2004 Car Shows and Awards

Shelton, Nebraska
After the disastrous experience at my first car show last year I decided my next attempt would be at a smaller show a little closer to home. The Lincoln L Highway car show in Shelton, Nebraska seemed just the ticket. Shelton is a town of about 1400 people just 14 miles east of Grand Island. It was also only the second year that they had hosted a car show, so I knew that it would not have too many entrants. My Grandson, Joshuah, again went with me.
The show was held in the first part of May, which in Nebraska is practically still winter. The day was cold (40's) and a stiff breeze was blowing out of the north. It was sunny though, so if you could get out of the wind it wasn't too bad. We arrived at the show about 9:00 AM and spent most of our time in the cab until around noon. By noon the wind had died down and it was comfortable enough to get Maych ready for judging and to visit with the other participants.
Because of the limited number of entrants in the show, the classes were rather broad. The class Maych was placed in included all original pickups 1949 and newer. After surveying the competition, I felt pretty good about Maych 's chances. The only original truck in the show that I felt was a sure winner was an immaculate 1930's GMC, but it was in a different class.
Sure enough, Maych won "Best in Class". Even though the competition was rather light, after last year's debacle, I was proud that Maych had won his first trophy and nothing bad happened, either during of after the car show.

Fullerton, Nebraska
Encouraged by our success at the Shelton car show, we decided to give the Fullerton car show another shot. In case you don't know, at last year's show I didn't raise the hood because it was not one of Maych's best features and I was disqualified as a result. Since then I have done a lot of detail work under the hood and it now looks pretty dang good.
Well, I'm happy to say that this year went a lot smoother than last. Acting on the lessons we learned from last year's show, we arrived early and got one of the good spots in the shade and I proudly raised my hood for the judging. My Grandson, Joshuah, was once again my side kick. My wife said he enjoyed going to the show more than she did, so he's become my show partner. I think he was more proud of the trophy we won in Shelton than I was. I also think he kind of knows that Maych will belong to him someday.

This time around we did a lot better. We didn't win first place in our class, but we did take home a runner up trophy. At Fullerton, they give 3 trophies in each class -- one first place and two runner ups. The 2 runner up trophies don't represent 2nd and 3rd place, they just mean you didn't win 1st place. The truck that won first place was the same one that one first place last year. I have visited a lot over the past 2 years with the gentleman that owns that truck and we have done a lot of comparison of our two vehicles. He and I both agree that between the two trucks Maych is the more original restoration. He seems to think that with a little more attention to the undercarriage I would easily take first place. I don't know if that's true, but I decided I would spend some time this summer working on getting the undercarriage spruced up a bit. I'll chronicle that in an upcoming episode in the Progress section. Then, next year, we'll see if his advice was correct.

Grand Island, Nebraska
I had intended to enter Maych in the Grand Island car show last year. But the engine problems I encountered on the trip back from the Fullerton car show last year put an end to those plans. This year Joshuah and I decided we would give it a try. The Grand Island car show is one of the last shows of the season. It is held in August at Stolley Park, which is only a few blocks from my house.
The Grand Island car show is fairly good size, but it tends to attract more cars than trucks. Because of this, the classes for pickups are rather broad. At this show Maych was in the same class as the 1930's GMC pickup that took first place in the Shelton car show. After looking over the competition I told the gentleman that owns the 1930's GMC that he would win 1st place and Maych would come in second. Sure enough, that's exactly how it turned out. I didn't feel too bad though because Maych is a driver and his is mainly for show. He did drive the truck to this show but that is because he lives here in Grand Island. He trailers the truck to all of the out of town shows. I'll have to admit that it is one fine truck and he deserved the win. I'll just have to pick shows that puts us in different classes. He also won 1st place in his class at this year's show in Fullerton.
There were a few more car shows this season, but I decided 3 was plenty for this year and I wanted to have time to do a little more work on Maych before winter. Next year we'll see if my work pays.


