Entering my first AACA show - looking for some parts and pointers

[thej63]

A couple months ago I picked up an F-150 so that my wife and I could tow our '51 to shows further away from us. Not that it couldn't make the 3 hour drive to Hershey....just that...we would rather not subject it to that.

That being said, we have decided to bring the car out to the AACA Fall meet this year. I now have to get in gear and get as many issues corrected as possible before the show and need the expertise of some people here to make this happen.

1. The custom exhaust on the car needs to be replaced. I found a correct pipe for the car but I want to replace the glasspack on this thing with a correct muffler

2. There are socket head cap screws attaching hood to the hinges that need to be replaced

3. There are yellow spark plug wires which need to be swapped for black

4. There are non-kaiser door mirrors attached to the doors

5. There's a custom fabbed gas tank installed in it

6. I'm running radials currently instead of bias ply

At this point, between now and october my ideal shopping list is the muffler, hood screws, black plug wires and if possible (though I've heard they're hard to find) correct accessory door mirrors of the non clamping variety since there are already holes in the sheet metal.

The gas tank and tires I'll just have to take the points hit in judging because I'm not buying a second set of tires for this thing or getting into swapping a gas tank just yet.

Is there someone that may be able to point me in the right direction to find the parts I'm looking for?

Has anyone else here entered any official AACA judged events that can give some pointers to a first timer in terms of prep and what they're looking for?

Thanks

[Terry T]

Post your questions in the AACA forum

[G.B. (All Vinyl Dragon)]

Yes,
I have a Original All Vinyl  Dragon 1953. The will know the Vehicle well but Mine they only did 25 or so with this Combination. I have the Story about My Dragon in The back seat Windows both sides .

You stay with Your Vehicle during Judging. Head Judge will show up for rare Vehicles. You don't say a word till Head Judge asks Questions. They also sent a person to Call Hershey about The All Vinyl Dragon. See My Color Combination is a White Poplin Top Not Bambu. All this info is in My Story.

Kid comes back tells Judge it's Correct. Judge comes & Tells Me Yep All Correct. One of the Judge come & asked about scratches in whiper area. Head Judge said that is a # 1 condition windshield. You don't understand but You Drive Your Vehicle to the Shows. They count off 5 Points if You trailer to the Show.

[Gordie]

The AACA is a fine club and the Hershey meet is one of the largest meets in the U.S. and there will be a couple of thousand antique cars being judged including a few K-F products and many of our members belong to it as well as KFOCI.  Being a Kaiser owner I hope that you belong to our club also as the perks for being a member include a DVD on all aspects of Kaiser-Frazer and their products.  A monthly bulletin that is sent to all members and includes free ads as well as a Quarterly magazine, an extensive roster of members, a beautiful calendar and regional and a National Meets where it is just Kaiser-Frazer products and you can have your car judged and talk to many other '51 Kaiser owners as well as experts on all of the K-F products.  Of course this forum is part of our club and our members do a great job of answering any questions.  A member run website has copies of most K-F literature, service manuals, parts books, collectibles and it offers more answers to questions about K-F products.

[Fid]

black plug wires and if possible (though I've heard they're hard to find)

I recently bought a set from a  vendor who advertises regularly in the KFOC bulletin.  Check your most recent one, I'm sure they're still available unless you don't want repros.

[joefrazer]

Some direct answers to your questions.

1. Waldron's exhaust carries everything you'll need to make your system correct. Check out waldronexhaust.com
2. According to the 1951 parts book, the hinges should use 3/8x16x3/4" hex head bolts. That said, every car I've had used round head Phillips style screws. Attached is a picture of what's on my 53. I checked the 52/53 parts list and it does not mention different screw/bolts so I assume the same were used from 1951 thru 1955. I would go with the screws.
3. If you are a KFOCI member, check the monthly bulletin as a member sells the correct plug wires for your car.
4. KF used two styles of mirror. One style clamped to the door edge ahead of the vent window. The second style mounted to the door below the upper trim and at about the leading edge of the vent window. They are not available today and it's been said they are the same as concurrent Hudson. Truthfully, as long as they look period correct, there isn't an AACA judge who will know the difference. Been there, done that. This thread discusses the mirrors used -> http://kfclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,11612.msg52802.html#msg52802
5. The club is having the correct fuel tank reproduced. If you don't want to swap now, buy one for later.
6. KF used 6.70 x15 tires on their full size cars but 7.10x15 is accepted as well. Goodyear was the tire brand used and the whitewall width should be 4 1/4".

