Recap of our trip to
the 2013 Hershey AACA National Meet
where we were going
for our "Senior" award.
By Brian Watson
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Note: This article focuses on automobiles in AACA classes 24A & 24B
- "race cars"
and has been written to tell our story as well to promote AACA to all
race car owners and restorers.
For those
of you who might not yet be familiar with the Antique Automobile Club of America, better known as AACA, http://www.aaca.org, and our journey to secure top
honors within AACA with our race car (1983 Edmunds midget), let me first recap
the award system.
AACA as an
organization was started in 1935 and the judging system in place today was
started in 1952. Your car does not need
to be an award winner or even proactively going for an award to be on the AACA
show field, your car simply needs to be 25 years old or older and able to
"drive onto the show field", (all race cars demonstrate operability
differently). It is all about preserving
the history - the judging side of things is a way to compete against other car
owners for recognition. Every car will
be judged but if you are not interested in the judging portion no problem, it
is all about showing the cars and having fun.
Your car
starts off with 400 points (perfect score) and from that points are deducted
for deficiencies in quality of restoration, non-period correctness or
non-correctness for that vehicle for which it was certified in approximately 50
separate categories.
Let's first
start there, "correctness for which it was certified". Prior to being able to show your "race
car" at an AACA event it must first be certified - as the actual car you
say it is. As you can imagine it would
be quite embarrassing for AACA if your award winning car shows up at two events
at the same time. Thus the certification
process is comprehensive. And this has
nothing to do with "quality of restoration", judging, points
etc. The certification process is just
that - it certifies that your car is the car that you say it is. If it is not, it will not be certified. The certification process is undertaken for
AACA by the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing, http://www.emmr.org.
(Note: EMMR is a MUST SEE museum).
The first part of the certification process is the owner of the car
being certified presenting to the certification board a written description of the
car, photos of the car as purchased, photos of the car restored (if available)
and most important - one (1) historical photo of the car that matches exactly
how you will be restoring the car, or a photo of how you have already restored
the race car. Let me elaborate on why
this is so important. Unlike production
vehicles, race cars changed over the years.
Once you are on the judging field AACA judging will need some point of
reference for your race car. That photo
is their reference.
Also important and worth
clarifying. The certification process is totally
separate from judging and points, etc.
The one (1) historical photo of the car that matches exactly how you
will be restoring the car, or a photo of how you have already restored the race
car will be entered into the official AACA record for the car at the time of
certification, however if it is not exactly as your car appears today it WILL
NOT affect the certification process.
The certification process and the judging are two totally different processes.
For those
race car owners that will be entering their car for judging that one (1)
historical photo of the race car that matches exactly how you will be restoring
the car, or a photo of how you have already restored the race car IS
very important since that is the first thing the judges will look at.
That photo
is a "moment in time" you, as the owner select. If a race car is not already restored most
owners select the most notable time in the cars history to restore a car to, or
the time in its history when they want to restore it to, then look for a photo
from that time period. Once the photo
has been selected - that is how the car must look exactly, 100.0%.
If your
race car has already been restored you will need to find a photo that comes as
close as possible to the restored race car.
You might need to change a few items to match the photo, 100.0%, to
secure the highest awards in AACA.
1983 - Nick Fornoro Jr. (restored to
this photo)
NOTE: Points will be deducted for the car not
matching the photo, however if you are not concerned about going after a top
award and are more so concerned about displaying the car for the very
appreciative attendees to AACA events then do not worry about it. AACA would prefer your car be on display with
small inaccuracies than stored away in a garage where no one can see and
appreciate it.
OK, so your
car has been certified, you have received your official photo back in the mail,
signed by AACA. Now you attend an AACA
event and proudly display your race car.
The first thing the judges will do is to ask to see your certified
photo. They will then compare your car
to the one in the photo. From there they
look to make sure it is overall period correct (namely the other side of the
car that is not in the photo), followed by quality of restoration. Period correct means nothing on the car can
be later than the date of the photo.
