Summer Place Car Show

[JimNolan]

   Well Guys, I didn't get my 15 minutes of fame. I didn't get 15 Seconds. Fox Sports was filming for the Mothers Car Show. I dressed up in my Sunday go-to-meetins too. They filmed in the area close to the entertainment, of coarse we were parked in the area you needed hiking boots to get to.
   Met a real nice guy Jim Hyaitt with a 57 Ford Custom, Cherry, like me he replaced everything but the kitchen sink to restore it. He then installed a 429 ci engine from a 68 TBird and a built C6 with 3.50 posi-traction. I told him about our website and we'd be glad to help lead him astray.
   The car show was nice. There were about 250 cars and 15 trophies. I was glad to see the 2010 Challenger and Newer PT Cruiser get trophies. You could tell these people put a lot of time and effort restoring these cars to almost new condition. The window sticker on the Challenger even looked like it was original. The rest of the trophies went to Chevys and a few hot rod Fords with Chevy engines. I'm so tickled I drove 3 hrs. round trip to that show. Especially since it rained all the way back.
    Now don't think I'm bitter, you ain't seen me bitter yet. I guess my idea of what a car show should be is a little bit different than a lot of folks. Jim
   

[wv 57s forever]

what about the vets did they get any trophys?

[JimNolan]

West Va,
   I don't remember a vet getting anything. Tri 5 Chevy's got most everything. I do remember a Cadillac convertable getting one though. I know around here these car shows are weird. Last year at a car show the best of show went to a 2010 Camaro. At this same show was a 57 Chevy Convertable that had to have 100K invested in it and it was beat by a Stock 2010 Camaro. Needless to say we ( guys I run with ) won't be going to that show again.
   I know car shows can't be taken seriously. The most entertainment you get at a car show is talking with the people. I got to meet some nice people today, and one that owned a 57 Ford. Every one of you guys that show cars know how seldom finding another 57 Ford at the same show is.
   I'll keep going to car shows to meet the people and the guys I run with enjoy driving old cars too. But, we still have to pay the same registration fee even if the judges ingnore us when we get there. To me, a man that crawls under his car, spends countless hours restoring and maintaining that car can't be put in the same catagory as a man that just drives it off the showroom floor. Vent, Vent, Vent, Vent. OK I'm through. Jim

[wv 57s forever]

i was agreeing with you it makes me sick to go to a show and brand new cars win, they are nice but all that was done was buying it give me a break.

[Frankenstein57]

Jim, sorry if I missed something but where was the show? I plan to do some shows, mostly small time cruise events, just for the fun of it. You on the other hand have alot more invested in your car, so getting snubbed for some tri-5 chevy's and reto camaros  has to be tough. But we here appreciate your car. Your time will come. Mark

[JPotter57]

I hate seeing a new car at anything, even in the parking lot at work.  I'll admit, I have the coolest vehicle at the base, my daily driver 61 F100.  The rest are a mixture of new Camaros, Mustangs, Challengers, Prius, Hondas of various models, and other newer than 2008 stuff...Everyone notices my junk thats for sure, for better or worse.  I dont care, it makes me happy anyway.  There is one dude there that drives a `69 Fairlane formal roof (not fastback) 2 door Fairlane to work almost everyday, so at least someone else there has taste.  I dont sweat the car shows, jim.  I like to go, but I practically know what I will see when I get there.  Mississippi is pretty much bowtie hell, and I do believe that 7 out of every 10 built wound up here.  You know what Cruisin the Coast looks like: every clapped out Chevelle, Camaro or Nova in the state of Mississippi and Alabama is here, burning their old radials down to the cords in front of Edgewater Mall.....Its all fun, I guess.

[JimNolan]

To answer where the car show was, Sharpsville, In., that's about 10 miles south of Kokomo on Rt. 19. As far as the money I've got invested in my car I'd say there's about 30K that's been spent wisely and 15K I threw away with trying to get by on a previous cheap restoration and not knowing what I really wanted before buying something. I'm not ashamed of telling someone that I have 30K invested. But I am ashamed to tell someone I've thrown 45K at it. It's still just a 25K car.
James,
   The Chevrolet thing don't bother me. I'm not a die hard anything really. I own a Chevy Pick-up and a Monte Carlo now. I learned to drive on a 57 Fairlane and always liked Fords to ENJOY. I know that sounds wierd. I won't change the oil in my Chevy's but I won't let anyone else touch my 57 Fairlane, go figure. I enjoy building the motors and maintaining them as well as everything but body work, I can't do that good enough to suit myself.
   I look at cars the same way I looked at Experimental Airplanes. After I built my airplane in 1992 I showed it at Oskosh as well as Lakeland and some fly-in every week end during the summer. (They have shows for airplanes just like cars). I was at this one show once when a friend of mine remarked about a less complicated airplane being shown there saying ( If I couldn't build something better than that I'd quit ) Well, I took offense to that. That man spent a lot of time and money on his little airplane and my friend had never built one to begin with. The man that built that airplane deserves the respect for his accomplishment. Anyone that spends the time, energy and money to restore a car deserves respect for doing it. No matter what make it is. The man that buys a new car and takes it to a car show deserves no respect, much less a trophy.  Jim  PS   I'm still sick of seeing Tri-5's all the time.

