As far as minitruckers are concerned, winter sucks-especially if you're from the East, or the North. Snow blows. If you're from the South or West it still sucks, because driving in the rain isn't fun when it's going into the motor, (since chances are you don't have inner fenders). And, it's not fun when mud starts to hit the back window (because you don't have back fender wells either). So what should we do during these dreary months? Most of us just park the truck and bring it out when the sun shines, others tear 'em down and rebuild, while others just do some spring-cleaning in the winter.
Regardless of where you live, the off-season is a great time to get your truck ready to show. Of course, to most minitruckers it's not just about the trophies, it's about going to a show to meet up with old friends and make new ones. To a good majority of us though, the hunger to show is still there: It's evident when you see the numbers across the nation at some of our most prestigious shows. So what does it take to place at a show? What does it take to bring home the gold for the home team? Or maybe you just want the bragging rights, or want to clown the other guy with a blue Frontier from your town. Well, we decided to find out, so we went to our good friends from Forbidden Fantasy for some help.
Brian Goude, president of Forbidden Fantasy, aka FFF (don't ask about the third F, let's just say we're not allowed to print it), has been throwing one of the biggest shows in the country, that is run by a club, for 10 years now. So we asked Brian for the lowdown on how to take the coveted Best of Show Trophy home from his show and this is what he had to say:
"To take home the $15 trophy at a usual show you must accumulate points. A point is usually given for each modification done to your vehicle. Is this fair? Not always. But when you are dealing with more than 600 vehicles that need to be judged in a five-hour period, it's the most efficient way to weed out the great from the good. The downfall to this way of judging is that sometimes quality gets passed up by the guy who crashed his SUV into the cool-guy aisle at Pep Boys. Best of Show is not based on how many points you have, but by the quality of appearance of the vehicle. We look at the package, the way the vehicle came together and presents itself to set it apart from the field of show vehicles. It does not need crazy graphics, expensive suspension parts, or a Gucci interior. However, it does need quality bodywork, exceptional paint, lots of innovation, and a proportioned stance. Spending a lot of time in the garage cleaning, detailing, and making it shine is what we look for in Best of Show. If you want some ideas, go to a lowrider show and take notes. They have taken most of our Best of Show trophies home over the years."
Cleaning your ride at a show...
Cleaning your ride at a show is crucial for those points.
So what we have learned from Brian's statement, besides the fact that Lolo's are taking our trophies, is that taking the time to clean and detail your ride is what really sets you apart. Brian also gave us his top-secret judging sheet, so we can see how the point breakdown occurs. The sheet is broken down into five basic categories and, from there, split into sub-categories. The major categories are: exterior, body mods, interior, engine, and undercarriage.