Hey Roger, you might find one at the Louisvile KY swap meet on March 8th??

 

OK, this is going to be a long one!

First off I love going to shows, I pay the price, I buy a shirt, I buy a hot dog. Some of my best memories are car shows, swap meets and junk yards.

I live for the supernats. I love taking something there, weather it be my nice big window or my nasty race truck or the panel.

I love the fact that when I walk thru the vendors I'm not looking at mustang, chevelle, or even import parts. I'm there for the truck stuff (ford)

I really like the diversity of trucks and people from all over the country, actually the world! I will NEVER modify with a IFS but I like to look at what others have accomplished. Some truck owners are true craftsmen!

Its amazing how many people come up and say " I learned to drive in one of thoese" or " My dad bought one new" or "We had one just like this but ours was green" Then they go on to tell stories about something that broke or something they modified "back in the day"

I like to go and see the first timers win their first trophy, remember yours? I do as mine was the 99 supernats stock class. Oh what a feeling!

I love setting someone straight, like they'll say "you painted your engine the wrong color" I quickly grab the sales brochure that is in color and it shows the YELLOW Y Block. People are amazed!

I love talking options the a fellow stocker guy who didnt know about the big window option or the bird hood orniment, or the fire extinguisher etc.

NOW let me give you examples of what I HATE about shows. I was at a fathers day show in 2002 and I signed up for youth judgeing. One of the youths was on crutches, dont you know one of his crutches hit my truck, To myself I said " holy S**T" but I didnt say anything and I'm glad I didnt as the kid had problems and didnt need me to be an A to him and fortunatly no harm was done. Or another time I was parked in the shade and this old man decided he needed a "break" and decided to lean over my fender for a while. I didnt say anything here either as a fellow I was with did it for me!

The best one was the old lady walks between my 56 BW and my brothers 58 corvette. she walks up looking at the vette and on the way back she rests her hand on my truck as a walking device the WHOLE length of my truck saying " this sure is a nice truck"

Purses and baby buggys freek me out! With that said I prefer to take something with poor paint!

Kevin Bigwin

 

Kevin, I have to laugh about your run ins with spectators, The "old lady" walking between your truck and the corvette was an experience that I had also, she was using my truck for a walking aid while admiring it, but she had a huge charm bracelet on her wrist. She was very nice and I didn't have the heart to say anything to her, I just started conspicuosly "dusting" my truck off.

 

i had kids and adults like jump up on my running boards at the mother road show and bend the back of 'em down and when i get pi--ed off and say something i'm a pric- ? dont think so respect anothers car / truck irregardless of it's shape !!!!!! i put up signs i made real quick out of paper telling people not to get on the running boards and they dissapearred . one fella even got in while my wife was there , not me and started fidlling around and bumping the starter . he got yelled at none to politeley and later come by and said something to me and i told him if it had been me { he was close to my age } i'd a thrown his a-- out on the ground and broken his hands for him ! i'm really wondering if i really want to participate in these things especially after starting on the body etc. ....... they seem to think in some cases it's an old worn out looking truck we can do what we want .... the more i sit and think i enjoyed it but there was some " tense " moments that are coming back now .

 

Yeah, once at a local cruise a guy actually opened my closed truck door and was leaning in, but that was as far as he got. I'm old, and not very tall but when it comes to protecting my family or my truck, LOOK OUT! I gave him a very nice education on car show etiquette. I survived with all my teeth intact.(the remaining ones I have anyway)

 

I think at car shows it is important for all of us to "educate" spectators about show etiquette and that it is great to look, but very improper to touch someones vehicle without permission. It can be done politely in most cases by pointing out that there may be an extremely expensive paint job or thousands of hours of work done to put the vehicle to a show level. Of course there are always a few folks who are deaf to the suggestion or who will not make their children behave. Those may need a little more direct "educating."

 

You guys go to some poorly run shows if people are messing with your vehicles. Shows I've been to and shows that I've run, state that spectators are not to touch vehicles at all. I guess I've just been lucky enough to only go to very well run shows.

I understand that you guys don't like paying, I was the same way before I started helping put shows on. But I'm just saying that if you really don't like it, avoid it, plain and simple. We pay a lot of money for fenders, trim, interior, machine work, etc...I don't think paying to participate in a show it too much to ask, especially if you know how much shows cost to put on.

I guess I just don't see what the problem is with paying $25 bucks(a lot of shows give you a shirt and/or plaque, tickets for raffling off of parts, etc.). I'm not trying to make anybody mad, but I don't get why you guys complain, if you don't like it, don't do it.

 

My very most memoriable experience at a car show was one held indoors, consisting of very high end muscle and classic show cars. As my younger cousin and I entered the venue I notice a guy who stood about 5 foot nothing and had his share of frosty brews having a rather loud disagreement with a guy who had a '65 Chevelle on display. The spectator was telling the car owner he was incorrect, the car was a '66, he had one and he knew it was a '66. The owner finally just said, "Yeah, you're right" just to appease the guy. About an hour later we were looking through a album of another car on display when I hear someone yell, "Hey, you can't tell me what to do!". I turned around and saw the same guy arguing but this time it was with two of our finest in blue. I told my cousin to just watch and enjoy. The cops were cautioning this guy that there were complaints from people at the show that he was causing trouble and spilling beer on their cars. The guys replied that they were wrong because, "I know how to drink, nice and slow, it was someone else". The cops again cautioned the guy to behave. At that point the guy tells the cops, "You better get away from me and leave me alone before a I kick your a**!". This is were it got real interesting. One of the cops asked the guy, "Are you threatening us with bodily injury?" He replied,"Yeah, if you don't leave me alone I'm going to kick your a**". Remember this guy stood 5 foot nothing, the cops stood at least 6 feet. One of the cops left and the other back up against the wall. The guy went on telling the remaining cop, "Yeah, your partner knows better, he knows what'll I'll do and if you don't leave me alone you'll find out what'll happen". The cop remained calmed and told the guy, "Hey, I'm just watching the crowd. I'm not bothering you." Meanwhile I started laughing and my cousin asked me what was so funny. I pointed out the four or five additional cops coming through the crowd. Within the next ten seconds they had the guy on the ground, with a rather loud crack sound, and out the door hog tied. It made for a very memoral event.

