Hi SRS'er, Need some new idea's on activities at a car show.
Like new things to do for a porker walk and activites during the day. We're getting tired of doing the same old things.
So i'm asking what is your favorite things to do or watch at a show?
We usally do the wheel barrel race, the pusher is blind folded,
The best one we have right now, and been doing it for the last 4 years, is the engine build. See who can put a engine together the fastest and let it run for 30 seconds.

Any idea's?

Rick
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awsum34

Hey that engine build thing is way cool! do you supply the engine....does the winner get to keep it?
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KEEP THE GREAZY SIDE DOWN! Lobucrod

Hi Mike, Yes we supply the two motors that they rebuild. Hate to say but no they don't keep them. But there name goes into a drawing for a rebuild one that we give away.
Oh by the way the record is 23.18 minutes to rebuild and let it run for 30 seconds.
It's a two man team, two teams at a time, ( have two motors). We have two engine tec that over see the rebuild. when there done the tools must be rehung on the board before the motor can be started.
If you thinking of how many has been scraped. we've had a few.

Rick

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awsum34

Did you mean to say PORKer walk??? Is that like a Nebraskan pet animal exercise, or a challenge to us waistband impaired folks?...;-)

a few Idears;

Creeper obstacle course races, on their back go through a course, chalk lines on the pavement with jackstands and/or spare wheels for obstacles.

Dropping push rods from standing position into a small neck (unbreakable) bottle for points.

Identifying non-mainstream cars from photos, for points

Fan belt toss over posts on a board, different points for different posts.

number of used sparkplugs in the otherwise empty shine jug.

slow races, run two cars a measured distance, no brakes, in gear, divisions for automatic and stick, object is to see who takes the longest to idle the distance...this is more Kustom car oriented, but fun.

One that some local clubs do is a flatwasher toss into a small coffee can from about 15 or 20 feet using all different sizes and weights of FWs. Another is a spark plug change where they time you taking all the plugs out of a set of heads bolted to a board and then putting them back in. The grocery guess works too. That's where you guess how much the table full of groceries cost...the one that gets the closest gets the groceries. They do it with miscellaneous car stuff too. An enthusiastic person on the microphone helps get people fired up too. Wives and girlfriends (boyfriends, for Denise) are encouraged to participate and have their own prizes.

There's a little farm town near here that has "Sweet Corn Days" where the whole town celebrates. They have a parade thru town with tractors, firetrucks, Shriners, hot rods, high school band, cub scouts, etc. Then the whole town goes out to a big field outside of town where there is the car show, tractor pulling (everything from kids on pedal tractors to blown alcohol unlimiteds), tents with activities for kids and adults, local bluegrass band, homemade food from local church groups, antique tractor show, and all the sweet corn you can eat. Anyway, the car show is put on by a local car club and is a lot of fun because there is always something going on. The trophies at the end are homemade reworked bowling trophies and club members pick the winning cars. The categories are like ladies choice, most unfinished, ugliest color (I won that last year), most likely to not make it home, and so on. They usually change the categories from year to year. They don't charge for the show and when you register they give you a number and have door prize drawings all day long for donated prizes. The point is, its all in fun and everyone that goes usually comes back. My wife even likes it. The club that puts it on puts a lot of work into it without getting anything back except a LOT of compliments on what a great show they put on. I've won three trophies over the years there. One for winning the muffler rap which has an old lawnmower muffler stuck on top. One for ladies choice which has a Barbie doll and a couple of other dolls glued to it. And one for the ugliest paint color which has a can of latex paint with a bunch of paintbrushes and color charts fanned out behind it and 4 really wild painted hotwheels cars in front. Its my favorite, and all three of them are right in front of the trophy shelf (I don't try to win trophies...sometimes stuff just happens).

I don't go to the car shows where you just sit behind your car all day unless there is a lot of things to do or its a long ways away and I can enjoy the cruise there and back.

I guess I got a little sidetracked, sorry. Just a few thoughts on what makes a good car show in my opinion.

Hi George, ever tried the cracker whistle? Have them eat two crackers and the fastest one that can whistle wins.
(stand back when they try to whistle)

For the trophies, we have best unfinished. It's a trophy that's not put together, just hand it to them in a bag.


Rick
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awsum34

It sounds like you're going to have a fun show. I'm assuming its in Kansas. When is it?

Your other post about the mystery person paper in the goody bag reminded me that we do one something like that but it has 5 signatures they have to get and there are hints about where to find the 5 people. Like the big guy that smokes a cigar in the swap meet or the lady at a certain vendor booth or a host clubmember named Tom and things like that. It keeps people moving around and visiting the swap area and vendors. Then when they come back with their card all signed, they draw cards for a poker hand out of a bag and the best poker hand at the end of the day wins a real nice prize.

