hey guys,
this is a serious question so please don't lock it.
i run an event called the east coast f-body nationals. last year was our first event and we had a lot of fun, but we had a rather weak car count for the show field.
i was wondering what you guys woudl want to see as far as classes(it has to be pretty simple since we don't have a lot of prize sponsors yet)
also, what kinds of companies would you like to see giving prizes or represented at a car show. last year we had year one adn zaino helping us out, we are working on more for this year. are there any specific co's you woudl liek to see? custopm parts suppliers?
please let me know so i can get in touch with everyone. as of right now we are looking at havign a seperate show class for each gen, but beyond that we really don't know what you guys woudl like. your help is greatly appreciated.

thanks
tim

 

How about Spohn, or GT Auto?

KYB? Hotchkis?

 

SLP!!

 

id like to see some 1 gen camaros like my dads

 

Hey man I got an 89 IROC, and I live in North Jersey, where these nationals at??
--btw, z28ontweenkies, that hood scoop is awesome, my fav!

 

I was at your show last year, and your right the show field was weak. I have a show truck that I take all over the east coast and the best way to get people to a show is have GREAT trophies and stuff from sponsers. Trophies should be something different like engraved thick lexan or glass or even big plaques. I also have a GTA and have a couple friends who were interested in coming down this year until they saw last years turn out. I would say advertise and get Englishtown to make one of there show flyers like they do for the High Tech races. Just my .02. Later

 

Well hell, you can count me and a few local friends in for this year! Ill bring my 92 Vert, 88 Gunmetal GTA, my buddys Bright Red GTA, and maybe another 88 GTA... If I would have known about it last year, I woulda been there!

As far as awards go, I would go with things such as: Origional/Stock class, Custom Appearance class, Modified (drivetrain) class, Over All Best class, etc...

Im in south Jersey, shoot me an email with some info on the show, and Ill be sure to be there, and spread the word as well!

WS6TransAmGTA@aol.com

 

What about Jegs and Summit? They must make a lot of money from us.

 

I would try local performance stores and part stores. Also try SLP and other big name sponsors. Have u tried the sponsors for thirdgen.org? Also, when people go to a car show, they usually expect to see older cars. 1st and 2nd generation cars, so I would try hard to push that. And get the word out in ur city about it. The more people know, the more people that will come out with their muscle cars they keep locked up in some barn in their backyard. People like that love excuses to bring them out of storage.

Also, if u have any local car clubs, invite them to come as well. Most likely, they can hook you up with sponsors that they have sponsoring their car club. Kill 2 birds with one stone like that. Get lots of cool cars plus maybe a shot at some more sponsors.

 

I would be more than willing to show mine, but unfortunately i'll most likely be racing the car. On the other hand, being that tech inspection is so strict at englishtown i'll probably fail. In that case i will definately be showing it.

I went last year but didn't' drive my car, this year me and the car will be there. As far as getting more people into to the show portion, the only way i can really see is to make it a two day event, that way the hundred some-odd cars that are there to race can also show them the day before. I know this would be really expensive, but if you give it couple years so the popularity can build up in it, it might actually work rather well.

Eric

 

Id say advertise like crazy. Ive never heard of it but you have my interest now. Where is this show, and when. If u get Jegs, Summit, NOS, Eddlebrock, etc..some big name sponsors, and trophies people will come. Advertise in big cities papers, on the web at sites like this and there should be a bigger turnout

 

This is the way I think it would work best for each gen:

Best- stock and modified street cars and best drag purpose car

Best- Engine Best- Stereo Best- Interior Cleanest Ride(nicely done mods or just a sweet looking stock one, like Ions)

I think that would give everyone a fair chance at something, like if someone has a sweet engine, but they are still working on the rest of the car, or vice-versa. I have seen a bunch of shows that work this way and it is usually easier to run. Hope this helped some.

