i won't be there. I must work on a deadline for Devek. Slave drivers they are. Here I am at 2 AM and I will need all day Sunday too. Well, in a few weeks it will all be worth it and there will be a new Shark City in Redwood City. Even the dogs will be happy. I'm tired and going to bed. Enjoy the event; maybe next year. Maybe I'll make it to the Sears Point Historics (if I live through this )

 

Back from the Wash and Shine. There were five 928s and four 944s in our class - including the one who won last year with 8k original miles. Well, it wasn't that clean anymore, and now has 11k on it.

The 928s werre Rob's (928Modeler), Richard S's, Phil Eskildsen's, mine -- and a rotten '82 that the owner picked up yesterday for $1500. That one had faded paint, scratched wheels, and really did not shine much -- but it won first prize in our class. Hopefully someone will post a picture of that bugger...

Both the first and second were cars owned by judges -- even though they judged other classes. And exactly these judges agreed with us that there were cleaner cars in our class than theirs.


I'm not sure where I lost my points. It could be because I left the windows open and got a small leaf and a piece of lint on my drivers side carpet. Or maybe my interrior was not smothered enough with crack accelerating Armor All. We don't know.

I can only say that my car was as clean as it will ever get. A few weeks ago I spent one afternoon shampooing the carpets and cleaning the interior. Yesterday I spent 10 hours detailing and cleaning - I even removed the rear wheels to clean the rims all the way, and I cleaned the fender liners. I cleaned every crease, including the door hinges, etc. I cleaned the door pockets and removed everything from the car, as they had requested the year before (no floor mats, etc). Most of this they did not even appear to look at this year.

I have no idea what else I could have done. I'm truly lost... This left a sour aftertaste, and made the event feel a little more like playing roulette than like a true competition with transparent and consistent rules.

Either way, it was fun to be there with the other 928ers. Dennis K, Bill Ball and Shmurzik joined us even though they did not enter their cars. We had lunch together at mexican restaurant Luna Loca, before we split.

Nest event is coming Sunday in Hayward at Parts Heaven. I would like to enter the 928, but will likely have to take the Saab to transport all the Hooked On Cars goodies, canopy, table, etc. Hope to see many of you there!

 

Poor Nicole. I am so sorry for such inequities and political judging. Sounds like you were robbed. There are no losers in a concours; today your car is in better condition cosmetically than it ever has been. You win. You got out there and competed. You win. You beat all the ones who for some unexplained reason made excuses instead of made their cars better. You win. You're a winner. Reward yourself.

If you need help transporting any of your stuff to Hayward, call me. I have some room. And then you can wow 'em at Hayward and win that one too.

 

Nicole,

Where can I see pics of your car. Doesn't need to be in the condition you just described.

 

Check this out Jim:


http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/ca...ive_nicole.jpg


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Thanks Ron, very nice.

 

Here are some more:

The day I purchased it (2000): http://www.mossinger.com/928/91S4collage.jpg

Early 2003:
http://www.mossinger.com/928/Dumbarton1.jpg
http://www.mossinger.com/928/Dumbarton2.jpg
http://www.mossinger.com/928/Dumbarton3.jpg

Wash and Shine 2003:
http://www.mossinger.com/928/DVWS-3/928-3.JPG
http://www.mossinger.com/928/DVWS-3/928-4.JPG
http://www.mossinger.com/928/DVWS-3/928-5.JPG

Also, see the Sharks in the Park pictures:
http://sis125.berkeley.edu/928/2004-sitp/P5085408.JPG
http://sis125.berkeley.edu/928/2004-sitp/P5085414.JPG
http://sis125.berkeley.edu/928/2004-sitp/P5085417.JPG
http://sis125.berkeley.edu/928/2004-sitp/P5085433.JPG
http://sis125.berkeley.edu/928/2004-sitp/P5085436.JPG
http://sis125.berkeley.edu/928/2004-sitp/P5085482.JPG
http://sis125.berkeley.edu/928/2004-sitp/P5085535.JPG
http://sis125.berkeley.edu/928/2004-sitp/P5085540.JPG
http://sis125.berkeley.edu/928/2004-sitp/P5085693.JPG

My car is by no means perfect. It has the usual rock chips that you get in 80k miles, plus a few scratches from careless POs or even more careless window tiinters. The interior leather has a few nicks and scratches, too, but is still soft - maybe even softer - than when it was new. Most of all, I keep it clean and protect it from rough wear and too much sunlight.

