Have some guys here that are working on improving our annual indoor show. For you guys over there what works really well at the indoor shows so I can pass it on. Thanks.
if you have the space,being able to let the spectators being able to veiw the cars from all angles is the balls, not lined in stantioned rows, maybe some rat rods[did i say that] in an area with some old parts and old garage stuff. post some pics here after
Stage with scantely (sp?) clad dancers, bands, vendors, drinks and food, demonstations, fabricator displays, paint vendors, tires/wheels, etc. I like looking at new parts and displays as much as looking at the cars. At a recent show, the cars were double parked nose to tail in a row. You could only see one side of the car so, as stated above being able to view the entire car is nice. Another thing is variety in the show. Having a little something for everyone is important. I also think it's cool when you have something for the little woman. That helps in getting them to go. On the other hand........ Anyway, good luck with the show, send snaps when you can.
if you can, have the cars displayed as is, no roping off, no stupid fucking displays. turntables, mirrors, ropes, all bullshit. have the doors, hood and trunk closed. you can't appreciate the lines of a car with the hood and trunk propped open and one wheel removed. i guess what i'm saying is, to make an indoor car show successful, treat it like an outdoor car show.
Take pictures of some of the cars with girl models beside a car that is in the show. Then print up a few thousand and have the girls there to sign the posters at a table by the car. We did that at the World Of Wheels here in Birmingham, Al on Feb 8,9,10. We had 3,000 posters printed and we were out in 4 hours. Damndest thing I have ever seen. The lines were unbelievable. Had one going in each direction. Fire marshal had to help keep the people from blocking the Aisles. We are a custom wheel and tire dealer and we were floored at the response. Paid the girls $150 each. What a blast! Thanks, BOBBY FORD
Thanks guys, love the idae about the girls signing the posters. Were they known models or just some hotties?
I'm one of the guys on the organising committee for the show that Pete is talking about. We work extra hard on the layout to make sure the cars are easily viewed, and more importantly, that the public can get through the show without any bottlenecks. It's not a huge arena we host the show in, well... it looks big until you try to park 150+ cars in it! Here's a couple of shots from the top of the grandstand. In regards to the comments about displaying the cars without any ropes or carpet etc, I disagree TOTALLY. I do agree with not having all of the doors open etc, but here's a couple of examples. This beautiful HR ('67) Holden won its class. He rocked up, parked the car, opened everything up and walked away... The bloke that owns this car spent almost two days setting up the display, didn't win shit, but check out how nice it looks! After seeing a few pics of the GNRS and other US shows lately, I think we (Aussies) go to a lot more trouble to display our cars and present them as well as possible. The pic I saw of the Hirohata Merc with four-foot high poles and rope strung between them just about made me faint. Just imagine what would happen if some kid swung off that rope and the pole fell into the car. The ropes and stands on my display were only a foot or so high and don't detract from the display at all, but let people know how close they're allowed to get.
There are a couple indoor shows here in Joplin, MO. This one held in February is the better one. Cars are selected by the promoters from over a four state area. Some are what I call the "big guns".....fancy display of a customized car, like this 55 Chevy. http:// Or this Mustang convert....... http:// This Olds coupe is killer...... http:// A lot of owners put up some sort of fence to fend off the lookers..... http:// But you can walk around most of them for a full view. Also there are vendors of auto items around the outside edge of the room. http:// Admission was $7 per person.
That would be a nice 'problem' to have. Being that our show is in Perth, Western Australia (the MOST REMOTE state capital in world), it's pretty hard to get any out of staters to come along. I wouldn't consider either of them very 'fancy'. Pretty simple displays really. This is one of the best displays I've ever seen at a show. Laurie Grima's '55/'56 Chevy. Had a photo display that encircled the car and showed every step of the build. I reckon I spend 20-30 minutes checking out the pics and then checking out the car to spot all of the clever work. Coupe might be killer, but it looks like you need a set of binoculars to see the car. There is way too much room around that car and all it does is take up valuable floor space. They are exactly the kinds of fences we discourage people to put up. Apart from the aforementioned risk of damage to the car, as you can see from the above pic, you CAN'T take a decent photo of the car without getting the rope in the shot. It's a MAJOR Pain In The Arse and I will quite often not take a photo (no matter how nice the car is) if I can't get a shot without the chain blocking the shot. It's the same with our show, although some people elect to display their cars with another vehicle or ask to have a wall as they want to have a backdrop for their display. Wow! That's cheap. We have to charge $20 per person. Might sound a bit excessive compared to seven bucks, but we don't have the population to get the numbers through the door and the rent of the venue is pretty massive too.
Unless I overlooked the obvious in this thread, what about having the cars DRIVEN IN UNDER THEIR OWN POWER Screw all the fancy floor-sucking displays, its no fun if they don't run!
One thing that I think helps indoor shows was mentioned earlier. Put vendors on the outside edge of the show. It sucks to be walking the aisles and having to squeeze past a crowd of baby strollers and onlookers where a guy is selling the "Ultimate Shammy" or some other new car show advertised gizmo in the middle of a show. I like the no ropes. They do this in the Motorama that is put on in conjuction with the World of wheels here and it works well.
