RichardS

Looking good Si - looking damn good.....:bow::bow:

Many happy returns Stu - hope you have a great day, whatever you're doing, mate! Richard:happybday:

Many happy returns Steve - hope you have a great day! Richard:happybday:

My thoughts too....:sad: I can't believe that Dan - after all your hard work; I am truly gutted for you. And no-one should be happy about this mate - not anyone with a heart and soul, anyway. I hope you're alright though; metal can be reshaped and/or replaced - but us flesh and blood mortals only get one shot at life. Chin up Dan, at least you got to walk away...:clover: Richard:flowers:

Very nice Si..... ......And since I have got red callipers on the AMG, I have come to like the idea and might paint the Zed's red too.....:thumbup:

Hi Andy, I can answer that - the show organisers, for reasons known only to themselves, only offer club discounts on the Saturday and Sunday. Why? I don't know - seems weird to me as well mate. But it's not just applicable to us, it's for all visitors...:sad: You can pay on the door; and yes, tickets will be more expensive - not sure how much though, as I haven't looked. Plus you'll have to queue to buy, as opposed to walking straight in.

Thank you Aly - and duly noted in our memory banks for the next show! And please accept our apologies for overlooking you when communicating with other potential exhibitors; I genuinely overlooked your interest in this thread. Also with the relatively short lead-in time to fix the arrangements - and not knowing much about your car - we had thought it best to play safe and not go for a modified car this time around. Especially as the organisers had "suggested" we drop down to just 4 cars.

So that is the truth and reasoning behind your posts Chris? Whilst I am grateful to you for actually asking the question - a question we indeed genuinely forgot to answer; as Craig and I have apologised for - are you going to hold it against us for simply overlooking to announce the exhibitors? My thoughts too - and I am not just agreeing with Craig because we are both serving committee members; but because Craig is speaking the truth.......... ........And likewise with Gary's comments. None of us are doing the jobs we do on the committee for recognition or praise. But because we love these cars and enjoy doing our bit to keep them alive, by helping to run the UK's premier Z32 dedicated owners' club! We are only human like everyone else - and we do have lives, families and day jobs to manage as well. We had a very successful and useful AGM at Coventry in the summer - wherein our members were invited to have their say on club issues. Minutes were taken; and, owing to the aforementioned "other commitments" we all have, I apologise for having not published them some 4 months after the event. They will be up to view shortly, though, once I have the NEC (and maybe the F1 comp) out of the way...:wink::oops: What we don't need, are the accusations of being lairs, schemers and general scoundrels of the first order!! If anyone thinks the committee is doing a bad job, they are free to say so. At the next AGM, maybe in a separate thread, in the private area of the forums? Or however; so long as it is objective and justified. But accusing us of being liars, in a thread regarding the club's participation in a major international car show is bad form, Chris.....

Cheers Lee - just added to favourites until I get the chance to test....:wink:

Looking good Dan - and about time we got to see some pics of your Zed, mate....:thumbup:

Today I took my Zed out of the garage, did the Sainsbury's run and then took a little scenic detour home.....:cool: After that, I gave it a quick wipe-down with Sonax Xtreme detailing spray (damn good stuff I reckon - gives the paintwork a nice shine and enhances the wax protection); then popped it back in the garage and replaced the cover. Richard:cool:

This is all dead right, Si...! The NEC show is one of the biggest classic car events - and we have been given a stand not one, not two, but three years running. For a small club like ours, it is indeed a coup! Selecting the cars in never easy; and whilst I have said it several times in this thread, yes, we did have more interest back in January. January was only a couple of months after the 2015 NEC show, so it was fresh in people's minds - and yes, a thread or two was started to canvas potential exhibitors. But fast forward to now, and most people who expressed interest in January, did not step up to the mark last month. We have four cars to find - and our members' input was duly acted upon by the addition of different Z32 versions. IE a 'vert and a SWB. Two of the exhibitors won awards (as voted by our members) at Coventry, so by default they are "pre-endorsed." All perfectly democratic, no? We can never please everybody all of the time, but I like to think we do our best; and if anyone has issue with how the club is run, they are free to express their opinions. Again, I would like to thank everybody who did come forward to exhibit at the NEC; and (as it appears) if we missed any potential exhibitors out, when holding the final discussions to chose the remaining two cars, I apologise. All that remains to say is, the show is next weekend. Friday through to Sunday. At the NEC, Birmingham. It's a great show - with loads of fantastic cars from all corners on display. Come along, you'll love it...... .......It's all done in the best possible taste.....

Good point Ali - in an ideal world and all that.....! Jonnyboy may not get on here that often, nonetheless he knew about Coventry and made it there! There are also some great Zeds outside the club; there's no doubt about that. But since we sign up "the club" as a show exhibitor, it's the club which gets given free access to the show in return for promoting the show in our (private only) forums. And, without risk of sounding exclusive, this is the UK's main "Z32 only" owner's club, so it stands to reason that we'd seek to show our own member's cars. As the numbers of Z32s dwindle, we should be reaching out to other owners and bringing them into the club. And the NEC show has had some success in doing that - as it has promoted awareness in both the car and the club. That's one real benefit of us being there.....!