Some day, when I'm rich and famous, I'd like to take it apart and have it resprayed, the holes for the side moldings welded. Depending on how rich I get it would be the same boring color, or iris blue or amazon green metallic, or something else... (not likely I'll actually change colors - too much of a pain).

The purpose of the car is to be there for enjoyment for the longest time possible. I know I appreciate it more when I don't drive it every day. This way I will never take it for granted. I've learned this from a good friend of mine, who's father owns 3 perfectly restored 356 models. But even in the summer, Dad drives a Mercedes Diesel or Golf - unless he goes on a driving tour or fixes something on the P cars. THis way, every outing is an event, something that has never ceased to excite him...

 

Very Nice Nicole!

I am not very good with colors but I think the exterior is slate and interior classic grey? But I thought you had said classic grey didn't come out till '91?
My White GT has classic grey but it's not a color you see much.
I have read nothing but good things about your Shark and the way you take care of it, to me that says more than a ribbon

 

Wow... from the sound of things, even I might have had a shot at a ribbon... no, wait... I wasn't one of the judges.

Sounds like you really went all-out. Maybe being parked next to Seth at SITP, something rubbed off on you. Tough to see someone else get the kudos, especially when you KNOW that they have not had the car long enough to put any of their own sweat into it. Who was the organizer, and what good are they if they let such a decision stand? I'm curious to see pics too.

It sounds like the lunch was the high point of the day... too bad I couldn't make it up there to see all those friendly faces again. Hopefully I'll see some of you at PartsHeaven next weekend. Nicole, if you need a hand with some stuff, email me and I'll see what I can do to help. The thought crossed my mind of entering my shark in next weekend's concours just for a giggle and to show a better shark turnout, but baby desperately needs some new shoes before I can do that with a straight face. Even then I would be pissed if I won a ribbon and you didn't, your shark is gorgeous.

I spent the day crouched in my black on black car in the direct sun, the only cool things nearby were the radio station and the brew. It's amazing what Leatherique does for the interior pieces, but it's a LOT of work. I may be developing a case of shark elbow.

Yesterday and today I took breaks from slaving over my hot shark to watch the Thunderbirds a little bit... they kept flying almost directly over my house. I love my shark, but 6 F-16's flying in formation a couple hundred feet feet over my head is a serious attention-getter.

Anyway, as Ron said, you win anyway because now your car is squeaky clean.

 

Thank you, Jim! I do pamper the beast -- sometimes more than it deserves... What don't we do for the things (or people) who are special in our lives...

My car is an early '91 model (VIN 0102), that's why it already has the all classic grey interior (everything leather, except dash, console, parts of door panels and roof liner). Now, if that was the supple leather and heated seats, I'd be even happier...

 

Everybody got a ribbon, but only the winners got a plague. Actually, they got a plaque... The winner told me he had put a lot more time and effort into his 912, but wasn't judged as highly with that one. He apologized to me and said he did not understand the verdicts either. Not his fault.

It was done by the Diablo Chapter of PCA. It was great last year, but I was surprised to find the judging so different this time. Things the judges told me last time were not even looked at. I felt in general, judging was not nearly as thorough as last year. I wish they would post the rules for everybody to read - then you would not try to hit a moving target. Maybe I focused on the wrong areas?

I think that's what frustrates me. I don't know what went wrong, so I don't know where to improve. I know I did a lot better than last year, and I know I did better than most of the others in the class. I also know that I should not have left my windows open while the car was waiting to be judged. Then there was an awesome white '86 944 that I thought was on a par with me, but he did not get into the top three either.

Maybe a conspiracy in the waterpumper front engine class? Maybe we need to consult RedUfo...

Yes, it's always nice to get together with the gang. Some of us have known each other for more than five years now.

Hmmm... I'd love to enter my car in the competition, but I'll have to man (or wo-man) my booth. I think you need to be present when the car is judged, and I could probably not do that. Also, I have so much stuff, I'd probably have to load up the 928 until under the roof, if I take it all. Then I'd mess up the interior and lose valuable points... Let me think about this a little bit.

