Concours

["tmasterlc" <tmasterlc@xxxx>]

(Moderator, I sent this Monday and it must have went BTTF, because it 
was never posted. Maybe you can get this one in.)

Well, here goes my 2 cents worth on the Concours subject. 

If your out there wondering if you should go for it after all you 
have read lately...YES do it, its a blast!

Prior to doing the Houston Concours in 2001 we did 24 local shows 
just to prep and learn more about what is needed to have a winning 
show car. We went to Cleveland and watched the judges, asked 
questions, and spoke with the competitors. What did we learn...

Clean, repair, clean, replace, clean, refinish, and clean some more. 
Even clean the areas you can't see. Work the areas you think nobody 
will ever look at. In doing this you will get to know your ride 
better than you ever imagined. You'll find things you need to fix or 
repair that you might not have notice till later on. But the main 
thing is Do It For the Fun. Don't do it for the big prize money 
(not!), or the national recognition (not!), or even the trophy. Do 
it for fun and if you come away winning...great.

For us, the biggest return on participating in this event was the 
people we met and the new friendships we started. This far outweighs 
the other rewards. We were impressed that each and every judge took 
the time to tell us what areas of our D might be improved on but also 
gave out compliments on what they were impressed with. Even got some 
pointers from a prior Concours (Cleveland) winner. Good people, good 
time. This is the least expensive way I know of to get your car gone 
over for three hours by people that enjoy the D and have a large 
collective base of knowledge about the D.

Do it and have fun. If you don't win, learn and come back stronger 
next time.

Ron & Cheryl Wester

#6322 2001 Houston Concours Winner
#1529 "We're hooked on the D and got another one :~} Hopefully we'll 
have this one ready for the modified/custom class in Memphis.