Car show advice

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Car show advice
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Calk on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 09:26 am:

Any advice for a newby to a car show? Have never entered one. Just want to do it for fun. What does a person need to have besides the vehicle? Anything special a person should do for the vehicle itself? I just saw it advertised in the newspaper for tomorrow and hope to get my '27 entered.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Button III (Chip), Lake Clear, NY on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 09:29 am:

Fire Extinglisher! Dress to match your vehicle--It might help ya win!!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Dimock, Newfields NH, USA on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 10:04 am:

Talk with people.

At the urging of a friend I entered a car show with my 1919 wagon. I made a sign explaining the history of my car, cleaned it up a little, talked with people, let kids sit in it, started it a few times (crank) and had fun. To my surprise I got 3rd place out of about 25 cars that were pre1950. Most of the others were immaculate restorizatiations but mine was real.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Davis-SE Georgia on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 10:06 am:

I always remove the cover from the coil box and also open the hood. I display a few tools. People like the jack and rim expander. Since I have a stake bed, I sometimes display some old peach baskets and such. I also have a T transmission set up on display with a modified band with handles welded to it so you can turn the flywheel and grip a drum and see what happens. Sometimes, I take my coil tester, but the sparks are very hard to see in the bright sun light. All of this is done to make people ask questions, which I thoroughly enjoy answering.

Of course, it takes all kinds of folks to make the world go 'round. Some prefer to sit behind their vehicle all snooty and pretentious and act bothered when someone asks a question. Different strokes.....


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Will,, Trenton,,,New Jersey on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 10:29 am:

KISS< Go and have a good time


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Gruber- Spanaway, Wash. on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 10:44 am:

Bring a chair to sit on.
Running board gets old after a few hours.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Tuominen on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 10:50 am:

This is what I do at shows. On the table is a photo album of the rebuild, a coil, an original spark plug and a well worn wheel spoke.
T show


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Paul Kennedy on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 11:02 am:

Important to bring chairs as previously stated. Most times Alex will have dinner cooking in the manifold cooker. That always gets a thumbs up. Other times he brings some spare parts to display as well. Sometimes we will bring the 29 Packard as well. I have a couple of photos of the old girl dating back to the 1930s. Sometimes we will compete at hand cranking both cars. My self hand cranking the Packard 8 and Alex hand cranking the T. That always puts a smile in faces.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Andrew Deckman, Ogden Utah on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 11:12 am:

Welcome to car shows. Do not go expecting to win anything. There is always someone with more money that you, also may people only like rods and such. So you will get negitve comments, just let them roll off like water on a ducks back. You will discover no it alls, (that do not know a thing) also people that are very schooled in your vehicle as well. Never worth getting mad over or starting an argument. But you may learn something as well.

I just go to educate and hope to get a young person interested in really old cars. I sometimes do not registor my vehicle for prizes. I am not there for that.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Allen E Tobin, Dolan Springs,Az. on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 11:38 am:

I just make a sign as to what it is, and make a sign Keep ur hands off the Brass, and sit and drink beer and answer there questions, and it works, have won a lot of ribbons,


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Les VonNordheim on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 01:04 pm:

A big selling point for judges at one car show that I attended was displaying tools, a jack and owners manual for the car. The car that won beating me out displayed these items.
Enjoy!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 04:07 pm:

Hi Wayne,

Loose-fitting overalls, a gray work shirt and a newsboy cap make an inexpensive, comfortable, period-correct costume that'll work for any Model T owner.

Go to your local Party City store and pick up some cheap derby hats, styrofoam "straw" hats and false, stick-on handlebar mustaches and have interested spectators wear that stuff while you snap photos of them in your Model T with your cellphone. Then, take down their e-mail addresses with the pencil and paper you remembered to bring and when you get back home, e-mail the pix to whomever was in the pictures. Get their permission to post the pix on the forum! WARN EVERYBODY ABOUT SHARP EDGES WHEN CLIMBING INTO AND OUT OF YOUR MODEL T. LADIES ESPECIALLY DO NOT APPRECIATE GETTING THEIR CLOTHES TORN ON YOUR VEHICLE!!!