NOTE:
A 1960 midget might be restored to its 1965 race configuration. On your paperwork it will be known in certain
areas as built in 1960 but in other areas as restored to 1965 race
configuration. If your photo is
certified per the 1965 race configuration, period correctness is the date of
the photo in 1965 and earlier.
Our car has been judged - now what -
what awards are we even competing for?
AACA has
been around for quite some time and their judges are the best out there. This is why an award presented to you be AACA
caries prestige and the reason why so many people work long hours to secure an
AACA award. If there is an area of
deficiency they will find it. If you are
deserving of an award you will be rewarded.
The AACA
judging system is a tiered / progressive system. With 4 main categories: Junior, Senior, Grand
National, Senior Grand National. You can
only secure the awards in this order.
While you can secure your Junior & Senior in the same year (at two
separate National events) you cannot secure your Grand National the same year
you secure your Senior award.
There is a
minimum score you must secure. Along
with that you must score within a certain very tight % of the highest scoring
car in your class. Thus you dually compete
against yourself as well as others in your class with the emphasis being on
others in your class.
The first
time your car is displayed it competes for its 1st place Junior award. You need
to meet a minimum of 365 points but also be within 10 points of the best car in
your class also going for its 1st place Junior award. If a car going for its 1st place Junior gets
a perfect score another car also going for its 1st place Junior would need to
get 390 points to tie, not a 365.
There is
also a 2nd or 3rd place Junior but securing one of those awards do not allow
you to compete the next time out for your Senior award. You must first get a 1st place Junior to
compete for a Senior award. If you do
not secure a 1st place Junior, you again compete for a 1st place Junior your
next time out. We received our 1st place
Junior earlier this year at the AACA National event in
There is
also one other category called Preservation.
This is awarded to post Senior award winners bringing out their cars for
display. While the Senior award required
a minimum of 375 points, to be awarded the Preservation award you are now just
required to score a minimum of 350 points.
This has been put in place to ensure owners keep their car in show
quality condition but gives them a little breathing room to entice them to keep
bringing them back out.
Annual AACA Hershey
National Meet, October 9 - 12, 2013
The annual
Hershey National Event runs from Wed to Saturday evening ending with the awards
banquet. The Hershey AACA region has
their own web site it is: http://www.hersheyaaca.org.
Also to note, AACA is based out of
There are
many different events throughout the annual Hershey AACA National Meet with the
highlights being the flea market, car corral, Friday qualification runs of the
race cars and the main event Saturday - the car show.
I do not
have the stats handy for this year's event, 2013, but I have the stats handy
for 2010. They were as follows:
Over 9,000 flea market spaces 1,000 cars for sale
3,500 vendors 1,237
cars on the show field
400 acres 250,000
estimated visitors
And since I
have been going to the Hershey Meet for over 39 years I can tell you it was
much larger in years prior to 2010.
Wednesday
(Oct 9) was dry but Thursday (Oct 10) & Friday (Oct 11) it rained record
amounts. Friday is when the race cars
normally perform their qualification run within the Hershey stadium, which used
to be an actual real race track. All
AACA (streetable) cars must drive onto the show field to demonstrate they are
fully operable vehicles. Since the race
cars cannot do that they are started and run within a controlled
environment. In the event of rain, the
qualification run is canceled and all cars registered qualify. The assumption being if you came to run, you
can run. For us we ran at an AACA event
just a few months ago so they know we run - and trust me - we were 100.0% ready
to run.
I then used
a portion of Friday to prepare for Saturday (Oct 12) though could not fully
prepare due to the humidity. The car was
not fully detailed prior to Friday due to the fact the car would get dirty
during the Friday qualification run. The
car actually slept Friday night with a dehumidifier running in the
trailer. Since we were unable to put the
finishing touches on the car Friday as planned, we woke up very early Saturday
and make it over to the special race car trailer parking area which sits next
to the show field. Due to the previous
heavy rain it was decided by AACA to have the race cars displayed in this
area. I was there at 6 am and began work
on the car. I worked straight thru to
the time when the car was judged making sure it was 100.0% ready. The judges first reviewed my AACA signed
"certification photo" then judged the car.
