Victorian State Van Titles 2011 - In Pictures

Had an awesome day meeting the Majestic Vanners that attended on the day, great people, great vans, great weather, and a great turn out!

Here are some shots I got on the day:

Michael's beautiful Chrysler:



The Q and the Chrysler:



The Q and Leigh's Sundowner:



Josh's awesome FJ:





More to come....
(this is my third attempt to get the photos up, I keep losing the post )
I gonna post these so I don't lose them again...

More shots from the titles;

James Ellis's - Bad Company:





Steve Wright's - Mirage





The two Sundowners:



The two Sandmans:

Karl

Did you take any photo's of the winning van?
My sources have led me to believe it's gunna be another starter for the cover of street machine!!!

I missed it..................

Did anybody take photo's of Josh's FJ?????



Al.

Hey Al,

There are more coming, loading them up as I write this.
Got a few of the escort....

Can't wait for the next MV catch up!!

Looks like a good day, some very nice vans there, thanks for the pics

Some more...

Fritz's - Jaffa







A pic in the back of Daz's Transit - crazy A/V system & interior:



VE Sandman:





Sam's WB Statesman fronted Sandman:







The Escort that pipped Josh at the post:

I'll only say this once, the reg sticker says utility, doesn't qualify as a "van" e.g. Victorian state VAN titles

'Millenium Vans' (read ute with canopy)
Should have there own category....

There should also be a 'best standard/top original' category too, then the Drifters/Sundowners/Sandmans would have an award to aim for too....

Just my two cents...

Was good to put a few faces to names. Had a good day yesterday guys.

Top day Josh! Glad you could make it. We will let you know when our next meet is...

Ok here's my take on the day and event.............

The highlights of the day for me were the road trip down with some of my mates, catching up and meeting some more Victorian MVers and spending the day talking vans!!! (Awesome crew of people!) And of course getting to check out Josh's FJ in person! Photo's simply dont do this van justice, I spent hours looking at it and the more I looked the more there is to see, major changes, subtle changes and all of them executed to near perfection.........

Had an awesome day making new friends and catching up with people, great weather, excellent venue and even better company!

Warning:

Dont read on if your easily offended.............(This isn't directed at any one person or persons but at the system that is in place and is obviously severely dated and way off).

As for the show itself it was a good turnout with a mix of stockers, restored/original vans/old school show vans/custom vans and Commodore vans??
The most dissapointing feature of the event was the results/judging system, before this event I had been critical on a number of times on some van nats results, to a lot of peoples credit, they spent the time trying to explain to me how it works and even forwarded on judging sheets to me to look at and try and learn a bit more.
I dont claim to be an expert, I've only been to two vans nats and now this event, but I've also had a lifetime of book reading and result reading and you dont have to be an expert to see that mistakes are constantly made and not minor mistakes, HUGE obvious mistakes that leave both the viewing public and entrants baffled with what sort of chocolate wheel the judges used to come up with their results.
I spent all day checking out the vans and had time to view each van more than once and pick out it's finer points and let downs, discussed them with other people there and than we all waited with anticipation for presentation time and that's when it all went pear shaped.............................

What I witnessed next was unexplainable:

The top ten contained a few Commodore vans, how these got in over two beautiful Sandmans I dont know, I got told that the Sandmans weren't detailed underneath but the Commodores weren't either.........and I appreciate straight 30 year old panels more than straight 12 month old stuff!

Than I witnessed a van that I first checked out at the 05 or 06 van nats and I was amazed how well it went there and was blown away that it made the top ten on Sunday, complete with crazed and cracked paint, bog shrink backs and oil leaks........obviously these points are worth more than what the really neat green Chrysler had parked nearby, it had none of the features the top ten van had!!! It had great paint, tidy as interior and oil leak free engine bay.

Than the final jawdropping decision was made............a standard van, painted all one colour, that was less than straight, beat a hand crafted work of art that features more mods that you could list on a page here and Street Machine barely touched the surface with their article.

I've been told before that cleanliness counts and I have the judging sheets and it counts for 30% but you have to be honest with yourself, does it make a great van??

I dont think so, I looked under the second place getter, it was clean, whether the judges looked I dont know but the small amount of road grime it had was barely noticeable and the engineering in this van certainly out ways a clean floor with painted fuel tank.

Results like this just confuse people, reek of favouritism, turn people off entering or coming back and take away from an otherwise good event.
The van nats is obviously judged the same as Vic van titles as I could list a heap of things I consider to be major stuff up's.

Just my worth.
Sorry if I've upset anyone but thems the breaks, maybe it's time the judging system was reviewed................

Cheers Rob

Here is a youtube video I have knocked up from footage I got yesterday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3rNGIyVE2s

Check it out!

