2013 BCA National Meet, South Bend, Indiana

[bhclark]

I will be in South Bend early in the morning. I will be wearing a double faced string sign around my necK, NO IT WON'T SAY KICK ME, but will say, BCA - AACA.

SMITHBROTHER

Please say hello, would love to meet you.

I will be driving my modified Limited, but not showing, it's a driver, gets very dirty, so will park it in the public lot. It's been on the road nearly 17 years.

Dale in Indy

Don't worry Dale. My '59 Invicta will be in the public lot as well, but only because there is a 300 foot fence between the main show field and the driven class cars.

[Pete Phillips]

More photos

[Pomeroy41144]

Two of the most interesting cars at the meet were this original unrestored 1937 Buick "Slantback" Sedan and this rare unrestored 1942 Buick Series 90 Limited.

Edited July 21, 2013 by Pomeroy41144 (see edit history)

[Pomeroy41144]

This 1957 Super Four Door Hardtop was super scrumptious.

[Dave Gelinas (XP-300)]

Thank you for the photos.

[Pomeroy41144]

More great looking Buicks at the meet.

[Pomeroy41144]

More beautiful Buicks at the Buick Club of America National Meet at South Bend, Indiana, July 20, 2013.

[Den41Buick]

Thanks again for the pictures! Are there any estimates of how many Buicks were at the meet?

[smithbrother]

Were the awards for show cars presented YESTERDAY Saturday, or if TODAY Sunday, what time.

Just wondered,

Dale in Indy

[Dave Gelinas (XP-300)]

This 55 Century is stunning.

[A. Ballard 35R]

it certainly is stunning. Do you think it is even more stunning now than the day it rolled off the assembly line?

[smithbrother]

Is this 55 out of Fairbury, IL?

Dale in Indy

[1mortician]

I for one had a wonderful time driving up and meeting so many wonderful people. Looking forward to future meets. So many fantastic cars.

[Pomeroy41144]

Yes, the 55 Century I photographed was stunning. Here is another. Lots of good lookin Buicks. I wish I would have shot more photos.

[38Buick 80C]

Was Bob Coker there with a 55 Buick convert. 2tone turquise and white? And did it receive a award?

Thanks

Al Storrs

No Bob didn't make it this year.

[38Buick 80C]

Thanks again for the pictures! Are there any estimates of how many Buicks were at the meet?

Last I heard (on Wednesday or Thursday of the meet) 369 registered cars.

[Glassesguy]

Hi -

On slide # 243 in the back ground the are 2 buicks that are pink in color what models are they and what are there body styles ? Did anybody take any photoes of them? I would like to see some photos of them please.

Thank you

Al Storrs

On post 257 are a pink 56 Century and a pink 56 Roadmaster. Many photos were taken of these 2 cars.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

I will be in South Bend early in the morning. I will be wearing a double faced string sign around my necK, NO IT WON'T SAY KICK ME, but will say, BCA - AACA.

SMITHBROTHER

Please say hello, would love to meet you.

I will be driving my modified Limited, but not showing, it's a driver, gets very dirty, so will park it in the public lot. It's been on the road nearly 17 years.

Dale in Indy

Shame on you ,Dale!! I walked the main lots Sat two or three times, looking for you. NEVER thought to check the public lot. And I really wanted to see it and pick your brain. Bummer!

Ben

[smithbrother]

Ben, sorry I missed you, I walked the show lots from 9:30 til around 12:00 Several people spotted my car, three left notes, and a couple found me, so had nice time visiting, and even walked over to my car for them to take a look at my build.

I love my modified, only thing I would change is a darker blue, and install coil over springs.

I have the sweep spears built, and will be installing this week, they will give it a great look, IMO.

Again, sorry I missed you, would have loved to visit.

Dale in Indy

Edited July 22, 2013 by smithbrother (see edit history)

[John]

Check it out. The president of the club said we don't need the vendors so he cut them off in early June. and used the spots for show cars. he said only about 1% go for parts. I think hes wrong on all counts John Hanson

I registered and requested vendor spaces in June, and received an email 6/30 informing me no space available--was not advised there was a waiting list. Decided to attend anyway, and upon arrival Wednesday afternoon I found another vendor, who had also been denied, just showed up with his parts and got space. Also was told others who had not pre-registered just showed up and got space, but have no way of knowing if this is true. The flea market was the smallest I recall from national meets I have attended, so appears to be planning issue, or conscious decision to limit vendor space. Some vendors I talked to complained they were denied timely access for setup, and no one was available to see they got on correct spots as they arrived.

