47-55.1 Getting ready for a car (truck) show

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by hogfarm

My truck took me years to build, it's not to bad. But I have never received a trophy, been to a lot of shows. I just go for the fun ,not a trophy

After a like a a ten year build i went to a real show for fun. A first for me and it. Enjoyed the folks and event and didn't expect a thing. Was packing up and kept hearing my name on loudspeaker! Went over and found i was getting a huge trophy!! That will be a year ago in 5 days. Sadly medical issues will prevent me from re attending all this year. It was nice and a memory i will always have.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by hogfarm

My truck took me years to build, it's not to bad. But I have never received a trophy, been to a lot of shows. I just go for the fun ,not a trophy

That truck would bring home a trophy or two from the Portland Roadster show where there are skilled judges using a judging sheet looking for the details that make it such a great truck. It can hold it's own at shows anywhere in the country where there are just Chevy trucks and the people picking for awards are aware of the details.

On the other hand it isn't gaudy or flashy and doesn't scream come look at me like a lot of rigs that aren't as nice do.

There is also the "seen that one before, I'm looking for something that I haven't seen before to give the award to.

As the old saying goes " It's good enough to be black and that one is far and away above good enough to be black and look at the mirror like reflections on the side in this shot. It just does a good job of quietly sitting there in plain sight.

That pretty well says what actually happens at a lot of shows though, who ever is picking for an award often isn't and experienced car person looking for the nicest example of a certain type on the grounds, they are looking for what they like that day and what they like often doesn't include the fact that it has perfect paint and is detailed to the n'th degree.

This green truck from Sunnyside has a 10 K paint job that is now close to 20 years old but still close to perfect and the truck gets driven a lot. It is another one that doesn't win awards locally but that stems more from people having seen it so much over the years they don't stop and see how nice it is. If he took it out of the area to a show where the locals have never seen it they would have a fit over it just as folks at an event your truck has never been to would with yours.

[vintovka]

[QUOTE=mr48chev;This green truck from Sunnyside has a 10 K paint job that is now close to 20 years old but still close to perfect and the truck gets driven a lot. .[/QUOTE]

$10k 20 years ago is like $30-50k now. Great paint jobs are a beauty to behold BUT a huge, worrysome liablity for most.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by vintovka

$10k 20 years ago is like $30-50k now. Great paint jobs are a beauty to behold BUT a huge, worrysome liablity for most.

True but you can tie 100K 1 ton crew cab pickup with a diesel so fast it makes your head swim and then go right out and haul a load of firewood in without a second thought or use it to tow the vintage truck in an enclosed trailer. I know a guy who has over 100K in his tow rig and trailer to haul his 30K show car because the show car in his own words is too valuable to drive on the street.

I actually posted Hogfarm's truck and the green one together to show that even two absolutely perfect trucks may not draw the attention from some that they actually should. Park those two together at a Chevy truck show and you would have people walking around them and taking photos all day long. Hogfarm's truck is every bit as nice as the green one.

When the guy who owned the body and paint shop that painted the green one was still alive we were standing close to the green one at a show when another friend of both of us asked me when I was going to paint my truck and I pointed at the green one and said when it was as straight as it I would paint mine. That still stands. Hopefully one of my former students is still healthy enough to paint it.

[vintovka]

Lots of 100k+ trucks on lots right now. Insurance can also be staggering. Resale value of older diesel is now about what they cost new. Cost of just paint now seems absurd as well and maybe why "Patina" is so popula?

[mr48chev]

I'd say that part of the patina thing is that too many guys want instant gratification and want to throw their project together fast and get it on the road.

I'd bet even money that TX3100guy and Hogfarm both have more time in small parts of the build in their trucks than some of the S-10 swap patina truck guys have in the whole truck from haul the AD into the yard to drive down the road time. The extra attention to the most minute detail as apposed to slap it together as fast as you can and get it running.

