I’ve been doing car shows for quite some time now (2002 was my first), and I’ve seen a lot of car show displays. From the elegant to the obscene, there’s a lot of ways people display their car. But the one thing I’ve always stood behind, whether it be car show displays or really anything in life, it’s always best to keep it simple.
If you look at any of the top-tier shows like World of Wheels, or Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals, the car show displays have one thing in common, they let the car do the talking and let a simple car show sign fill in the details. Whether you call it a car show sign or a car show board, it’s standard to have in your car show display. You won’t see any crying dolls or any idiotic stuff like that, but rather the best cars in the world. It’s the simple premise of having the car the main focus of the display.
What I’m really trying to say is if you have a great car, you will not need much to grab people’s attention. And especially when it comes to judged shows, the best car show displays let the car shine! There’s no distractions, no fake food on a tray or oversized stuffed animals… nothing to get in the way of the car doing it’s job!
So speaking of a car show display sign what should go on it?? Well there’s some different ideas. Some will just say that it should contain the year, make, and model, along with some specs and production numbers. But others will simply say it’s whatever makes the car special to YOU! It’s what attracted you to the car, how you bought the car or how you restored it. Let there be no mistake about it, it’s your car… share the story of how it became your car!
There are however some small things you can do to add to a car show display. Placing mirrors under the vehicle to show the undercarriage is a great way to show that your car is taken care of. It doesn’t have to be wet sanded and buffed to a shine, but just clean. Also don’t forget to make sure your wheel wells and inside the tires are clean. Take the time, take off the wheels and clean the insides. While you’re in there, clean up your suspension components. Making sure those are spotless will give you higher scores when the judges come around. Next I would take a good look at the door jambs and make sure those are cleaned, as well as any seals and rubber trim cleaned and dressed. Because after all, any good car show display should have a clean car in it!
Just remember, the biggest part of a car show display should be the car! Don’t feel that you need to out-do anyone with your car show display, just let your car do the talking and your car show sign back it up! It really doesn’t get much more simple than that. Because when you try to complicate it, your car just gets lost in the display. And for god sakes, have some fun at the car show… because that’s why we all go!