Concours Question

The bottom line is that the judging is relative to the venue. If you are entering your Ferrari in a FCA or FOC event, chances are you will be judged much more stingently for compliance to factory stock than not. The best venue is for a shine and show where no one really cares about stock so long as your stuff is tasteful.

 

Entering a concours is a great opportunity to fettle the car and get it just right. If you enter a FOC concours you will get penalized for the non standard spacers, Tubi, shields etc. I did get knocked by the judges for those misdemenours but did it really matter?? Not a bit - my car looked great and most importantly, I didn't take it too seriously. My car is no garage queen - it went from the concours on a flying visit from the UK to Italy and back.

If you want to take concours seriously, you have to have a fat cheque book and be prepared to respray the car and then not drive it - I lost most points for almost invisible stone chips. Is it worth a £5,000 paint job for an extra few points - Nah!

The best thing is to fettle, drive it (Lots) and concours it - you'll get a great parking spot.

Here's a few pics of my 348 and my un-restored original 41 year old Triumph GT6 national concours winner - still with factory paint and as original as any in the world (I concours this one about every eight years and then retire it!). Both cars are keepers, I've had the 348 11 years and the GT6 34 years.
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Love the GT6 Clive. I had one of those and a string of TR6 back in day. That all led me to the one TR6 I have now. Not a show car, just a blast to drive. Pic in my garage.

 

Your 348 looks fantastic. I have been trying to decide if I want to paint out the black bottom on mine and then I see a car like yours and I say, leave it the way it is. As for the little British car, again fantastic but I am a little biased. I love the British cars and am a long time owner of a '67 Healey BJ-8.

 

Thanks for being the keepers of these cars. I truly appreciate what you guys do.

 

You can always do a decent clean to represent the car, and enjoy your day checking out the other cars. Seems like you are not too worried about it, and noted that that is a cheaper way to see the showing.

Note on the display that you drive it.

Cheers,
Mike
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Used to love the GT6 until I saw my friend's after a rear ending with a station wagon - total loss for the Tri and Gf into the windscreen, dented bumper for the wagon. Made me sell my TR6. Scariest drive of my life? 105 mph in a TR6 on a bumpy rural road leading a 914 all the way.

 

If the concours are being run/judged by FCA standards, it's all about originality and completeness (ie. books, tools, etc). The car need to be clean and cared for, but deductions are not made for minor rock chips and signs of use.

The PCA is all about neurotic cleanliness. They will dig for dirt in every nook and cranny. Originality was not paramount.

 

Do people get pissed off if the car is not that clean. I guess what I am saying is if you washed it vacuumed it and cleaned the windows, washed the engine bay but not scrubbed it is that ok or are the organizers going to think your an idiot?

 

of course I have no experience, I got better **** to do with my life.

I've been to a few concours events and watching people detail intake vents with q-tips makes me sad.

 

Why are you on this forum? You clearly have issues with Ferrari...

 

well, I generally think ferrari builds a very poor product, but I'm still interested in learning about them. I may even buy one (360 or 430).

that said, this thread isn't about cars, its about people. Its about people that spend their time turning a machine into a lawn ornament. I don't care for that.

 

Don't group everyone most of us are so rich we just enjoy cleaning, driving, and visiting with other owners because all the owners I have met do not generally come across like you have described. Maybe when you own one you will understand.

 

Le Belle Macchine d'Europa

Pocono Raceway June 2013





[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ymWiTGmzIQ]1995 Ferrari F355 Challenge at Pocono Raceway - YouTube[/ame]







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Barry, here is one with yours, mine, Bob's and Paul's
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I agree 100%

 

And.... somebody has lost their sense of humor.... Happy new year to you.

 

When you get a chance, get a hold of the new Gerald Roush book: Ferrari Companion Reader, from Ferrari Market Letter. He goes into a lot of detail about the cars and the different types of events. It's a great book and wonderful tribute to him.

 

That was a fun event, Dave. Here's the drive home after the two-day track event...
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Watkins Glen is April 30th and May 1st. I hope you can be there, Dave.
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I plan to Barry, it's 2.5 away from me. But, I need to understand the details of the required FCA inspection because I have no qualified shop near me.

 

Whoa...I thought only 348 Challenge cars were street legal in the US.

 

And that is not what Ferrari concours are about. If ignorance is what you seek you have achieved it.

 

Dave, for the Green Run Group you'll need your brake fluid changed within 4 weeks of the event. You'll probably want fresh coolant; oil and filter too.

Classic Coach will do the tech inspection at the track before the mandatory drivers meeting in the morning. Call Jim Asciutto at 908-352-3939 and he'll explain everything to you and email you the necessary forms to fill out for inspection.

Make sure you have a Snell 2005 or 2010 helmet. 2014 is the last year for Snell 2005. They'll put a sticker on your helmet during tech inspection.

Barry

 

Kevin,

1995 F355 Challenge cars were built as standard road cars by Ferrari and sent to authorized dealerships along with Challenge kits for conversion. Many were originally titled. My car had its headlights reinstalled after its Challenge career was over and was always registered and inspected for road use.

Starting in 1996, the Ferrari Factory built the Challenge cars which were sold with MSOs and couldn't be titled.

Barry