Personally these days I would rather see someone put their early effort in to having a solid and very safe chassis that is done right when it comes to building a modified truck. The nice paint and fancy interior can come later but it has to be safe to drive first and not shiny and unsafe to drive as we used to see a lot of back when I got into this seriously. The chassis on some of those rods back then rival some of the crudest rat rods that aren't even licensed or street driven as far as sketchy. Impact universal sockets butt welded into the steering shaft as Ujoints on a car that was then driven on Texas highways at 80 mph. I know he was doing 80 as he was following me.
With that I'd rather see a person build a safe solid truck that they can safely enjoy and then decide if they want to take it to the next level rather than get burned out shooting for perfection and never getting to drive it on the first build they do.
Both the two guys who I would like to have paint my truck have health issues that may not allow for it but in the town where I live we have a couple of rebuild shops that turn out late model rebuilds from totals that look better than new when they roll them out for sale and I am thinking about hitting one up to have them paint my 48 when I am able to trailer the truck to them in pieces. It won't be cheap but it won't be 10K either.

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

I'd say that part of the patina thing is that too many guys want instant gratification and want to throw their project together fast and get it on the road.

Good point but cost still governs!!! Just a small dent with paint on most cars can run up to $2k!!. Sadly I think the days of restoration have taken a fatal inflationary hit. Fully restored ADs may be the only way to go.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by vintovka

Good point but cost still governs!!! Just a small dent with paint on most cars can run up to $2k!!. Sadly I think the days of restoration have taken a fatal inflationary hit. Fully restored ADs may be the only way to go.

Fully restored stone stock AD trucks aren't worth all that much dollar wise unless they are 100 point national Chevy truck association contenders. The concept that a stone stock restored truck is worth more than a real nice fully finished custom truck is total nonsense these days. That hasn't been true with any vehicle except for actual classics that are on the registry of classic cars since the early 70's.

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Fully restored stone stock AD trucks aren't worth all that much dollar wise unless they are 100 point national Chevy truck association contenders. The concept that a stone stock restored truck is worth more than a real nice fully finished custom truck is total nonsense these days. That hasn't been true with any vehicle except for actual classics that are on the registry of classic cars since the early 70's.

Must say a nice, but not perfectly restored running AD for under 30K is a bargain as the cost of restoration - even partial- can easily cost more. This i know.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by vintovka

Must say a nice, but not perfectly restored running AD for under 30K is a bargain as the cost of restoration - even partial- can easily cost more. This i know.

That may be where you live and what the local market is. Here in the valley a stone stock AD or TF that is nice but not a high caliber show level truck = one that will score 95 points or more on the judging sheet at a national level show it is hard to get 30K for one. The ones you see bring the big money at Barrett-Jackson are probably 98 point trucks that you can load in the trailer and take to the National Chevy show and be able to compete for the top awards. I posted a truck on the look what I found that's for sale thread a few months ago that is one of the nicest stock or real close to stock AD trucks I have seen and photographed in a while and the price wasn't that high. 25 K and it is one nice truck but he messed up when he two toned it as GM never sold trucks with different color fenders and never sold two tone trucks before 1954. At a Judged show he couldn't show it as an original truck and would have to show it as a modified truck because of the paint job. Out in the park at that show it brought attention to no end especially from the lowrider Bomb a guys.

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

That may be where you live and what the local market is. Here in the valley a stone stock AD or TF that is nice but not a high caliber show level truck = one that will score 95 points or more on the judging sheet at a national level show it is hard to get 30K for one. The ones you see bring the big money at Barrett-Jackson are probably 98 point trucks that you can load in the trailer and take to the National Chevy show and be able to compete for the top awards. I posted a truck on the look what I found that's for sale thread a few months ago that is one of the nicest stock or real close to stock AD trucks I have seen and photographed in a while and the price wasn't that high.

Was upping the insurance on mine recently and kinda got stumped when they asked about replacement values. Haggerty suggested 30K as an average and sure they got that from somewhere. I Am clearly not an expert on ADs but been watching the market now for 10 years. You really have far more experience and would be interesting to hear your take on what it would cost to do a reasonable renovation right now with and without shop labor costs. Your take on parameters like base price of "restorable" AD, powertrain, bodywork, paint and rubber would be amazing!! Yes i know the variables are overwhelming but even a rough guess is appreciated!!