If you have
a major deficiency the head judge will inform you of that at the time of judging,
pointing it out for you to correct prior to the next event if you so
desire. At no time will you learn your
score. After a National event you can
request your judges sheet that will show "areas" of deficiency but it
will not list the point deductions. This
is helpful so that you can get an idea of areas you need to work on.
Once judged
your car is marked judged and you go on and enjoy the rest of your day. For us, so many people wanted to learn about
the car we never got 30 ft. from the car thus our photos from this year's event
are very limited. One of the nice parts
about bringing historically significant race cars to car shows is you get to
meet the people who saw the car run.
To learn if
you secured an award or if you need to wait to try again at the next National
event you either need to attend the awards banquet Saturday night for the
entire meal or to stop in after the meal when they pass out the awards or wait
till the results are posted on the AACA web site. Since we were going for our Senior award we
decided to stop in after the meal Saturday night.
We are happy to report that we did
in fact achieve the goal we set for ourselves at the outset of this project -
we were awarded our Senior award!
We are
definitely happy and satisfied with our Senior award which was our primary
goal. Our secondary goal and the reason
for our 100.0% correct and detailed restoration is to secure the Grand National
award for the race car. There are a few
National events per year - HOWEVER - only 1 Grand National event per year -
thus in June of 2014 we will be in Lebanon, TN going for the cars Grand
National award.
If you
would like to learn more about AACA please stop by their web site, http://www.aaca.org or reach out to me, Brian Watson, bwatson@edmundsmidgetregistry.com.
You can
also check us out at the following Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/621681254518326/ (our Don Edmunds fan page)
ONE FINAL NOTE: While I enjoy being a part of the restorations of vintage
race cars I am also a very strong advocate of NOT restoring certain race
cars. There is a place for restored race
cars - to show them in all their glory - as to how they were when they ran,
BUT, there is just the same need for, or perhaps an even greater need to keep
certain race cars as "un-restored".
A race car is only original once.
You are looking at the car exactly how it ran, in some eyes, this is
100.0% correct. Look at it in that state
you can hear it run, you can see it running.
You can smell it. It tells a
story no restored race car can tell. If
you have an un-restored race car and do not know if you should restore it
please contact the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing, http://www.emmr.org. They will be happy to review all the pros & cons with you.
UPDATE: The AACA Board in Hershey approved Class 24D for all
“unrestored race vehicles” to begin in 2014. Now unrestored vehicles will have
a place on the AACA show field where they too can share their history.
I hope I
have been able to educate you a little on the process get a race car AACA
certified and get it entered in an AACA event - so much so you and your car
will be with us one day on the show field.
If you do not have a car 'yet' - please stop by a 2014 event and say hi
to those displaying their race cars you will not be disappointed - and if you
decide to go to Hershey in 2014 - stop by and say HI.
Author -
Brian Watson
bwatson@edmundsmidgetregistry.com
See you on
the show field.
1983 Edmunds
Midget
Formerly OWNED and campaigned BY:
Scrivani family |
DRIVEN BY: Nick Fornoro Jr. to 1983
ARDC Championship |
CHASSIS |
1983 Edmunds Autoresearch, Serial # CM-049 |
SUSPENSION |
4 coil midget
with right rear flexi-arm / torsion bar adjuster |
SET-UP |
Short track oval - dirt / asphalt (current configuration:
asphalt) |
ENGINE |
Stage 4 Autocraft VW, Type 1, 140 cubic inch (built by
www.autocraftengines.com) |
PUMP /
INJECTION |
Hilborn |
FUEL |
Methanol |
WEIGHT |
(to be determined) |
STEERING |
Schroeder manual steering box |
SHOCKS /
SPRINGS |
Early Carrera with steel threaded
sleeves (also ran Edmunds built coil-over) |
REAR |
Halibrand quick change, tapered axel |
WHEELS |
Rick Goudy “Streakers” with original
hardware, note "S" on bolt heads |
BRAKES |
Airheart, single piston |
HARDWARE |
Original Premier Supertanium |
YEARS
CAMPAIGNED |
1983 – 1991 |
SANCTIONING
BODIES |
Primarily American Racing Drivers Club
(ARDC) and Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA), some United States Auto
Club (USAC) joint events |
OWNERS |
Mike Scrivani Sr. & Jr. (late 1982
- 89), Jack Matava (1990), Dick Ulbricht (91 - 02) |
DRIVERS |
Nick (Nokie) Fornoro Jr.1, Hank |
NOTABLES |
Driven by Nick Fornoro Jr. to 1983 ARDC Championship. Nick placed in 11 of 14 ARDC races: 8 -
1st, 1 - 2nd, 2 - 3rd. Nick also drove to a 4th place in NEMA
Championship in 1983. Car was #1 in 1983 since Scrivani & Nick also won the
ARDC Championship in 1982. In 1984 the
car was numbered #22. Nick drove the
car for 3/4 of the 1984 season and again won the ARDC Championship. Hank Rogers Jr. drove the car from 1984 to
1987, with at least one win in 1987.
