MEET THE JUDGES

Classics and Customs

Reggie Tibbetts has owned and built more than 150 vehicles over the years to include Street Rods, Trucks, Mustangs, Corvettes, Chevelles, Novas and VW’s. Being a tradesman in the early days, Reggie was trained in welding, woodworking, and millwright work, giving him skills to fabricate and use many types of equipment and materials on the cars he built. In the early 70’s he built and showed a Tubular Sand Buggy with his wife Margret, named “Good Vibrations”, winning 89 Best of Shows in 13 years. Reggie stayed heavily involved in building classic and custom cars, judging, or managing over 33 automotive events each year for over 30 years. He is the co-owner of a nationally recognized event, thesupernationals.com in Albuquerque New Mexico celebrating its 25th anniversary. He has officiated for Super Chevy Magazine, the International Show Car Association (ISCA) and the National Rod & Custom Association (NRCA), Hot August Nights, as well as many independent events.

Steve Mank has been working on cars since he was 15 years old, inheriting his love of car building from his father. Steve was involved in building, transporting, showing, etc. all the great TV cars such as General Lee, Knight Rider, A-Team, & Others. Then in 1989, what Steve called his ‘dream job” came along. He was asked to be one of the builders on the team for Hollywood Productions for the “Batman” & “Batman Returns” movie cars. Steve was also a co-host of a great TV show called MuscleCar, owned by RTM Productions, the Power-Block home to many great automotive shows. Steve was also a builder on the “Search & Restore” TV Show with Tim Strange. Steve judged ISCA and Super Chevy shows until the early 2000’s and continues to judge several shows nationwide for many associations today.

Modern, Import, Motorcycles

Dino Martinez will be our judge for the modern, Import, and the motorcycle classes. Dino has a long history of judging custom Car Shows, as well as building his own custom creations. Dino currently works at Nagy Automotive custom auto body shop in Metuchen, New Jersey, and he is a photographer for Navajo magazine, as well as ECS magazine. Dino also spends his time traveling the country attending and documenting custom Car Shows throughout the year. Dino will be bringing a few of his team members that include a shop, fabricator with 25 years of experience (George-Lucky Fab), as well as, Rob Nagy, shop owner with over 30 years in the auto body industry and a former competitor in the DIY Channel Build Off Competition.

JUDGING CRITERIA

Body Quality – 20 points

The body of the vehicle is a large part of what the judges observe. The overall detail of the body, the alignment and paint should be first and foremost. The judges will look for fit and finish (are panels aligned, do doors, trunks and rear deck fit accurately), waves and blemishes in the body from past body work and trim attachment. If the bodywork has been modified, all modifications will be analyzed for quality of work. Included in the assessment of the body is the quality and installation of all body trim, emblems, lights, bumpers, grillwork, and glass.

Paint Quality – 20 points

The quality of the paint is an area that is one of the most difficult and time-consuming parts of building a vehicle. The paint will be observed to review how door jambs, trunk jambs, and hood jambs match the overall appearance. Paint will be evaluated to assure there is no orange peel, runs, overspray, metallic or pearl clouding. All stripes or graphics will be rated to ensure color sanding has been performed to perfection.

Interior Quality – 20 points

The interior plays a large part in detailing a vehicle. This includes everything from stock to modified interiors. Quality, detail, and cleanliness are very important. Areas observed include seats; carpet; headliner; door panels, trim, door handles, dash, and all components. The trunk will be included in vehicles. The seat upholstery will include all stitching and piping to ensure it is straight, with no rips, stains, or tears. Door panels will be reviewed to ensure all handles and door pulls are attached well without deviation. The overall interior design should flow with the interior intentions. Headliner, sun visors and sail panels are taught, and aligned without sagging. Carpet shall be finished on all edges with no wear points. Dash paint and or upholstery areas are done in a quality manner to ensure paint is color sanded and smooth. All dash trim, gauges, switches, and bezels are in excellent condition.

Undercarriage Quality – 20 points

Many vehicles are used as drivers. However, when entering a competition of this level, the undercarriage must be of top quality. Each undercarriage should be detailed and will be judged based on cleanliness and quality. Regardless of paint or chrome, undercarriages should be detailed and sealed to perfection. All areas will be inspected for quality, including suspension components to include springs; shocks, brake calipers, rotors, drums, sway bars hoses, cables, ball joints, connecting rod ends, and fasteners. All these areas will be inspected for cleanliness and quality. Engine, transmission, and all undercarriage drivetrains will be inspected for leaks and cleanliness. Wheels will be inspected for cleanliness including dents and scratches and the tires will be checked for cuts, scuffs, cleanliness, and condition.

Engine – 20 points

The engine compartment will include anything that can be observed as a part of the inspection. Areas to include will be paint under the hood, firewall, radiator, including radiator support systems, frame rails, suspension, steering box, master cylinder, including all hoses and lines, the engine including all components, hoses, and wiring. Each area inspected should be free of dirt, debris, and should be in top condition. All paint and chrome will be rated based on quality. The engine compartment will be thoroughly inspected for cleanliness to ensure quality of workmanship and detail.