George, Yes it is in Kansas, Lawerance Ks. It's June 9th and 10th. That's the one i'm trying to get some idea's for. This year will be there third show.
There's another on in Ottawa Kansas. It's as big as frog follies, park setting, Last year they brought in 1,500 cars. They think this year will be around 2,500, As soon as i find out the dates i'll post them, just incase you would like to come to Kansas.

Rick
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awsum34

Hi Dr. when i said porker. guess i was looking looking down at myself when i was typing. lol... Glad you brought that up. Now it's diet time.. thanks.... But your right i meant Poker walk.. Sorry...
Here 's some we have done in the past. Chew two crakers and see who can whistle the fastest.
Stack different size parts and see who can get them the highest.
Tire change. see who can change it the fastest.
Spark plug change.
The nut and bolt. Put some nuts and bolts in a box and see how fast they can put them together. different sizes. including metric.
Piston toss.

there's a few we've done

Rick
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awsum34

Hope this goes tonite, tried twice last nite and the web kept refusing my response. Anyway here goes.
1) timing chain toss-similar to fan belt toss
2) make a cross section with 2 1x4 boards, at each end attach an old baby moon hub cap
upside down, stand back about 12-15 ft toss lug nuts into the caps use say 8 nuts most
in wins
3) header drop- take an old header mount collector up cut the tubes to differing lengths
with a cup at the end of each tube. drop small ball bearings in the collector, have each
cup with a point value-the twistier the header the better
4) go fishing-put a bunch of old engine parts i.e. air filter, dist. cap, timing chain, cam
gear, single plug wire, in a box. use about a 5-6 ft pole with a large hook(dull the point)
fastest time getting everything out of the box wins
5) driving event(fastest dump on the toilet) need driver and passenger/driver starts from
standstill accelerates about 50ft to a toilet bowl(seat up) by the roadside, passenger
bails out of car with inflated balloon, runs to toilet, lets seat down, sits on balloon to pop,
runs back to car, driver must stay stopped until passenger is in and door closed. driver
takes off for about another 50ft to the finish line. Fastest dump wins
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BOBBY

awsum34, where are you located? Last time on the chat Denice said you lived close to me. I live in Raymore, Mo.
About 30 miles south of K.C.MO.

Hi KC, i live in Overland Park. My youngest son has a gril friend that lives in Raymore.
You know what shows you're going to this year?

Rick
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awsum34

I have seen a race for the best time around an obstacle course.The vehical is a go cart with reverse steering and is pushed by one person.It's a lot of fun to drive and a hoot to watch....Ray
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Grump

We were brainstorming for game ideas to freshen up one of our local car shows just last week. We have in the past clocked the time to mount and then remove a wheel (with tire) from an axle, remove and install a set of spark plugs and a fan belt toss. One new idea was to guess the weight of a large stack of steel parts. As you see, nothing really great. So, I will be watching this thread as it develops for ideas that we can use.
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Dick Z

Another one our club is getting into is Pinewood derby races...Official Cub Scout rules! The idea is to get back to the roots, read fast build and cheap, as opposed to where the valve cover races have gone. Keep the rules that require the $3 (or so) wood car with no "fancy stuff" added like bearings, etc. then there's a bigger chance of getting a LOT of participation. Just to prove a point I have a car that's just the block of wood, (with the corners rounded off) painted and the wheels put on. It's only been beat by my own other cars!
On the comment abouit not going to shows where there's nothing to do but sit in a lawn chair nd wait for the raffle, I don't go to them any more either. There's got to be the whole days worth of cars and people to see/talk to or games, or the show needs to be on a blocked off business street with shops to browse in. Preferrably the city's "Antique Store Row"
(And if you have a "Craft's Sale" area, don't bill it "For the Ladies" that just pisses off women like my wife, who works in the model shop of one of the larger Auto makers, She builds Show cars and Prototypes for a living and doesn't apperciate being patronized with "Craft sales for the ladies", and I bet a lot of other women who are car nuts in their own right don't like it either. just drop the "for the ladies" part and everything's cool!

