Recently I attended a car show that I thought had a strange group of judging classes.  The first class was for all cars from 1900 to 1954. Covering so many years and types of cars in the same class seemed like the perfect way to cut down the number of entries, which is not a good thing.  We all know that postwar cars are popular today, but shouldn't we do something to encourage prewar car owners to come to the show?  The promoters of the show had so many classes for more modern cars and modified cars, that they created one class that no cars at the show fit into.  I couldn't help thinking that the three trophies that were not given out could have went to three prewar car owners.  The show also had a class for four-door cars to encourage sedan owners to  come.  That was nice, but what about two-door sedans and station wagons?  There was a class for featured cars (which were 1957 models) and the judging sheet indicated it was for "1957 Chevys."  However, a featured '57 Buick was registered in that class. On the other hand, a featured '57 Olds wasn't.  That seemed a little confusing to me.  There was a class for Corvettes and all sports cars.  Everytime I have gone to the show, the Corvettes take all three trophies.  I have noticed that fewer and fewer other types of sports cars show up each year.  Overall, I liked the show and enjoyed seeing all the cars that came.  I think the organizers work hard and want to do a good event. I just felt that they could have made it an even better show by putting some more thought into their class structure.  In a broader sense, I think this is true of a lot of shows.  Car events planning should always include a follow-up meeting where good things are expanded upon and bad things are thrown out.

What do you think about today's old car hobby? Click"comments" below, or contact me by mail, phone or email. John Gunnell, Automotive Books Dept., Krause Publications, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. 715-445-2214 x248  or John.Gunnell@FWPubs.com.

(Thanks for listening.)

Friday evening my friend Colin and I took a one-hour drive to our nearest Harbor Freight tool store in Appleton, Wis.  Like two old dowagers, we grabbed our shopping carts and started going up and down the aisles. You could almost hear us asking the store clerk, "Hey sonny, can you reach me down one of those paint spray guns on the top shelf."  The hardworking young folks employed at the store probably thought we got our retirement checks that afternoon and decided to buy some cheap pliers or screwdrivers to fix a broken kitchen drawer.  I'll bet they were surprised when we asked them to run in the back and fetch a couple of sandblasters.  "And we don't want the cheap one that's in the flyer," we said in unison. "Bring us two of the best ones you got and all the stuff that goes with them."  Come to think of it, the great thing about old-car hobbyists is that we may be gray on top, but we've got buying power.  And we don't need to buy "convenience" items like cell phones, DVD players, Palm Pals and laptops, but we do find it hard to imagine how anyone can go through life without an engine hoist or a drill press.

What do you think? Write me, call me, email me! Let me know what you're thinking about the old-car hobby. Gunner, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. (715) 445-2214 or John.Gunnell@FWPubs.com

Gas prices are all I'm hearing about at car shows this year.  It seems like we all have to adjust to the fact that our gas guzzlers and muscle cars may be a little less desirable than they were last year or the year before.  That doesn't mean that car enthusiasts have to stop going to shows and events.  Keep the big collector car in the garage or take it to local shows only.  Then go out to the next car corral or auction and start looking for a collector car that gets 25 to 30 mpg.  They do exist and they are available.  Imported cars are one option.  Cars made in countries like England, France or Italy were designed to use less gas.  And there are very interesting variations from sports cars to sedans to station wagons.  American automakers also produced cars that were good on gas. If you like them small, you can opt for a Crosley, a Hudson Jet, a Henry J or an Aero-Willys.  If you need a little more room, take a look at the Nash 600, an entry-level 1950 Plymouth, almost any Kaiser or a Studebaker Champion.  After all, they didn't call the later Champs "Scotsman" models for nothing.  For an all around great combination of size, economy and convenient travel to shows, try the Corvair, Falcon or Valiant.  Like I say, there are economical collector cars and we should all be buying at least one before the prices go wild.

Let's hear your thoughts. Click "comments" below or send me an email at John.Gunnell@FWPubs.com.

Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti and the drivers who challenged him on Sunday picked up their winnings Monday night at the Indy 500 victory banquet.

The drivers took home a record purse this year. It totaled $10.6 million. Franchitti picked up $1.6 million of that for himself and the Andretti Green racing team.

Since the race winner is married to singer Ashley Judd, you could say that the orange Corvette convertible coupe he won has now become a "Judd-kin's coupe" (but remember, Duesenberg used that name first).

If the 'Vette is a little slow for Dario, I'm sure Barrett-Jackson will be happy to take the car off his hands.

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Iowa automotive historian Bill Jepsen is compiling a new book called Made In Iowa: Iowa's Automobiles: An Entertaining and Enlighting History.  The 300-page-plus 8-1/2 x 11-inch coffeetable book contains more than 100 impeccably researched articles in seven categories. It also includes personality profiles of Walter P. Chrysler, Fred and Augie Duesenberg and William Galloway. The book can now be ordered at a pre-publication price of $29.95 through November 1.   After that, it will cost $39.95 per copy. For information email willin@galynx.com.

I just got off the phone with CeCelia Bruce (www.mgaparts@aol.com), who I'm going to nickname "Ms. MGA."  I was ordering engine parts for an MG Magnette sedan, which has the same 1500-cc engine as early MGA sports cars.  CeCeilia's knowledge of both models is amazing.  Since ordering engine parts is never an "exact science,"  CeCeilia has made up a little checklist that makes the process easy.  It lists every item needed in a typical rebuild and indicates how many of each you need.  After a couple of phone calls, I was totally convinced that CeCeilia was the right person to ask for help.

By the way, if you're restoring a Marmon, rather than an MGA, you may still want to give CeCeilia a call.  She told me that she was surprised by an order from a man who wanted two sets of MGA pistons.  Turns out he was restoring an eight-cylinder 1930 Marmon and somehow found out that his car takes exactly the same size piston as an MGA. Using the MG pistons in the Marmon requires a bit of machining to fit the wrist pins properly, but apparently it works and the MG pistons are a lot cheaper than a set for a Marmon.

I wonder how many old-car hobbyists think about the long-term significance of the repairs they do to their cars? 

For instance, I drove my MG TD to work yesterday and when I pulled into the parking lot I noticed the tach wasn't working.   Opened the hood and, sure enough, the fan belt had flown off.  Half of it had turned into a "string" that was wound around the fan hub.  The rest was just flopping.  I had an old emergency belt in the underhood tool box, but it was a tight fit, so I had to remove the generator.  When I did, I noticed the pulley was loose.  The Whitworth socket wrenches I had in the tool box were too "meaty" to get where they had to in order to tighten the nut all the way, but I got it tight enough to drive home. 

Thursday is work-on-the-car night and my mechanic friend Vince Sauberlich was there when I got home.  We took off the generator and pulley again.  "Do you see that brown stuff that looks like dust on the pulley?" Vince asked.  "That tells me the nut was working loose for awhile; as it did, it ground the rust off the threaded end of starter armature and deposited on the pulley." 

Vince thinks the armature is too short.  "I'll bet the last person who rebuilt the starter didn't have just the right armature," Vince guessed.  "So, he used a similar one that was just a little too short.  If I'm right, as you start driving the car again, you'll notice new brown dust on the pulley.  If that happens, you'll know the nut is working itself loose again. In that case, I'd replace the starter."

Like I said, there's a reason to do the job right the first time.  The car will work better for you and the next owner will know that the parts on the car are correct for it.