To Show,.....or Not To Show...

[CarMichael Angelo]

That is the question. Less than one month away from the annual W.O.W here in Birmingham. February 10-12, with a load in Thursday night the 9th. The last time I did this was with the red car,..and it was......... how to put it........
Somewhat cheezy.
They supposedly have a standard there as a minimum for how the cars are displayed, but I found that standard to be poorly enforced. I went through a lot of stuff the last time to get to that standard only to have the guy next to me throw down a white canvas drop cloth, while the other guy on the other side rolled out the green plastic indoor/outdoor carpet as the substrate for their cars to sit on.

In other words,.....I got put in the trailer park.
That's not entirely true considering that there was easily a 50k car w/ a multiple thousand dollar display right in front of me,..and another guy on the other side of the aisle w/ over 100k in cars and bikes displayed directly across. But the fact that they allowed the standard to swing so wildly tells you that they can't fill these venues if they really stick to their rules.
I don't think that I'm braggin when I say that I think that I had a good display considering:

But it was a lot of work. Not just rounding up and building all that junk, getting it there and back as well as the car. The carpet tiles were easy enough to assemble, and my " crowd control barrier" railing and stanchions were obviously painted PVC. With the entrance fee, and the ancillary display costs it did end up costing just shy of 200 bucks........for a chance to win a big plastic trophy.

The experience was probably worth it in the end,..but this time around, I got a job. This time around, I'll be at work for most of the day Friday and Saturday while the car sits unattended. This time around, I do not have my old work van (Eddie Van Haulin) to get the hundreds of pounds of carpet tiles, and the armloads of painted 6' long sections of painted PVC (that I have to go out and buy again that can only be used for this one time) down to the auditorium.

This time around it's gonna be even more of a pain............sigh.

But the recount of my last experience almost makes it worth it.....I just don't know if I'm up to it.

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/you-oughtta-be-shot-a-short-story.852895/

 

[jrichker]

Your absence from the car while it is being shown is the key. If you had a family member or a friend to be your stand-in, it's no problem. If it will sit alone unattended, that deserves more concern over the security of your work.

 

[Noobz347]

Wait until you're ready to do it.

It's pretty obvious by your thread that you're not. That means you'll have to force it to make it work. Let the good times roll....

 

[Boosted92LX]

I'll have to agree with Noobz on this one. The whole point of this hobby is enjoyment. While at times the build process can be incredibly frustrating, there's no need to create that feeling once it's "done." Imho, skip the stress of shows and go kill tires.

 

[hoopty5.0]

^ yep.

 

[A5literMan]

I like attending shows. I don't think I'd like "participating". Now the drive in type events...I enjoy immensely.

 

[Michael Gordon]

If you can't be there, then there's no point, in my opinion. Entirely up to you, but your post makes it sound like you're searching for reasons to not do it this time. That said, your display looks fantastic. Those painted PVC look good. Let me add, your car is sweet, and this is coming from the one guy who's not sharing the love of the Fox.

 

[Noobz347]

If you can't be there, then there's no point, in my opinion. Entirely up to you, but your post makes it sound like you're searching for reasons to not do it this time. That said, your display looks fantastic. Those painted PVC look good. Let me add, your car is sweet, and this is coming from the one guy who's not sharing the love of the Fox.

You need to see the Gila Monster. You'll find the thread for his current project in the 5oh Talk section.

Welcome aboard.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Don't do it Mike, you have too many little turds you're wanting to wipe right now.

Wait till it's "done" done. You can take a day or two off work and enjoy the whole thing. People will love the monster and it'll give you a whole new group of people to be grouchy to.

Wait for the right moment, you're almost there.

 

[MustangIIMatt]

I've entered one car show in my life. I put my daily driven 75 T-bird in the show field at WFC6 back in '03 and won my class as the only participant. It wasn't nearly as nice a show as you had your Mustang at, hell, myself and a few others only bothered to enter so we could park right next to the drag strip (cost just a few dollars more than regular parking and was a lot closer).

I didn't really enjoy showing my car that much to be honest, and haven't showed one since, though I've been to a lot of shows and do enjoy going to them.

That said, I get where you're coming from with how good it is for the ego. Every time I go on a cruise with my local AACA chapter, wherever we happen to visit basically turns into an impromptu car show when you've got a dozen antique cars (predominantly Ford) ranging from a 32 Ford to my Mustang II gathered in one place. I enjoy that a lot more than the show setting. The II always gathers a crowd, especially if our 65 and 67 Mustangs show up too.