Just thought you guys might enjoy the story. Sometimes there is justice.

 

Tucker, I guess your "well run" shows in Iowa must either have spectators that follow all rules set forth by the show commitee, or they furnish "keep your hands off" police to protect your cars. Out here in California at our poorly run shows, keeping an eye on our cars falls to the individuals responsibilty,and sometimes a careless spectator slips through our security blanket.

 

Generally yes, but most of our shows don't have huge turnouts like you guys would have I'd imagine. The 'show scene' definitely isn't as big here as it is out in Cali, from the ones I've gone to. I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, I'm just stating my opinion and experience, I hope I did not step on anyone's toes. We just put up a sign saying "Spectators are not to touch participants vehicles" and that usually covers it.

 

Tucker, No offense taken, I was just pulling your leg.

Our spectators are for the most part very polite, and considerate of our trucks.

I guess I sounded serious?

Later,

 

Nah, I figured you were kidding around. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't coming across as an @$$

 

FiftyFourd,
We have a Friday night cruise in that about 10 minutes the PA man will tell folks not to touch because the owners have time, money, and sweat tied up in their vehicles. It never fails though that some either causes to heed the warning or was zoned out when the guy was talking. For the most part though folks are good.

Kevin BigWin, I am still laughing about the "old lady" story because i can picture it vividly. That is wild.

 

i've done a lotta shows in my 21 plus years of car shows, lotta really fun ones, lotta really poorly orginized ones, lott really dissapointing ones.
have also worked on committees and chaired commitees for puttin em' on
i have came up with a set of rules and standards to pick n'choose which ones i wil attend.
CHARITY SHOWS....yes.....buuut........never over $10 dictated entry fee i will always give more than $10 though usually a 20 if it is a pay what u want jar @ the gate
have learned that whilst putting onna show this method also generates much more $$ than a set gate fee, not at all uncommon to find a 50 or a hundered $ bill in the jar.
BUISNESS PROMOTION SHOWS....yes.....buuut.........free admission & only if there is sumpthin for the vehicles owners, a free bbq, excellent door prizes. discounts for the biz etc.
PROMOTIONS COMPANY RUN SHOWS......no way... as these shows are usually run in a secure fenced in setting that forces both veh. owners to pay as well as spectators and no one benifits other n' the shows promotion company or corporation.
JUDGED SHOWS...nope.... why should someone who simply went out & bought a veh. never got a finger dirty or turned a wrench walk away with a prize whilst the fellow who did absolutely everything on his own gets nuthin.
CRUISE NITES.....yep....so long as they are free
COMBINATION SHOWS......like car show & swap meet........yepper.....they are the best........though many's the time i've taken home a load for others in the back of my truck suff they cant fit in their ol' car.............(heh heh) get an old truck guys!!! they are way cooler and useful too!!!!! (heh heh)
PARKING LOT SHOWS.....not on hot summer days..... hot summer days call for shaded grassy parks usually with water or beach access, heck sometimes we will throw the kayaks in back of the econoline and after seein all the show veh's. we get out & explore on the water.
thru this learning process some bad shows i attended were as follows:
shows where they park you in catagories, so after drivin' for hours you can't be with your friends who you toured up there with they are parked 100 yds away....cant be near your veh. to answer ?s and visit with your touring mates.
a promotion co. show that was way overblown we drove 6 hrs to, was located on a ski hill ever try n' park and display your veh. onna steeeeep hill? ........way overpriced....... and way too much emphasis on the other events going on in conjuction.....such as the bikini contest.....that featured the uggggleeeeest women ya ever did see...my eyes still ache to this day.
Any shows in the city of ottawa, nasties and sourest people people there you ever did see.... looking at their cars, theyd' stare ay ya like you were puttin em out by lookin at there veh's.
some of the best have been cruise nights, one of our regular cruise nites at a ocal grocery store it has become tradition to bring out pizza and goodies from the hot food counter and lay out a spread on th tonneau cover of my econoline and it becomes the center of the evening, near everyone contributes the store owner wheels out a cart of softdrinks kinda like a econoline buffet table near every leans on the back of the truck and has a snack & visit over the coarse of the evening.
others incude shows that have multiple lanes @ the entrance so's there are no lineups to get in.
i could go on and on......but my eyes are heavy, time to tuck in

Mikie
near ottawa canada
58 merc panel & 64 econo p/u

 

The few shows I've been to, I haven't minded paying to enter ($10 - $20). At least some of that money is going to the sponsoring club and/or a charity. And they usually hand out some freebies. Sixty bucks seems awfully steep unless it includes free reign at the concession stands.