Many classic car lovers dream of owing a Mustang that all our friends and neighbors will envy. We attend car shows and walk up and down the rows, wishing we had a Mustang worthy of display. Although most of us own Mustangs that look great and may even win a trophy or two at local competitions, they usually aren't worthy of concurs.

Bringing a Mustang up to concurs level is no easy task. People who say "well that's about as good as I can make it," will never make it to concurs. A concurs show is the ultimate in restoration skills. A true concurs car is no longer driven. One tiny chip in the paint means points off. Every centimeter of a car will be inspected by expert judges. If the car isn't perfect, off come the points.

In most concurs shows, a car begins with 100 points. An expert judge will then go over the car with a very fine tooth comb, so to speak. This judge's job is to find flaws on the car. Each flaw or error in restoration subtracts points. When a judge is done scrutinizing the vehicle, the points are added up and subtracted from 100. This number will be the final score for the car. The car with the highest score wins.

First of all, the paint must be perfect. No scratches, no chips, no bubbles no streaks. Even dust is enough for a car to lose points. Yes, even dust. Judges know what color your car should be based on the VIN. If your Mustang has gone through a color change, you might as well forget entering your car in a concurs show. Chrome must glisten and have no pits or dings. This goes for the body as well. Even the tiniest ding or ripple means lots of points. Dirt in a headlight or tail light housing is unacceptable as well. Your engine and engine compartment must be clean enough to eat off. Spark plug wires must curve a certain way. All radiator fins must be perfectly straight. Tie wraps and electrical tape will get you laughed out of the show. Just as the paint needs to be the correct color, you must also have the correct engine that matches the VIN plate. Everything in the car must be original or an original replacement. If your Mustang is supposed to have an Autolite battery and you slapped in a bargain priced DieHard, you will lose points.

The interior of a concurs Mustang looks better than the day it left the showroom. The carpeting must be spotless as well as the seats. Gauges and the entire dashboard must be flawless. The steering wheel can show no signs of wear and there must not be a single fingerprint on the glass or anywhere else in the car. Even the brake and gas pedals must look like new without footprints.

With this amount of nit-picking, you can see why these Mustangs are not driven to shows. Concurs cars arrive in nice clean climate-controlled carpeted trailers. They are carefully unloaded and driven slowly to their rightful spot. Then the owners will work feverishly to clean the tires (which are resting on pads or carpet between the rubber and the concrete) and get rid of any dirt or dust that has somehow settled on the car. You will see lots of feather dusters at a concurs show. Car owners will lightly dust their car every few minutes until the judge arrives. You might think owners of concurs Mustangs are "anal retentive."

Why would anyone want to own a car that can't be driven? To the non-Mustang enthusiast, this sounds moronic. You have spent thousands of hours and thousands of dollars to build the ultimate machine that will quietly sit in a garage for most of it's life and may come out for two or three days every year. This is what concurs is all about. These cars are not restored to be functional daily drivers. They are restored to be perfect specimens of they unique make and model.