Concours scene in ireland?

carchaeologist

Is there any concours scene in this country?England seem to have a thriving scene,i know theres a greater population etc,but there seems very little cars built to that standard in ireland,or am i wrong?

This was at ford fair last year...amazing!!!

I love to see cars built to this standard,though im sure the owners cant drive them much!!:P

VWPowered

checkbook creations and trailer queens, i love to see stuff like this but its sad that its not doing the job it was built for namely driving...

maidhc

VWPowered wrote: »

checkbook creations and trailer queens, i love to see stuff like this but its sad that its not doing the job it was built for namely driving...

I agree. It is a bit like those stories of orphanages where the children are allowed to look at toys, but not play!

corktina

and the worse storys of the kids who had to keep their toys in the boxes and one day sold them for a fortune as a result...not for me, but beautiful....

mustang68

carchaeologist wrote: »

Is there any concours scene in this country?England seem to have a thriving scene,i know theres a greater population etc,but there seems very little cars built to that standard in ireland,or am i wrong?

Its an interesting question, but we also don't seem to have a proportional number of lots of classic car things as the UK. Chomers, american engines, people who work on alloy wheels, painters that will touch a classic etc. Wonder is it because the classic car scene is relatively new here?

TheHeraldMan

mustang68 wrote: »

Wonder is it because the classic car scene is relatively new here?

Eh?
New as opposed to what? I've been going to shows since the early 1970s, (my first was Shane's Castle, Antrim in 1972) and obviously in those days the cars on show were all 1950s and before; my father's car was a 1962 Hillman Minx in everyday use. The huge rise in car ownership in the 1960s and 1970s led to the classic scene becoming more popular in later years simply because there were more cars to show, with more of them being within the reach of the working man.
Consequently there is a thriving concours scene, but as in the UK mainland such cars tend to visit specialist shows, like the Autoglym Concours, only.
Every weekend there are shows in almost every corner of the country - it's impossible to find time to go to them all.
Within a twenty mile radius of my house I have sandblasters, painters, welders, radiator repairs, bodywork specialists, alloy wheel refurbishment etc etc - and I live in the sticks! I work on Triumphs, within ten miles I know of restorers who work exclusively on Minis, Tr7s and early Fords so it's a real cottage industry, and it's by no means unique.
The concours scene is too specialised for many of us; we just prefer to get out and drive. I won Car of Show in Belfast in 2007 in a Triumph that I had to scrape cow dung and dead flies off the night before the show...

Incidentally, did you know that Northern Ireland has the oldest Triumph in the world, and there's another such - I can't remember the make, but it may be Renault or Citroen - in Fermanagh? The elderly lady owner has been offered fabulous sums of money for it but would never sell.

Esel

I'd say mustang68 was referring to south of the border when he said 'here'.

maidhc

TheHeraldMan wrote: »

Within a twenty mile radius of my house I have sandblasters, painters, welders, radiator repairs, bodywork specialists, alloy wheel refurbishment etc etc - and I live in the sticks! I work on Triumphs, within ten miles I know of restorers who work exclusively on Minis, Tr7s and early Fords so it's a real cottage industry, and it's by no means unique.

I live in Cork City and find it hard to get anything or anyone to go near my capri. Recently got my petrol tank welded by, an, umm "specialist" in such matters, but not before I was told if I had any sense i should "f**k the car into the river lee"

mustang68

TheHeraldMan wrote: »

Eh?
New as opposed to what? .........

Within a twenty mile radius of my house I have sandblasters, painters, welders, radiator repairs, bodywork specialists, alloy wheel refurbishment etc etc - and I live in the sticks! I work on Triumphs, within ten miles I know of restorers who work exclusively on Minis, Tr7s and early Fords so it's a real cottage industry, and it's by no means unique.

