g_murray

Hi guyz n galz,
You may remember an earlier posting where this event nearly got bagged because the Bimmer Group pulled out at the 11th. hour, citing 'loss of sponsorship'.
Well I (and others) emailed the organizer and said (words to the effect) "We don't need no stinking Bimmers" !!!
So, yesterday, we held the event, regardless. A LOT of cars showed up (see pix) and the weather was fab too. All in all it was a nice/fitting end to the 'season'.

http://ifly.freeyellow.com/miscell/G...2006/index.htm

Ummmm ....errrr .....oh yeah, I took home two prizes; 1st. place in (my first) Full Concours ....and also People's Choice Award. Here's a clue of what I did with the trophy when I got home.

G.

Arena993

Congrats. Great looking car. Detailing is a true sickness.

InTheAir

Oh my goodness! Nicely done, G. That is awesome...first try even.

g_murray

Gracias!
At this stage, I could write a 'cookbook' on "What goes into preparing a P-car for Full Concours".
Now I know why it's sometimes referred to as "a fine madness".



Short version: I stopped driving the car 6 weeks ago ...and have been in and under it since. The amount of $, effort and work that I put into this particular 'project' ...Herculean!
Preparing a car for Full Concours is NOT for the faint of heart nor is it for those who get disillusioned/disheartened easily. Whatever effort, in the past, that you've put into cleaning/prepping the car for e.g. 'street class' -- well raise that "level of effort/committment" to the power of 3 (i.e. CUBED and not just X3) and you get a reasonable idea of what's in store.

jnx

Very nice.

NEK

Wow! I'm jealous.

Arrwin

Holy dude! Congrats! I didn't know you were going or else we would of stopped by.

Nice lookin' trophy too! All that hardwork paid off.

Air Kuul TT

Congrats... Very nicely done!!

g_murray

Gracias.

Just came across some earlier pix (when I was doing the citrus fandango) and some pix of the 'hours before'. The descriptions and photos may help others who are thinking of going down this particular road:

http://ifly.freeyellow.com/miscell/citrus/index.htm


http://ifly.freeyellow.com/miscell/F...Prep/index.htm

Latah,

G.

(Will I do "this" again? ...dunno ...the way I feel right now is pretty much the way I felt after completing my first marathon. Having said that, this November I'll be doing marathon number 7, so I have a feeling where this "fine madness" (as full concours is sometimes known as) is headed.)

InTheAir

G -

How the heck did you get the forward portion of your engine compartment so clean??!!

After reading your initial post, I thought, "There is no way I could ever enjoy going that deep into the car for cleaning purposes!"

However, after seeing your prep photos and how the nooks and crannies are so stinkin clean, I feel the draw pulling me. I must resist. I must maintain my sanity!

Air Kuul TT

Hey G,

Thanks for the earlier pix... like someone said earlier, I think this is a sickness and very addictive. I hope someday I will as sick as you and Jeff (In the Air), Jonathan (Mr. Sullivan), Dr. Ken and many others that have gone down this path... but for now I will just continue to admire you guys.

Again, well done and good luck in your upcoming Marathon.

g_murray

Ha! I'm chortling to myself as I type this.
When my engine was being examined by this judge (who looks like a veterinarian birthing a foal!
http://i-fly.freeyellow.com/miscell/...6/image024.htm
) he made eye contact with me and beckoned me over with his finger.
When I approached he got up off his knees and said: "This, by far is the CLEANEST engine I have come across in a very, very long time."

Without making this reply into a big production, what I WILL say is that you HAVE to 'mentally segregate' the engine into 'individual parts' and devote time and effort to JUST _one_ part until it is absolutely friggin' pristine. THEN choose another ONE part and do the same to it. When all the _individual_ parts are pristine -- the whole engine will then, as a whole, look pristine.

Don't 'settle' for 'almost great' - DO go the extra mile, yes, using an old toothbrush/cotton bud, etc. etc. DO 'personally' get into nooks n' crannies that you have 'assumed' that the garden-hose has taken care of. Assume nothing is clean - make SURE it's clean.

Does this take time? ABSOLUTELY!
Is it frustrating? ABSOLUTELY!
Do I have scabs where I used to have knuckles and bandaids where I used to have fingernails? ABSOLUTELY!

Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!

G.

Edit/Addendum: The judge who was examining the front/trunk area -- took my toolkit and spread it out on the carpeting, which was, itself, now laid out on the grass in front of the car.
He lifted up the carpeting and 'beat it' with his fist to see if any dust came out.
Then he took the (silver looking) pliers that's in our toolkits and widened the jaws -- to check for dirt (or 'chipped teeth') in the gripper part.
Fellas, I can't make this stuff up!

Those guys who were next-in-line (to be judged) and eagerly watching me get my car-guts displayed for all to see - -well, when they saw this _their_ jaws (pun!) dropped and I could see the look of "oh ****" on their faces -- for ya know ..once judging starts... you can't nip back to your own car...

A tip a professional detailer (and part time full concours judge) gave me was:
"The area should be impeccably clean and in good condition. We would _prefer_ to see a 10 year old part that has been well kept, cared for and 'dressed' rather than see a brand new part that has just been 'added without afterthought'. With regards to 'dressing' - the item/part should look like some DECENT attention has been paid to it (other than merely hosing it down or dragging a terry cloth soaked in Armorall over it!). It should look shiny but should NOT look like a glazed donut! Tires especially should NOT look like glazed donuts!"

He said something like this is a 'good' example of a well dressed area ...esp. the tire, for it looks like *different* products were used on the various (differing) surfaces. It does NOT look like someone took a fire-hose to the whole place ...using just Lemon Pledge!

http://ifly.freeyellow.com/miscell/F...p/image019.htm


G.

jago

congrats!
glad you helped keep that event alive.
we dont have enough stuff here on LI.
i got the chance to go 2 yrs ago and really enjoyed it.
were there any astons or ferraris too?
j.

g_murray

Hi,
Yep, me too, gracias.
There were no 'other marques' per se ...it was organized to be (at the 11th. hr. by our own David Leonoff) as a 'Porsche ONLY event'. Next year, maybe, the other contributors (Aston Martin, BMW...) will have their respective acts together.
G.

brucec59

Thank God my car has too many paint chips and wheel scratches to allow me to ever go down that road! However, I do take pride in keeping my car clean and looking as new as possible - especially the interior and engine bay.

Anyway, congrats. Looks absolutely stunning.