I dont have any.
I have never taken a car to a show. (Or even Driven one of these cars yet)
I have been buying little things for period props to stage in my car for car shows. But I also hear people talk about how often things are stolen at shows. Worried about my oil breather if I have my hood open now.
What are your thoughts and experiences.
Two things from the same show. The Hoosier Sell & Swap Meet at the track.(To Hoosiers, "what track isn't needed to be pointed out." We just assume everyone knows that it's the 500 track.) I was judging a 1941 6229 four door convertible. and suddenly, this lady opens the left rear door. I looked up and asked, "Ma'am. It this your car?" She said, "Well, no." And I replied, "Then why did you open the door?" She didn't know how to reply.
This was the car that the owner wanted to adjust the firmness of the hood catch, "just one more time." And didn't put the cotter key back in. It fell out and he finally got the hood opened by pushing (and hammering) a piece of wood from below, and it slipped, and he got an "outie." Did you ever try hammering out a compound curved piece of metal?
And a 1955 T-Bird was parked in the infield, and two guys came up and walked off with the had top. That took a little gumption to pull off.
Not too much of a horror story but it was a bit scary at the moment.
Went to the Daytona shows last November, and they do this thing called there Night Runs, which is basically just a huge old school car meet.
Anyways during all of this, as some cars were leaving they all where doing burnouts and stuff, didn't take long for 4 or 5 cops to just sit outside the exit.
I was about to spin my tires leaving, until I saw the guy in front of me get pulled over immediately after leaving, so I just minded my own business and left normally, I can not afford a ticket on my insurance :P
I have seen cars without the screw-on hood ornaments (i.e. the heron on older Cadillacs). They put it on only when the judges are there.
2004 GN in South Bend. Took our 42 & had it on display early in the week on the street next to the host hotel. I was in the Hotel Atrium talking with CLC friends when my husband called me from our hotel room to say he could see someone was leaning against our car, could I go ask them to not do that. Sure.
I walked over and several CLC guys were there with one leaning against the car. I asked if that was their car. Of course the answer was no (because it was MINE) and I replied they probably shouldn't be leaning against it. The offender moved away from MY CAR and I returned to continue the conversation with our friends in the Atrium.
A few minutes later my husband called me again, asked what did I tell them because now the guy was SITTING ON MY FENDER (feet off the ground). Returned to the group and now I explained THIS IS MY CAR - PLEASE GET OFF THE FENDER.
The offender hopped off the fender. I asked 'how would you like it if I sat on the fender of your car?' He told me to go ahead, the car he had at the event was a VW.
Some people are just......clueless (I'm being nice)
I was told by my mentor Bill Ingler, that if I were to take my 47 S62 convertible to a show, remove the rear ash trays or they will surely be stolen.
That is not a reason to never go to a show, but a caution if you aren't careful, a costly mistake may happen.
A personal note - I have gone to a number of shows near me in So.Cal. but only in my daily driver Cad, but current vintage, not classic.
I get all kinds of grief and I am ragged on each show if I don't take especially my 59 Eldo (wrong color Seminole Red - I liked it).
I have no interest on strutting my stuff, in life or classic cars - that's just me.
Have fun,
Steve B.
I only had one big problem at a local CLC meet, and this was years ago. A CLC member had an umbrella to keep the sun off of her, and also had a car in the show. She walked by me and the local CLC President, and as she came back to the front of the car, as the umbrella was tilted over her shoulder, the metal tips ran a deep scratch into my LF fender. She was clueless and started to come back and we both waved her off.
Another smaller one was at a Fleet Week show at the naval base, a young 8 year old had her jacket unzipped and as she leaned in to look in the window and raised herself up, the zipper scratched my LR door. I lived with that for a few years, and then had both the fender and the door repainted.
So two bad ones in 20 years of showing the car. It never stopped me from going to shows but I keep an eye out now, and also always open the doors for young kids to see in so they don't have to be on the door. It happens. I enjoy telling the car's story and hearing about their family memories with similar cars, so I still go to shows, just not to as many as I used to go to.
