Some Assembly Required – My First Concours

Well, technically, not exactly correct. My first concours was several years ago when I showed my 1967 Etype 2+2 in the Driven Class at Little Switzerland. But I just recently showed my 1963 Etype FHC in its first concours. So how did it go? OK but I identified a new punch list of things to correct.

As discussed in my previous article I have been getting ready for a JCNA Concours near Orlando, put on by the Jaguar Club of North Florida. All in all, it was a very pleasant event. I had arrived at the host hotel the day before, after a somewhat white knuckle drive down I-95 from my home base near Raleigh. Aerodynamic principles seem to dictate that when my enclosed trailer was passed on the left by any vehicle of substantial size it was sucked toward said vehicle. Although just a slight countersteer to the right kept me from crashing into the passing vehicle, it remained unnerving throughout the trip. I believe the NASCAR guys describe this as “side drafting”. Towing with my F-150 pickup, my fuel gauge was visibly dropping towards E. I had to stop for fuel every 200 miles. That’s OK, being in my 70’s, I like stopping a lot anyway.

The “show field” was basically the parking lot of the club house for a local country club, inside a gated community. There was ample parking for the 25 or so cars entered. The cars ranged from XK120s to F-Types. I had signed up to judge and was assigned a group of modern sedans. Judging these mainly boils down to inspections for cleanliness, although a few of them got caught out for not having the hardware for mounting their front license plate available for inspection. Yes, even if your state does not require a front license plate, the JCNA Concours Rules require that the front license plate hardware be available for inspection by the judges. Most of the cars were very clean but some were cleaner than others and the ranking of winners basically came down to which entrant had done the best job of cleaning their cars. As an aside, if you have a newer car and plan to show it in Champion, keep on top of the black surfaces in your engine compartment. I usually volunteer to judge engine compartments and as the cars become a few years old, the black surfaces seem to fade at a different rate. This is probably due to proximity to heat from the exhaust and, at the base of the windshield, due to some parts being in the sunlight. There are detailing products that you can use that will help keep say, your black plastic parts, all the same shade of black. The same goes for rubber components. That said, black painted surfaces don’t seem to suffer from fading nearly as much. Also, be very protective of any decals inside the engine compartment. These are almost impossible to replace, if damaged.

At some point, it became time for my car to be judged. The other two guys on my judging team got to take a break as I went over to show my car. Everything was going pretty well until we got to the Operational Verification (OV) check. There was some consternation by the judge at the back of the car concerning my brake lights. As in, they came on and would not go off! I was to find out much later, when I got home, that the 60 year pressure switch in the engine compartment had failed On. Murphy’s Law demonstrated once again. Based on some verbal “coaching” from the lead judge (the well known Gary Hagopian), I was also found to be deficient regarding some details regarding screws in my engine compartment and the configuration of my aftermarket dash pad. Later research reviewed that he was indeed correct. The complete list of deductions on the score sheets is not typically shared with the entrant until the score sheets are reviewed by the Chief Judge. They are then mailed to the participant. As of this writing I haven’t received them yet but based on my final score, there were certainly other items that I will need to look into.

So what was my final score, you might ask? With the brake light issue, I was resigned to the fact that I was not in the running for a trophy. At the awards banquet, I was quite surprised to hear that my car had finished 3rd (out of 4 cars) with a score of 98.66. Not bad for my first attempt. As I hinted above, I now have a new improved punch list of things to work on to improve the car. Speaking of which, I made a side trip on the way home and stopped at the Coventry Foundation in Columbia, SC. The foundation president, George Camp, did a very thorough inspection of my car. He identified a few additional items for my punch list. I do appreciate that he took the time to inspect my car.

My car is back home at the New Hill Garage. Approximately 1300 miles roundtrip. No major incidents. I have already begun the installation of a new dash pad and have dealt with most of the other minor items on my punch list. A new old stock pressure switch for the brake lights is operating correctly, so far, fingers crossed. If it was easy, everyone would do it!