Entering Car Shows?

[rocketsigntist]

OK... TOTAL newbie here, so please excuse my totally clueless questions!

Was wondering about the decision to enter car shows.

Can a daily driver, without having a gazillion bucks dumped into it, no speakers that can take off wallpaper, no neon, no tv screen... be entered?

What are the judges looking for?

What are the most obvious mistakes or stupid things that newbies make?

What are some tips, hints, comments, etc that I should know?

Thanks guys!!

[DBROWN03]

Depends on the show but most judges look to see how clean your car is and what you have done to make it stand out.

[CREWZIN]

I attend about 3-5 shows a month. The biggest thing that lets me win is as DBROWN03 said...cleanliness. Without any mods, your in the "stock" class and the difference between the cars is how well they are kept up. Clean it up, keep going back to each section (engine, interior, wheels and body work, and clean it again. As Gary04GT says..."it's all in the details".

[rocketsigntist]

OK... outta curiousity... If you're entering your daily driver car, approximately how long do you expect it take to clean everything?

And then some more cleaning when you get there... so where do you put your cleaning supplies you bring with you?

I have some of Gary's products... so I know I got a good thing going there!

[CREWZIN]

How long really depends on how dirty the car is. I'd say a once over would take 25-35 minutes. Then go back to each area and see what you missed. I try to do a lot of cleaning the night before the show and then only have to get what I picked up driving.

As far as where to put everything. I just posted this pic in "the detail shop" section of this forum about a bag I picked up on eBay for just a few bucks. Holds everything I need and I tend to take a lot with me to each show. A desent size bucket will hold a lot too.

[Basset Hound]

I put my detailing supplies for shows in a PT Cruiser picnic basket that I won in a raffle.

The more you keep your Cruiser clean on a daily/weekly basis, the less you'll need to clean it before a show. I start working on our two PT Cruisers at least a week before a show. I set out a time schedule as to what needs to be done and which afternoon or evening I'll do that particular project. One night I wax and on another I may take everything out, clean the items that are going back in for the show and vacuum the Cruiser before I put everything back in. On another evening I will detail under the hood. It all depends on what needs to be done and how much time I have to get it done. At a show I may spend up to two hours detailing. This depends on how much dust, insect splats, dirt in wheel wells, etc. that I picked up on the way to the show. As has been stated, clean makes a big difference at most shows.

The most important thing to do is go to the show to have fun showing others your ride, talking with old friends and making new friends. If you just go to win, you may be very dissapointed and have a misserable time.

[bigdogdad]

Bassett Hound

I think you brought up one of the best points "Don't go to win, go to have fun". Everything else will fall in place.

[rocketsigntist]

Sounds alot like dog shows...!!!

Here our new Champion Toby...



At least I don't have to worry about cleaning the engine or the interior... []

[Wally]

As the Bassett said..."The most important thing to do is go to the show to have fun"

Just participate, everything else falls into place eventually.

[kevinl1058]

Just got my first 1st place trophey today at the mopar national event in woodburn oregon. Finding the right class to enter is always tough, fortunately there was Pt Cruiser class. It's tough to show against the vipers at a mopar event. Try contacting the show organizers in advance to see if they can start a class that features your make and model. It's hard to believe that with the popularity of the cruisers that most shows don't have a seperate class for our cars.
Kevin