Folks Of Interest MUST READ CAR SHOW ETIQUETTE GREAT TIPS :)

My biggest beef with car show people is the phrase "so when are you going to restore it"? And variations of that.

My 57 is a time capsule sporting the 13 coats of lacquer my uncle sprayed on the car in the late 70s. My father never put the chrome back on and never bothered with door panels. The roof and trunk are faded because my father daily drove it and left it outside.
It was parked in a garage in 86 and forgotten for 20 years.

I went through the whole car. New engine/trans, disc brakes, wiring. Whatever it needed.
But people see the faded paint and no chrome and assume it's junk.
It infuriates me to the point that I've gone from explaining all that to just walking away.



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I have had my cars touched, criticized and pretty much molested at car shows over the years, but I have never owned a rope it off car and other then few exceptions just let it roll off my back.

The exceptions to this are when someone thinks that my car ( or bike) is a photo op and plants their kind brogans down on my hood or tank. For some reason that just frosts my ass. Even when I got butched paint shoes on it just bothers me.

I think some know the story but a few years back I had an old Galaxie that I power parked ( on a dare) at a good guys show. I ended up parked in the midst of a chevy club, and one time I came back to find the club wiping my car down. It had hand prints and smudges all over it and they took responsibility for it for not keeping a closer eye on it. Another time ( the next day) I came back and an older than me couple were all cuddled up in the back seat. They apologized and said that there car when they were dating was just like mine and they just could not resist. I told them to sit tight and went and got them a bag of popcorn and a root beer.

For whatever reason neither one of those incidents bothered me in the least.

 

I have a well patina 39 coupe that I like to take to car shows. There is at least one guy at the shows that has to take his knuckle and knock it against the fender and say "son, that is when made cars out of real steel." No $2000,000 paint job for me.

 

Invariably the guy with the worst car at the event is the one who winds up leaning on your car. I had my 62 Impala wagon at a local show once and a old Douche was leaning up against it. I told him to fuck off and watched him get into a stock 63 Ford Falcon that was in desperate need of a full restoration. Why didn't he lean up against his own rusted POS? Maybe he didn't want to get rust on his clothes. My current project (avatar) 63 Impala is a recently completed nut and bolt frame off restoration that has a flawless paint job. No runs, chips, dings, nicks or scratches. Its almost too nice to drive. Theres lots to be said about a primed or satin paint job.
This reminds me of my just painted 41 Willys P/U when a neighbor beat his college ring on its right front fender. By the grace of God he didn't damage it. How dumb can people be?

Gary

 

Maybe better said by the grace of god he is still alive and you are not doing time.

I had an OT pickup when I first came back from Mexico. My old buddy (RIP) and I had rescued it from a wrecking yard, the paint was flawless, black and silver fade, mono chrome. It sat low enough in the front that I backed it in to park most of the time. I came out of a QT once to find this hipster looking dude with his cowboy booted foot on my front bumper, drinking one of those huge drinks and chatting up a bunch of high school cheer leader looking girls. He was wearing one of those satin corvette jackets and his car was not hard to find, a silver about '90 (or so) Vette. I didn't say a word, I just went back inside and found myself a coffee and about half a dozen of the stickiest donuts in the store. Walk back out and proceeded to sit on his hood and spread my donuts out and drink my coffee.

He hollered, "Hey get your but off my Corvette!!!" So I hollered back, "Get your size 8 boot off the bumper of my truck!!!" He took about 2 steps back, I left him the donuts. As I was pulling out I could hear him telling the little girls that remained that he wore a size 11 boot. LOL

 

I was at The Spring Green Car Show with my Roadster and a guy asked me what color I was going to paint it. I guess to the average guy it looked like it was in primer even with the see your face in it shine and the pin striping.

 

Mr. Allen Flattandscruggs, I think you opend the Pandorra box.
Car show stories will show up until we are all dead.

 

Yea the sheen is a dead give away. LOL

I think that even primered cars should be given the same respect as shiny cars. I know that your car isn't primered but I had seen people leaning on a primer car chatting about a shiny one before. Primer is a little more delicate than paint and I think most people don't understand that.

I try not to badmouth a car at a show, unless it belongs to someone that I know. But sometimes what runs through my head comes out my mouth. I have been known to mention something that may be hazardous to your health to the owner of the car, but I think that it can be done in good taste and may save someone a little grief down the road.

 

don't get it? you need special parking?

