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Judging question on hubcaps


AJFord54

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I have a friend who has a 1979 Thunderbird with only 13,000 miles and we are replacing the hubcaps with NOS in the FoMoCo box factory hubcaps. He is seeking a First Junior and I wondered if it would be proper to leave the hubcaps uninstalled when displaying it for judging and keep them in the trunk. They would remain in the box - but one would be removed to show the perfect quality of them.

I've always believed that the hubcaps were not necessarily installed at the factory, but were put on by the dealer (although some of my photographs on earlier cars show them on the car as they left the factory).

I just had the thought that it would allow the judges to see perfect lug nuts and rims and truly give that "just out of the factory" look. Any thoughts on this?

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I'm sure other judges will weigh in but if I were Captain of the team judging your car we would suggest you empty your trunk for judging. We would not judge hubcaps not on the car and you likely would receive a maximum deduction for missing hubcaps unless you had factory documentation that hubcaps were optional. In no case would NOS hubcaps still in their boxes help your score.

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Simple answer, Install them on the car. Leave the FOMOCO boxes at home.

If he produces documentation that the car was available without hubcaps, he could leave them off, but why in the world would he want to do that? If they are not installed on the car the judges will not judge them, so their perfect condition does not matter. If he did not want to install them on the car he might as well have saved the money and not bought them.

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People tend to ask serious questions about judging and often like to debate every minor point, issue and rule. Seldom do people ask "light-hearted" questions on the subject so answers tend to be quite serious in the judging forum. If you can produce documentation that shows that the hubcaps were shipped in the boxes in the trunk you can certainly show it that way. Without any documentation, they need to be installed. If you want to make a statement about the hubcaps being shipped in the trunk you can certainly do that but it is not the easiest way to compete in the judging system. Exceptions require documentation. Documentation would need to be clear or you would risk losing points.

Your statement of "I've always believed that the hubcaps were not necessarily installed at the factory, but were put on by the dealer (although some of my photographs on earlier cars show them on the car as they left the factory). " is not documentation.

It is much easier to simply install them.

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PS

The previous General Policy of AACA was essentially, as delivered to the dealer by the factory. That is no longer the standard. The standard now is essentially as the dealer would have delivered it to the customer, per the factory specifications.

The current General Policy is as follows:

"The objective of AACA judging is to evaluate an antique vehicle, which has been restored to the

same state as the dealer could have prepared the vehicle for delivery to the customer. This

includes any feature, option or accessory shown in the original factory catalog, parts book, sales

literature, or company directives for the model year of the vehicle. AACA accepts motorized

vehicles 25 years old or older, which were built in factories and specifically designed and

manufactured for transportation use on public roadways and highways. The end result of the

accurate and honest evaluation of a vehicle by a judging team will be the proper determination of

the deserved award for the owner’s efforts."

I don't think that the factory would have specified the vehicle being delivered to the customer with the hubcaps in the trunk.

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