AACA judges do a good job of performing an overall evaluation of one's car. Some of what they look for are wiring that's not correct, nuts and bolts that aren't right or are out of place, overall condition, paint color and correctness, interior condition and if it's entered into a stock class, how closely it resembles what came from the factory. Keep in mind that few AACA judges own a car like that of what they're judging so they have to use their judgement as what is and is not correct.

Good luck with your car - I'll be attending the meet so we'll see you there!

[thej63]

The AACA is a fine club and the Hershey meet is one of the largest meets in the U.S. and there will be a couple of thousand antique cars being judged including a few K-F products and many of our members belong to it as well as KFOCI.  Being a Kaiser owner I hope that you belong to our club also as the perks for being a member include a DVD on all aspects of Kaiser-Frazer and their products.  A monthly bulletin that is sent to all members and includes free ads as well as a Quarterly magazine, an extensive roster of members, a beautiful calendar and regional and a National Meets where it is just Kaiser-Frazer products and you can have your car judged and talk to many other '51 Kaiser owners as well as experts on all of the K-F products.  Of course this forum is part of our club and our members do a great job of answering any questions.  A member run website has copies of most K-F literature, service manuals, parts books, collectibles and it offers more answers to questions about K-F products.

Been going out to the hershey swap meet for the past 4 years now but this is the first time I'm ever going to be there for the show and have always wanted to enter a car in a large event like this. My wife and I are members of the group, joined about a year and a half ago (probably the day after I gave the deposit on the kaiser). I'll have to go through the quarterly again. I've been slowly slogging through the CD but there is so much info on there it's crazy.

I recently bought a set from a  vendor who advertises regularly in the KFOC bulletin.  Check your most recent one, I'm sure they're still available unless you don't want repros.

I'll check that out, thanks.

Some direct answers to your questions.

1. Waldron's exhaust carries everything you'll need to make your system correct. Check out waldronexhaust.com
2. According to the 1951 parts book, the hinges should use 3/8x16x3/4" hex head bolts. That said, every car I've had used round head Phillips style screws. Attached is a picture of what's on my 53. I checked the 52/53 parts list and it does not mention different screw/bolts so I assume the same were used from 1951 thru 1955. I would go with the screws.
3. If you are a KFOCI member, check the monthly bulletin as a member sells the correct plug wires for your car.
4. KF used two styles of mirror. One style clamped to the door edge ahead of the vent window. The second style mounted to the door below the upper trim and at about the leading edge of the vent window. They are not available today and it's been said they are the same as concurrent Hudson. Truthfully, as long as they look period correct, there isn't an AACA judge who will know the difference. Been there, done that. This thread discusses the mirrors used -> http://kfclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,11612.msg52802.html#msg52802
5. The club is having the correct fuel tank reproduced. If you don't want to swap now, buy one for later.
6. KF used 6.70 x15 tires on their full size cars but 7.10x15 is accepted as well. Goodyear was the tire brand used and the whitewall width should be 4 1/4".

AACA judges do a good job of performing an overall evaluation of one's car. Some of what they look for are wiring that's not correct, nuts and bolts that aren't right or are out of place, overall condition, paint color and correctness, interior condition and if it's entered into a stock class, how closely it resembles what came from the factory. Keep in mind that few AACA judges own a car like that of what they're judging so they have to use their judgement as what is and is not correct.

Good luck with your car - I'll be attending the meet so we'll see you there!

Thank you very much for this...I did see the repro fuel tanks. I'm just working on getting the wife on board with the idea of having a gas tank sitting around. we're going to be moving in a few months and she's not thrilled at the idea of large items coming in while we're trying to pack lol.

were you out at the swap meet last year? I know I met a few people from the group last year but it's been so long I can't remember who. 

[joefrazer]

I was not at Hershey last year as I was in the middle of a move myself. Now that we’re settled in at the new place, I’m making plans to attend.

[G.B. (All Vinyl Dragon)]

To be Honest, I Tell Everyone it’s was more important to Me I do well in Judgeing with Our Club.
Our Club specializes in Our Club Vehicle’s.

New Members I Tell them have it Judged, Use the Judge’s sheet & do One or Two items back to Original. Enjoy the Fun of having mutual Friends with the same Goul.

[thej63]

2. According to the 1951 parts book, the hinges should use 3/8x16x3/4" hex head bolts. That said, every car I've had used round head Phillips style screws. Attached is a picture of what's on my 53. I checked the 52/53 parts list and it does not mention different screw/bolts so I assume the same were used from 1951 thru 1955. I would go with the screws.

I've been digging through the membership/handbook CD but I'm only seeing a parts supplement for '52-'53. Is that somewhere on here that I'm missing or are you getting that from some original documentation that's not on here?