Based on experience, little kids, like trout, are attracted to bright, shiny objects such as blazing-hot, brass radiators. Don't learn the hard way how profoundly lousy it feels when some little kid burns his or her little fingers on YOUR radiator. Keep a sharp look-out until things cool down a bit.

If you can, avoid parking with the sun behind your car/truck because that makes for poor photos. Park within comfortable walking distance of the restrooms.

Bring some water bottles for your thirst. Most organized shows require a fire extinguisher and some require a first-aid kit. I play Ragtime and Little Rascals music on a boom-box I keep in the car. Play it just loud enough to be heard when right next to your car.

Quite often, some "expert" will walk up and start spouting information about your car to whomever will listen and most of it will be wrong (Henry Ford invented the automobile, then he invented the assembly line and all Model T Fords were painted black, etc.). Just nod and smile and agree with whatever he says and let him have a good time showing off to his girlfriend.

The shows to which I take my car tend to exhibit mostly chop-top jello-mold cars, bellowing Starsky & Hutch muscle machines and Rock & Roll era cruisers with big fins and chrome boobs, so a vehicle as old as a Model T can really stand out. Doing things as simple as hand-cranking the engine and match-lighting the lamps can be real crowd-pleasers. And if you top the day off by giving some nice senior couple a ride, you'll be driving home with a big, silly grin on your puss.

Exhibiting your antique car/truck at a show on a nice, warm, sunny day is one heck of a blast. Enjoy!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mike conrad on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 04:51 pm:

Wayne, I have always enjoyed car shows and the attention the model T gets. I'm still suprised how so many people still remember the model t and the memories they will share. I had one man most likely in his 90s tell how he used a T coil to shock people as a prank. One word of caution as you may find some young kid will want you to start your car with the hand crank, if you thought you coundn't get anymore attention watch out! you may be stuck answering questions for a hour. I fall for this trick every time. Ohh and the awards don't worry about them. They are cheap plastic and you don't need them to remind you of your great car you have or the work you put into it. Good Luck take some pics and tell us how it went next week.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Charlie B actually in Toms River N.J. on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 05:04 pm:

Bring a chair and refreshments for your self. I dress comfortably. It's a car show not a me show. You'll be questioned on every thing you can imagine. Top 3 in my book: 1: How fast does it go? 2: What's it worth? and 3: Can we take a picture? Correct answers are 1: about 40 if you push it off a cliff. (or with a tail wind). 2: Priceless to me. and 3: You sit in it and I'll take your picture. You can't BELIEVE how they love that last one. (but the muscle car boobs might give you dirty looks for doing it so I do it more)! Also, nobody yanks my crank. Too many lawyers around.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Martinez on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 05:12 pm:

We just got back from our first car show. Best advice would be bring something to drink, someplace to sit and be prepared to answer a lot of questions. We ended up staying after most everybody had left because we still had a crowd checking out the car and asking questions. My wife put together a scrapbook of pictures of the car and the like so we put that out for people to browse as well.

And, I agree, be sure to warn people about the brass radiator being SUPER hot, especially right when you get there. I had a senior gentleman put his hand right on the radiator after a 40 minute drive to the show and he realized quickly how hot it got.

Most importantly, be sure to have fun! We had a great time and got to meet great people! It's a great day for the whole family!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 05:33 pm:

RUN IT! People LOVE watching them start and hearing them run!
While everyone else is sitting around the minute anyone sees you doing something they'll gravitate in your direction like flies to honey....... :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 05:48 pm:

I look at a car show as a social occasion. I get to talk to a lot of people and answer questions about the car. After spending 15 minutes searching my hard drive for a photo of my display board, I realized that I had taken it out of the garage and it was just outside the back door. I went out and took these pictures. They tend to get people talking.

