Ideas for vintage auto "gymkhana"?

[Chris Bamford]

I plan to organize a fun activity for our local club this spring, one that tests driving skills and car control, and has the potential for lots of laughs.<P>Can anyone suggest some suitable challenges for this activity? Stuff like a slow race (last one there, without stopping), backing up between pylons through a course, blindfolded driving (slow speed, through a tight course, with a sighted navigator in the front seat), and so on.<P>Thanks!<P>

[The Old Guy]

We have done this numerous times and it is a ball! You can choose teams of two and give a passenger in the car a plunger . You then line the teams up 2 at a time and have them cover a specified distance. the kicker is that they must hold a ballon between the plungers as they race to the finish. We also have broom sticks with a nail in the end and we lay out a twisty course and time each car as they drive up to a potato on the course and try to stab it without stopping the car. There are a lot of things you can do . If you want some more ideas E-mail me at : buickjoet@aol.com

[ronbarn]

Am I correct that The Old Guy is just baiting Father Ron. This is a very interesting subject and I think a lot of us would like to know the details of some of these games. Please don't go off line with email unless it's personal or embarrassing. Father Ron has spoken again!

[novaman]

Please, Please, don't leave us for email! I'm interested in these kind of activites. I'm looking for ideas for our local club to have fun in doing. Anything to get more of them to drive the old cars instead of the modern iron.

[Guest BruceW]

Here are a few games that we play at the Model A Ford Runion we go to each year in Wisconsin:<P>Center Bumper -<BR>Needs:<BR>Dowl (about 2 foot long) mounted vertical in block of wood)<BR>tape measure<P>Place the dowl about 20 feet in front of the car. Each car pulls pulls up and attempts to stop as close to the dowl as possible without touching it. Closests to the dowl wins.<BR>--------------------------<P>Bulls Eye -<BR>Needs:<BR>Target consisting of a large round circle with the center marked <BR>plumb baum (sp?) attached to string<BR>tape measure<P>Place target about 20 feet in front of the car. Tie string (with plumb baum attached) to the rear bumper so that it hangs straight down. The car then drives over the target and attempts to stop with the plumb baum as close to the center of the target as possible. Closest to the center wins.<BR>----------------------------<P>Blind Drive -<BR>Needs:<BR>two pieces of rope (about 8-10 feet long each)<BR>Large towel<BR>tape measure<P>Place two ropes across the ground about 50 or so feet apart. Driver pulls up to the first rope and makes sure the car wheels are straight. Place towel over the driver's head. The driver drives forward, attempting to stop as close to the second rope as possible. A person is usually standing along side to warn if ther driver starts to severely go off course. After the car is stopped, the distance from the center of the front hubcap to the second rope is measured. Closest to the secnd rope wins.<P>(At last year's Model A reunion, my wife Di (who is 4' 11" tall) drove our 1931 Ford Deluxe Tudor to first place wins in both the Center Bumper and Bulls Eye in the woman's class with distances that beat most of the men)

[Guest BruceW]

Another game I remember:<P>Egg Run -<BR>Needs:<BR>several 2x4 boards<BR>teaspoon<BR>eggs<BR>stopwatch<P>Have a start and finish line. Between these place 2x4s in various locations (so that both wheels cross at a time, one wheel at a time etc) Passenger places egg on spoon and holds out window. Driver attempts to slowly drive car from start to finish... crossing the 2x4s without the passenger losing the egg. Car to cross finish line without losing the egg wins. If more than one car successfully makes the course, the team with the least elapsed time wins.<BR>(eggs can be hardboiled to avoid potential messes!).

[John N. Packard]

Bruce,<BR> Thanks for posting these game instructions. We plan on having such an event up in the Muddy Run area this coming summer. I did the blindfold driving game at a Packard Club meet a number of years ago with my neighbor's grandson as navigator. We ended up in the adjacent woods!<P>jnp

[The Old Guy]

