I thought you were having a whine ....... oh, a wine ... it's in my cellar, you can come and collect anytime you want...I never welch on a bet btw 8TH !!!! did only 7 other cars turn up ????
Certainly the cars are clean at the FCA event. However I would say no more than top cars at an Oz event. Some of the mega-mill cars were perhaps a little too 'pristine', but that is to be expected. Pebble Beach is a different story. However by CLEAN I hope other fchatters don't think I mean polished cam covers and glistening hoses etc. The main thing was the level of FINISH was perfect (as far as I could tell) nothing overpolished etc. As ferrarifixer said in another post somewhere EARLY hose clamps ARE important to put onto EARLY cars. Phil H would know where 'lesser' mechanics would substitute rather than put back original, because they could'nt care less provided it did the job. OK for a Holden, but not for my Ferrari thank you !!!. Would have been interesting ... If as you think it would have gained a platinum award, as the 550 would have. How do you think the subsequent Judges meeting should have gone as to the "best overall", notwithstanding that the total points are much less of an issue at that decision? Of course Scott. However I cannot ensure F50's will be automatic winners I was 'flying a kite' with my earlier post and hoping for a bit more of a discussion with a positive/negative response. Anyway I will post a few more photos of Monterey 2004 once have re-sized them.
The Perth Rally has come and gone - everyone who attended seem to have enjoyed themselves. We all know that the 2006 Rally will be in Tassie (administered by Vic branch of FCA). Can someone advise the strategic prioritisation Oz States where FCA Rallies will be held in the ensuing years (say next 5 years)?
Over polished is a matter of opinion and totally subjective; but I know what you mean. Pebble beach in the 70's was a matter of chroming and/or mirror finish polishing everything, giving rise to the term "an American restoration". I agree that fasteners are important in the sense that you can't have a 1990's clamp on a 1951 195 Inter. I was really referring to penalties for wrong branding but period correct examples. One thing I do agree with in the US system is the colour having to be period correct; but not necessarily the original colour of the car in question. The blue Dino would have been a run away winner if it had been concour prepared and had some minor originality issues corrected. Certainly wouldn't have taken much to get it there IMHO. Time warp cars like this are so important and should be conserved as much as possible. I like the idea of a Judges meeting at the end of proceedings. Stealing an idea from Phil Hughes, perhaps they could award points for "Wow factor" that can not be awarded in the criteria for each section. As an example, the Blue Dino could have got points for preservation. Some issues in our system need to be revisited. In particular, the areas covered in section 1 of the "Entrants declaration". The F50 will need considerable work yet to bring it anywhere near a 100 point car. If you make a car "too good" you have a tendancy not to drive it. That would be a crying shame in an F50!
I tried that and it didn't work, but now I've cleared the history/cache and they all appear fine.....
Perhaps I am not getting the point across properly about the FC America system. 1. All cars are judged equally, in their class 2. No adjustment is made for age/miles covered to Rally etc. 3. Cars winning Platinum/Gold & Silver are awarded these on the field at the end of the Concours. The entrants are given their sheets so that they can improve their cars if they wish to 4. ONLY cars that achieved Platinum (>95 points) are eligible for major awards. 5. The major awards are judged SUBJECTIVELY, by a meeting of the "chief" judges who vote (unanimously) for each award. Discussion goes on about the merits of each car etc. 6. I saw a 328 at Monterey that looked to be in pretty goood condition, say a well prepared version of Barry's 328, not vastly better, however he just missed out on a Platinum by 1 point. Think back to 1999 Melbourne Concours (reported in the 1st Quarter 2000 FCA Journal) There were 37 cars entered for the Concours Under "new system" lets say 3 sets of judges, each set with 1 "chief" judge and 2 others. 1 set judges all 3XX's(except 355's), 1 set early cars and 246's, the last set judge later 12's, and say 355's. Each set should judge 1 car per 10 minutes about 2 hours all up. Platinum winners COULD have been 4 x 308's, 1 x Mondial, 1 x 348, 2 x 355's, 1 x 512M, 2 x Testa's, 2 x 512BB's 1 x 330 GTC and 330 2+2 and maybe 1 x 246. These cars would be the ONLY cars considered for major awards, and it doesn't matter whether they are 100 points or 95 point cars. The 3 "chief" judges have a pow-wow to discuss who wins "best overall" etc. once they know who have won Platinum.
This is the Dino in question: http://www.ozcarsightings.com/updates/fcaconcorso/FCA_Concorso%20(55).jpg http://www.ozcarsightings.com/updates/fcaconcorso/FCA_Concorso%20(56).jpg If I remember correctly it is LeMans Blue......and it belongs to the same guy who owns the F40 and 512TR (have a look back through this thread to get his name)
As I stayed on to rack up another 1000ks or so on my OHOS, I'm just back from WA - here's my summary: WA folk did an awesome job with organisation etc and all tremendously friendly and helpful; there were mercifully NO dramas at concours or any other event; no cars got damaged although Lubra dropped a (old sodium) valve on startup - hopefully not too much damage; even though I stuffed up ALL my comp runs, I still had great fun; WA folk all seem to be 'car' rather than 'label' folk so great car talk every night and some of the private garages over there are amazing; and best of all for me I got to meet a few other serious 'car chicks' - hi to Kelly, Robina, Luxy, Melodie, Selby! And the driving award of the week - for my money it went to Mrs 360C who reversed the F50 (which she'd driven for a total of about 5 mins) to within a millimetre of the pole in the "Ladies Precision Driving Comp" - an amazing effort! All in all, a perfect week, although I was totally 'funned out' by the end!
For the "older" FCA members, was the car previously from Qld ? Looks like one of Trev Bassett's old cars, originally owned by Ron Strasser. Image Unavailable, Please Login
No Peter - originally WA delivered, now on its 2nd owner. Never left the state as far as I know. "Old" Member
Hi Kerrari Glad you made it home safe and sound! Sorry we didn't get a chance to catch up after the event, but I guess you had a good time touring about the countryside and seeing more of the sights. Most of us in WA are definitely 'car' people as you mention. Very few 'label' people seem to be interested in the Club over here, so we are mercifully free of them! If we could just convince the guys here to take more shots of the older cars that would be even better!
Yes, and Veena is still telling anyone who will listen about it! She did well driving it at all. Her total time behind the wheel beforehand consisted of driving the F50 approx. 1km from the hillclimb to the race circuit. It hasn't got power steering or anything else, so I was amazed she could get it around the figure 8 which was very tight for the yellow aircraft carrier. Now all I need to do is get her to drive it at Phillip Island
Need to get folks to bring more of them out too! I got the distinct impression there were a few older treasures hidden away that may have made me swoon...
No one's mentioned so far that the first Aus SuperAmerica turned up on the last day. Awesome! And if, like me, you suspected the glass roof was just a marketing tug, you'd be dead wrong! It is so simple and elegant, like all great designs you just wonder how no one thought of it before. Then there's the small matter of those 12 cylinders... Sounds great, although a lot more refined than the currently fashionable Tubi scream. VERY nice!
