What Judges Look For
Throughout the day we judged six vehicles, both Concourse Trailered and Concourse Driven. One car, a Concourse Driven 1964 ½ Ford Mustang Convertible, really grabbed my attention. With a build date of March 1964, it’s one of the earliest Mustangs I’ve ever seen in such good condition. In fact, its build date precedes the Ford Mustang’s launch on April 17, 1964.As judges, we were given a judging sheet for each vehicle we examined. The sheet defined the vehicle’s class and year. It was up to us to make sure everything matched. We first checked the vehicle’s VIN Numbers, paint color, interior color, and engine code to make sure everything was up to par. Then we went down the list, judging all the items the judging sheet details. If something was incorrect on the car, points were deducted and notes were made on the sheet.
In all, the judging sheet was 14 pages long. It covered five categories: Engine Compartment, Interior, Exterior, Undercarriage, Trunk. When I say we covered everything in detail, I mean we really got down and dirty.
As judges you spend a lot of time crouching, knelling, and looking under Mustangs to see if there are any undercarriage issues. An “issue”, for instance, might be an exhaust system that is not properly mounted to original specs, or is mounted but with the wrong hardware. You won’t catch this if you don’t take the time to look under the vehicle.
One thing you don’t do as a judge is touch the vehicle, accidentally scratch the vehicle, or damage the vehicle in any way. This means you examine the Mustang without making any contact, unless it’s to open a door to examine the interior, open the trunk, etc. Of course, as judges you’re instructed to ask the owner before doing so. The last thing you want to do is damage a valuable show car.
While most of the team, including yours truly, worked our way down the judging sheet methodically, some folks, such as our Team leader Craig, were able to catch point deductions on the fly. He’s been doing this for such a long time, it’s second nature to him. As we walked around the vehicles he would say, “Jonathan, notice how those door jams are painted a different color from the vehicle’s exterior? That’s a point deduction.” I looked at the sheet, and sure enough it was.
All in a Day’s Work
When the day was over I walked away with a new found respect for judges at Mustang shows. All too often people view judges as the guys and gals who find “problems” which result in “point deductions.” As we made our rounds at the show, we took time to talk to the owners. We got to know the cars and we got to know the people who drive them. For us, it wasn’t about point deductions. Our goal was to judge each vehicle fairly and to make sure everyone at the show was having a good time. After all, people go to shows to have fun. If you forget that part of the equation, you’re missing the point.In all, there’s a lot more to know about judging than I could ever list here. For those of you who might want to judge at a Mustang car show, I would recommend talking to existing judges in your club. They can provide valuable insight into the process.
I’d also recommend checking out the Mustang Club of America’s Judging program. It’s a great way to help out while making new friends. Best of all you don’t have to know everything there is to know about the Mustang. The judging program will train you as you progress through the ranks, hopefully to Gold Card status and higher!
And if you’re like me, you might just find judging cars addicting. I know I do. That’s why I plan to continue judging at shows for years to come. It’s a great way to spend the day and it’s a great way to give back to your organization.
