Shop Rat

So very sorry. Along with the racing it is a hobby that we both love. He hunts, I don't. I horseback ride, he doesn't. But if I need help with my horses he will jump right in and help me.

Have you checked to see if the company you got it from will mail/e-mail you a new one? Or checked their webpage to see if the instructions are there? Good luck.

Doesn't she like the old cars at all?

Thanks Steve, My mom is having some very severe problems with the cornea on her left eye in additon to rising pressures in that eye due to glaucoma. I have been going to doctor appts. with her and my dad to make sure they catch everything. All the photos we currently have of the "Sprint" will have to be scanned in as they are not digial. To get new ones I would have to go to the garage and the basement and take photos of all the "pieces" then we could have a contest to put the photos together to see the whole car.

Jay, Was your Amphicar at Hershey several years ago back when the showfield was near the old stadium? If so then I was on the judging team that had one of those in it one year. After seeing those in the movies and on TV it was fun to see on "in person".

Very nice. When I get time I am going to look at the whole gallery you have set up of photos. Thanks for sharing.

If the accessory was supplied or authorized by the factory there is no deduction even if it was put on at the dealership. But there is for "dealer options" that were not supplied by or authorized by the factory. Some dealers would put anything on a car that the owner wanted even if it was what we now call "after market" items. Protective seat covers is one thing I can think of that they did not usually put on in the factory, but they were supplied/authorized by the factory for the dealers to install. But if a dealer went out to a store and just bought them and put them on then there would be a deduction for those.

Kind of like pinstriping. Many times there was one person on one side and another person on the other, so it was not an exact match right from the factory. One strange thing I saw at Hershey, and they had factory documentation for it, was the MESSY tar that had been put in and around holes where the wiring went through the firewall of a car. (Sorry, can't remember which brand.) But it looked horrible when you saw the rest of the car. But it was applied with an old stouby brush that stayed in the can of tar, was taken out and just shoved at the holed in the metal and well coated. Looked horrible but it was correct.

Slight correction to your post. I am a she, not a he.

A little bird told me he is thinking of asking Santa for a coin operated "Go-Jo" dispenser for the garage.

Howard~I was just using that as an example of things that car dealers did/do without permission from the factory.

That is sad. So many of them are cute, works of art or unique. I really got into cars after I married Bill. He is 60 and worked on cars with his dad from the time he was nine. I help him when he needs it. Hence the nickname "Shop Rat" (it comes from a t-shirt that I got at Hershey years ago.) I don't know how to work on them myself but I can help if he needs it. And I have always been at the track when he races. I have not missed a race in nine season. We heard for a long time, "Boy, I wish my wife would come to the track." Guess they went home and said that "Bill's wife comes to the track" and now there are more wives showing up. I am still the only one helping with the car, but at least now they are there.

Dealers put all kinds of stuff on cars that did not come from the factory. Case in point: We had a 2001 Chevy Tracker. We bought it with extra tint on the windows. The dealer had taken it to Ziebart and had it applied. It was listed on the window sticker. If the rule of "from the factory" or "provided by the dealer and authorized by the factory" was used, it would be points off when it would be shown years down the road if left on. But it came from the dealer with the extra tint and was listed as a dealer option. But you can bet it was not factory authorized.

I sent a copy of this to my step-son who goes back and forth from Idaho to the Maine/Mass. areas frequently. He went back on the road today, but checks his e-mail. He mostly hauls trailers of all kinds from one place to another with his Dodge truck, but he might be interested in this to help pay the bills. As soon as I hear back from him I will let you know.

I think that this is one of those cases where if it was done as a factory authorized option, then you are not required to have it there if you don't want it. If it came from the factory that way and the documentation says it should be there, well then it should to be "right". And as to exactly matching the undercoat, it is like tires. If you can not get the exact match then you go with the closest thing that looks right. We have a 1963 1/2 Ford Falcon "Sprint" convertible. The original size of tires on it t are no longer available as far as we can find. If we can not find a source for the correct ones we can get the next closest thing and not lose points as long as we can document that they can not be found. I can certainly understand why people would not want to gob up parts with that goo if the car was not going to need that kind of protection from salt.

I forwarded this to Dave Berg and here is his answer. "Undercoating is permitted if it was done by the factory or done by the dealer but authorized by the factory as an available option. Documentation would be the key. Assuming that it was not then it would deducted for. How much of a deduction will depend largely on how much undercoating has been done. There is not set amount for the deduction. I have seen such deductions range from a couple of points to ten points in the past. A lot will depend on how strongly the chassis judge and team captain feel about it. best regards, dave" So there you have his opinion on this.

It continues to shock me what downright bad examples some "adults" set for their kids. I have two adult step-kids, each with a son and daughter now. They and their kids respect other peoples property. The grandkids range in age from almost 19 to 1 1/2. We have always been able to take them anywhere. And it never ceases to amaze me that the minute you ask or put up a sign asking someone not to do something, they are going to do it or die trying. Just to show you that they can. I collect aluminum cans in different places to pay for the spaying/neutering of animals people take in. I have signs asking that they not put trash or garbage in with the cans. There is always a trash can beside the bin I collect the cans in. There is always trash and worse, garbage, in with the cans. I know it is done on purpose to be mean.

BCA has different rules than the AACA. For AACA you must have proof that undercoating was either done at the factory or was factory authorized for the dealers to do and where it was to be done on the car. That is where some get into trouble when they show under two different sets of rules.

If you do I expect a photo. I am the one that likes Metros so much.

Aw, poor guy. Guess she must be the "Griswald" at your house. WATCH OUT FOR THAT SQUIRREL!!!!!!

The items allowed are things that were not available at the time. ie. seatbelts and turn signal lights. Wipers were available and as such have to be kept orginal or you lose points. The wiper issue would be no different than the arguement over radials vs. bias ply. Only the owner can decide if they can take the "hit" to have non-authentic items on a show car.

And a good coat of Rain-X never hurt.

I hope that production company treated the cars better than they did a friend of ours. He let them use his car and they did some damage to it in the movie "Matewan" that was filmed here in W. Va. about the mine wars in that area of W. Va. Our friend wanted to be the one to drive the car up this mud road but they said the actor had to do it because of the shot. Don't remember if they paid for the damage, but he was not pleased, And he said had he driven the car it would not have been damaged as he knew how to drive a car like that on a road like that and not damage it.

If you intend to show the truck do not convert, you'll lose points. If it is a driver it does not matter.

Before we started restoring our car we only left the windows down just enough to let the heat out. Doors locked at all times. Hood and trunk were open. Leaving windows down invites people to lean in and look, and then you get belt buckle scrapes or gouges. Our feeling is we don't owe spectators a thing more than to stand back and look. I had to take one AACA judge aside (I was the captain) and give her a quick lesson in not touching cars. Her vision was not good and she thought it was okay to use a finger nail to see if something was dirt or a paint nick. NOT!!!!!!!