and such and put the painted cover on the deck behind the front seats. No extra chest hairs awarded for scratching things up.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by CarlG

If there were any "show car" Model A's in the 50's, I never saw any. They were mostly just "old cars" that were cheap enough that us young-uns could afford them.

There were plenty of them.. I still have one, & the awards it won from MARC in 1956 & 57.. I also have a award from MAFCA 1960 National Show as BEST ORIGINAL in Atlantic City N.J.

[RockHillWill]

Good morning Mitch, I would answer your question regarding the all repo pick up by stating that in both the AACA and the Fine point groups, the quality of the craftsmanship and the overall appearance would have the greatest benefit for good results. If the repo parts were 'massaged' in a good manner, it would be of more benefit.

I have thought about this often, and I feel that a Model A with a multitude of repo parts could actually receive a score in the high 380's in the Fine Point arena, if these parts were 'massaged' to at least try to look like originals. Things like the corect cad plating as opposed to the 'zinc' look. You can rework most tall head bolts to look original with minimal effort, READING the Restoration Guidelines is a HUGE advantage. Proper paint in the proper places costs NO additional money. If you do a lot of the prep work, even the plating costs can be minimized substantially. It is much more detail work rather than huge amounts of money that get the higher scores.

The main reason that I see as the deterent to entering the Fine Point arena is FEAR, It takes a large amount of time to do the research and pay attention to the details, and some folks just aren't willing to put the commitment to that amount of time. In my case the reaearch and detailing time was what I needed to gather the money to pay for the 'stuff' that I did need. I am retired and work part time restoring Model A components, so I did not have a 'bag' to dip into, and the additional time in those efforts gave me time to save some money.

One of the most recent Henry Award winners exemplifies this attitude. Our own Hunter Fanney here on the Fordbarn was the top point winner in Lexington. He hand worked the original hardware, modified a 'store-bought' upholstery kit and put up plastic in his garage to do his own paintwork, after going to night school to learn to paint. His first attempt at fine point judging was not as well received as he thought, but rather than go home sulking and bitching, he attended to the notes on his score sheets and worked another year and brought it back to Lexington in the same borrowed pickup and trailer that he went to Oshkosh with. All this work was done in a two car garage behind his house with some help from a neighbor across the street. Mark Maron pointed out a similar effort in this post and I know of others as well. Another poster here, Tom---- got 430 points and the Mark of Excellance from his own private restoration.

The perceived problem with attepting Fine Point judging is NOT the high standards or the 'difficult' judges, or the 'big money', but rather a persons unwillingness to commit to the effort. If some one takes the time to compare the money and time required between a driver and a fine point car the largest difference is the commitment to details.

Of couse, you understand this is NOT directed at you or anyone in particular, just my perspective on this issue. I still feel that if you own a Model A, the only duty you have is to ENJOY it, and what ever that entails, have all the fun you can muster, but don't rule out a Fine Point attempt if you are interested in that.

I have long expressed my opinion that the only difference between successful folks and unsuccessful folks is that successful folks are willing to do the things that unsuccessful folks are not willing to do, and if you make the decision to embark on a Fine Point effort, your success is gauranteed, because you have just made the first step that an unsucessful person was not willing to make.

[Mitch//pa]

Good Morning Will,
thankyou for taking the time and writing very detailed and informative posts on answering my questions about how repo parts fit into the overall picture. i never thought of (camouflaging) some of them to possibly be accepted in the overall scheme. its always good to pick the brain of someone who has been through / familiar with the process.
have a great day , breakfast is on me
Mitch

[RockHillWill]

Good morning Mitch, I will take you up that that breakfast offer one day, for sure!

Five minutes after he was hired as the new coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi told his players that his approach was going to be simple. "We will strive for perfection, knowing that perfection is unobtainable, but in striving for perfection, you will pass thru excellance."

[P.S.]

Superb post, Will.

After consulting with a couple gurus and then finally Marco himself, I also took that great leap and decided to put in the effort to take the tudor to the next level of detail. This work has more or less just begun, but already there is a noticeable difference in the overall appearance of the car, and its reliability too.

This last weekend, the car took a green ribbon at concours. Next year, maybe it will be a blue one! If not, we'll keep going until it is. Oh, and my car will never arrive on a trailer either.

[59mgaguy]

I have in the past entered my 30 in show but I put a sign on it saying it's for go not for show. Last Saturday I entered my A in Wheels and Wings in Va. But I let them judge it. After all I haven't done anything to it since I restored the car in 1972. This is the car my kids learned to drive in starting at the age of 5. By 7 they were on the road. Even my brothers took the car to each of their proms. Yet I was floored when I won 1st in my class. I think it was one of two things that helped. One everything on the car was original. no radios, over drives. etc. And I told Terry Bond who did the announcing that the fix was in. Terry then reminded me about an invite back for a seafood dinner and drinks. Pay backs are a Bi--h.

[RockHillWill]

It's great to see you folks sharing your restoration work and taking your car to a display somewhere. Each time you take it and show your restoration work to others, someone will learn something, and perhaps pass it along to some one else. Good for you, guys!

No matter where you are on the restoration ladder, there is something you can teach to some one.

[DougVieyra]

In 1984 I DROVE my newly (two years) restored 1928 Phaeton 400 miles to Portland, Oregon for the MAFCA NATIONAL MEET. The drive encountered rain, dirt roads, roads being paved, salty winds of the Oregon coast line, on-coming gravel trucks, etc. , plus all the normal 'wear and tear' of actually DRIVING the car 400 miles.

I had entered my car in fine-point Blue Ribbon judging. As I was also a Judge at the meet, I had no time to do any 'clean up' other than a quick wash job. After the judging was completed, I discovered that in my rush to get to my Judging Station, I had not taken off the rubber brake/clutch pads (covering my NOS pedals), had forgotten to leave my original ignition key in the ignition switch, properly 'tune' my original Champion XXX spark plugs, and a host of other 'point-loss' items. And too, of course the car's paint did suffer from some road hazards.

Al the same, even with all my short-comings, the car won a FIRST PLACE in fine-point Blue Ribbon judging. However, I have noticed that my driving the car a long distance to be judged, is a rarity - and there are points to be lost in doing so. Still it can be done.

I had owned the car for twenty years before it was restored in 1981, and still own and drive it regularly these thirty years after the 1984 MAFCA Portland Meet.

[V4F]

I only have the one car ('31 coupe) and drive it a lot . year round . got back from Idaho (1500 mi. round trip) . not a problem . my car is not politically correct but its my car .............. been driving it every day for many years now !

[jimalabam]

Terry: In your shop don't you get PAID for talent and dedication??? What is your hourly shop rate and do you ball park the cost to the owner???