I was looking at the show cars at the Plymouth Fall Festival (a small community between Detroit and Ann Arbor). A guy lifts his 5-6 year-old daughter up just under her arms to have her peek inside of a car. Her legs were dangling, and she was banging her shoes off of the passenger door! The moron made no attempt to pull her away from the car.
I do an assortment of local shows and parades and fortunately haven't had any horror stories; just the occasional person getting a little too "handsy." But I'm also in a local club that, among other things, does visits to assisted living facilities where we park and let the residents come out and look and reminisce. They are usually very respectful, although we sometimes need to remind them to be careful with walkers and wheelchairs.
At one of these events I looked over and saw a woman with most of her upper body inside my car, fondling the seats. She had her keys and ID badge on a lanyard around her neck, where they were resting on the paint. I went over and asked her what she was doing and to please not drag her hardware on the paint. She said she was trying to determine whether it was real leather. Fortunately no damage.
Years ago at a local show in Santa Rosa Ca. A fellow had a '37 LaSalle in the car coral all day Saturday, Not a show car but nice. He came back Sunday morning and saw the front of the driveline on the ground. Trans was gone. Apparently someone was building a retro roadster or coupe.
Buddy with a '32 Lincoln coupe lost a set of cornering driving lights at a concourse in Lafayette, Ca.
I had my '37 LaSalle convertible coupe at a local show. I was nearby when I heard the horn blowing. It's pretty distinctive. I got back to the car just in time to see a kid of about six bouncing on the seat, steering wheel in hand trying to shift gears. I told the dad, a young yuppie type to get his son out of the car, His response was, "Well, you have these cars here for us to enjoy, what's the problem?" I held my temper,....with difficulty.
Not the kids fault. I was six once a long time ago. If I were there and he asked I would have let the boy get in and play with horn a couple of times and rack the wheel, He wasn't going to hurt anything. The car was built to take it, Hell, later that day I let a couple of teenaged girls get into the rumble seat so one of their friends could take pictures of them. THey stood and did some amatuer moddeling. Fun to watch them.
At a concourse at Silverado, near Sonoma, Ca. a marshall parked my '41 coupe next to a '32 Packard Standard Eight Phaeton. A very elegantly dressed woman asked the marshall if he could park, "that little coupe somewhere else as friends with a Packard will want to park next to us.'' Marshall to his credit said, "ma'am this is an open non judged show and we park the entrants as they come in." She trundled off to the hospitality tent and we didn't see her all day. Her husband turned out to be nice guy. He was hard core Packard and we had fun talking CAdillac and Packard history. Later that day I found the marshall at the hospitality tent and bought him a couple of drinks. Turned out he was a lawyer in town who had a high point Lincoln Zephyr in the show and volunteered to park cars on the green.
Not only at car shows...
Twenty years ago I had my biplane at the OSH KOSH airshow for several days. I left it overnight, in the "show" area, with the canopy closed and covered. A nice sign hanging on the prop said "LOOK BUT PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH". One early morning I came out to prepare it for the airshow. To my surprise.....a large man had climbed up on the wing: removed the cover, opened the canopy(no lock) and was sitting in the pilot seat playing with the controls!
Stunned I asked him...."what are you doing"? His answer? "I just wanted to see what it was like to sit in it"!
Somehow I remained composed and told him to get out of the airplane and be careful not to put a foot through the lower wing's fabric cover.
UNBELIEVABLE!
Bob R.
Quote from: J. Skelly on April 20, 2025, 03:15:06 PMI was looking at the show cars at the Plymouth Fall Festival (a small community between Detroit and Ann Arbor).
Been there. I swear every (boy) kid who walks past a vintage car on the crowded festival street is dragging his hand along the length. Well until he stops to see if he can open the car door.
Quote from: z3skybolt on April 20, 2025, 06:29:15 PMNot only at car shows...
Twenty years ago I had my biplane at the OSH KOSH airshow for several days. I left it overnight, in the "show" area, with the canopy closed and covered. A nice sign hanging on the prop said "LOOK BUT PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH". One early morning I came out to prepare it for the airshow. To my surprise.....a large man had climbed up on the wing: removed the cover, opened the canopy(no lock) and was sitting in the pilot seat playing with the controls!
