CCAC shows, events - How good must your car be?

Yes by all means please bring the car! I think I speak for many people when I say the cars I enjoy seeing the most are the ones that are driven to the meet versus trailered there.

Must say I have never heard the terms "Rolls Royce owner" and "poor pocketbook" in the same sentence before. HA!

My auburn got a 3rd place trophy in touring scoring like 67 points once (seemingly every light suddenly wouldnt work that did earlier in the day) and I still treasure the trophy and the expereince was great. You will be glad you came and so will we!

Shawn

Thanks Shawn. Will sure try to make some meets in the next couple of years. Will be glad to show you the restoration bills to prove why the empty pocketbook too.

Ed

Nice car Eda. If anybody picks on that car they're crazy. I'd trade a restored 70's car for your "driver" any day. W.

Who in their right minds would pick on a gorgeous automobile like THAT? Honestly, people! It is all well and good to shoot for the gold but isn't it time to acknowledge a car for what it is? That Rolls is about the most beautiful free standing sculpture I have seen this side of a Bugatti. It is why I love cars, old, older...you know. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I would take it to the show and let everyone see that not only is it a gorgeous car, it runs and is a pleasure to drive!

By all means you should bring your car! Not all CCCA cars are 100 points. In fact, most of them are not even close. It may surprise our readers to learn that most of us have cars that could politely be called ?drivers.? A lot of us actually like them that way, even though we really do admire the Pebble Beach quality restorations too.

Speaking for myself, I wouldn?t know what to do with a 100-point car, but I certainly admire those people with the dedication, time and resources to restore a car to that level. It?s big hobby, and there is room for everybody.

But your car doesn?t have to be ?perfect? to enjoy the Club.

CCCA has a couple of judging opportunities for cars like yours and mine. If the car is totally original ? not restored, but perhaps just kept running ? then you can enter it as an Original Car. In many ways this is the most important class of all. These cars are our historical link to the past. They are fascinating because they provide the opportunity to see how the original craftsmen put these cars together. Once the car is repainted, reupholstered or otherwise ?restored? than that link to the past is gone. No matter how good the workmanship, restored cars are never exact duplicates of the original. In fact, these days, they are usually restored to standards that are far superior to the original.

If the car has been repainted, re-chromed, reupholstered, or other wise restored, but it?s beginning to show the ?patina? of some use, you can enter it in the Touring Class. Most of my cars clearly fit in this category, and yours may too. The only problem is, if you score over 93 points, you become ?overqualified? and don?t win anything. That?s not all that bad, because it is verification that your peers think your car is quite nice. Starting next year, we will start awarding these ?overqualified? cars a one-time ?Achievement? award, which means from that time forward, you graduate into the Primary Class. But you won?t go home empty handed because your car is better than you thought it was.

Of course, many less than perfect cars do quite well being judged in our Primary Class. You don?t have to score 100 points to bring home a trophy. Speaking for myself, I?m thrilled with a Third Place. You might be too.

If you are really bashful, or if you just don?t feel like detailing your car, you can always enter it in ?Exhibition Class.? You won?t win any award, but then, you don?t have to scrub those white wall tires either (unless you want to). But you do get to participate in all other fascists of the event, meet new friends, visit with old friends and have a generally good time. There is nothing wrong with that. It?s fun, and that?s what this is supposed to be about.

Taking home a trophy is nice, but the friendships you?ll make by becoming active in the Club are priceless.

Enjoy the drive,

CCCA First Vice President