	Shelton, Nebraska After the disastrous experience at my first car show last year I decided my next attempt would be at a smaller show a little closer to home. The Lincoln L Highway car show in Shelton, Nebraska seemed just the ticket. Shelton is a town of about 1400 people just 14 miles east of Grand Island. It was also only the second year that they had hosted a car show, so I knew that it would not have too many entrants. My Grandson, Joshuah, again went with me. The show was held in the first part of May, which in Nebraska is practically still winter. The day was cold (40's) and a stiff breeze was blowing out of the north. It was sunny though, so if you could get out of the wind it wasn't too bad. We arrived at the show about 9:00 AM and spent most of our time in the cab until around noon. By noon the wind had died down and it was comfortable enough to get Maych ready for judging and to visit with the other participants. Because of the limited number of entrants in the show, the classes were rather broad. The class Maych was placed in included all original pickups 1949 and newer. After surveying the competition, I felt pretty good about Maych 's chances. The only original truck in the show that I felt was a sure winner was an immaculate 1930's GMC, but it was in a different class. Sure enough, Maych won "Best in Class". Even though the competition was rather light, after last year's debacle, I was proud that Maych had won his first trophy and nothing bad happened, either during of after the car show. Fullerton, Nebraska Encouraged by our success at the Shelton car show, we decided to give the Fullerton car show another shot. In case you don't know, at last year's show I didn't raise the hood because it was not one of Maych's best features and I was disqualified as a result. Since then I have done a lot of detail work under the hood and it now looks pretty dang good. Well, I'm happy to say that this year went a lot smoother than last. Acting on the lessons we learned from last year's show, we arrived early and got one of the good spots in the shade and I proudly raised my hood for the judging. My Grandson, Joshuah, was once again my side kick. My wife said he enjoyed going to the show more than she did, so he's become my show partner. I think he was more proud of the trophy we won in Shelton than I was. I also think he kind of knows that Maych will belong to him someday. This time around we did a lot better. We didn't win first place in our class, but we did take home a runner up trophy. At Fullerton, they give 3 trophies in each class -- one first place and two runner ups. The 2 runner up trophies don't represent 2nd and 3rd place, they just mean you didn't win 1st place. The truck that won first place was the same one that one first place last year. I have visited a lot over the past 2 years with the gentleman that owns that truck and we have done a lot of comparison of our two vehicles. He and I both agree that between the two trucks Maych is the more original restoration. He seems to think that with a little more attention to the undercarriage I would easily take first place. I don't know if that's true, but I decided I would spend some time this summer working on getting the undercarriage spruced up a bit. I'll chronicle that in an upcoming episode in the Progress section. Then, next year, we'll see if his advice was correct. Grand Island, Nebraska I had intended to enter Maych in the Grand Island car show last year. But the engine problems I encountered on the trip back from the Fullerton car show last year put an end to those plans. This year Joshuah and I decided we would give it a try. The Grand Island car show is one of the last shows of the season. It is held in August at Stolley Park, which is only a few blocks from my house. The Grand Island car show is fairly good size, but it tends to attract more cars than trucks. Because of this, the classes for pickups are rather broad. At this show Maych was in the same class as the 1930's GMC pickup that took first place in the Shelton car show. After looking over the competition I told the gentleman that owns the 1930's GMC that he would win 1st place and Maych would come in second. Sure enough, that's exactly how it turned out. I didn't feel too bad though because Maych is a driver and his is mainly for show. He did drive the truck to this show but that is because he lives here in Grand Island. He trailers the truck to all of the out of town shows. I'll have to admit that it is one fine truck and he deserved the win. I'll just have to pick shows that puts us in different classes. He also won 1st place in his class at this year's show in Fullerton. There were a few more car shows this season, but I decided 3 was plenty for this year and I wanted to have time to do a little more work on Maych before winter. Next year we'll see if my work pays.