Maybe I need a Cayenne with a trailer...

Tell me about crawling around the interior to clean or fix things... Maybe this was meant as an exotic form of bodybuilding.

No surprise...

Thanks! It gave me a reason to do what should have been done anyway.

 

Now Nicole,

Even you have to admit that since the first time I posted about this event on this board, you have kind of had a running dialog about Richard and you competing in who would take home first or second. You even were talking about it at Sharks in the Park.

I was not on the judging team for the "924/944/968 & 928s", so I don't know exactly what went on. My car was also in the class, but I told the judges to skip my car because of the condition of my interior.

From a judging standpoint and using PCA rules, some of the items that you had done to your car were totally unnecessary for a "Wash & Shine" event. Things like cleaning the wheel well liners for example. The judges may very well have looked at that last year, but they shouldn't have according to the PCA rules. About 2 months ago, I attended an all-day PCA Concours Judging School and now I am very aware of what you can or cannot judge on in the various categories. There also was instruction regarding "Wash & Shine" type competitions. This year, it was very much stressed to be consistent in judging between the cars in the each category. If the judges would have been allowed to look at the wheel well liners... I am very sure that your car would have taken the gold.

The fact that the winning car was bought for $1500 the day before the competition doesn't really have anything to do with it. The question should be asked if it was clean. Things like, stone chips, faded and oxidized paint and wheels DO NOT matter in a Wash & Shine event... provided they are clean stone chips and clean faded and oxidized paint and wheels. It sounds funny, but that is the truth.

My personal opinion is that one should never assume that they are going to win any award in a competition. The saying "you hope for the best, but expect the worst" is very applicable here.

Another item that is being brought up was the fact that 2 of the cars that had placed were also owned by judges. So what? The car owners did not judge their own category and that is strictly a no-no in PCA competitions. If the possibility of a judges car being in any form of competition worries you then I suggest that you never compete in any PCA or even non-PCA event. As is usually the case in these events, the number of entrants far exceeds those willing to judge and if there aren't enough judges, the call usually goes out for volunteers.

As a member of the Diablo Region PCA and as a judge at the event (again, not in that category), I am very sorry that your efforts did not award you with a plaque. All I can say is better luck next time and I hope that everyone who attended enjoyed themselves.

Rob

 

I think the key this year was to have a goodly amount of ArmorAll on your tires. The judges seemed to go for that.

 

Sorry I missed it.

This is one of those times I wish I still lived in the Bay area.

Oh well, maybe next year.

Greg

 

Sometimes life doesn't seem fair.

When I was PCA-Hawaii president, I was also a concours judge and entered my Speedster in an event I was judging. Another car, an original 356A coupe was also entered by another judge. Because of this, we each agreed to vote for the other guy's car over our own. There were other judges in this event. It came down to a tie and both of us could not choose our own car over the other. To break the tie, someone suggested we ask a passerby, someone likely to be unfamiliar with Porsches and concours events, to examine each car and pick the winner. Well, this fellow did examine each car and picked the other guy's car, the 356A coupe
over mine. He explained his choice by noting that he had found grease on the front king pin carriers of the 356A and had found none on mine. He reasoned thus that my car wasn't maintained as well as the other car. Well, I didn't agree because I had wiped off all of the grease on the suspension members in preparation and my undercarriage was spotless. I felt that my car had been prepared in the true standards of concours d'elegance standards. However, we had agreed to abide by this man's choice and his reasons did not matter. He chose the other guy's car and not mine. That was that.

In hindsight, maybe it was the right choice, as the other car was a nicely preserved original example of the marque. And my car had other issues like a drip in the new paint which the painter had agreed to do over but it was so close to the concours that he had no time to do it before the event.
Though the other car's paint was not as good overall, I did have a flaw technically. I also cracked the windshield on the Speedster putting it in just before the event, and had not installed the new windshield properly by the day of the event. The other car had similar issues, slight minor flaws but overall it was in great shape. It doesn't matter what I thought or that I was disappointed. I agreed to abide by the choice of another "judge". So be it.