 

[90sickfox]

I eneterd my blue car in a show once. It was put on by the Maryland Corvette club.

I won best of show Ford....I also was the only one there. After I was called I promptly turned the trophy down...really only because a civic one best of Honda and that thing was beat to hell. No pity trophies for me.

I say focus on getting it enjoyable first. They'll be plenty of shows for the Monster to terrorize.

 

[General karthief]

Best show is on the street, get'n gas or just grab'n a cup of coffee at wawa or racetrac stations. Too many ricers at taco bell though.

 

[tannerc91gt]

I like attending shows. I don't think I'd like "participating". Now the drive in type events...I enjoy immensely.

I FINALLY got to enter a couple car shows in '16. Won 3 trophies in 2 shows. Got my car looking as good as it ever had and was thrilled to show it off.


....hated it.
People touch, theie grubby kids touch, they ask stupid stupid questions. You're afraid to leave it because of previously mentioned stupid people and offspring. Was disappointing to say the least.





Mike, if you can't be around the car or have someone who is I would say no. Not that it would be messed with, just a peace of mind thing for me.

 

[mikestang63]

Been doing shows for 25 years. If you are not there to watch it, my car wouldnt be there either. Too many things to go wrong. One asswipe walks by with a ring on and scratches the entire side of your car, or 1000's of oily fingerprints all over your paint. I used to put up stickers and signs all over to look but don't touch and still had to stay within 10 feet of the car most of the time. Your car is beautiful to say the least and I'd hate to take a chance on it not staying that way.

 

[95BlueStallion]

You already seem to have got a resounding no, but I will just add that I agree with all of them.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

I assume this means you'll do it then?

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Your absence from the car while it is being shown is the key. If you had a family member or a friend to be your stand-in, it's no problem. If it will sit alone unattended, that deserves more concern over the security of your work.

Wait until you're ready to do it.

It's pretty obvious by your thread that you're not. That means you'll have to force it to make it work. Let the good times roll....

I'll have to agree with Noobz on this one. The whole point of this hobby is enjoyment. While at times the build process can be incredibly frustrating, there's no need to create that feeling once it's "done." Imho, skip the stress of shows and go kill tires.

^ yep.

I like attending shows. I don't think I'd like "participating". Now the drive in type events...I enjoy immensely.

If you can't be there, then there's no point, in my opinion. Entirely up to you, but your post makes it sound like you're searching for reasons to not do it this time. That said, your display looks fantastic. Those painted PVC look good. Let me add, your car is sweet, and this is coming from the one guy who's not sharing the love of the Fox.

I eneterd my blue car in a show once. It was put on by the Maryland Corvette club.

I won best of show Ford....I also was the only one there. After I was called I promptly turned the trophy down...really only because a civic one best of Honda and that thing was beat to hell. No pity trophies for me.

I say focus on getting it enjoyable first. They'll be plenty of shows for the Monster to terrorize.

I FINALLY got to enter a couple car shows in '16. Won 3 trophies in 2 shows. Got my car looking as good as it ever had and was thrilled to show it off.


....hated it.
People touch, theie grubby kids touch, they ask stupid stupid questions. You're afraid to leave it because of previously mentioned stupid people and offspring. Was disappointing to say the least.





Mike, if you can't be around the car or have someone who is I would say no. Not that it would be messed with, just a peace of mind thing for me.

Been doing shows for 25 years. If you are not there to watch it, my car wouldnt be there either. Too many things to go wrong. One asswipe walks by with a ring on and scratches the entire side of your car, or 1000's of oily fingerprints all over your paint. I used to put up stickers and signs all over to look but don't touch and still had to stay within 10 feet of the car most of the time. Your car is beautiful to say the least and I'd hate to take a chance on it not staying that way.

You already seem to have got a resounding no, but I will just add that I agree with all of them.

I assume this means you'll do it then?

Out of everybody,....You two guys.....

It was/is do able, but as Dave has said,...there are still too many little odds and ends left to tidy up. And I agree. It's pointless to have a car at a show that I cannot attend. I was just thinking of it as an "inaugural" appearance....not knowing what I'm gonna be able to get away with attending this year in lieu of the rescheduled double knee-n-dectomy.

 

[Noobz347]

I was just thinking of it as an "inaugural" appearance...

 

[General karthief]

I always wanted to do that but my mom said my face would get stuck that way.