Warning: LONG WNDED RESPONSE...

At the first planning meeting for the Tricked Ponies show we talked about whether or not to create a separate class for SE Mustangs (Foose, Rousch, Shelby, Cragar, PJ, etc.). The challenges I saw (or maybe perceived is a better word) were:
  • Do we have one class for both convertibles and hardtops?
  • If only one convertible SE in that class shows up do we simply hand them the trophies? or do we fold them into the hardtop class?
  • If we fold them into the hardtop class what do we do with the trophies we purchased?
For a judged show its likely irrelevant since the judges would, hopefully, be using a consistent judging criteria. Another possible question to ask using the Open/Closed/Modified format is which class do you enter these SE cars into? Open/Closed? or Modified? After all the SE's may be stock in the eyes of the company that retrofitted them but modified in the eyes of Ford. And how do you handle the SE look-alikes? With the 2005+ Mustangs its easy for someone to buy GT500 bumper covers and hood. And with the older models we have companies like Unique Performance that take stock Mustangs and turn them into GT350's and GT500's. If someone built up their car one piece at a time in their garage people would see this as awesome but what about those who can afford to drop $250k on a Unique Performance GT500E Super Snake?

One of my suggestions at the first meeting had been to have separate GT and V6 classes. The challenge there was cost and timing. Adding a separate V6 class for each grouping would have doubled the number of trophies, the time to hand out awards, and possibly even increased the judging time. Where do you draw the line?

Lastly, in terms of what is modified, I suspect this will be a contested point to many. To me modified is performance modified. Throw a supercharger in a car and its most definitely modified. To others however its all about changes from the car that originally drove off the production line. The challenge, as you pointed out, is how many changes make the car modified? And how significant do the changes need to be? If someone installed a leather steering wheel cover or swapped out the stock floor mats does this constitute a modification? How about something that most people would never see like installing after-market shocks or sway bars?

Car Show planning is enough to give someone a headache!