In 1990 Jack Matava drove the car to Rookie of the Year honors in
NEMA. |
RESTORED
BY |
Brian & Bill Watson, Havertown PA
from 2011 - 2013. Professional fabrication / bodywork /
paint / assembly / set-up / overall consultant: Mike Casario of |
WEB SITE |
http://www.teamwatsononline.com (main
web site for several activities) |
FACEBOOK |
https://www.facebook.com/brian.watson.10 |
CERTIFICATIONS |
AACA Certified Race Vehicle #261 |
1. Nick
(Nokie) Fonoro Jr. is one of the most successful of all living drivers
registered with the American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) and Northeastern
Midget Association (NEMA). He is a six-time ARDC Champion (1982 - 86, 1995)
and #6 on the all time ARDC feature win list with 45 as of 2011. He is also
a NEMA Champion (1981) and #3 on the all time NEMA feature win list with 45
as of 2010. Nokie was also Speedway Scene "Driver of the Year" in
1981. 2. Hank
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1983 -
Nick Fornoro Jr |
1983 -
Nick Fornoro Jr. (win) |
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1983 -
Nick Fornoro Jr. |
1987 -
Hank Rogers Jr. (win) |
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2002 - As
received |
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1983 -
Nick Fornoro Jr. (restored to this photo) |
2013 –
Restored |
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I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to
everyone who has helped with this project.
Family, Friends and Suppliers.
Without you this would have never happened. Thank you.
I would also like to especially thank Mike Casario who performed the
bulk of the period correct restoration.
Mike took on the project as if it was his own and did amazing work. I would also like to especially thank Mike
Seymour at Autocraft. Mike built us a solid period correct engine. Thanks guys.
(Please forgive me if I have left off any names in error below)
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AACA |
Ed Duncan |
Nick Fornoro Jr. |
Ace Lane Jr. |
Ed Griffith |
Norm Rapp Racing Equip. |
ACOT |
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Avery Moore |
Gary Mondschein |
Pat Templeton |
Brian Caruso |
Hank Rogers Jr. |
Phils Starter & Altenator |
Bob Miour |
Heisler Family |
Randy Cabral |
Bob Paulin |
Jack Farmer |
Rich Hayes |
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Jack Matava |
Robert Rod Rodriguez |
Charles D. Schultz |
Jeff Wahl |
Ron Lauer |
Craig Rambo |
Jennifer Scrivani |
Roy Caruthers |
Custom Control Cables |
Jim Susi |
Rusty Pinney |
Dan Curley |
Joe Grandinetti |
Shane Paxton |
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John DaDalt |
Stan Lobitz |
Derek Pernesiglio |
John Mahoney |
Steve Buckwalter |
Diana Alexander |
Josef Karl Binter |
Steve Koletar |
Dick Jordon |
Joseph Stearns |
Tom Avenengo |
Doug Post |
Ken George Hopkins |
Tom Murray |
Doug P Winslow |
Lamont Critchett |
Val Lesieur |
Don Edmunds |
Larry Pfitzenmaier |
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Don Kenyon |
My Family |
Wilke Family |
Drew Fornoro |
Michael Scrivani |
(And anyone else I missed...) |
EMMR |
Mike & Bobby Seymour |
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