Hi Rick, Here is an easy one, Take a cooler of ice water
put in nuts and bolts of different sizes that do
match up, but are unscrewed, then set a time limit
on how many you can put together under ice cold
water. Have fun! Dakotadan
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DAN JARMAN 1-800-787-3781

At an annual show in Rockaway Beach, Mo.,(usually 300 entries),they'd have a Fan belt toss, you'd have a dozen belts to throw over a post on a stand from about 20 feet away. the fun part would be at least 2 of the belts would be monsterously long, and some would be only 12' in dia. Obviously the most ringers would win 1st, 2nd, 3rd place prizes. Another would be putting a softball in an old pair of pantyhose, tie it around your waist so it hangs almost to the ground between your feet, put your hands behind your back, and use your hips to get it swinging. you then try to hit another softball which is on the pavement to make it go 30 feet to the finish line in the fastest time (stop watch needed)It is absolutely hilarious to watch people swing those hips, big and small. Also, the valve cover race. You put avalve cover on a skateboard,sit on it and your partner tries to push you down a coarse faster than the couples racing against you. They've got a few more like that, but I don't remember them all. That show is on fathers day weekend every year, and has been for 30+ years.They shut down main street for the weekend,a dance in the community center on Sat. night, It's a blast.
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Lance B.

Hey Rick, Jimskid45 here , remember me?..anyway, Just wanted you to know, we're having our first show May 19th and that barrel race thing sounds like fun, except that most of the rodders I know, wouldn't hold up physically..especiall me!!..I just posted a message about our show, check it out and let me know what you would suggest..we're looking for 200 cars, and about 80 club cars on display but not eligible for judging..All our proceeds will go the local Police Explorer post.
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Duane Williams

Hi Duane, If everyone is told old for the wheel barrell. You could use a golf cart. The driver is blindfolded and passager gives directions. and use cones to mark out the field. It doesn't have to be a large course. Just a couple lefts and rights and straight away in the middle. Maybe a hairpin corner.
Or you could do the pudding drop. one person get on a stepladder, and the other lays down on the ground.(on his/hers back). and see who can drop the most pudding in there mouths. each person get two cups full and drops it by a spoon. (what a mess) use a shower cap and a larger bib. so the person won't get to messy. and something over there eyes. like goggles.
when i think of some more i'll let you know

Rick
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awsum34

Thanks Rick...that golf cart thing sounds like a kick..
especially since the location of the show is right next to the golf course here....maybe they would loan us one...we could do a obstacle course..I'm going to run that past the membership...Thanks again.
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Duane Williams

cruzr
At my show, Famous 50's Northeast Nationals we really get the crowd involed with "pudding drops," the timing of the spark plug changing on a set of heads that are on a table but the one everyone enjoys is the Egg Contest. We like everyone else has our car games but this is for everybody that wants to get involed and have fun, it's messy. Have someone who is a good talker line up 5 or 6 people, hand them a small 5oz. paper cup thumb tacked to the end of a 1/4 in dowel, 6-8 in. long. Ask everyone if they can hold the dowel and cup and walk fast no running to a chair about 40 feet away. On the chair place a five dollar bill and an event shirt (their going to need it)who ever reachs the chair first and sits down, wins. After everyone say's they can do it tell then that's to easy so you have to put something in the cup, a raw egg, no shell. When everyone is now ready with their egg it's Ready, Get Set, Wait!!!! one of your friends runs over and wispers to you something you forgot to tell everyone, their not to use their hands, they have to carry the egg in the cup that's on the dowel in their "Teeth." Once they bend their heads back and bite on the end of the dowel the fun begans. Object: get to the chair before everybody else, it's a real blast for everyone.
We do many things like that but I like this one the most, have fun. John
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JOHN

One of the best games that I can remember is the bra game. One of the shows we go to used this one.
Have all the woman save up their old bras, or go the the salvation army store and buy about 3 dozen. Ask for a co-ed team of volunteers, when the time starts, (about 5 minutes) have the female start placing bra's on the man, they have to go on properly, continue until the time stops. I wish I had a picture to show you of one of our 300 lb (male) members that had about 15-18 bra's wrapped around his shoulders.
This game is really a lot of fun after about 3 hours of bench racing or is it bench drinking, actually its both!

Another game I saw that was a lot of fun was a piston toss, use a piston with a rod attached, and swing it underhand like a horse shoe into a hoola hoop about 20 feet away, points for each one made.
JIm Callaghan

A couple games we do at our rod run are the block golf and toilet paper toss.For block golf get an old 4 banger block,cut a 8ft piece of plywood the widith of the block,cover with astro turf,set one end on the block. Then putt golf balls up the ramp into the cylinders.Its not an easy feat.For toilet paper toss wrap some tape around rolls of toilet paper and try tossing them into an old toilet.I am watching this post for new ideas for our rod run too. SEE YA`LL

Here's another one we did a few years ago. The egg tose. Have two people tose eggs to each other, about 30 ft away from each other. Each team of two gets a bucket of four eggs. Two are boiled and two are raw eggs. The team that can toss them to each other (both ways) the fastest and have the most eggs in there bucket wins. ( you could use all raw eggs) If a tie, then the teams that are tied will do it again. but with one hand tied behind there backs.
You could also tie there hands behind there backs the frist time around. The catch is tie there throwing hand behind there backs.

