Great show. Awesome getting to meet other Mustang owners. Lots of really nice Mustangs. When was the last time you got to see a Boss 429 and a Twister Special at the same place? And both were perfect.

I have a different opinion of how things were run. The MCOH should go to the Austin show and take notes. The Austin club really have their act together, IMOH.

The Austin show is in a huge parking lot at a church. That allows them to use all the space they want, which allows them to allow lots of space for each generation. No matter what time you show up, you're directed to an area where your generation of cars are parked and you park with them.

The Houston show is at an auto dealership. The club was expecting up to 150 cars. An area was cleared for the car show. Well, the club missed - by a lot. There were closer to 200 cars there. All these people who didn't register showed up. They were given the primary spots because they showed up at the earliest time. I pre-registered and showed up at 10:30. By that time a second area had been cleared by the dealership. I was ushered to about as far away from the place where the registration, t-shirts, announcements, etc. as they possibly could have put me. In my opinion, the primary section should have been reserved for the people who pre-registered.

The judging categories was another eyebrow raiser. The Austin show splits the categories by generation AND body style. I took my '67 coupe the last two years to Austin. I was only judged against other '67 & '68 coupes. The verts and fastbacks, who obviously get more dollars spent on them, were in separate categories. And resto-mods were in a separate category.

The Houston show pitted all 64.5 - 70 against each other. Categories were split between hardly driven with less than 5 mods (that was category 1), more than 5 mods, and daily driven. There was a '65 convertible parked behind mine (in the second overflow area). That car was beautiful. As a matter of fact, I voted for it as my show favorite. The car had fuel injection, 5-speed transmission, rack and pinion, coil-over suspension, chrome everything, after-market seats with the pony interior, JME Enterprises gauge set, American Racing wheels, the list goes on. He entered his car in category 1. And his car didn't win the category!! There was also a '67 convertible. Power windows, power locks, a spoiler from a late '90s retrofitted to his trunk (that looked really good too), shelby side scoops, custom interior, Autometer gauges, custom interior, custom wheels. Again, in category 1.

And before you accuse me of whining.....

I'm really happy to own the car I have. When I drive it around, I get lots of thumbs up. But when I take it to a Mustang show, its average at best. I had absolutely NO delusions of winning a trophy. But when I show up and get put in BFE, then see that I'm up against cars like those, that spoils the experience for me.

 

There were 2 at the show that looked like yours:

 

No show is perfect. I like the dealership location because of the general public traffic it brings. I go to shows to meet people, talk cars and see cars. I have thrown away more trophies than most will ever win, could care less about winning another one really. Its about the event, the day and the people to talk with on a hobby I truly enjoy.

Different for everyone just like the cars.

I am sure if MCOH had any idea they were going to get 200 cars, they would have started off parking differently. I did not preregister and did park in the first section. They were parking preregistered near the registration and working out. They parked me all the way out by the street. I did not mind, just pointing out that they intended to show preferential to the preregistereds and ran out of space. More entries than they had ever expected. A nice problem to have.

I do have one fine whine though....the judging sheet needs to be fixed such that a GT500 is not docked 5 points for not having a spare tire it never came with and would not fit in the car if I wanted to add one....Should I have won? Well, I think my car was better than the winner but I admit bias :-)

 

Those cars look much cleaner than mine is, but maybe some day I can compete. I am always humbled when going to car shows and seeing what people spend for color and shine! I have decided thus far to spend my cash on power not beauty, but I do appreciate it.

Wow, Boss429. Very few of those guys around. I will never forget seeing an unrestored Boss429 at Austin MOC show. It was a little rough, but what a car and what an awesome project and expense for someone to restore it!

"The car had fuel injection, 5-speed transmission, rack and pinion, coil-over suspension, chrome everything, after-market seats with the pony interior, JME Enterprises gauge set, American Racing wheels, the list goes on. He entered his car in category 1."

How is that car slightly modified? I did not see the car, but it sounds like they should have DQed him or at least put him in Class #2 or 3. I always get a kick out of what people consider modified and unmodified. To me, my car is highly modified, even though I have basically period correct stuff. My car did not come with an aftermarket block, Holley carb, Edelbrock intake, MSD ignition, aluminum radiator, Strange rearend, four wheel disc, Hurst shifter, etc. Daily driver or highly modified is where most cars should be be and let you guys with data plate correct parts compete in the original classes...Good show officials would get that all lined out at registration. I'll get off my soap box now.

Sorry I missed it. Maybe next year!...and maybe Austin this summer.