Understanding Car Show rules

[gnosez]

Kat - judged it in Long Beach as well. I ran the pre-inspections/judging in the back parking lot of the hotel. We had a number of cars that were in the wrong class but we were able to steer them to the right one after going over their cars.

Tomohawk - the glovebox/domelight was resolved 2 years ago and no one will be dinged for those again. As to the diability deductions I see this as an extremely limited potential for being an issue. The senior judges, the ZCCA Exc. Director, and the host club would get together and come up with a ruling on it if it comes to be. Your concerns are premature at best. If you have a personal concern about any add-ons to your Z or someone you know, please provide specific details. The issue can be resolved in a matter of days. I can and will make the calls to get it going. PM me if need be.

And His30, I'm over 50 mods and counting. Get yourself a few more and you'll be "ultra mod" (not ultra man, however). Post or PM me your potential mod list and I'll be happy to give you a nod as to what is or isn't considered a mod.

[TomoHawk]

I don't understand what you mean about the glovebox light.

Checking the domelight is a no-brainer, but you need to now something about the 280Z to check the glovebox light.

I think what happened to me is that one guy ( not knowledgable in Z) was with a couple Z guys, and the one guy was the one that happened to check the glovebox light.

thx

[26th-Z]

Wow! Spend the day at the beach and look what happens! Spring Break!

Nice picture of the front suspension - Kats. Is that a plated finish? Very nice!

I think one thing that needs to be put in perspective is the idea that judging and giving out awards is nothing more than something to enhance a car show. The guys who judge cars at car shows are guys just like you and me - volunteers. The trophies - although not $8 anymore - are not worth the time and effort required to win one, yet we commonly see what we refer to as trailer queens. Its a game!

The ZCCA rules are purposley vague so that this whole process is easy. Keep in mind that the judging team can only spend so much time on any particular car. The car owner, on the other hand, gets to spend all day looking at and discussing the car.

I encourage relaxation and enjoyment of the ride. My take on the modifications limits between classes is that the number of mods is only somewhat of a boudary. If your really do-dad your car up, it goes to Nissan modified - like track cars and race cars - rather than a few nice "street" mods for the street class.

[hls30.com]

Excellent info-several things I had no clue to consider-presence on or ommission from the list...

My car won't really look all that modified-most of my efforts are lending toward that goal. l go back through my working copy of the lists...

Arne, I am putting off finishing the car until a month or two before the show simply so I won't succumb to the temptation to drive everywhere! After the show the car will be driven and thoroughly enjoyed, and though the trailer may be where she comes to rest at night(My one car garage is for the works in progress), it will be more of a Mobile home for her-AW Sh!t she will be queen of a trailer park...

Will

[gnosez]

Tomohawk - since some indoor shows require owners to disconnect the battery there is no way either a dome or glove box light can be checked, hence these are no longer judged (working vs not working). Now they are judged as to being there and what condition they are in.

Hope that helps.

[Marty Rogan]

I have judged national ZCCA car shows since 2000 and for better or worst am considered a "senior" judge. That being said, I leave the judging of "stock" Zs to someone with a lot more experience and knowledge as to what was and wasn't stock for each and every Z model. And yes, there is a stock 350 class.

Some of the recent changes to carshow procedures and rules changes have resulted from work I have been involved in. Pre-classifying cars (a sort of tech inspection) a day or two prior to the show allows people to make chages to the class or how they want to present their car (adding or taking off parts).

There was a long thread on this topic a few years back (Chris Wenzel I think started it), but let me sum it up for those involved so far in this thread.

Stock class is the easiest class to lose points in than any other class (street, nissan mod, ultra) making it the hardest to get a high score (290+ out of 300)

Unless you have mis-classified your car (have a V-8 and put it in street mod), the only issue is how clean and well presented your car is as opposed to the others in your class. Once you move out of the stock class cleanliness is god (not close to god).

In stock class you are judged on BOTH the cleanliness and the correctness of the parts on your Z. From the three pics included of the 240Z Series I, it has the correct steering wheel but aftermarket carpets and a nonperiod correct armrest/cupholder. The metal fan is correct but the coil is not. Post more pics and I can walk you through any other items that will be considered a deduction. Those three items alone would lose you more than 10 points out of 300, then take points off for the usual wear and tear, grime, rust, etc. and you have a 270 car at best.

