I have decided to edit remove my original post from the "Joke" thread.
I am sure that there are plenty of people who enjoyed the experience.

I am looking forward to the next National wherever it ends up and I will certainly try to get to it.

Here is the original post.I welcome your comments:

Hi All

My name is Nick Moran and I am from the far North Coast of NSW. I am a member of the Summerland Classic and Sporting Car Club, Lismore and the Falcon GT Owners Club of QLD. I am not currently a member of a Monaro based club.

Firstly (and to get back into the real spirit of why we go to these events) Gday to evryone whose path I crossed on my first Monaro Nationals. I hope you all (like me) had a basically good time.



My car is the Picardy Red HK Bathurst Monaro which was entered in Concourse.

Most know that there can be "inner circles" in most things in life and the rule book can be interpereted differently by separate individuals. Its all part of the human condition I guess. We all like to be a part of the family......

I was not in "the family" when I arrived at the Nationals but shortly after I was made to feel that way! The first thing I noticed was Jenny Barrington working her butt off registering everyone looking somewhat flustered... but in control....Steve Chris (and other volunteers) were standing in the rain doing the scrutineer thing and as busy as they were, both took time out to speak to me and make me feel welcome. So many people engaged me on that rainy afternoon. Some spoke fondly of Jeff Brown (who originally restored the car) which won a trophy at Wangarratta all those years ago) and many people recognised the car from its successful debut at Wangarratta all those years ago....Joanne and I were some of the last to leave that day.

The rest of the event was the same for me and by the end I had no voice from talking so (too) much.

Whilst I say publicly that I am (thanks mostly to the late Jeff Brown, who restored the car more than a decade ago, and his friend Steve Clark who bougt the car from Jeff. Apart from some final detailing by myself the car was pretty much presented as I bought it.) the current custodian of one of the most accurate and best presented Bathurst HKs in the country ....it was not quite good enough to receive a trophy.

After the event, instead of whinging anonymously on a public forum, I went to Chris and Steve (both of whom I had never met until the National) and asked where I went wrong in the preparation of this car. Although I've not seen the judging sheet they were both only too happy to give me some tips which will help me with future presentations and they told me that it scored well.I understand that I can also request the judging information in writing.

Like some others I too felt a moment of deflation during the trophy announcements. I quickly parked that emotion and continued to have a good night meeting more good people.

The only comment I can make regarding the Concourse section of the event is that there were two concours cars parked and judged away from the Concours area. I did not know that these cars were competing and they both turned out to be trophy winners. This was obviously a glitch on the day and I am sure it would have been corrected if noticed earlier.

My humble opinion of Concours is that it only be open to outstanding cars which present (in ALL areas including paint and trim) as showroom or very, very close to it.

Before anyone decides to berate me for having this opinion I would like to say that I have other cars which in some ways are similar to the Red Monaro. One of which is an extremely original, accurate and tidy XYGT I would not dare to consider entry into concours at the GT Nats. It is nowhere near the best of the best....

Many thanks to my good friend NICK GONTAS who has been most helpful in providing me with information and accurate bits in the lead up to the 2008 National. People like Nick provide people like me with info which may just knock his car off in future events.

Thanks to James Van Buren for the Packard leads.

Whinging about how the event was run/judged won't change anything.

If you didn't like it, walk, or get elected to a committee so you can try to change things properly. Just remember these people are volunteers.

Also on values being affected by what is being said about the Nationals on the twelve plus page thread...NAH. If any Monaro is for sale and the buyer has the dough, the last thing the buyer will be thinking of is the thread...
Come to think of it, compared to GTs Monaros are still undervalued ( and I am saying that as a GT enthusiast). Monaros are certainly holding their own in the current market.

All in all I think the judging was reasonable and congrats to those who were successful. I have done a bit more work to my car to make it a little more accurate.

If any of you are heading my way please take this as an invitation to drop me a line and arrange to drop in.

Cheers
Nick.
041 761 5648.

Edited by user Friday, 12 December 2008 8:30:10 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Hi nick..... your post is a good read and you make some valid points... i personally would be glad to see the other thread locked as vic club bashing has been done to death...

I understand your dissapointment as your car was a very very nice example o

Greetings,
On the subject of classes at these events, why is a class called Factory Authentic when most cars in it are anything but an authentic example as it rolled out the factory? Dealer added gizmos and the like are not Factory Authentic. Concours sh

Hi HERCV8 Penny???
Thanks for the tip. I thought it was a South Aust car.It is hard to beat a fresh resto. If that was the car then it was outstanding. I am doing more work to freshen the HK up and will be showing it a little more.

Edited by user Monday, 8 December 2008 9:28:53 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Well said "Silverfox"
I am learning a lot about these car shows,the judging etc. I have always been a spectator, I have never had a rare or classic vehicle to show.But I am always interested in how they are judged,and the details the judges look for.I ad

Hello Nick,

Yes the first Monaro Nationals at Wangaratta in 1998 Jeff took out GM-H choice. It was selected by Laurie Spark and Bob Watson, who were guests and speakers at the event.

Due to it being the 50th anniversary year there was a lot of repor

Some of the comments on Nicks HK are valid, however there are two here that are not.

Carpet and radial ply tyres were optional in 1968, and therefore they can be fitted to the car and still qualify.

It is also allowable for some early Holden clubs t

I do remember some details about Jeffs car being sold in the first place, and would prefer not to comment on it being resold. Yes I remember talking to you about the Warwick Yellow 327 values.

The next Monaro nationals is yet to be finalised and theref

The correct spelling of the class that is the subject of this debate is c-o-n-c-o-u-r-s. In the car world, concours is usually the highest class. I own a concours 66 L72 Corvette coupe as well as Holdens. The 66 won many accolades in America before coming