[1project2many]

Originally Posted by TX3100Guy

Despite never having given any of the nearly 50 cars I've owned in my life a name, this truck is special enough to me that I had to give it a name. The paint is called Jungle Green and the name of the guy who passed away and started this project was Jim, thus "Jungle Jim"

I love the sign! it looks great. I'm not always likely to stop someone to talk about their truck. The sign answers a bunch of basic questions and if I want more info I can try to locate the owner. The only question I have is why isn't the interesting and unique story of the truck's name on the sign?

Originally Posted by hogfarm

My truck took me years to build, it's not to bad. But I have never received a trophy, been to a lot of shows. I just go for the fun ,not a trophy

My truck got one trophy back in '99. First year after new paint. It had been driven from MT to MA which impressed the guys running the show. The announcer said "Cars and trucks were meant to be driven, and this one definitely has." Nothing since. It gets put in with modified trucks since it has EFI. But it's much more stock than modified so it doesn't stand out against the big buck and wild build trucks. But that's fine. The real trophy is how it makes folks smile. Almost any time it goes out someone will share a story about an old truck or a truck related experience in their life.

Originally Posted by TX3100Guy

The part that I am most proud of, is the fact that in the three years I've owned it, I have put over 2,000 hours of "free" labor in this project and have loved every minute of it, even the times I used every bad word known to modern man.

You really have stuck with the project. I hope it is as rewarding to show as it was frustrating to complete.

[TX3100Guy]

As final act of defiance the truck worked over my son and I last night as we worked to install the grille. Given that it is an aftermarket part, it was 90% accurate, but the 10 % inaccurate meant that it took us 3 1/2 hours to get it installed and aligned properly.



Then this morning I discovered that one LED headlight bulb is DOA, but the lights aren't a necessary item for the Saturday car show. I also found that the Ididit horn ring was chipped and as a result, when I turned the Kill Switch back on, the horn blared constantly. Luckily Summit has them in stock and I will be picking one up tomorrow to make what I hope is the final fix before Saturday.

[dsraven]

looks great. don't sweat the small stuff, pull the fuse or unplug the horn. let the light be dead for a day. enjoy what you have. it's not about the trophy its about the wow factor when others see it. it would be cool to get a trophy though, lol.

[TX3100Guy]

Originally Posted by dsraven

looks great. don't sweat the small stuff, pull the fuse or unplug the horn. let the light be dead for a day. enjoy what you have. it's not about the trophy its about the wow factor when others see it. it would be cool to get a trophy though, lol.

It is fairly well attended small town car show. There will be $100,000 trailer queens built by trained mechanics, as a result I have no expectation of a trophy. If anything, I stand a fighting chance on crowd favorite since the show is less than a mile from my house and all the neighbors plan to attend.....LOL

I have no need to turn on the headlights during this daytime show, so the only folks who will know it has a dead bulb are me, the company sending a replacement, and all of you!

As for the horn, I will give it a stab at fixing today, if that fails for some reason, then pulling the fuse is next on the list........

[mr48chev]

Go with the intent of having fun and present the truck the best way you can without going overboard. Most of the time at a show like you are going to that just means keeping the area around the truck picked up if people are sadly lazy and drop stuff on the ground and keep clutter around the truck to a minimum.

I think we all worry way too much about winning a freaking dust collector the first time or few times out and don't spend enough time enjoying the day. Still the best prize of the day is seeing someone stand beside the truck to get their photo taken with it. Somewhere in an album or box of photos I have a photo of a kid standing beside my 48 at Tulsa at the 73 Street Rod Nationals that was the first event I ever took it to because he was 16 and had an AD at home that he was working on. That and being in line for the dinner with Tex Smith and a couple of his buddies on Saturday night and listening to his stories while we were in that long line are two of the main memories from the weekend. MY wife did get the bottoms of her feet sunburned on the way back to McGregor on Sunday with 5 hours of driving south and she had her feet sticking out the window and the back of her head on my leg.