My $.02: have people who know and care about flea market, plan and run it, or don't bother having one.

John

[smithbrother]

The flee market was very small, I agree. Saturday morning, very few buyers, IMO. I saw two that had tarps over their tables, and no one around.

I can't comment on the why's of not allowing more vendors, but would guess they had sound reasons. I can't imagine them picking on vendors, don't take it personal would be my suggestion.

Dale in Indy

[Dave Gelinas (XP-300)]

it certainly is stunning. Do you think it is even more stunning now than the day it rolled off the assembly line?

Could possible be!

[Dave Gelinas (XP-300)]

Got to love this Super also.

[John]

The flee market was very small, I agree. Saturday morning, very few buyers, IMO. I saw two that had tarps over their tables, and no one around.

I can't comment on the why's of not allowing more vendors, but would guess they had sound reasons. I can't imagine them picking on vendors, don't take it personal would be my suggestion.

Dale in Indy

Normal for some vendors to leave Friday, plus there was a forecast of severe weather Friday evening that scared others away.

Not taking anything personal, nor are any of my comments meant to be personal---just stating it the way I see it.

John

[smithbrother]

I am in no way an expert in running a show, but with that said here is my opinion/thoughts.

This show had basically THREE show lots. Two basically next door to each other, one called DISPLAY LOT was across a narrow service type road, and with a steel fence between it and the other lots. Very few people were in that lot, in fact when I drove in to park and read the sign I felt it was parking for the vendors to park their equipment, so I drove to the next lot marked Public parking. To me that was a tad confusing, but then I'm a simple guy..

I think it would have been nice had there been a few golf type carts roaming the lots offering rides to the other lots, or maybe large signs on the carts, saying BE SURE TO VISIT THE OTHER TWO LOTS. I could be wrong, but I don't recall any signs POINTING to the other lots.

With this said, I do feel the show was GREAT, the people were very nice and helpful, and the food was good. I enjoyed my stay, FOR SURE.

It ain't easy putting on a show that large.

Thank You for all your nice work,

Dale in Indy

[Den41Buick]

Where and when is the 2014 BCA National meet?

[BUICK RACER]

Portland, Oregon, July 23-26, 2014

[Guest my3buicks]

I enjoyed the meet, cars were a little scattered, and I really missed slides of the winning cars during the awards ceremony and heard that comment coming from others at my table and tables around me. All in all a really nice meet.

[Pomeroy41144]

More Buicks at the National Meet at South Bend, Indiana, July 20, 2013. The green 1941 Super belongs to family friend Joe Suarez.

[Pomeroy41144]

On the other side of the fence. A fence separated the main field from the Driven Class and the Display Class. Members complained---all Driven Class Buicks were allowed on the main concourse after inspection. We were happy to bring our 1941 Limited across the fence, making it the only 1941 Limited on the field. I met BCA member "John" and he showed me his very nice 1968 Wildcat. He came over the fence and I gave him a showing of our 1941 Limited. Why this Red Skylark was not over on the concourse is beyond me. Looking at this car in person I felt like I was being pulled into a piece of Buick Sales Literature or a 1960s magazine ad. The car was just stunning. All of these cars, with the exception of the 1941 Limited, were on the other side of the fence when I shot these photos.

Edited July 22, 2013 by Pomeroy41144 (see edit history)

[MrEarl]

Sorry, but I gotta say something about this. This is no way to treat a 54 Buick and the proud owner who drove it 400 mile one way and paid his $25 Display fee to show it. Parked obviously in a parking lot along with what appears to be spectator parking. Wrong, just plain wrong. Somebody's got some 'splainin to do if you ask me. It was KNOWN how many Display spots were needed, the least that could have been done was to block off that many.

Here is what he had to say over on the '54 Buick Highway about his experience...

I was livid about the display class parking and took these pictures for when I can calm down enough to send an email to the board of directors. I drove the car around 400 miles one way, we paid our $25 display fee and when I showed up Saturday morning there was a sign at the entrance of the parking lot "Display Car Parking" and no one around. Everyone just pulled in and parked wherever there was an open spot as the lot was already two thirds full of modern iron. Later in the afternoon I was told we were now allowed to pull our cars into the lot with the judged cars, but considering I was headed home in an hour couldn't see the sense of moving my car.