The bottom line to most car shows is the "bottom line". Car shows are normally put on to raise money for a promoter, charitable cause, club, etc. It is a group effort between the promoter, the car owners, the commercial vendors, the sponsors and the facility where it is held. Everyone needs to understand that it is a team effort and will not succeed unless everyone is pulling in the same direction. Keep in mind that a lot of your efforts are aimed at having a successful event the following year. If everyone has a good time, they will tell a friend, and more will come back next year. As far as the vehicles are concerned, a good mix is the most important factor. You need the traditionals, the drivers, the restoreds, the comps and yes the trailer queens show pieces. Most of the public wants something that will blow their skirt up right in front of the front door. If your goal is to sell tickets, then you need to appeal to the "masses". If your goal is not to sell tickets then it doesn't matter. You also need a good mixture of manufacturers. Don't become an all Ford, Chevy, etc show. As far as displays are concerned, when you first walk up you shoud see the car first and the display second. It should enhance the car and not detract. Most shows/buildings want displays in 10 X 10 foot increments ( 10 X 10, 10 X 20, 20 X 20 ). Short solid sides with a kick rail (sometimes called a trash guard) are preferable. Not over a foot tall including any top rail. A solid pole is preferable to a rope. Kids will swing on the ropes. Try not to make it look inviting to sit on (no flat areas on top). Keep in mind what children will be able to reach. No hot lights, wiring, etc. within easy reach. Leave your old trophies at home. Look at the display around "Exota". Notice the ass pokers. It is a GREAT display.
Depending on size of the building and the number of entries try to hit a nice balance of cars vs room to see them. Our local promoter crams as many cars in as the fire marshall will allow just to get every $40 entry he can. Cars are in rows about 2' apart, sucks. If you are touring and have a show standard 10'X20' display, say carpet and solid rail you can't use it at our show. If your car is 14' long, you get 16' no matter. Sucks. Can't see the front or rear of the cars. Personally if he whould cut about 50 cars that really don't belong anyway (like this year there was a stock, rusty, unrestored 70 Couger displayed, I paid $14 to see that?) and gave us room to really see the good cars it would be a much better show. I'd rather he raise the admission a buck to recoupe the lost $2gs and SEE 150 good cars instead of not seeing 150 good cars and 50 crap cars.
I enjoy seeing the higher end cars and their displays at the larger indoor shows. There is always something on each one that blows me away, the craftsmanship, a unique piece, whatever. I like the fact that the owners/handlers respect the car enough, and the viewing public enough, to display the car the best way possible. If that means removing a wheel so we can see the brakes and suspension better so be it. If that means leaving a door open so we can see the inteior, so be it. If it means leaving the hood proped open so we can see the engine compartment so be it. Show would be pretty boring if all teh cars were shut up tight. I agree with the shorter stantions but then again not everyone has their own stuff. Some of the time the promotor provides that, like in the Suade Palace. How could I tell? ALL the rows in there had the same stantions and roping. Alex probably rented them. At the Detroit Autorama you can rent them, very expensive for the weekend and they are stantions like at a bank. Anyway, nice tasteful diplays are expensive. Even very simple ones, are more then most people realize. I know I got an awakening in that regard recently. Indoor events need to have alittle bit of something for everyone to make them successful, not only in the promotors eye but in the public's eye as well.
This is Ron Dubberstein's '55 Chevy Kustom. It's incredible. He has molded the entire body into one smoooth piece with no seams - the dash is molded in, the engine bay is molded, bumpers molded on, even the entire floorpan and trunk are smooth underneath the car. The frame is molded into one piece. The engine itself is molded into one piece - no gaps between head and block. The hood, doors, and trunk come off, but are also molded into one piece with no seams. This car has been smoothed more than any other car out there, I'm sure of it. It took Ron years to do it. I love it! (sorry I hijacked the thread - had to brag on the car)
metalman who are you to say what are the crappy cars from the cars that should be there,the guy with the cougar may just be trying to get into the hobby,hes the one that isnt afraid to ask questions and have fun,not the rich asshole that didnt have a thing to do with building the car but writing the check.I thought this was a place for real car guys,not some high dollar show car place that they talk down abuot any kind of real car.By the way.that 55 looks like some 80s pastel car,but I bet the guy with the couger paid the same money to have his car there,just because the 55 is not my style,I think it should be there and hopefully the owners are there to have fun. Thats whats great about the USA,we dont all have to like the same things. Phil.
This one bothers me a bit. I would love to see the lines of this car with the hood and doors closed, it looks like it would have a beautiful profile. Even the owner wanted to show it with the hood closed, that's why he put a clear insert in the hood. He's obviously lowered the suspension to get the car to sit right, then put it up on blocks to show it off. Not all cars need to have everything opened up. The 55 is different since it wasn't altered in the roofline, and the suspension looks stock height, we know what the profile will look like when everything is closed up so he can show off the rest. I would have liked to see what the Olds really looks like.
So does anyone have any more pics of that Olds coupe? I know it's not HAMB friendly, just curious to see what the rest of it looks like, especially with the door and stuff closed.
Leon We built a 49 Olds for a customer a few years ago and he was looking for a good hood for it,a guy somewhere back east had an old dealership to clean out,he had 4 or 5 hoods with the claer insert in them, I guess Olds had these hoods to show off the new v-8 wich I think would have been the 303,not sure that is what the hood in this picture is, but maybe. sure would have been cool to have one even if you didnt use it on the car. Later,Phil.
Just local girls aspiring to be models. Really nice looking girls. Both about 20-21 yrs old. Nice dispositions and friendly to everyone. Thanks, BOBBY FORD
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