Another one is the egg walk.(two man team) You have a course about 6ft wide and about 30ft long. Place the eggs on the ground at different location. The one walking thru the course is bare footed and blind folded. The other one walks beside him. (outside the course) and tells him/her where to step. The fastest wins. Add 10 seconds for each eggs that was stepped on.
You could also had other things on the course with the eggs. Like cow pie or other messing things.

Talk about cow pie. You can also have a cow pie toss. The one that throws it the longest wins.


Rick
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awsum34

Here's a good one for all of the drivers that think they'er so good at parking. At the center of the rear bumber or trunk lip, hang a plumb bob. Then place a mark on the ground or whatever the surface is for a "target" for the driver to try and see how close he can come to placing the "bob" over the target.
I've competed with the header but we used a ping pong ball to allow more bounc and take away some of the common paths that occur with a bearing. Oops. my 2 cents just ran out. The wives could also contribute to this too!
Fred P
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Fred P.

I have seen some very clever competitions at car shows. My favorites:
1) Blind Man's Rodeo. This involves LOTS of space though. A blindfolded driver is directed by passenger through obstacle course of tires in an old mail jeep! IT is a hoot. The event is timed. Saw this one at Bloomsburg, PA Keystone Nats.

2) Diptick relay. Set up 5 dipstick tubes either in the ground or welded to stands. Starting line is 10 yards away. Participant has to take dipstick from start line over to a tube, and insert with ONE hand. This is tougher than it sounds, because the dipstick is bouncing, and it's tricky to stick it in the tube while holding the other end. Then, run back and grab the next one, repeat 5 times.
Saw this game at Battlefield Rod Run, Gettysburg, PA.

3) Oil filter Install. Box of 5 or so oil filters and an oil filter mount. Participant has to grab a filter and install on mount. Trcik here is, only one fliter is the correct one. So, if you grab the wrong one, keep trying! Quickest time wins. I won this once in 6.5 seconds. From Frederick, MD Halloween run.

4) Ding a Ling. Panty hose with softball in one leg, tied around participants waist. Another softball is on the gound. Participant has to swing softball in Panty hose between legs without using hands, lots of hip motion, and hit other softball on the ground past the finish line.

Mrwillys, I've seen the ding a ling, also seen some guys get hurt doing it. That softball is not soft when you get hit between the legs... But it is a good game (lots of laughs)

Ever try the box stacking? you have nine boxes. all different sizes. You start at the start line with a shopping cart, then you run down to the table where the boxes are, put them in the cart and run back to the finish line and takes them out of the cart and on the other table. (all nine boxes will not fit in the cart at the same time unless you stack them real high). Also do this on a rough parking lot.
The fastest one that has all the boxes on the other table wins.


Rick

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awsum34

Wow, lots of great ideas!

Our club just had a function last night, still lots of snow around up here, (Calgary AB Canada), so this was an indoor event. Some of the things we had-

1. A local company brings in gambling equipment, ( Black Jack, Roulete Wheel, etc. ), your entry fee for the evening buys you $10,000.00 !!!! , in play money.

2. We get all kinds of parts, hats, t-shirts, posters, what ever donated, and conduct a silent auction, (you are given a number when you sign in.) The silent auction is for real money and the proceeds are given to charity.

3. We have a "Hot Wheels" track, (looks like a dragster), c/w xmas tree, and conduct eliminations. We wind up with a lot of "old racers" getting pretty serious. The kids love it, had a young girl, (about 11 I think), that was waxing a lot of the old guys! Each lane is controled by the racers and you can "Red Light" if you try to shade the last amber!! One of our members is a big time collector of Hot Wheels and he sells cars for a couple of bucks and donates any profit to the club.

4. We also had an "Art Show", all stuff on display was by members of our club, you might be surprised by the talent hiding in the back ground of your own club!

Several of the items above we have had at both our rod runs and our car shows.

Thanks to everyone for some great ideas. Jason; how about a summary of the ideas posted here?!?
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DAVE NESS

A stunt we do at our events that everyone seems to like is the back-up-pole. A tall carboard tube is stood up in the parking lot and drivers are to back up to the pole without hitting it. Closest one to it wins. Oh, I forgot, you can only use your mirrors, no turning around in the seat. Hint: Have the D.J. play the music loud so the driver would hear any "help" from the crowd. Dave B.C.S.R.A. Massachusetts