I apologize to all for venting and hope you don't mind the two new pictures I've attached as they aren't 54's. After a wonderful experience at Charlotte last year this meet left a bitter taste in my mouth that is hard to remove.

[Redrob]

I talked to Mike Book and a couple of BCA directors about the location of the display and driven class parking lots. I was dismayed too, putting my Centurion in the driven lot made me feel like a second class citizen. Mike told me that when the venue was booked, the iron fence wasn't there! The hotels were booked a long time ago, and it was a goof up, but there isn't really anybody to be mad at. The committee did their jobs, and something weird happened. As soon as driven was judged, I just moved Mr C on to the main show floor.

[MrEarl]

thanks for that explanation Redrob, but again I ask "It was KNOWN how many Display spots were needed, the least that could have been done was to block off that many" Being in another lot separated by a "new" iron fence is one thing but having to park ones classic Buick intermingled with "new iron" not even Buick, is the part I still don't understand.

In case some may not be able to see the pics I posted above, here they are in another format

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[Guest shadetree77]

This was my first BCA meet, so I'm definitely not an expert on the National meets by any measure. That being said, as I walked around Saturday I felt that the whole thing was a little disorganized and chaotic. Swap meet was tiny and thinly spread out. Some vendors were MIA half the day with their stuff covered up with tarps. I heard a rumor that vendors were being turned away at one point and I can't help but wonder why? Cars were separated by big distances and fences. The smaller lots were not being monitored and quickly filled up with spectator vehicles. Buicks kept moving around the different fields which quickly became confusing from a spectator point of view. Also, I was wondering if it is a normal thing for food and drink vendors to be missing from a National Meet? There were NO vendors there selling refreshments. Halfway through the day, the hotel figured out they could make some money and set up a small tent selling a few things at higher prices than you could buy them for INSIDE the hotel. It can't be easy to deal with a large event like this and I understand that. I had a great time anyway and wouldn't have missed it. These are just some first timer impressions of this particular meet.

[Dave Gelinas (XP-300)]

Great photos of awesome Buicks. Thank you for posting.

[Guest my3buicks]

I didn't even realize there was another field, I wondered where several of the cars I wanted to look at disappeared to, that explains it. There would have been more than adequate room for the driven class on the showfield there were many open area's and spaces. I also noticed after Thursday the security during the day allowed just about anyone through to drive around and look at cars. These are all probably bugs that will need to be ironed out and worked on since chapters no longer host the meets. there is not a "presence" keeping an eye on how things are going like there was when a chapters reputation was on the line to put on a great meet. It was still overall a very enjoyable meet.

[1mortician]

I really don't think I understood when I parked my Display car initially in the "driven field," It was a field past the trees that most people didn't realize was there. Had there been no iron fence that would have been an ideal driven/display field. This was my first meet, and when I understood people were moving their cars over, I did as well. I was really bummed about the lack of vendors or swap meet participants, I get that people leave early, but I also get that most people aren't coming for three days. I have no idea how to run a car show, nor the complications involved there-in, so I just had a good time.

[Guest my3buicks]

The vender issue is not Buick National's alone - venders in general are drying up - Why haul their parts to a meet when they can list them on ebay from the comfort of their home, and probably see a larger profit. The rain storm tossed a wrench in the vender displays also - many had a lot of water damage to their boxes, etc when the quick storm hit on Thursday.

[Guest Malcolm_M]

There were definitely some organizational issues. Our tour on Wednesday didn't end up including half of the items it was supposed to, and no one seemed to know what the routine was to be. On the Friday tour, it was obvious that Notre Dame was not expecting us. Parking was a mess the entire time and there were cars everywhere. I had a car that was supposed to be in the display only area and after seeing it full of regular vehicles on Thursday I opted to leave my car in the back of the Inn the entire time up near the vendors. Security wasn't even there regulating entrance on Thursday to the lots behind the hotel. A map would have been helpful of the parking and the hotel. For example papers posted at the Inn's elevators stated judging class was to be held in Fleur de lis B but didn't state that it was in the Hilton or when you got to the Hilton, the rooms were called Pavilion B and not Fleur de lis B. Overall we had a good time but there were just constant organizational issues that annoyed my wife the entire trip.

[Guest my3buicks]

I guess the organizational issues on the tours would explain why the bus left some people behind on the one tour. Who knew there was such a thing as a head count.