HPOF & Driver Participation Class

[Guest prgm_mgr]

Hi

I wonder if someone can clarify what is expected in the HPOF class and the Driver Participation Class. I'm working on a 1958 Impala Convertable that I think is pretty close to origional. Still the underframe and suspension components have no paint left. I've pulled the motor to have it rebuilt and will have to have it repainted. The body paint is intact, the seats may have been redone, two of the rims are in rough shape and two retain the silver paint but have rust on the parts that will be visible. The chrome is in good condition but the black stripes on the side strips and those on the hubcaps are all but gone. Emblems are present but show corrosion and some of the paint is missing.

Based on this description, would my car be eligible for either class? How about if I paint the frame and suspension to inhibit further rust. I've toyed with repainting those items that are rusty and leaving the rest but think this will look worse.

Any thoughts are apperciated

Mark

[R W Burgess]

Mark, I'll leave the HPOF to someone else, but the Drivers Class takes pretty much any condition as long as it's original, in most respects. Of course you wouldn't want to show up on the show field with a junker, which would be embarrassing to everyone concerned. A little wear on the chrome or paint can be expected in the Driver's Class, in my opinion of course. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Wayne

[novaman]

HPOF - Historical Preservation of Orginal Features:

This class is for cars that are still they way they were when they left the factory. This isn't to say that ALL the car is orginal. A car that has been repainted but still has an untouched chassis, engine area and/or interior can still qualify. The car can be certified in one or more areas (engine, chassis, exterior, interior)and it will take somewhere in the neighbor hood of about 75% to do so. The more you restore the greater chance of losing the certification and not being eligible for this class.

DPC Driver Partication Class:

This is the class for cars that are driven and probably won't win a junior award because of it. This class is also a certification class. Here you can get away with radial tires, add-on a/c, etc. The judges looking at these cars for the certification are expecting things like this becuase the owners probably are taking these cars on tours where they would rather have the radial tires, A/C for those hot days, etc. What they don't want to see is a V-8 stuffed into a Model A, lot of non factory chrome, these aftermarket "spinner" hubcaps the young guys have on thier cars now days, the thick rubber band wrapped around a 20" aftermarket rim, custom interiors,etc. The cars should look basicaly like they orginally were intended to.

With your description it is still tough to make a call. With having the motor pulled to rebuild and repaint will knock out the engine catergory. Painting the chassis (even partial) would hurt the chances of the chassis category. If the seat have been redone would hurt the interior category.

Best advice I can give you would be to give the HPOF class a shot, knowing you may or may not get the certification and if you don't get it, go for the DPC after that.

I have two cars in the family the I consider marginal HPOF cars. As long as they keep getting recertified HPOF, that's where they will be shown. If they fail to do so, they will go to DPC.

Last night at my region's meeting they were "laughing" at me because I'll be trailering a HPOF car to Asheville on Friday. What the deal is, is the car has brake problems and I don't want to try driving four hours on the interstate with it. When you hit the brakes it will try ripping the steering wheel out of your hands and turn left. At low speeds (under 30)it isn't bad and I can easily keep it straight. I've tried several times to fix it and have failed each time. Most times it seemed I fixed it but after a few minutes out with it, the problem would come back. I just got some news parts to try it again but haven't had the time to work on it.