I entered my GTS into a car show today

[pullin-gs]

I took my 1996 GTS to 2019 Black Diamond Car Show in Florida today.
This was an invitational show (no junk....cars were all very nice).
160+ cars were entered.
This is the first time I have ever shown any car that was judged.
*****I took MOPAR-best-of-show!*****
There was a ton of quality 60's-70's MOPAR muscle cars.
I did not even expect to take home a trophy, much less one of the top prizes w/$100 prize money!
Most MOPAR awards seem to always go to 60's-70's performance muscle....not today though.
Go figure. :-)

[LifeIsGood]

Pictures please...

[Fatboy 18]

We demand pics......:dude3:

[ddlesk06]

Pics!! Congrats!

[dave6666]

Whoa

[Silver GTS]

Congratulations on your win

[Bill W]

Congrats on the win. You're right, it's difficult for any late '90s car to beat entries from the '50s, '60s or '70s...even if it is a Viper.

[Horsepower junkie]

Don't surprise me when I take my 97 bw it is always the most photographed car at the show. Rare and timeless.

[FrankBarba]

Great News. How long do shows usually take..Say Prep Time, Drive Time, Set Up Time
and then how long is the actual show ? How many people usually stop by to visit your Viper ?
Do they ask to take pictures ? Do you allow those little kids sit in your Viper and have their
Dad take their picture smiling from ear to ear ? Or do you rope your car off so no one can bump,
rub their fingers on the paint, scratches ?

[pullin-gs]

Here are a few pictures.
Venue was on a golf course. It was very nice.

[ddlesk06]

What did you use to clean the engine bay? Looks great!

[pullin-gs]

Great News. How long do shows usually take..Say Prep Time, Drive Time, Set Up Time
and then how long is the actual show ? How many people usually stop by to visit your Viper ?
Do they ask to take pictures ? Do you allow those little kids sit in your Viper and have their
Dad take their picture smiling from ear to ear ? Or do you rope your car off so no one can bump,
rub their fingers on the paint, scratches ?
I spent about 6 hours on the car spread across two evenings.
Total expenses included $3 power vac at local carwash, and another $3 for cleaning stuff like microfiber cloth, paper towels.
It was in need of a good detailing, especially the interior, so the cleaning is something I should have done anyway even if not prepping for the show.
Interest in the car was pretty low. This is a rural/southern area where local community is into muscle cars.
This was shown in a gated retirement community's golf course, so that group tended to like the older pre-60's stuff.
I was parked right next to a 2005 Bentley.
The older generation was drooling over the Bentley which got about 4X more looks than mine did.
My Viper was cleaner than the Bentley though and showed better also IMO.
The car parked on my left was a wonderful older-restoration MOPAR muscle car. He was a contender for a prize I thought.
The Bentley took a trophy in top-3 for cars between 1980 and 2014. It was very nice I admit.
The Viper got a lot of pictures though, mostly from the ladies. :-)
I showed mine with original paperwork and ORIGINAL tires (I have never put any tire-shine stuff on these old tires...and they look great!).
Drive time to show was 15 minutes.
I left car out in open. Kids came around, but they were all very respectful.

[pullin-gs]

What did you use to clean the engine bay? Looks great!

I brushed loose crud away with a brush, then I used water from a spray bottle and cloth.
On some spots that had oil residue I used windex.
Only water for interior.

Exterior I soaked car, went over it with car-wash mix, the rinsed w/water again. Dried with 3 full-size good quality/clean towels, and then went over entire finish with micro-fiber cloth.
Touched up stubborn marks (bugs mostly) on paint finish and glass gently with magic eraser/water.
I found three very small spots on paint that I had to wax which cleaned up like new.
I have two very small chips...no scratches.....underside of nose valance is pretty scratched up, but can not see damage unless you are looking for it. One area that shows on valance could use some touch-up paint (blue).
Future plan & issues:
Restore original valance while it is on car.....maybe use a hand-planer on bottom edge, polish whole valance and touch-up with blue&white?

[Fatboy 18]

Awesome, Welcome to the "Best Mopar" Trophy Winners Club :dude3:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49011830666_d0885178ec_b.jpg

No Prize money here though!

[MD355]

Besides my 1994 Viper RT/10, wish I could have in my garage 1996 GTS too !!!! It looks so cool !!!

I remember back in the day when those two came out, I wanted to own one of each...

And guess what, 25 years later nothing has change, I still want to own one of each !!!

At least I have the RT/10 , which was my original dream !!

[outnumbered]

Congrats and great looking car.

[98RedGTS]

Touched up stubborn marks (bugs mostly) on paint finish and glass gently with magic eraser/water.



Your car so not judging but some people don't know so I figured I'd post. Magic eraser is actually an abrasive like a very fine sand paper. You may want to use the bug and tar remover in the future for those items.

Congrats and the car looks great.

[pullin-gs]

Your car so not judging but some people don't know so I figured I'd post. Magic eraser is actually an abrasive like a very fine sand paper. You may want to use the bug and tar remover in the future for those items.

Congrats and the car looks great.indeed....use with extreme caution. Thanks for calling that out. I assumed that people know this already. FYI Need to be cautious with bug/tar remover also. I

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

CONGRATS!!! Funny Guy Frank !!! Fish On.

Waaay back in 1993, when rare meant RARE...... the Viper would get surrounded by hoards of enthusiasts and curiosity seekers. I would get invited to shows most summer weekends. Constant streams of questions and photo seekers. {NO CELL-CAMS THEN!} Many wanted to hear it Run and Rev. Luckily, I had added glasspacks.

As Frank knows, I / we would always allow kids to sit in my car, wear the harness, grab the wheel, and get a pic.

I WILL NEVER FORGET THE BLIND BOY, about 14 years old. His dad was describing the car to him. I took 2 small detailing diapers ( No Micro-Fibers back then ) and let the young man discover my Viper by the BRAILLE METHOD. He slowly and meticulously went over the whole car with both hands, as spectators grew. He felt the crosshhairs, lights, fat-fenders, etc. He loved the sidepipes. We raised the clamshell hood together. He asked to hear it run. [His dad said he even starts and revs the dad's hot rod.] So I let him get in drivers seat, start, and rev it a couple times. He was totally respectful and grateful.

APPLAUSE burst out when he shut it off! The applause startled him, and his mom got teary-eyed.

Since the organizers had put me right in front, it was an easy next step to take him for a quick ride, harness on, and get back into my spot. The crowd parted like the Red Sea, and we did a 'respectful?' burnout launch and did a U-turn 2 blocks away and came back. The crowd split for the return to my spot, and AGAIN with the applause.

To this day, I have probably had 5000 people, including a few celebs, check out and sit in or on my Vipers. None can touch the magic of that one blind boy and his family. Thanks Team Viper.


Great News. How long do shows usually take..Say Prep Time, Drive Time, Set Up Time
and then how long is the actual show ? How many people usually stop by to visit your Viper ?
Do they ask to take pictures ? Do you allow those little kids sit in your Viper and have their
Dad take their picture smiling from ear to ear ? Or do you rope your car off so no one can bump,
rub their fingers on the paint, scratches ?

[ACRSNK]

Great story Jon and so kind of you to allow that to happen I

[FrankBarba]

I replied the way I did so JonB would chime in and give us a history lesson