Stunned I asked him...."what are you doing"? His answer? "I just wanted to see what it was like to sit in it"!
Somehow I remained composed and told him to get out of the airplane and be careful not to put a foot through the lower wing's fabric cover.
UNBELIEVABLE!
Bob R.
Quote from: z3skybolt on April 20, 2025, 06:29:15 PMNot only at car shows...
Twenty years ago I had my biplane at the OSH KOSH airshow for several days. I left it overnight, in the "show" area, with the canopy closed and covered. A nice sign hanging on the prop said "LOOK BUT PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH". One early morning I came out to prepare it for the airshow. To my surprise.....a large man had climbed up on the wing: removed the cover, opened the canopy(no lock) and was sitting in the pilot seat playing with the controls!
Stunned I asked him...."what are you doing"? His answer? "I just wanted to see what it was like to sit in it"!
Somehow I remained composed and told him to get out of the airplane and be careful not to put a foot through the lower wing's fabric cover.
UNBELIEVABLE!
Bob R.
Quote from: z3skybolt on April 20, 2025, 06:29:15 PMNot only at car shows...
Twenty years ago I had my biplane at the OSH KOSH airshow for several days. I left it overnight, in the "show" area, with the canopy closed and covered. A nice sign hanging on the prop said "LOOK BUT PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH".
UNBELIEVABLE!
Bob R.
It is as the the crowds at Oshkosh are usually respectful, however the last time I attended was 1980ish. Smaller crowds and fewer aircraft then. Much easier to get in and out with an aircraft. Times have changed. Sad. You are lucky the fabric didn't get torn.
My story is not about my '49 2-door being tampered with, but how it once embarrassed me. Years ago I was sitting in my car at a local show when a man with a young boy started admiring it. The man said he had heard that when a vintage Cadillac door was closed the sound was a distinctive solid sounding clunk. I replied that was true and invited the boy to open and close the passenger's side door. The boy did so and a spring in the door latch decided at that very moment to break. The result was the door latch became useless and the door would not stay closed. You can imagine my embarrassment. I had to tie it closed with a very visible cord and figuratively slinked out of the car show area with my tail between my legs.
Luckily I had a spare "parts" latch at home and was able to replace the spring.
My first car show with Doris was interesting. I stepped away to use the facilities and grab a water, when I noticed an older gentleman and his friend trying to push my reflector in on the RIGHT SIDE, attempting to find the gas cap. I stood back and watched them for a few seconds before they shuffled away. I went to go prep my car for departure and the same gentleman came back up and asked to see where the gas cap. Without making a stink about it I calmly showed him where it was located, without mentioning the previous incident. He mentioned his dad had a 51 when he was a kid and it brought back memories. Needless to say, I was still a little ticked off about him getting handsy with the car...but took the diplomatic approach.
While motoring slowly into the Transportation Museum in Owl's Head, Maine for a vintage car show with the top down with several hundred people in attendance, some clown working the P.A. announced our '72 Eldorado as "probably the longest and ugliest car GM ever designed." That,dear reader, was the first and last car show Kristina and I ever attended.
It is a wonder you actually stayed. I would probably have been tempted to drive straight out.
Bruce. >:D
I don't do car shows anymore just cruise in's.
Went to a parking lot Sunday show in New Canaan, CT with my son and 4 year old grandson. I explained to the child that you don't touch people's cars. He was fine.
WEEKS LATER, a friend stopped at my son's house to show his new car off. The grand kiddie immediately put his hands behind his back and paced around the car. Mom & Dad were giggling hysterically, Mom whispers to my son; "OMG, that's your Dad."
When Mom touched something on the hood and started to ask a question, 4 year old says: "Mom, look with your eyes, not your hands".
My son is so proud ....
Quote from: billyoung on April 26, 2025, 01:20:22 PMI don't do car shows anymore just cruise in's.
Hi Bill. I' back on the forums. How are you? And, what color is that Brougham??