This is the whole sign:



This is the story of the car as it related to what was happening in the world at the time.



This is an ad for the same car as it appeared in the St Louis Post-Dispatch on 10 March 1924 (from the microfilm room of the County Library):



The next three pictures are from trips or tours we have been on with the car:







The three items at the bottom of the sign are display ads from the Post-Dispatch at the time the car was sold.

I tried to be informative and get people to talking.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ned Protexter on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 05:50 pm:

Kind of off topic but we take our trophies that we win to the grade school and give them to the special education teachers. They then give them to their students for whatever reason. It's better than throwing them away and it makes them feel good.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 09:25 pm:

Ned, thanks for that. I have always wondered what to do with them. I try to avoid getting them at all (entering in the "Display Only" category, etc.), Now at least I have an idea what to do with the ones I inadvertently do win...


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Davis-SE Georgia on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 04:37 am:

I used to hear that Special Olympics took them, but it must be urban legend. I contacted them and was told they get that question all the time. They said they don't even use trophies, only ribbons (or maybe it was medals?). We finally carried a car load of them to a local trophy shop and made the guy promise to give local schools a discount if he was able to reuse any of the parts. Hope he does. Otherwise, they would have gone to the dump. I dont do shows to get the plastic trophy. I do them for the enjoyment of educating the public. Funny, I've never seen a Do Not Judge option at any of our local shows. I would probably opt for that if it was offered.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rick Goelz-Knoxville,TN on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 10:16 am:

I have only been to one car show, it was a good show with over 400 cars, several car dealers, street rods and sixties cars, there were a lot of trophies and prizes, the judges had no clue how to judge a car like a T they only knew the more modern stuff, there was a 23 TT beside me, it was a nice day for a good cause.This was in a small town west of here.Take your car have a good time and talk to the people they can be interesting or a pain.I always let the kids sit in the car, honk the horn and fiddle with the crank, some kids have no concept of anything that old, i had one boy of about ten tell his little sister that thats the way cars were back in the eighties.

Rick


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Halpin on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 01:38 pm:

There are car shows and then there are CAR SHOWS. I gave up in the CAR SHOWS after one experience. The ones that have trophy's and a whole bunch of dueling egos competing with each other.
My Model T is just a worn out old Ford. I don't care if it doesn't have every correct nut and bolt, I don't spend all day wiping finger prints off of it, in fact more often than not I don't even clean it up. I want little kiddies to get inside wiggle the steering wheel, blow the horn and things like that.
Today is car show day for me, the first Sat. of every month. It's more of a block party that goes on until the early evening, with food and 50's music. Just a place where a whole bunch of 'old farts' like me with way too much 'disposable income' come to play with our toys. Often, well over a couple million dollars worth of toys.
'Lizzie' is going to sit this one out, I'm taking 'Da Rumbler'. If my Mrs. would take the time to learn to drive 'Lizzie', I'd take them both. I don't encourage people to to get into 'Da Rumbler' but it's more because it's only 54" tall and with the 'chopped top' and electric doors, it's not that easy to do. My Mrs. hates the thing but being a loving wife, she puts up with my eccentricities. The younger kids think both the cars are 'the cat's meow'.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Sanders-Auburn Al on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 01:56 pm:

We are having our Old Car Club show next weekend. I take along the old portable music machine and play 78rpm Auburn fight songs....


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By george house on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 02:39 pm:

I love it !! You were very helpful to me with a '26 tudor top wood question last year Dennis. As I remember it; you said you installed your roof before the upholstery headliner then realized the interior roof wood was so pretty that you'd leave it uncovered. . . .Good show !!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 02:49 pm:

I like Dennis's setup real well too! I had thought about leaving the Fordor that way and now I'm SURE of it....... :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Aaron Griffey, Hayward Ca. on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 07:33 pm:

Closed cab model A pickups had the wood exposed like Dennis' tudor. But I think the wood was painted black.
Also same for Ford & Mercury "woodie" station wagons.


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