 

thanks for the help guys.
zupmanZ28: actually i have to get enough car count to prove i can handle a 2day event before they will let me do it. i actually don't pay th etrack anything. i approached them with a concept and they said i coudl use their space. this year i am getting more space, i figure a 2day show is at least 2 more years away if all goes well.

kcobain147: we have started our kick already. i am gettign free ads and mentions all over the place. a bunch of clubs have us up on their calendars and a few mags are even giving us a hand. the best advertising i can get is still you guys telling your friends and mentioning it on all the boards. my actual budget to do this is $0.00, so word of mouth is the best i can really do.(i actually only spend a couple bucks on phone calls, my help is all volunteer)

as far as sponsors go, we had some slp gift certificates last year and i am talking to them about doing even more this year. funny that someone woudl mention all of our money going to jeg's and summit, they just got more of mien about 20mins ago(2inch drop spindles and rear lowering springs)

thanks for all your help guys. keep it coming, if you have a company you would really like to see involved and you have a phone number or web site just let me know either here or through email. i will cold call anyone, what is the worst thign they can say

thanks
tim

 

I think there should be a street class and a show class. I hate going to shows and seeing a great car that's well crafted and tastefully done lose to some trailer queen $10k paintjob car just because the first guy drives his and had some rockchips or his tires were dirty. And if we're speaking of JUST thirdgens, then I'd seperate the 91-92s or the 86-92s from the earlier cars, because there really are some nice earlier thirdgens out there but they always seem to lose to the later cars.

The only other thing to do to get more cars there is advertise. Leave flyers at local businesses.

 

Hey man u still didnt mention when the show was or where it was

 

NJ Speeder

I was at the show last summer too. I though the turnout for the show was a little weak too, but then again, the weather was pretty lousy. When i checked out the site for the event I dodnt see much as far as advertising the show. So here is my .02.
Try and get the sponsers that we had there last year, along with the guys tha cater to the 3rd and 4th (that what was mostly there) gens. BMR, Spohn, SLP, GT Auto, year one, Zaino, Mufflex, see if you can get a few of the local speed shops.
When you advertise, ask some of the other camaro sites if you can put a link in their site. CamaroZ28.com, LS1.com, 1LE.net(?), f-body.com

 

Kcobain- the event is held at englishtown raceway park in NJ.

Eric

 

I have been responsible for keeping our local car show alive for a few years, just some more ideas. Go to the little business people, let them sponsor a "Best Of" Trophy, like $50 bucks or so, it helps get their name out, plus gets you more trophies. Get a stack of their business cards as well, to begin a goodie bag. We used to do classes, until so many folks complained about the judging, then we went to Top 35 of show, this seems to get almost 100% of the cars worthy of winning. That might not be an option for you if only for third gens. Talk with every business that is even remotely auto related, tell them for X amount of sponsor dollars, they can set up a 10x10 space at the show, and for a higher sponsor level, they can be put on the t-shirt (think car washes, auto repair places, windshield repair, towing services, etc). Spend any money you have on a great t-shirt, this will get you name recognition and make people remember you, plus it's free advertising throughout the year until the next show. Ask your local printer to donate flyers or other printing for a free spot at the show or on the back of the shirt. Search the web for free places to post (Hemmings Motor News, maybe your local Chamber of Commerce website). Also, if you are not limited by the track management, get a couple of food vendors, good sponsor money and people always have to eat. Just some ideas from several years of hard knocks.

 

were is this show i would love to go. i also have a bunch of friends that would go.

 

Definatly need some different food. The track pizza was the only sit down spot and that was a rip.
As for the car show, I would have entered my car but I didn't have time to get it nice and pretty. I know I would loose because I have the MOST road chips period, don't even try to say you have more because I have one that's the size of a baseball!
Anyways, my friend Ethan is always up for bringing his 69. He won the event last year, then again he was the only 1st gen. All in all I think I did my job and brought along a show winner .
He'll be there this year but we definatly need more 1st and 2nd gens. Last year the car that one the "late model" f-body show was a 84 formula with an Lg4 engine. The guy had a perfect car with no paint chips and everything was glossy. The guy was crazy like that and yes, he DID drive his car there yet his tires were clean. It's just something you have to do if you get into a show, consider getting their early and having some tire wetter etc. If he spent the time to detail that much then maybe that's what it takes to win.
Definatly need as many sponsors as possible and GET THE DYNO again!!! That was the best part.
Could we limit the number of 4th gens that enter the drag comp? It's getting boring seeing 10 4th gens to 1 3rd gen. It's like every car that was there was a 93-97, almost made me sick since I'm a huge thirdgen fan. Oh well, they're fast but sometimes over exposure is a bad thing, just my opinion .
I'll either race or enter in the show this time around.
Definatly split the generations like : 1st, 2nd, 82-89 3rd, 90-92 3rd, 93-97 4th, and 98-02 4th. 6 classes would definatly split things up even as long as enrollment was better. Maybe have a slightly more complicated way of judging the cars. I wish there was a way to make it so everyone had to vote.
Need to get some more fliers again and tell EVERYONE you know about the event.