[RICH MUISE]

quote: "Jim  PS   I'm still sick of seeing Tri-5's all the time"
Hey, cool, just figured out how to copy just a portion of a post to 'quote', rather than bringing down the whole thing...just highlight what you want to quote , hit control C, then open your reply and hit control v...cool.
Anyway, as I posted  on the tri-five chevs last month, I am still amazed at the quantities of tri fives seen everywhere, but I am mostly amazed at the quantities of tri-five chev unrestored project cars still available, I constantly see the more desirable models like convertibles, 2 dr htps, and Nomads frequently. At the pace swap meet this summer there were at least a dozen project cars of these models for sale. Not being a Chevy "hater", one of my favorite cars all time is the '57 chev convertible, but there is no way I would ever ever ever restore one.
When I look for a show to attend, one thing I always check out are the limitations on the last production year allowed. Like you Jim, and I imagine most of the others on this site, I'm just not interested in walking rows of cars that could also be seen at the local dealerships.  Rich

[JimNolan]

quote: just figured out how to copy just a portion of a post to 'quote', rather than bringing down the whole thing...just highlight what you want to quote , hit control C, then open your reply and hit control v...cool.
    Rich,
      it works. Thank you. My cell phone has got all kinds of text messages on it. I hope they are not still waiting for me to learn how to text. Your way of moving a quote is easy.
    Back to cars. As far as being a chevy hater, I'm not. My Monte Carlo has seen 50 miles put on it in three years. That was my wifes car and I hate parting with it. It just sits at the hanger under a tarp. The chevy pick-up I drive all the time when there's snow and ice on the ground. The 57 Fairlane I DRIVE. I zeroed the mileage at restoration and it's got 25K on it since April 2009. It's condition is continually going down. The door panels, seat covers and door welt are fading from being in the sun. There's little chips in the paint I get from driving it all the time. But, I'd never go to a car show if I had to trailer it. Can you imagine the reasoning for trailering a car to a show, paying $20.00 for registration and if you win you get a $5.00 piece of wood or plastic. I know people that do this. I figure I've got the same money in my car that someone that goes out and buys a new Challenger has. Only, driving the Challenger would eventually get old. Driving my 57 Fairlane doesn't. Jim    PS I'm still sick of seeing Tri-5's all the time.
   

[Ford Blue blood]

Jim even though I'm a Ford guy through and through like the tri-fives the Mustangs fall into that same catagory, too many, too much alike....  I will add that driving a Challanger can't possibly be as much fun as driving a 502 RWHP Shelby GT500!   I never get tired of driving mine!  It has 23K on it and I will hop in and go across country if I could/needed to without hesitation. 

My last three builds have been all up graded to make them more fun, more reliable and safer.  I find that I have grown accustomed to PS, PDB, T-Lock, A/C, EFI, shoulder/lap belts and radial tires.  I have no problem with folks building the way they want to (my 36 Chevy has a 351C/FMX) and do not feel the value is diminished providing the work is good.  And as we know, value is relative.  You hear folks say from time to time "they sure don't build them like they used to".  Yup, I'm glad.

Never worried about awards, too many miles of road rash, a little wife and child abuse and just the impossible task of having a life with other car folks while trying to clean the car for the judges.  Besides that don't much care what they have to say anyhow.  I do have two awards with my 36 over the years, Best Street Rod in 1982 when it was just finished and a NSRA Safety Rep award for continued "Safety 23" inspections, oops, forgot, the six long distance awards.....The 36 is long over due for rebuild.  It rattles, has more chips on the front fenders then paint, head liner has rotted from being baked in the sun for years and the old laquer paint job (circa 1987 after the wife was rear ended in it) is really thin!  But it too is fun to drive and will cruise at 80 all day long.