I'm sorry!!I didn't realize what sheltered lives you DFers have led. In Michigan we play games with our cars at least once a yr. I see some of the games we use are already posted , but another one that is fun is the potato game: You can run 2 or 3 cars at a time,or singly against a clock. You lay out as many courses as you have room for ,preferably not in a straight line.Then you place 3 or 4 potatoes along each course and give the passenger in each car a broom handle with a nail on the end. The object of the game is to stab each spud with the nail ,drop it in a bucket placed by each spud and race to the finish. <BR>Another game that is fun is the balloon game : Using the same course as the spud game ,place 3 or 4 balloons on the ground and make the drivers run over and break the balloons with their right front tire.This is a riot as the balloons are tough to get!!! <P>We also have boards made with valves, valve springs, and pistons hung on the board. the board is put behind a rope and the driver must drive slowly by as the passenger throws fan belts at the boards attempting to hook them on the different objects which have different values. We use 3 boards so the cours can be long enough to make it interesting. There are lots more games ,but I type VERY SLOWLY and so I Quit. <P> Joe T<P>

[The Old Guy]

Ring around the pole<BR> Equipment : 30 ft of 3/8 rope <BR> a small 3 or 4 lb. weight<BR> a 3-4 ft. pole with a bottom large enough to stand alone,but small enough that a slight tug will tip it over. <P>tie the rope to the stand tip and the other end to the left door handle with the weight tied in the center of the rope. The idea is to drive a complete circle around the stand from a marked spot and back ,without tipping the pole over or letting the weight touch the ground.<BR> Lowest time wins<P><BR>Shuffle Board<P> equipment : 3lines (rope on grond,tape<BR> or chalk)<BR> <BR>You may have one practice run <P>Drive to starting line, and wait for official to get in car <P>on signal from official drive forward. at or before reaching second line,shift into neutral touching nothing but the steering wheel ,allow the car to coast to a stop at the third line.<P>officials will measure the distance from a point directly below the front bumper to the finish line. The contestant who who finishes closest to the finish line without crossing it is the winner<P>Failure to shift into neutral before the second line or touching the brake disqualifies the contestant. <P>The distance the lines are spaced apart depends on the size of the field. Experiment until you get something that works for you

[Chris Bamford]

Thanks guys for all your suggestions ? we're going to have great event come spring!

[Guest rcirilli]

I game I found very challenging that anyone can play is to find a wall or tree or anything that you can attach ballons to. Then make two lines about ten feet apart going away from the wall.<P>The object is to back your car between the two lines and see who can back the closet to the wall using only their mirrors. The ballons just add some excitement and usually stop people from hitting the wall. We once made a wall from pieces of wood, another time back to a building. If you can set something up in a field it becomes more challenging.<BR>

[ronbarn]

Chris - thanx for starting this and Old Guy, thanx for input. Some of us live in areas where this type of old tin event has not been a tradition. Looking forward to using some of these games and Chris, please come back on to tell us how your members enjoyed them.

[novaman]

ya'll don't have to stop now with ideas. I'd like to hear some more.

[Guest BruceW]

Ignition Key Mixup<BR>Needs:<BR>basket or some type of container<BR>Cars parked in a large circle with drivers in driver seats<P>Place container in center of circle. Take all ignition keys and place into container. Additional spare keys are added to container to increase difficulty.<P>When the GO signal is given, drivers must get out of car... go to carton and find their keys... return to the car...start car and move it forward five feet.<P>Another variation is to pass out one key to each participant. At Go... the participants must find the car that the key fits and start it.<P>

[Terry Bond]

I've always enjoyed the "jousting" tournament. Make up three or four lengths (about 6') of PVC pipe with a right angle elbow fiting on top and another foot of PVC sticking out (to make an upside down L shape) Stick it in the ground and scotch tape a plastic ring (from a kids ring-toss game) on the end of the top of the L. You want to make it so the ring comes off when someone with a car drives by and "spears" the ring. Use fishing rods, sticks, pool cue, or whatever for spears. If the rings are dangling loosley they'll swing in the breeze making it a real challenge. The passenger does the "jousting." No stopping the vehicle. Winner of course gets the most rings. You can substitute bagles or krispy kreem donuts. <P>I also like the Spud Toss - set up a course and mark a couple of chalk lines that can't be crossed - the car drives down thru the course and the passenger tosses some spuds at some strategically placed buckets. No stopping the vehicle. Most spuds in the buckets wins. These two games require some extra help to keep picking up the spuds and rehanging the rings but they are a lot of fun.