 

how many attended last year?

every good show must have attendance; just as important are the cars you also need a crowd........you have to advertise.

months in advance are good for the cars, start two weeks prior for the crowds! any sooner than two weeks isn't enough time to get the word out and any longer is too much of a period to forget........although this depends on your show size as well.

as far as classes..........that depends on how many cars show!

always keep last years attendance in mind and understand that if you had two classes last year the chances of needing 10 really aren't likely. typically most shows grow at 35% from the previous year....

if it's open to all models, than have simple classes (that is if attendance is low).
each generation should get a stock/restored and a modified class if you have enough cars(typically at least 5 for a class).

only break the years up if you have alot of attendance. otherwise if everyone gets a trophy just because they showed up what's the point.

this is where it's nice to have some sort of "grab bag" idea; this way even the guy who looses feels that he hasn't entirely wasted his money. this is also where the sponsors can come in, they can give up something cheap yet getting recognition in a good way.

it's always nice to have 1st,2nd, and 3rd places for each category as long as a possible award winner for 4th if you have alot in an individual class. this is why 2 day shows are better because you can kinda make up what you need as it goes. to have 1st,2nd, and 3rd classes and only 2 cars is kind of a waste. again, what is the point if everyone gets an award.

specialty awards are always nice; best paint, interior, engine, furthest driven, etc. be creative and try to leave it up to those who attend, that is unless your crowd is rather low.

judging can be a hard thing to setup, do you let the guy who knows all about the 3rdgen do thirdgens or do you let the guy who is into 1st gens? this is what can make shows unique in their styling of judging..........typically, 3rdgen owners are harder on each other because they know more and viceversa. this should be left up to the guy running the show. remember it's best to make sure the judges can't favor anyone, otherwise you can lead to troubles when you have a large showing.

if you have enough cars coming trailored that would call for a seperate class i wouldn't think you would ask for suggestions.

sponsorship can help alot when it comes to keeping the cost of the show as well as the trophies down, try to get individual classes sponsored; this will keep all costs down and help the sponsor out as well.

food is always a good thing, what i've found best is to find local area restaurants and ask them to either donate in some kind or to show up and give trial samples as well as some items for sale. this will keep most happy, for the rest of us that bring our own food it won't be a big deal.

the last thing i can think of right now is some minimal security; there's nothing worse than the fear of leaving your car for a second while some kid is walking around..............try to have some security setup........or at least have volunteers for the show that could walk around with walkie talkies and communicate to keep an eye out on the cars.

a safe and productive show will bring people back.

 

the event is being held on july 20th(those of you who have been keeping track of thigns will notice that this is a very recent date change) and is held at old bridge township raceway park(e-town, nj)
it is a mornign event , running from 9am, gates until about 4pm.
last year we had abotu 110 cars go through tech for racing and about 25 cars in teh show field. we onl;y had 2 lasses for he car show last year, classic for 1st and 2nd gens, and latemodel for 3rd and 4th gens. all voting was done by the spectators and participants. we gave out trophies for 1st 2nd 3rd and best of show. best of show went to about the most imaculate 86 t/a i have ever seen, the car had about 35,000miles on it and looked like you could eat off teh engine. and of course, thanks jon for brining ethan, our only classic division entry

i am gonna give zaino and year one a calll again, they were both really good to us last year. i will also go for GT Auto and the other body people too, like harwood and stuff.
right now i am thinking of one division for each generation and a best of show, once again all spectator voted to keep it easy. i like spectator voting because the guy with th ereally nice car with a few stone chips is just as likely to win as the $10k paint job guy. last year was teh perfect example, a dead stock 3rd gen beat out a brand new t/a with over $30k in mods done to it.

thanks
tim

 

sounds like a fun time!