Allen hefner wrote:
> Y'know, we haven't heard from any trailer queen owners. Everybody on
these
> lists does most of their own repair, and drives their LBC for fun.
>
> Anybody out there have a different view of why an immaculate, never driven
> car should win a concours over a driver?
Well, FWIW you still haven't as far as I'm concerned. I have always strived
to build the absolutely best quality, and most accurate to original spec.
car as I can possibly achieve. I have done all the work I possibly could
myself, bowing to the craftsmen for things like fine metalwork, paint, and
some of the interior trim. The cars were built by skilled British craftsmen.
How could I, an amateur, hope to achieve these levels myself.
Then, while the car is still relatively fresh, say within the first year of
completion, I DRIVE the car to the event, even if the event is 1600 miles
each way (Mount Hope, Ontario Canada to Breckenridge, Colorado in August
1993 in my '56 BN2 and before that Mount Hope, Ontario to "where was that
place" in Oklahoma in 1988 with my '54 BN1, and before that, Mount Hope,
Ontario to Oconomowac, Wisconsin in 1983 in my '62 BT7 Mk2, and for that
matter, Mount Hope, Ontario to Fredricksburg, Pa. in my '69 MGB/GT in 1981.
In all these cases, I supported the concours events by actively judging
other folk's cars, and stepped out of the field while my own was being
judged. I must also say that in all cases the cars scored very well, and at
no time in tese judgings were there any points lost because the car had been
driven. "A reasonable amount of road film will have no deduction" is the
term used in the scoring standards. If a car is judged and is found to have
for instance an old and profuse oil leak which has obviously been messing
things up for some time, a reasonable deduction does (and should) take
place.
A so called "trailer queen" doen't have the advantage the uninformed think
it has. Judges, and indeed the scoring standards are looking for
originality, and condition. Even fresh stone chips, and upon occasion, a
broken windscreen suffered on route to get to the event are overlooked, and
are given no deduction. It is assumed (with benefit of the doubt) that the
car was in good condition when it left home, and that the car suffered said
blemishes while being driven to the judging event.
The last point I would like to make here is the fact that the driveability
of an original spec car is often frowned at. Tires, ignition, fuses in the
electrical system, poorly engineered original hose clamps; the list goes on.
Because I always drive my cars, I try to live with a happy medium. I have
used the correct spec sizes of tires, eg. 165x15 Pirelli P3's when they were
available, and double wire hose clamps instead of the flat windup band type
on the Hundreds. The ignition has been original spec, the newly installed
accurate to original wire harness with the original 2 fuse system, the
original, though freshly rebuilt gearboxes and overdrives, etc. have NEVER
given the slightest hint of problems.
I've gladly bowed to the few concessions I have purposely changed and
"improved", and received only minimal point losses, still achieving well
into gold levels in each instance.
Build 'em good, then drive 'em! Experience what a new Healey was like in
your little "Time Machine"
Rich Chrysler
|