Very direct Si - but sadly true! And my very reason for starting this thread, nearer the time! We all know how things change over time - and whilst January seemed to offer sufficient notice, the fact is, the number of potential participants had dropped to just six, when the time came to actually step up to the plate! So on behalf of the club, a big thank you to those six people! And by the way, not sure if I have mentioned it earlier in the threat, but until a few weeks ago, we still thought we'd get 5 cars on the stand. However in one of my many conversations with the organisers at the NEC, they advised me that our stand is an odd shape - with a pillar or something in the middle. So on their instruction, we had to reduce that number to 4.....

Nice one Ian!! In all the years we have met at various events, I have always liked your 'vert; and I know you'll do us proud on the stand. And once again, thanks for stepping up - I shall look forward to seeing you next weekend, sir....:thumbup:

Nothing sinister Chris; as I said, it's down to the participants. When I say "behind the scenes" I am referring to the work that we all do "behind the scenes" to keep the club running. In this instance, we have a show to organise. A show that takes place next weekend. This thread has had very little interest since October 9th; and in that time we have been in communication with the potential exhibitors to finalise the cars. Dealing with the show organisers with regards insurance, health and safety requirements, attendees' passes, NEC access, entry times, props, you name it! There's more to it than just selecting a couple of cars mate! So on behalf of the committee, I apologise for being tardy in posting up the results - but we also do have our day jobs to do on top of that! Hence considering there were only 2 "other" spaces to fill, we dealt with it the easiest way possible, given the time constraints, by liaising with the participants and agreed everything with them directly.

For sure, if there was serious competition for a place and a final decision was needed, that's how it would have gone mate. But there were "behind the scenes" communications with the final few potential exhibitors and everything was agreed upon. Ultimately, it's not up to the club or the committee - but the participants, on whether they can (or want to) do it.

This is exactly the issue Ali.....! And by "not much to chose from" I mean, the sheer number of potential exhibitors who could and would step up on the day. Not the standard of the cars we have..... ......I have stressed this every year since 2014; it's a big ask of anyone, to actually participate in the show. You have to arrive at the NEC Thursday morning, help set up the stand, leave your car there; and preferably remain on hand to assist in manning the stand. And then you don't get to leave until late Sunday evening, once you have helped dismantle the stand. The club only covers the cost of a basic hotel room for the duration - you have to cover your own meals; and, in effort to keep the cost down, possibly share a room with someone else. For this reason - and the lack of interested participants, once the time was upon us - the club is going to hold a debate on whether to have a stand in 2017. However for 2016 we have committed ourselves; and will do our best, once again, to represent the club, the Z32 and actively promote interest in both on the world stage! We certainly look forward to welcoming everyone and catching up next weekend.....:thumbup:

Why? If there were only 2 cars left to chose from - and 2 spaces to fill - it's job done, isn't it?

Yes - which is why THIS thread went up. I agree, back in January, many many more people did put their hand up. However, when THIS thread went up - much nearer the time - that number had dwindled. A lot! No point in referring back to January, if those people did not (or could not) come forward now!

Again, point taken Chris.... .....But considering the number of volunteers (read this thread from post number 1 and count them mate) - and then consider those who might have withdrawn during the PMs that followed - and you pretty much have the cars that have been chosen. No poor club spirit at all mate. We have 4 spaces - our members have already endorsed 2 of those during the votes at Coventry - so choosing 2 more cars from a final line up of just 2 or 3 people who can 100% definitely commit to the show, does not need a full-on poll when we are pushed for time to book everything!

Points noted Ali - and whilst there might well be other convertibles out there, I did not see any of their owners volunteering. Correct me if I'm wrong mate:wink: Ian stepped up - he has a nice convertible - so why not...... And I'm confident his car will look just fine, once on the stand! As for the debate, that's why I posted this thread in the first place. We can debate as to whom the best cars belong to, but unless the owners are ready, willing and able, there's little point in considering other, theoretical) options. That, and the time available! From Oct 9th (the last post on this thread before today), we had 4 weeks to firm up everything and, with other potential exhibitors dropping out, we therefore had to decide quickly.....

Easy really Chris. Firstly it was down to volunteers - naturally - as we need people to commit their cars and themselves for the duration. Joel and Mondo both volunteered - and considering they each won awards at Coventry (Joel got 2; including the best car at the show) and Mondo for best interior - they already have the members' endorsements. We then agreed with the various comments about having different versions of the Z32 on the stand. We already had our SWB with Mondo - and IanL was the only person with a 'vert to step up. Ian's car is a tidy example, so why not? For the 4th and final car, it was a tough decision between 3 or 4 extremely fine cars.... One which ultimately came down to colour. We already had a red (Joel), a blue (Ian) and a silver (Mondo). So to ensure a contrast, we went white with Funky. Simples!

Another £200 classic policy here too.... All mods declared and 5,00o miles PA limit.....:cool: Eeeek! That's because you're not an old git like me Steve:ohmy: I don't find "normal" insurance too bad at 46 - the new AMG SLC43 is coming in at £375.... That makes £200 for my Zed seem expensive:lol:

We have...... 1. Joel - natural choice as his car won the vote in Coventry 2. Mondo - a SWB; and again, another vote winner at Coventry 3. IanL - our choice from the (rare) convertible camp 4. Funky Si - another fine example, enough said! I hope you all agree - these guys will certainly do the club proud... Richard:cool: