I hate to charm in here but as a member and a car enthusiast I just have to put my two cents in.
I am one of those that own a trailer queen (original owner of a 67 Impala Z-24)
I hear "I have to drive mine" all the time when I'm at a car show.
My response is this:
I drove the heck out of this car when it was new, it was the only car I had( I was 19). It was a work car, a cruise car, race car,and a car I went on dates with. Once again "it was my only car"and I drove it in all kids of weather.
There came a time in my life that I wanted to save a piece of history, I wanted to provided a car for people to see and enjoy, to let them tell their stories and allow them to reflect back in the day so I made up my mind I was going to do my very best with the help of others to give people something to look at and enjoy.
I tried to do my best to make my car and keep it as a bench mark when it came to 67 Impala,ss,427. At MCACN last fall the car scored a 996 out of 1000 but it only did that with the help of a lot of people sharing their knowledge. My car was restored in a two car garage with the help of my best friend.
A few years back I received the best award I could have ever received while at MCACN showing in the original owners class. After being judged the two judges came over to me and said "we want you to know this is the best home restoration we have even seen".It don't get any better than that!
I didn't drop off my car at a shop to have it restored, I did it my self with the help of friends. The only thing I didn't do was the paint.
As for judging,I have put on a car show here in Ohio for the past 14 years. It is open to all years and makes and all proceeds go to Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Over the years I have found out you cant make every one happy when it comes to judging trust me.
I have been involved in some of the toughest judging over the years with my cars. Goodguys,(won muscle car of the year finalist 4 separate times)Super Chevy,(in the gold class) MCAN,4 gold) and two different NIA National shows.
I have to say each and every time the judges did their best to be fair and even allowed me (at times when asked) to justify why a item in question was the way it was.
The Dayton Nationals will be coming up very soon, lets give the guys putting on the show a chance and see if we can make it the best ever!
59fins, I respect your opinion and you have brought up some valid points but lets not through water on a show that hasnt taken place yet.
Have a great week,Ron.H