 

I would like to participate in car shows but I can't deal with the blaring music, polka dot skirts and tattoos, and the old guy in the folding chair next to the front of his car with the hood open and a poodle in his lap waiting for you to come by and tell him what a nice car he has. May be a nice car but do you have to solicit comments? I went to a local furniture store last weekend and there was a show downtown Longview that I had forgotten about. A big turnout of really, really nice cars. But the music was so loud it rattled the store windows. And there were plenty of new Mustangs and Camaros. I would never be able to handle that environment for more than 1 hour; enough time to check out the cars and say hello to some folks. If there was a show without the 6 foot tall speakers at 120 dBa, green hair, rat rods and brand new cars I would love to participate with one of my cars. Haven't been part of one since 1978.

 

Don't sit on a car or the Pharaoh's will drag you behind the Merc.

 

Scotty terriers have a good eye for such things.

 

I bought a 1970 Camaro from a guy who needs money.
Blue Metallflake, Chrome everywhere, 80ties tuning - a "real" Streetmachine.
I was a young punk.
I sold all the funky chrome shit, sold the interieur putted in 2 cheap bucket seats and painted the car with a paint roller flat black.
4 weeks later I drove to a car show.
After a while the previous owner appeared. He was not very happy about my minor developements at the car and was shaking his head and complaining around.
Then a friend of him came and said to him:
"Man, what a shitty Camaro. These young guys. What are they doing to those nice cars? They should follow your example and your pretty car!"
He: "This is my car!"
From this day on I loved car shows.

 

I have actually sat on Brads Merc before. Well does the bumper riser count?

They are opinionated. That is for damned sure.

 

i am sorry about that you know i saw this on my phone at a concert and it was a good idea to start a discussion here with you guys.

 

Well said!

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Yes...yes, you should...

Ha, ha! Gosh that think is fugly!

 

Now that is funny!

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AldeanFan.Now that's FUNNY. Just another guy letting his butt over loading his mouth..Bruce.P.S. did you tell him????

 

I don't know who the owner of the jeep is, and I am not trying to make an excuse for them, but my DD does have car club decals in the windows, and I have been know to protect a hot rod, but hopefully the owner will notice the car stuff and may not get to much more upset.

 

This is 'that guy'...He goes to most of the local shows and tells everyone in no uncertain terms exactly what is wrong with their vehicles. He seems to know exactly what piece of trim is not quite correct or the color is off a bit or it sits too low or too high. He doesn't go near me any more. He drives a Neon.....

 

Why so agressiv? I like such guys. How boring all theses shows would be without them!

 

i do the same thing. i will park next to a "special" interest vehicle in a parking lot so that some yahoo would damage it.
in parking lots i always park away from the store, partly to avoid idiots but mostly i don't mind walking. pisses my wife off when she asks why and i say "i like to leave the close spots for woman, the elderly and children"

 

I often go to car shows as a visitor. Parking away and going to see the cars. So I also see both sides.
Car shows are often a big accumulation of busybodies.
And when you are really interested in a car and ask the owner - hell, some of them tell you the greatest shit.
I was with a friend who sold his car years ago after complete restauration. We saw the car there and asked the new owner (not the one he sold the car, must been sold again) and guess who was making the restauration ...

 

I just sit back and watch now....It's far too entertaining to not put the run on him any more. Last year he wheeled his bicycle in between a Yenko clone and a real nice 46 Chevy sedan delivery at a local show......That didn't end well for him...

I love going to car shows, actually. More for the social interaction with people. Plus I am not above putting some kid in behind the wheel so he can make vroom vroom noises. As long as there's no ice cream or chocolate fingers.

 

Hey I got a question about car show etiquette. I was at a show in The Pusher once ( not really showing I just wanted a good parking place) and this guy rolls up and puts about 4 crying baby dolls around his car. Well I figured that he had more then he needed so I grabbed one and out it under my front tire. Is that bad etiquette?

 

As one of the guys "with lenses"at a car show, I have to state that having an open hood is a firm ticket to me not taking a photo pf the car; it ruins the lines at just about any angle. So, unless I can get a detail shot, I skip it. I totally understand that some people wanna show off the engine for whatever the reasons are, and I'd never argue that point with an owner. It's just, as a photographer, many people probably don't think about how leaving hoods open screws up the shot.

 

No. That's the perfect reaction when childish behavior escalates!

 

I actually have shot for a couple of magazines and open hoods never really bothered me. But both magazines were performance oriented and what the beast is running was important.

I got to laugh, I was parked at an all truck show in the '90s in an OT pickup. The show promoter asked if I would open my hood because the little truck didn't even begin to shine until you opened the hood or crawled underneath it to see the chassis mods. Never the less I did see someone shut the hood for a pic and then they couldn't figure out how to open the hood. I just chuckled and opened the hood for them. So I get it.

 

He was just protecting it for you.