I'm helping a guy I know do some small mods to his 280Z because the DMV requires them for safe driving. He also wants to do some shows with the car, and wonders how the judges would react to the extra stuff.

opinions?

thx

Screw em if they can't take a joke! I think they should have nothing but respect for a guy with limitations doing what he wants to do. More power to him!!!!

I think that if the mods are done with good concepts, and most importantly, good effort to produce a QUALITY modification, that THAT would be more important than the mod itself.

If you're going to add a Hand Throttle to the stick shift,then don't just make it a piece of wire coming out of the center heater vent. A hand actuated brake is hopefully not a piece of chewed up 2x4 or an old cane. If those are the mods, then ANY judge would look at them askance, regardless of their justifiability for the driver's needs.

If on the other hand, you add a nice lever to the console and it is both a throttle and brake, and you incorporate it into the design of the car / console so that it "almost" looks OEM, you'd get praise for originality and creativity.

Isn't that why we watch shows such as "Monster Garage", "Overhauling", and others? They push the design envelope, and in doing so, they come up with ideas that others emulate / copy / modify.

Whether the modification is for a physical need, or for the uniqueness or added functionality of the mod, it should still be judged on the same basis. If it looks like crap....then it is crap. If it looks like it came out of the design studios of the dream car designers then it should be dealt with as such.

My 2¢

Enrique

The only thing needed is to put a paddle switch for the turn signals on the right side, near the light/wipers switch. Sounds simple enough...

Thx for the supportive comment, Enrique, at first I thought "if it's not factory (for the stock class), you get points off..." which is the rule, but that means if you are not physically able to drive like most other people, "you can't have a show car and show it." I'll bet there's something in the A.D.A (Americans with Disabilities Act) that should prevent that kind of bias, but I'll have to go read it.

nwcubsman-

Joke? I don't understand. Can you elaborate on that?

thx

As Enrique said, Tom, I doubt the modifications would affect a judging. The other thing that comes to mind is the idea that judging is simply something to do at a car show. Not all shows are judged. Judging, really, adds to a car show but is not necessarily the reason for the show. You would never think of it as "Hey let's spend the day judging! Now go out and get a bunch of cars for us to look at while we are judging". In that, I would encourage everyone to worry less about judging and more about showing off your pride and joy.

Chris

There should be no problems at the Friday night cruise, or the Sunday afternoon gimmick car show but we sometimes go to Z car shows with the local club.

There should be no problems at the Friday night cruise, or the Sunday afternoon gimmick car show but we sometimes go to Z car shows with the local club.

I agree with you there, you shouldn't have any problems with the cruises, or the Sunday show, but at the Z car shows, stick to the categories that you know you could compete in .... competitively.

My 71 car is done well, it looks nice, I've spent a LOT of time and effort into it and there are many items that make it "period-correct". It's even won an award, and had favorable mentions at other shows. Yet, I wouldn't DARE compete in the Concours class.

Why? To a knowledgeable Z car judge, he'd stop judging after just a few items. There are items I've added or swapped that have made the car, like I said, Period Correct, i.e. it looks like it would have looked in the 70's, with all the "cool" mods for the period (and today) and it is DRIVEN as it stands today. The headlights aren't stock (Halo), the HCP is lit from behind (from a 73), there are courtesy lights in the foot well areas (never implemented by Datsun, but had the wiring), the seats recline (72+), Electronic Dizzy (78), Non-Braided hoses in the engine compartment (non-OEM), Doors don't sound tinny when closing (sound-deadened), Dash has an indent to the left of the Hazard Switch (72), and on and on.

What I'm getting at is that the car does NOT belong in a Concours show class. I don't take offense at that, my car is NOT original. Trying to pass it off as such would be ludicrous and insulting. The Concours IS a tough class to compete in, and that's why the judging is so strict. Watering the judging down due to considerations for any special consideration...... and ADA would be amongst them, would essentially eliminate that class from shows. Otherwise what would be the difference between my car and a Concours classic? Or put another way, would you want the Miss America pageant to allow drag-queens to compete?

But, in the Daily Driver catergories, or the Best Interior, Best Paint, Best Theme, etc, it shouldn't be penalized....other than as I mentioned earlier.

If the mod is hokey, then it shouldn't be ignored due to the physical needs of the driver, to do so would be, in my opinion, insulting to the driver. You would basically be asserting that they can't compete on the same level as the rest of the drivers and sloppy work should be condoned. Or should the standard be lowered for that individual ONLY and maintained high for everyone else? In either case you would be contradicting what most people with those needs would have you say.

But if you put a small sign on the right hand Turn Stalk that stated : "DMV required ADA modification", I think you'd get the point across. I don't know if that wording would suffice, so maybe use the wording from the lawbooks that would be used to give you a citation for NOT having that modification. Then it would read: "Right Hand Turn Signal modification IAW DMV Reg. 69 F".

But, in ALL modifications, I believe the standard should be held high. The quality should be admireable and have people / judges NODDING, and not shaking their heads. Otherwise you end up with a bunch of vehicles like those U.K. "chavs", or our famous "Ricers" or whatever those animé inspired vehicles from Japan are called.

FWIW

Enrique

P.S. nwcubsman's reply was also supportive, although his comment may have been lost by his using an older expression "F*** 'em if they can't take a joke!"

...snip...

nwcubsman-

Joke? I don't understand. Can you elaborate on that?

Just a figure if speech. Nothing implied! I'm just not as eloquent:tapemouth as ES. I also don't type as well or fast. If I'd responded after ES, I'd probably said "What he said". Either way doesn't add much substance, does it?

I was just remembering something, Beandip has put a lot of time and effort into his car. It really looks sharp.

However, he had ONE hose that needed to remain disconnected and plugged. He found that a golf tee fit the bill perfectly....except that the color R E A L L Y clashed with the rest of the engine bay and car.

So NWCubsman gave him a BRIGHT YELLOW Tee which more closely matches his car's color.

Now, people look at the golf tee and grin, whereas before they shrugged!

FWIW

E

NWCubsman-

I just don't understand what you mean by "if they can't take a joke"

?

Enrique-

I agree with something like a Concourse car. It's for perfect cars in perfect-perfect condition. With my car, I try for Stock class, or DD class, depending on the mood. Even in DD class, is your car isn't perfectly shined, or perfect paint, chrome, glass, carpets, etc. you get points off. Apparently, for DD class you have to have a car with many many miles (and years) from driving, but the car should look like it has never been driven? Even with the allowances (which are very few) you lose points. I'd like to see the doo-dads on your car. Mine has a 'PiniFarina' emblem on the dash where it used to say "Datsun 280Z."

Emblem was off a 75 Fiat.

thx

Leave my bright yellow golf tee alone !! I am hoping the judges are golfers. Plus I signed it with the Sharks name , KEEP THAT A SECRET !:tapemouth In any case it a temp. mod :stupid: As for the Fiat emblem , I think that would be looked down upon . No different than a Fairlane script on the side insted of Datsun .

Just a figure of speech, and apparently a bad one in this context or any other. Sorry, no offense intended! I'm not a mean person, just not very smart.