First of all let me say that "Our" car show in Cecil really is just for fun. I want EVERY car that is not racing to enter (it’s free to enter) and any racers who also want to enter are welcome as well. So don’t think that you have to prepare your car like this article suggests - it was written for the "serious" car show contestants.
Time and time again I see people show up at car shows without even spraying down their cars. And they wonder why they don’t take home trophies. I have four 3ft. Trophies from last year and tons of smaller ones. The biggest outdoor show I entered last year was World Ford Challenge in Juliet, IL. I brought home 2nd prize. I was very proud of that considering I was up against over 70 cars in my class and I drove there from TorontoJThe biggest indoor show I entered was winter 98/99 in Toronto where over 600 cars entered. I won 1st place in my class. This first picture was taken at that show.
Preparing for shows is something that will vary depending on the type of show. I prefer to enter shows that have actual Judges (like Cecil will:) instead of being judged by the other participants, because at those, friends vote for friends. Judges usually give points in these 5 categories: Paint-Engine-Interior-Undercarriage-Extras. In Cecil it will be the same with the exception of undercarriage.
I usually score well in all areas because I keep around 30 coats of Zaino on my car. My engine is immaculate with lots of extra polished items, such as, the valve covers and intake. My interior is upgraded withCobra Daytona Leather seats, door sills and pedals and I have lots of extras on my car like X-drilled rotors, polished fuel cell, sun roof, polished "Cobra R" wheels, hood locks, Raised Polished letters on bumper (my own design), and lots of others in the performance area. However, if you are a new car owner you obviously need to concentrate on the cleanliness of the car (since you probably don’t have the add-ons yet). I have seenstock cars win in their class because of how clean they were.
Washing the car and applying polish or wax is NOT enough. You need to take extra steps for sure.
OK, I’m going to assume you know how to wash and dry a car and also apply polish. If you need help in this area visit my web page were I have notes on exactly that topic. I only promote Zaino because I truly believe it is the best stuff in the world (along with Snapple). I also like Zaino’s tire liquid (Z16), it just stays nicer, longer (you know what I mean). A big tip here is to buy yourself a 3" wide paint brush and use it only to apply this to your tires. Spray it on the brush and then apply it. Using a brush you can get it deep into the spot where the tire meets the rim, plus it’s much easier to use than anything else.
The vacuuming is critical. Spend lots of time making sure not even the tiniest piece of lint can be found. If the vacuum doesn’t pick up all the lint then wrap masking tape around your hand backwards and pat it in the area so that it gets picked up (this works VERY well).
Once I clean the interior with a spray formula of soap and water (1 oz. Soap in a full bottle mixed with water), I do use Armor-All on my interior (this is just for looks at car shows …… otherwise I hate the stuff), but I always spray it onto a cloth and then rub it in. I never apply it directly to the dash. Make sure that around the shifter is clean andcrud-free. I apply leather protection to the seats and then wipe them down afterwards so that they don’t look greasy. Use aQ-Tip in areas that you can see dust, like around the stereo and instrument cluster.
OK now for the outside details. First the rims. If you have narrow spoked rims that easily shows off the inside of the rims I would suggest in a high competition show to clean the inside of the rims by pulling them off. And while the rims are off, clean up those break components with brake cleaner. I’ve even painted my calipers and hubs to give the whole setup a cleaner look. If you want your wheel wells to look clean, here’s a neat trick, get a can of that Armor All foam spray stuff and coat the inside. Everything turns black and looks great (it lasts all day). Also make sure that the lug nut holes have been wiped out. There is nothing worse than beautiful rims with gunk in all those deep-hiding places. This next picture shows the R rim (polished) with the painted caliper (I’ve done the hubs too but the picture isn’t that clear so I’ve used this one before the hubs were done). You can get the tech notes on this mod from my web page.
Now for more detailed work. You know where all the body parts meet up with the bumpers? Well you know that groove that runs along there? Wipe it out with a small cloth or a Q-Tip so it’s clean.
(This area is always dirty on most cars). Pull your license plates off and clean behind them too.
Take everything out of your trunk, except the spare tire, of course. Actually, in most car shows you will LOSE points if you don’t have a spare tire. Keep the cleaning stuff beside your lawn chairs outside the car.
Next is the engine bay. What can I say? This obviously has to be spotless. If your compartment is just a little dusty than you don’t have to use water (so DON’T), just go to the next step. When you are washing your bay with water do this by covering coil packs and distributors and other electronic parts with plastic sandwich bags. Then spray with Simple Green (that’s what I use) and rinse it off. Don’t use those high-pressure systems in the engine bay, the pressure is not needed. Dry the bay with an old towel, then after it’s dry what I use is Zaino #6 spray or sometimes I pick up that spray and wipe stuff "Nu-finish" (or something similar), (which is normally used on paint). I spray it on a clean cloth and then wipe everywhere. Get down the sides of the valve covers and firewall. Wipe all the wires individually including the wire clip holders. Get every spot as clean as possible and then use your paint brush again to apply the wheel stuff to the plastic parts such as the radiator cover/air filter box, etc. After you brush them, wipe them off so they are notwet-looking. You can spend 10 minutes under the hood or 2 hours, it’s up to you. If you have removed your insulator under the hood make sure this is wiped down good because it really attracts dust!
If you have a special car like an SVT Cobra or something that came with authenticity, a good place to display proof is against the firewall.
Make sure your windows are cleaned inside and out. I usually leave the windows down so that people can see inside. Also I usually open the drivers side door halfway so as to show off my Cobra pedals, door-sills, seats and mats.
If you have done work to the undercarriage and want to show it off, I’d suggest picking up some cheap mirrors to use to see under the car. Just make sure that if you use mirrors, the areas you are displaying are clean. This may sound obvious but I’ve seen mud on more than one occasion. My polished fuel cell and Borla exhaust was made much more obvious in shows this way
Now the last thing I’ll talk about is a Sign. If you have tons of mods that cannot be seen, such as exhaust mods/gear upgrades/differentials and axles/computer chips/internal engine work/pulleys, etc., you can show them off with a sign. Even astock car looks better with a simple sign that lets the viewer know the year, make and model. It can be small enough to go under the hood or a large one that stands on it’s own. I have both a large and a small one that I display depending on the show. This next picture shows both, along with the trophy I won at WFC (World Ford challenge 1999)
By the way, Judges like it when you have doneSpecial stuff to your car such as home made ram air, home made high speed fan switch or exterior stuff like the Raised Polished Cobra Bumper inserts on the back of my car or the hood locks. The Judges may miss this so if you’ve done anything like this, point it out to them! That "Trick" shift light on Mark Clancy’s car would sure win points ….. but it would need pointing out! Marks car is in Featured Car archives I believe!
This picture was taken at Cecil last year (Location of the 4.6 Modular Shootout and Car Show July 1st 2000), this picture shows the hood locks, letters, sunroof and cell!
Purchase yourself a "California Duster" so that you can easily and frequently remove the dust during the day. BUT use it about 20 times before your first car show because there is wax in the bristles and it will leave residue the first few times.
Well that’s about it, always have a lot of fun and if you don’t win, who cares? Just try to meet a lot of people and have fun. My girlfriend and I met over a year ago at that big Indoor show I talked about, so needless to say I’m glad I participated.
If you have any other specific questions feel free to e-mail me at: Scott.winger@sympatico.ca or visit my web-site at Http://scott_winger.tripod.com