In an earlier life, between LBC's, I restored a vehicle to near 100 pt
quality for the American Antique Car Assn. I won a Senior first with the
vehicle, and then my wife and I became certified judges for AACA.
To be a judge for AACA, you must go through a training program, pass a test
on the rule book, and then judge a show as a "shadow" panel and have the
real judges critique your scores. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole
experience. They have very strict rules about authenticity, down to and
including valve stem caps (steel only appeared after a certain date), hose
clamps (ditto), wire loom coverings (ditto), and for Model T's, long-grain
vs. short grain fabric for the tops, although they continued to search
their souls over which exact year it changed.
At that time, the AACA held all scoring sheets in strictest confidence. No
competitor got to see them. They told us that they just got so sick of
arguments, sometimes resulting in judges resigning, that they established
this policy years ago.
I judged foreign cars, which was more variety than judging 57 Chevy's where
there were so many perfect ones that the winner was sometimes determined by
the authenticity of the drain cock in the radiator. Please believe me when
I say that even with a comprehensive rule book, I saw lots of things that
had me scratching my head. I did the most soul searching while judging a
356 Porsche, the underside of which was completely coated with a black
anti-rust paint. I honestly didn't know how it was supplied from the
factory, so I deducted nothing because that's the way I would have restored
it. The AACA was really compassionate, though. One guy showed up with a car
that had slipped off the trailer on the way to the show and damaged one
side. The owner was heartbroken. Then the judges agreed to judge the car
based on the undamaged rest of the car and to assume that the damaged side
had been restored to the same standard.
Why do I relate this stuff? Well, at my last VTR convention, attending as a
spectator, there were not enough judges and I was pressed into service as a
TR3 judge. I had never even seen the VTR book, and here I was judging cars
over which owners had slaved for years and spent themselves into oblivion.
That was a really bad experience for me, because despite a lifetime of
foreign car experience, I had never paid attention to such niceties as
whether or not the fan bolts were cad plated or painted. When it came down
to choosing between the last three perfect cars, I agonized over my lack of
knowledge on what should differentiate them. I hope I didn't misjudge any
of the cars but I might have. So.......the only reason for this ramble is
that with the show and judging season upon us, to plead for appreciation of
the judges at our events. I think they universally do the very best they
can, and some of them without training.
uncle jack
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