Hood up or hood down?

When at a car show, which do you prefer: hoods up or hoods down?

Maybe it's my pet peeve, but I want them down. I want to see the car--its lines, its shape. I like engines, but for me it doesn't add to the experience.

Discuss.

Yeah the GT6 suffers from that. Everyone wants to see under the bonnet.

I don't think I've ever left it down for a show before.

Oh well. ;)

I'm working on a theory:

Hoods up: car show

Hoods down: concours

I'm more of a street rod guy, so I'll go with hood down, open sides to show off the engine.
That's not an option for most of the cars that are popular around here, though.

I only pop it if asked but since im usually walking around i dont pop it often because i dont go to a show to stand around my car

Most people ask to see it up since the engine bay is so difference on a GT6.

Up

Down

When we're at Carlisle, we always have the Spitfires and GT6's parked in a row with the bonnets up. It just looks neat seeing a dozen Spitfires lined up like that.

With the nice 1800ES we have the hood open for a couple of reasons. First, the D-Jet EFI is an interesting feature of the car, and second, we put a LOT of effort into restoring the engine bay. It looks good and we like showing it off.

People love to see the suspension and access the GT6 offers.

Frankly it has been a good many years since I've been to a show with it.

Racing is all consuming :)

I always think a car looks better with the hood, & top down. However, having judged cars at many a show I understand the need for both bring up. I always tried to let people know when a specific class was being judged so they could be scored but also enjoyed.

Of course I always like to try and get ideas from what I see under others' hoods.

The convention at Volvo club meets is to have the hood open for judging, and then the judges put it down when they're done with that car.

Definitely hoods/bonnets up for me, although David may have a point with a concours d'elegance vs. a routine show. I go to far more shows than concours d'elegances. If the hood is down I assume the owner is just trying to hide a messy engine room. On the other hand, if the engine room is a mess, I'd rather not see it. I remember a red Spitfire Mk2 with factory steel hardtop at the Lars Anderson Day of Triumph event last summer. The hood was up exposing a horrible mess. Oil, grease, grime and winter road sand everywhere. It was just awful. That guy should have at least given it a pressure wash before the event.

For judging, access to the motor is very important to separate out the best and display the whole package. For general viewing, the lines and finish become the more important focus. Cheers Ron

Gary wrote: The hood was up exposing a horrible mess. Oil, grease, grime and winter road sand everywhere. It was just awful. That guy should have at least given it a pressure wash before the event.

My g/f hates having the bonnet up on her Spitfire at shows for this reason, but eventually gives in to peer-pressure. Plus, when the bonnet is up the black paint looks like a mirror. When we swap the engine (hopefully) next Witer, the plan will be to clean up and repaint the engine bay so it looks presentable. My GT6 isn't much better, but it's mostly original and being so has a certain level of appeal.

i know what a _____ (insert classic car shape here) looks like. when i go to a show i want to see how well the example in front of me is executed. hood up!

Both.... After years being @ MCA judged events, I've come to the conclusion that a proper "show" should be 2 parts... one static, or parked and in this situation the hood should be up, the other dynamic, with the cars moving. Obviously while moving the hood is down and firmly latched.

The IDEAL show would therefore include both parts static as well as dynamic display

VClassics wrote: The convention at Volvo club meets is to have the hood open for judging, and then the judges put it down when they're done with that car.

Really!

You must have a lot of people who trust others. I've known many a show car owner who would rather you touched their spouse/friend/partner than their ride!

No way I'm closing a hood, bonnet, or even a door at a show unless the owner is there and asks me to. Except of course if there is a violent wind gust which threatens people's safety!

I only want to see the hood up if there is something special (i.e. out of the ordinary, not just nice detailing) under it. Otherwise I prefer to admire the car's lines.

I do love seeing the lines of the car, and generally prefer hood down. But, I'm also interested in seeing the mechanicals if they are different enough.

usually hood down, but since i've been doing more work in the engine bay i've been opening the hood just to show off a lil.

I do both, the first half of the show I have the bonnet up. I keep the motor bay well detailed and enjoy displaying my efforts. The second half, I close it because I also enjoy the beautiful lines of my car unobstructed and this makes for better photos.

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Rupert wrote:

VClassics wrote: The convention at Volvo club meets is to have the hood open for judging, and then the judges put it down when they're done with that car.

Really! You must have a lot of people who trust others. I've known many a show car owner who would rather you touched their spouse/friend/partner than their ride! No way I'm closing a hood, bonnet, or even a door at a show unless the owner is there and asks me to. Except of course if there is a violent wind gust which threatens people's safety!

He's talking about a judged show, not some cars and coffee gathering. By entering such a show you are authorizing the judges to "touch" your car.

Personally, I've closed hoods and rolled up windows of unattended cars at shows like Carlisle where the owner may be minutes away when an unexpected rain shower springs up.

Not a hoods up fan unless you have a crazy swap under the hood. Pics look better with the hood closed

Ian F wrote:

Rupert wrote:

VClassics wrote:

Really! You must have a lot of people who trust others. I've known many a show car owner who would rather you touched their spouse/friend/partner than their ride!

He's talking about a judged show, not some cars and coffee gathering. By entering such a show you are authorizing the judges to "touch" your car. Personally, I've closed hoods and rolled up windows of unattended cars at shows like Carlisle where the owner may be minutes away when an unexpected rain shower springs up.

Ian F,

I've never judged at Carlisle. However I have judged several season points events for the PCA & Jaguar Drivers Club here. I almost had my head taken off one time at a PCA show. A guy I knew had a beautiful 914-6 & I was one of the engine judges. The owner had left a judging sheet on his windshield as instructed, but no open engine cover. Assuming he intended the engine to be judged, I opened the cover. When the owner walked up, he complained about fingerprints on the cover. They were there because I had made sure the cover didn't spring up under spring pressure and hit the corner of the roof, which I have seen happen. And no, I've never seen a judge around here wearing white cotton gloves.

Maybe it's a regional thing. But I've never seen another judge touch a car around here & unless there's a safety hazard, I surely never will again!

I would never touch anyone's car if I was there as a spectator. I've never judged a multi-marque concours, but I've done various Volvo meets. Owners are encouraged to be with their cars to answer questions and open and close panels for the judges, but they rarely are, so we open and close doors, trunks and hoods (respectfully) as needed, and I've never heard of anyone getting upset about it.

They're just cars, ya know...