Car show tips

[redcamaro9090]

I entered my car into a car show for the first time and wanted some tips from people who have done this before. Like how to have to hood opened or closed things of that nature. I didn't know if this belonged here or somewhere else, but appearance and shows seemed to fit. Thanks

[Mbump00]

Hey whats up. The only thing I can say is make sure every last little thing is clean. Inside the doors where the latches are and engine bay are a big thing people/judges notice quickly. KEEP IT REALLY CLEAN. As far as how to show it......the hood doesnt always need to be wide open. Sometimes it looks better if the hood is partially open with something holding the hood up......like an old spring from a junk yard that is cleaned up or even a bottle of detailer does the trick. DONT DONT DONT DONT do anything gawdy like put stuffed animals in you car or on your car, it never goes well with judges. As far as the trunk......if you have a system show it off or if its really really clean show it off. The doors are a matter of your own choice, open or shut its up to you. Another thing that might set your car off from the others is something unique like tiny mirrors pointing at your rims or for the undercarriage neons if you have them. Use your imagination and creativity when showing your car......judges like that. JUST DONT BE GAWDY!!!!!

[Nine Four 94]

Sweet dude, Good luck at the show. Please bring back pictures.

[Loochy88]

some tips? hmm... well it depends how hardcore you want to be, but you need to clean every bit of the car like youve never cleaned before. Make sure you spend just as much time cleaning the engine bay as you do the outside of it. Get some degreaser and scrub around in the engine bay (i use a mix of fantastic and water), i even wax all the paint under the hood. try to get the inside of your wheels as well as the outside. get some tire foam for the tires and the treads (not recommended for everyone, its a deathwish on the road. ) Use that tirefoam spray on the wheel wells also, just spray it on and let it dry (no need to wipe it off. (i learned that this weekend...) Use a small broom/bristle brush to sweep the inside, then vaccum it out and clean the carpet up. shine up the plastic in the interior and use some newspaper on the windows to get all the smudges off. if you have the time you could even try to clean the undercarrige. the judges dont always check it out, but if its close it will help. have the hatch and hood open, they will take off points for anything they cant get to. modifications help in modified class, but dont always hurt in stock class, if youre almost stock - enter stock. The heavily modified guys will kill you if you enter modified. Try to do some smaller shows first and pay attention to the other cars in the classes when you enter your class. Enter and clean your car accordingly. Keep cleaning until the judges are actually judging your car and be there to answer any questions. A board/sign with some interesting facts about your car never hurts. Oh yeah, and most importantly... have fun!





if you have the resources:



Edit: i took home a first place at that show by the way :D

[ September 01, 2003: Message edited by: Loochy88 ]</p>

[Jack]

If I can add...clean is the key. I have spoken with several judges, it is the thing they look for the most. The inside of the wheels, get rid of the brake dust, the wheelwells must be clean.

I am a fanatic about engine compartments. Don't be afraid to take the car to the car wash and use the high pressure to get the bulk of the grease off. From there, Q-Tips and a good cleaner for every place that can be seen from any angle. Wipe the hoses with Back to Black from Mothers, it is amazing stuff. Let there be no visible dirt. This is very hard if you drive the car daily, but once it is clean, it is easier to keep clean.

Undercarriage...the first time you see a judge with a mirror on a stick, you will cringe if you do not have a clean undercarriage. I have been there. Don't be afraid to talk to the judges and if you drive your car daily, write that on the placard they give you at registration. I always put my mileage on there plus the fact that the paint is original. it does help, it shows the judges they are looking at a car that is well taken care of, and driven.

Remember, it is for fun, if you win a trophy, that is great, if not, make sure you had a good time at the show.

[ September 01, 2003: Message edited by: Jack ]</p>

[Silv6]

whats good for cleaning the engine with?

also take a black or red marker and color the "3800" on top of the engine

[Loochy88]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Silv6:
whats good for cleaning the engine with?

also take a black or red marker and color the "3800" on top of the engine<hr></blockquote>

i use Gunk engine degreaser

[Jack]

Don't use anything caustic on the aluminum portions of the engine. (intake) It will corrode after a while and look bad. I use just high pressure and rags. The high pressure will get the thick portions off and the rag will do the rest. It does work, but avoid hitting the ECM with the high pressure, I haven't had a problem, but it is possible to force water where it does not belong. You may have already seen this pic, but here it is again, 103k miles.

[Jack]

Congrats on the trophy Larry, well deserved. We'll make a car show addict out of you yet. :D

[Loochy88]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Jack:
Congrats on the trophy Larry, well deserved. We'll make a car show addict out of you yet. :D <hr></blockquote>

thanks jack, and thanks for the caustic cleaner tip. Makes sense, i know how bad those cleaners can be for aluminum wheels, never thought about it on the intake though... I have a little discoloration on my intake, im considering polishing that too, ive allready polished my alternator.

another pic... not quite as many miles as jack
88 thousand miles:

[Ted]

In addition to all the great tips already said. I found that by debadging everything on the radiator shroud gives the engine bay a really cleaned up appearance. When I take my car to shows it really does make a difference. It took me a while to get all the glue off, i used a product called Swish 2, it's some kind of electro plastic cleaner. I also recently painted it a black too. You might also want to run some black paint over your fuse box to give it a cleaner look. It also wouldn't hurt to polish your a/c refridgerant container up either.