Sorry about the quality, but at least it gives you an idea of the event and the vans.

Too Cha old mate.

I'd now like too see an explanation of what constitutes being the top van?

People gathered around one particular van all day, awesome comments from all concerned - included all vanners present, maticulous paint work & may i add straight panels in metallic paint, not a straight flat colour.
Chrome hanging off it from every angle, i'd say straightened & rechromed to better than new, as for the engineering where do you start? Bonnet hinging, suicide doors, blown fuel injected engine, Bling wheels, headlights, taillights, tram rods............ and i'm only going off my fairly limited car experience.

My main reoccuring point, front cover of Street machine, i have'nt and don't expect any other van presented on the weekend to ever make it onto the front cover of any magazine!

As Rob explained, this really puts a dampener on others pushing for top vans ever entering them, the general consensus now is only enter your van for display, it's not worth the disappointment!
The only award missing from the weekend was Vanners choice, probably the most prestigious & acknowledging award worth winning.

So on behalf of my fellow MV Vanners & all vanning community, in the spirit of all canopy driven vans (including hilux, rodeo like utes) I'd like to present Josh's FJ with the

VANNERS CHOICE AWARD FOR 2011

Well done mate you deserve it, it was great too finally see it in the flesh.
I'm sure i won't be the last too saw it, but that's my 20cents worth.

Too those other vans that came a close second i give you a large token of gratitude for showing up, taking the time to show your vans & being apart of a good day - these include the Sandmans, the Hq's, Valiants, Sundowners & especially the trailed in Toyota van - i tip my hat too you all. Well done.

MV keep up the attitude & keep the knockers (prob me now too) out.


Cheers Al.

HQVAN wrote:Here is a youtube video I have knocked up from footage I got yesterday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3rNGIyVE2s

Check it out!

Sorry about the quality, but at least it gives you an idea of the event and the vans.

Good work mate
I did'nt see ya scoot around doing that shoot, well done.
Good idea for those not present with the vans that were present & accounted for.

Cheers Al.

great pics - need to read it yet

green XC and Val look great and squirt is cool

Glad you guys all had a good time at the show, pretty good comments about it all. It was good to meet a few i had never seen before and catch up with others i rarely see, hope it happens more often.

Just a comment about the "Dunnydore vans". Way back at the nats in Gympie a discussion was had about whether or not to allow these Millenium vans to be judged as vans, it was also discussed if vehicles like Ambulances and Hearse's should be judged as vans too. It was a heated discussion to say the least but the result was to allow them all to be judged as vans. Here is why. We (as in all involved) looked at the usage of vans, ambo's and hearse's and "vanutes" (as i call them) and as they can be basically used all in the same manner, ie.. deck them out, sleep in them carry gear in them etc it was decided if they looked like a van, were used as a van in the spirit of vanning then they would be classed as a van. Also as now none of the Aussie manufacturers make vans this was the closest we were going to get for an Australian made van (commodores i am talking about here). Thought was do we stick to 50's 60's 70's and 80's vans only or do we move with the times. The choice was clear and we moved with the times. Now look at how popular they are and i am sure that if anyone here was given one you too would use it as a van and camp in it, sleep in it etc. Obviously the decision was made back around 2004ish and only the people in and participating in the scene really had any say in it. Believe me it was a talking point for about 8 months and in the majority rules. There is no way you can run a show now and give them a seperate catagory to "normal" vans because so many people would get peed off, they are just accepted now by most people.

