tractorman wrote:.....I don't think I'd want to take a car to a show if I was turned back at the gate because it was a little dirty! It is also a good sign that someone cares enough to actually use the car - surely that's a good thing?
Couldn't agree more, not without appearing to be a great big lickspittle!
It's OK for thae urban types
who have the luxury of metalled roads to drive on but, for those of us who have to traverse several hundred yards of mud before we're actually on a road, getting to shows in a clean vehicle is something that other people do.
When I'm attending with a club, someone - most likely whoever turned up in something large enough to carry it - usually brings a large barrel of water to the venue and some of us will make an attempt to move the clarts around so that the car appears less caked but expecting cars that are driven to shows to be presented in trailer quean condition is just plain unrealistic.
As a relevant aside; we've all seen the notices that some exhibitors attach to their cars, telling people to avoid scraping zips, buttons and rivets all over the paintwork of the vehicle. The most common one says something along the lines of "unless you're naked, please do not lean on my car". So one year, 1994 IIRC, with the RSSOC at the Mellerstain House car show which is out in the countryside a few miles west of here, one of our number arrived in the car he'd been restoring for at least three years, which was utterly spotless (he'd stopped at the main gate to wash it..). Naturally, he didn't want his shiny gelcoat being scuffed by clothing-related hardware, so he displayed that very notice. Two lovely young women, who'd already been gawped at by all & sundry because they were enjoying the summer weather and were dressed only in the absolute minimum that could have covered their private bits, stopped to look at Don's immaculately presented Sabre. As they got closer to the car, they pulled off their sundresses and then made a point of sitting on the car's front wing, one at a time with the other taking a photo of her friend who was pointing to the notice with her right hand and covering her chest with the other arm and hand.
Don, who'd been sat in the driver's seat enjoying his lunch, saw the funny side and thanked them for observing the notice and for not leaving any scuffs on the car.
Later, as we were all packing up to head for home, Don was mortified to find that a slug appeared to have been crawling across the very wing on which the two women had been sitting. The errant gastropod was never found....
But what if Quentin Willson had sneaked onto the club stand, sat on the car, then vanished back into his leafy habitat? Then there may not have been a slug at all.
Actually, now I come to think of it..
I apologise for this and to make amends, he'd be welcome to come through to mine and straighten up some of my picture frames.. 