[JimNolan]

Blue Blood,
    I'm going to agree with you about the fun side of some of those cars. I bought a new Camaro in 1990 and kept it three months. We took one trip in it and my legs started aching from sitting so far down in the seat with my legs extended flat out. Riding in the passenger seat was the same. In 2003 my wife bought a Mustang GT Convertable. Nice car but it was so uncomfortable on a trip we ended up flying everywhere of taking a 1990 Riviera we had. Both the Camero or Mustang were really fun cars around town and quick handling as well as performance. You just couldn't take them on a trip comfortably. The 1990 Riviera was the best car I ever owned. I bought it after the Camaro and kept it until after Karen died in 2008. It still runs around town all the time and all we ever did to it was change oil and tires.
   To be truthfull I'd like to have a newer fun car but the last two I had I couldn't sit in for over 200 miles. The 57 isn't as comfortable as the Riviera but close. Dealers don't let you try out the new cars on a 1000 mile road trip. I'm afraid spending 45K on a newer fun car would be waste of money (not like I haven't done that before). PS. When I sold the Camero it had 3K miles on it and I'd had it 3 months. The Mustang we kept for 5 yrs and it didn't have 10K miles on it yet. I still remember the Mustang when you hit a bump, it seemed like the front end bounced. The only problem was it would bounce 1000 miles if you went that far. LOL  Jim PS. You got to remember I'm old. Back in the day I'd have given my right nut to have a 500 hp mustang with today's technology.

[Ford Blue blood]

Jim I know what you mean about the test drive thing.  My brother-in-law would test drive cars by renting what he wanted to test drive over a two - three hundred mile trip.  I have always driven most places so a comfortable ride was important.  The 05 - 12 Mustangs are light years ahead of the previous models, owned an 03 Cobra prior to the new one.  I like the "layed back" driving position the new cars offer.  I'm a big ol 64 years old balding fat man, (6' 2", 265 lbs), the 05 and up Mustang lets me pull either leg up for streach breaks and I am able to shift around so I love the thing.

[JimNolan]

Blue Blood,
    I see right now that I shouldn't be talking to you. I've got a buddy with a Bulllet that goes to the car shows with us and I envy his iron butt. I may take another look. I'm 6 foot and weight 270 lbs. Jim

[Zapato]

Jim, car shows, judging, tri-5s, mustangs,lack of shade, overpriced food,bad food, entry fees etc....these are all subjects constantly discussed on car boards. I agree with a few of your comments specially on criticizing someone's ride specially by someone who hasn't got a clue what went into just getting it on the road. I haven't even walked around a cruise in for 4-5 years but the complaints so far on this thread are immortal.

My feeling is that if one goes to a show expecting anything more than a good time then he will often leave disappointed. Years back in a moment of weakness agreed to join a car club. In that club there was a guy with an incredible 56 chevy truck. Mostly home built except for paint and interior. I'm guessing he probably had over 100K in it. And he was a trophy whore, every weekend was planned to hit anywhere from 3 to 6 small cruise ins. Of course he would hit the little ones where he was sure to walk away with best daily driver truck, best paint,best of show or any class he was sure he could win. In fact he would change classes depending who showed. At one particular show a beautiful early 70s Ford SWB F100 showed up. No where as over the top but gorgeous. The Ford really drew a crowd as people checked all the subtle changes. And the sponsor club took notice. Believe it went home with club pick,best of show, best daily truck, and participant's choice. My fellow club member was skunked and he went around bitching to everyone. He was the most well liked person and after that day even less.

So if I read all the previous posts correctly this is my observation. You got your car ready and with a few friends cruised to a show. Car performed well with no break downs. You met some other guys, talked and breathed cars and I'm sure saw some interesting and incredible rides. And surely good some good feedback on your car. Return trip as uneventful (no breakdowns). OK! The crew from Mothers ignored you but besides that, sounds to me like it was a great day.

The trophies are nice, but they're just dust collectors. Can't believe that's why you built the car. Don't become a trophy whore it will sour your experience and you spent a lot of time and money and its time to just kick back and enjoy it.

I always tell my wife the greatest gift I got in life was the lesson taught to me in Viet Nam. That lesson was "any day no one is trying to kill me is a good day".  Jim you had a great day just didn't realize it.

Zap-

[Lou]

Jim. as far as uncomforable Mustangs go, every Mustang I've owned I put a 3/4 spacer under the rear of the seat track. This changes the seat angle and makes it much more comforable. Most Comforable FoMoCo I've ever owned was my 1996 Lincoln Town car, second was my 1955 Ford Crown Vic.