The Judging, well i am not going to get into any debate or stick up for any one about the weekend. I thought the top 6 was pretty much correct but then after that there were a few discrepancies if you ask me. I would have definately put the green Valiant in the top 10. But none of us know just how the show was judged and if official judging sheets were used. Now as i have said to Rob before, i am the first person after every Nats to ask questions about who, how and why when it comes to the awards. The "VCV" committee (when they run a nats) and the judging steward normally get question time from me. Now i am not an expert at judging and have never done the judging seminars but i have judged at shows before (a long time ago) but do not now. I listen to comments of people after the show and take note and listen also to their questions and then i put these to those in charge. Usually i get very good answers back but i like to ask from looking at the results from different points of view even if they are not my belief, i still ask. Now everyone can judge a show the way they want, even change the judging sheets if they prefere but i would hope this would not be done for a Nationals with out having indepth discussions with those who have judged for many years or those who run the judging seminars because you just may get it all very wrong (not saying anyone will) but there is a possibility and then imagine the egg on the faces of those who thought they new better. There really needs to be a weekend put aside where anyone interested in forming a new judging system get together to nut it all out with what ever ideas they have well before making their own changes. It is really hard to explain to people in writting how and why some vehicles score well over others without having them side by side and then not upsetting the owners. A perfect example is Josh's FJ and Ken's Escort, 2 completely different style vans but both immaculately detailed. But by putting them side by side i will use this example. Lets look at The J's front guard up against the Escorts. They are both front guards and have to be judged as just that, if one has mods tom it then that guard has to be finished to a degree that it is like a standard factory guard. If you want to do mods you have to be spot on, but so does the factory escort guard. Having the mods will only give points to the van if there is a catagory for modified, if there is no catagory then they get judged as if they are both factory. You can think this is unfair but it works both ways, do we discriminate against some one who has and likes the factory look or against the guy who likes the flares or different lights etc. You cant seperate them these days unlike in the 70's where mods gave extra points. Unfortunately it is just like political correctness. Personally i wish there was ways around this but there really isnt unless there is a modified section. but the mods probably do not count towards the over all score, just like murals do not count towards extra points, they are a seperate catagory. At this point i don't think anyone has the answer and if some one changed it from another state then the same comments will probably come from the other side this time. You just have to give thanks to those who actually put the effort in and spend the time doing what most of us don't want to do and that is judging. If you like being critisized then judge a show, because there is always some one who will not be happy with the results. Lastly, my advise is, unless you are building a van to show and win trophies, never go to a show expecting to win smething as you may go home disappointed because you never know what will show up on the day, if you win something then i look at it as a bonus. Finally, thanks again to all who put the show on and all that attended. I hope i have helped with some explanations.

James

I'd just be happy if the judges openned their eyes, the winning van had a ripple/dent that ran the full height of it's side panel and had marks in it where they'd welded up the side windows.......
As for mods not counting.........who invented this rule? Someone who couldn't do them obviously, the has to be done as good as standard rule couldn't have applied on the weekend because the FJ was better than standard and the Escort wasn't even straight!
As you said James, you'll never please everyone, but it's generally better that you please the majority, not a minority handful of people caught in the past.

Cheers Rob

Thanks for the support guys but Ive gotta say i'm happy with the result. I'd hate to be a judge at any event. Highlight of the day was Harrys mad dash for the trophy. He hasn't stopped talking about it

The Zodiac wrote: the Escort wasn't even straight!
Cheers Rob

There is no such thing as a straight Escort, they were bent from the factory.
Sounds like you guys hade a great weekend.

Thanks for the pics Karl all vans looked great,but I have to say that Josh's FJ would have to be the best FJ van that I have seen for a long time I am hoping to see it up close and personal in the near future.

Regards Tony.

I am a huge fan of Josh's van to, it is a work of art, i would surely "pick it" over the escort but that was the way it was judged at this show and may i add it was not by qualified judges, the next time those 2 vans go head to head the result may be reversed. Glad to see that Josh has no major issue with the result and the main thing is he enjoyed the show. Maybe we should ask Josh if he built the van to "win" or built it for his own satisfaction? If he built it to win then yes he could be disappointed but i am sure he realises just how much work and effort goes into each "top van" that he goes up against and results do not always go his way. Maybe his next show he goes to it may win top vehicle of show and their maybe something better than his there, then what will people say?
Interesting points you make about the escort Rob, i will surely look next time i see it.

James

The only award that means anything to me really is peoples choice.

those of you that have been round the car scene for, well ever, might remember Bluey Hills insame stepside HJ tonner?
has been off the road for about 20 year in the most insane rebuild
spoke to Bluey a month or so back (mbeen mates fo over 25 years) and he told me that he had the rolling chassis at last motor-x (anyone got a pic?)

well 20 odd years ago it had a hand made control arm set up something like the TSS ones you can buy off the shelf nowadays

you should all remember Ron barklays HQ ute
Now while that car was nothing short of nuts as far as fit finish and detail it is mostly completly stock!?

well somehow Rons ute got first and Blueys second for engineering! (WTF?)

now while theyre very very different builds i have no idea how completly stadard parts are better engineered than hand built one?

the judges were cornered and made to explain and (from what i can remember) they said it was because they didnt think it would stand up to regulaar road use or fair well in a crash

Go Figure

what they think and whats on an engineers report makes the difference. If a judge ignores an engineer they have issues.

Perhaps a new thread on judging might be in order.

MajesticXX7 wrote:what they think and whats on an engineers report makes the difference. If a judge ignores an engineer they have issues.

this is the prblem, wheres the line then?
if they deem it unsafe then remove it from judging
since no other car had that type of set up at the time and they (a judge) deem it unsafe then how can it even beat the 3rd place getter - need to be consistant!

strange hahey pick on engineering for that yet hd no issue with the 671 sitting a roof height

plus they ever asked for a report