Depending on your competition you could win in your class with these items left as is. People spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to make a "stock" Z stock as far as judging goes.

Got questions, I'll try and answer them for you.

As you know, these cars are a work in process. That is somewhat of an old picture. Since then, I have replaced the coil with an OEM coil. The block is painted with the Nissan blue from Les at CDM. All of the CAD plating has been re-done. Have all of the original stickers.

For the interior, I will be swapping the original carpets from my yellow car into this one, after I re-dye them black. Are judges just looking to ONLY have the original carpets in there? I have a set of NOS Adco rubber mats that the dealers sold. Would those be considered a deduction? I also have a set of NOS seat covers that I will be putting on. The arm-rest/cup holder lifts out. One other thing that I tend to loose points on is that the PO drilled a hole in the side of the console to relocate an antenna switch. Other than that it is in good shape. I picked up one of those repros from MSA. Which would be looked on more favorably by a judge? I also have an NOS hand throttle installed. Would that be considered a deduction?

The outside has all new bumpers, door handles, etc. It has the correct Koito headlights. The paint is in really excellent shape, but of course its not the 903 blue that it should be. How much of a deduction would that typically be? I will also be putting the original wheels and D hubcaps back on.

There are some additonal pictures in my gallery too.

I appreciate any additional tips you might be able to provide.

Thanks,

Marty

[TomoHawk]

The paint should be one, and you'll get one for the console mod ( only one hit for several holes, for example. Those things go in groups, like console, radio, heater, gauges. Wheel have two or three parts like wheel/rim, nuts/bolts and tires. Check your last judging sheet or get the one from the ZCCA website.

It's only when you are even with somebody else in points, when the judges get nitpicky, to see which car will edge out the other.

Anything you don't think should be in the car for judging, take it out after you park. I throw all the travelling junk ( towels, hand wipes, coins, maps, cassette tapes & CDs, umbrella, niknaks, etc.) into a tub first thing, and empty the glovebox (except the owner's manual), then grab the spray bottles to clean things. The only stuff that should be in the car after you park & get out, is the owner's manual, judging # sign, and sunsheild. Even remove the sunsheild just before judging.

thx

[gnosez]

Marty - the console is judged as part of the: console/shifter/parking brake group and if all you had was that one hole you might lose a point or two assuming everything else is in excellant shape. OEM beats aftermarket so stay with the original console and get a piece of black plastic rod and fill that hole.

The throttle was a factory item on 1st Series. The Adco rubber mats are a good question. I'll ask during my call to Todd on Tuesday and will post his reply.

The paint job is the killer, as you know and until that is resolved you will not win a gold medal in "stock" class. You could get 2nd or 3rd in your class if the rest of your Z is in excellant condition. It's up to you as to what's important in all this.

Tomohawk wanted to know if there were detailing secrets for Zs and I told him no. Paying attention to the details is what detailing is all about. I find that the more people go over their cars the more things they find out about the car (like finding out they have a loose bolt or damaged part) and in turn about themselves. Each and every Z that is entered in a car show has a story to tell. That's what I get out of going to them.

[Ed]

Will,

Unless you are planning on putting in racing seats just enter your car in the Nissan Modified class. I went through the same ordeal before my first ZCCA show.

What is considered a modification? Big question really. What might be considered a modification to one is not to another. You can always change your class the day of, if a Judge feels you qualify for another class.

[zpizzaman20]

The word on the mats is that they should not be in a stock judged car. It should be like it came off the boat. If you are in another class then the ADCO mats are fine. Also the hand throttle is an interesting discussion. They only came on the first 1200-1400 cars, I will have to check the technical bulletins to tell you the exact number. So if your car is in the first 1200 or so it would be fine. If your car is a 12/70 then it did not come on your originally, so we would probably take points off, but I will have to check the rules. Again if your car is not in stock this is not an issue.

[gnosez]

Fred, I always wanted to thank you for posting those '05 Japan Z Feast pics. Looks like a great time was had....

[TomoHawk]

Back on the topic, if you are at a car show and you don't understand the rules, what can you do? Or if you really think the judge did or judged something wrong, what should you do? (I can give an example.) I've been to a Z show or two where the judges were just guys that seemed like they were pulled right off the sidewalk!

thx