Judging Questions from Charlotte

I had 2 questions asked of me at Charlotte. During judging I was asked if my glass bowl fuel filter was original equipment. My answer was "quite honestly, I don't know for sure. It may not be. However, I would not run my car without one. With modern fuels in old equipment, it loosens deposits that will definitely clog the carb without one. The glass bowl is correct for the period, and looks right where it is ". He seemed to accept that. I don't know if I lost points or not, it doesn't matter. On return home, I checked my parts book and it specifies a filter In the fuel line assembly between fuel pump and carb, but does not mention type. So, I will have that documentation with me for the future. (Not the judges fault....purely mine). The other question came after judging, when a judge from another class came to me to question my paint color which is a blue/grey metallic. His question was that since Crosley was a "bottom feeder" when It came to buying stuff for building their cars (I chuckled at that), it was hard for him to believe that they would be using metallic paint. I assured him it was correct, but I would not have had doccumentation to prove it if he had been judging my class. BTW it is correct, and I am now carrying the paint charts.

So I guess the point here is If you have the documentation, carry it with you. It just might save your backside some day. Another point to be made here is this... I have never felt that I have been treated unfairly in AACA judging. Even new judges have been courteous and respectful and knew what they were doing. Compliments to all!!

Factory documentation is the one thing accepted on an AACA show field without question. Don't leave home without it.

I find the questions to be encouraging. As a new judge and a younger judge I don't always know whats factory. Having documentation is huge, and the more available the better for everyone. As someone who owns a car, having someone ask rather than make the "easier" assumption of it being wrong will help keep unfairly lost points from occurring. It should be highly encouraged to ask questions in a timely and professional manner.

Would digital copies be acceptable on the show field?

Actually, there is a wealth of factory documentation available digitally now, so I don't see why not. But unless you plan to sit with the car, it would be easier to print it out. Paper or digital, the document needs to show it was from the factory and be dated from the time of production.

We don't "assume" things are wrong when we judge. We ask for factory documentation. In the absence of that the Team Captain can accept or reject the information the owner does provide. We are to err on the side of the owner if the team is not 100% sure about a deduction.

Also a good idea is to remind the owner that they are entitled to 1.5 hours of free research through the AACA Library and Research Center. And that copies of documents from there are accepted by the judges.