My 140 has been on the road now after the “build” for three years and last
weekend we clocked up the 18000 mile mark. We have driven it everywhere -
even on dirt roads (with due care) and there are plenty of untarred roads in
South Africa. The paintwork, the light beige carpets and biscuit hides,
while still in excellent condition, all look somewhat “used”. Add to that,
at our first (and only!) concours at the car’s first club event, one of the
judges put two quarter inch ball-point pen marks in the centre of the
biscuit hide seat back. I went ballistic! I will never go near a concours
again. Not specifically for that reason but I’m too busy driving the car, to
spend all that time meticulously cleaning it in order to receive a huge
silver cup which also has to be cleaned regularly.
I don’t stop people touching the car and I encourage them to sit in it. So I
will be putting the “It’s OK to touch this car” sign on the car in future.
Meeting and chatting at length with people about the car is so much more
rewarding for me than any concours win. We have met so many delightful
people who look at the XK in disbelief and want to talk about it. I’m sure
this sign will provide us with more fun and even more encounters with
people.
Peter Fielding - South Africa
'55 140 DHC
I always thought it strange why no judges want to touch a car, they won’t
even reopen a door, but now I see why. They always put their clipboards
down, etc.
I saw one car owner get an inexperienced judge really good. The judge was
wearing white pants and standing right by the exhaust pipe, it wasn’t a
Jaguar, when the owner “cleared the exhaust” and totally blackened about 10
inches of the judges’ pant legs. Good thing they don’t give them erasers for
the score sheets. Things happen.
Too bad you had that happen to you at a concours, I know you would get a
trophy or two, Peter.
Larry J
In a message dated 2/9/00 11:23:19 PM Pacific Standard Time,
FieldingPM@Nampak.co.za writes:
<< at our first (and only!) concours at the car’s first club event, one of the
judges put two quarter inch ball-point pen marks in the centre of the
biscuit hide seat back. >>