That's my point exactly, I live in Dublin, as far I know the only place that I can actually go to get all of the services you mention is north of the border. The classic scene is much more established in the Uk, no concours here.

alpina

I think it may have a lot to do with how people feel about their cars in this country. Spent some time in UK & every Sunday without fail the amount of people out washing/waxing was amazing. Here we are considered nuts for washing/chamoising/waxing/tyre laquer etc It appears we are in a minority & as a result not considered a viable industry. :rolleyes:

ianobrien

maidhc wrote: »

I live in Cork City and find it hard to get anything or anyone to go near my capri. Recently got my petrol tank welded by, an, umm "specialist" in such matters, but not before I was told if I had any sense i should "f**k the car into the river lee"

I'm in Cork, and I've no trouble getting work done on the Escort. Admittedly, I'm in the Motor Club in Cork, and that's a great source of specialists, and their work does be tested in rallies.

One possibility for the lack of a concourse scene in Ireland is the Irish outlook on life. At vintage shows, I've generally encountered the attitude "God, that's lovely. I/My Father/My Uncle etc had one of them" or, if it's an expert "I see you've got the rare piece of trim/badge/proper thing under the bonnet" with cars. Tractors, however are a different story. There they are serious, and take is seriously and must have everything correct.

Basically, what I'm saying is that we tend to admire old cars, but take old tractors seriously. I know, not very scientific, but that's what I reckon

carchaeologist

Interesting views!
Does anyone on here have a car built to the standard of the fiesta above?

Blue850

I've seen a MK1 Escort 1100L restored to as new condition, it was at the last show held in Durrow Castle a few years ago, cost the owner a fortune though, he had over 20K sterling in receipts!

carchaeologist

Blue850 wrote: »

I've seen a MK1 Escort 1100L restored to as new condition, it was at the last show held in Durrow Castle a few years ago, cost the owner a fortune though, he had over 20K sterling in receipts!

Was that a white one on RZR plates?Think that featured in classic ford a year or so back,a very clean car.It was restored by Central blast cleaning in england,thats probably why it cost so much.

maidhc

ianobrien wrote: »

Tractors, however are a different story. There they are serious, and take is seriously and must have everything correct.

Basically, what I'm saying is that we tend to admire old cars, but take old tractors seriously. I know, not very scientific, but that's what I reckon

That is actually very true!

mike65

The tractor/traction engine scene is obviously a reflection on the rural background of the population, look at Irish Vintage Scene with its strong emphisis on agri vehicles, I have no interest but the magazine can get plenty of examples of 'interesting' tractors/steam/static engines to photograph and write about.

Boggers FTW! :pac:

Mike.

MercMan Ben

I think the quality of classic cars has improved over the last years in Ireland. I remember the first shows I visited here and couldn't believe the condition of some cars. We are not there yet to compare ourselves with the English or German concours cars, but I am positive that we are getting there.



http://www.lichtenberg-classics.ie/graphics/images/large/rear-axle-suspension-tank.jpg
http://www.lichtenberg-classics.ie/graphics/images/large/engine-and-gearbox-going-in.jpg
http://www.lichtenberg-classics.ie/graphics/images/large/howth1.jpg

G Luxel

there are many vehicles shown at shows that should really be displaying a health warning! Windscreen rubbers in particular that looked more like a black version of scrambled egg....:D or so my friend once remarked.

L-M

I've seen alot of classics, through shows etc. and i wouldn't say that there are alot of concours cars in Ireland. I was talking to a fella who told me his Mg was an absolute mint car that he had rebuilt. So off i went out to see it and u could see every line was off, panels were bumpy all the rest.

This seems to be the case for alot of Irish vintage owners. People perception of a mint car is very different from what a mint car is.

I know of a fella who has a red Beetle. Absolutely immaculate, white wall tyre's all that craic. He has it done to such a perfect standard. Now he entered it in a show and came second. Now he has a very good eye for cars, and knew (not being cocky) that the car that came first wasn't as clean as his. So he went to the judges and asked what was the reason for him coming second, and he answer he got was "It's too clean. It would never have come out of the factory that clean". Which i think it a load of ship.

I also don't think there is the money, and the roads in Ireland for someone to do a classic car to concours condition, and still be able to drive it. Also the lack of respect from spectators at shows. Long post lol...