[TX3100Guy]

The show today, one mile from my house, this was the farthest the truck had driven in nearly thirty years. It's my little town's fourth year of holding this show and the first show I had this truck ready for in the three years I've owned it. In fact, I used the date of this show as my deadline to get the truck ready for after the engine re-re-build was completed.

I was there at 7am, when the doors opened and got a spot right next to a 1946 Chevy pickup that was VERY nice. In fact, he won first place in the "Pre-1960 Truck Class"



I had a ton of visitors and multiple people who just wanted to get their picture taken with the truck, or who wanted to take pictures of the truck. I bored the hell out of everyone by telling them of the history of the truck before I got it and how I literally just finished three years of work on it yesterday, YES THE HORN NOW WORKS. However, I already have a list of things that need adjusted, or fixed. Now that the show is past, I plan on taking the truck for longer drives, to work out any kinks or bugs.

The last trophy given out was the "People Choice Award" given for the vehicle receiving the most spectator votes and while I didn't expect it, the truck did...LOL



As is the case of most shows I've ever attended the cars/owners can be broken down into two distinct categories. 1) Guys who work on their own cars and build them, and 2) Guys who buy them already done. No offense to category 2 guys, but I spent most of my time talking to the guys who do their own work, honestly they were the minority.

[NWA58]

Originally Posted by vintovka

$10k 20 years ago is like $30-50k now. Great paint jobs are a beauty to behold BUT a huge, worrysome liablity for most.

Agreed on today’s cost. I have more than $10k in paint and body materials before labor. If someone says they can paint your ride for $10k, it is a quick scuff n shoot without body time and cut and buff. I’ve got about 200 hours in cut and buff alone.

I started out intending to do a patina or Hot Rod Flatz that went way off the rails.

[leegreen]

That trophy and smile to go with it is well deserved!

[Rickysnickers]

Outstanding!!!!!

[Stepside Jim]

Congratulations, well deserved.

You've convinced me to have a story board made for my truck, thanks for the inspiration.

[mr48chev]

Cool Beans and congrats on the award.

[TX3100Guy]

So last week you might recall, I took the truck to a car show one mile from my home. This was the farthest the truck had driven in nearly thirty years and the truck won the "People Choice" award.

Yesterday I drove it 15 miles to an indoor car show in Frisco, TX and this was the second farthest it had ever driven. Admittedly, the truck over-heated on the way there and I had to pull over for 15 minutes to let it cool down. But I did manage to get the truck to the show (see below). The drive home was uneventful and the temp stayed very close to the normal operating temps.



Shockingly, the truck won the "World War II Veterans Choice" award, which was extra special since it's Memorial Day weekend.



The way I see it, this truck has a story and I get the chance to tell the story to anyone that will listen.

I also had the chance to meet a gentleman that knew the truck from this forum and already knew its story from all my posts and photos. Turns out he only lives a few miles away from me and his 1950's truck won first place in the "pre-1950's Truck" category and boy did it deserve it. I was so taken with his yellow custom truck, that he did all the fabrication work on that I neglected to get photos of it or his contact information. When I asked him what his user name was, he admitted that he doesn't even logon, he just "lurks" and reads the posts. I'm hoping that I can drag him into the forum, and to post pictures of his truck, because it is awesome. Dwight, when you read this, its time to signup and log in buddy. Maybe I'll see you next week at the Wylie car show?

As for the overheating, my plans are to swap out the thermostat for a 160 degree one and to work on the carb mixture. The carb was rebuilt and the mixture screws set on a normally aspirated engine. Given the forced air from the supercharger, even on low boost, I think this is leaning out the mixture too much leading to hotter than normal temps. More to come......


PS. I also had this sign on my windshield as a bit of a joke.

[mr48chev]

Cool. That truck carries off the "looks real original" thing real well. Experience says that appeals to a lot of non car folk that aren't into hot rods or customs.

[TX3100Guy]

Now I’d like to find a 50’s COE to work on…..…..