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I was invited to help judge this year. This was the class I was assigned to. Coincidentally, it is also the class with which I am most familiar. This was a big responsibility and challenging but a lot of fun and a great learning experience. The only car judging I have done in the past was at the Volkswagen car show. This actually was pretty similar. There were three of us assigned to the class. Amazingly enough, all three agreed almost 100% on our choices.

This shot was taken early morning, before all the cars were in place. At this point, they are all Mercedes. The one on the left is a nicely restored '59 190SL, followed by the '50 170Va formerly owned by a dear friend and documented here. Next is a recently acquired and very nice '60 220SE convertible, followed by a '70 280SL. The right photo is the same line of cars shot from the other end. At the far left is a Pierce Arrow from the Classic class. In the background is the Pavillion and barely visible is a 1935 Mercedes that won Best of Show. More on these two cars willl be found here.

This Mercedes-Benz 600 was a huge car before it was stretched into a 6 door limo. Now it is truly an impressive automobile. I can still remember drooling over the performance specs of them when they were first introduced. Even with their great size and mass, they were able to perform with or better than many expensive sports cars of their era. On the right is a recently restored '58 Alfa Romeo Giulietta coupe that we liked well enough to judge it either 3rd or 4th place in the class.

The photo on the left does not do justice to the front seat and dash of the '60 220SE convertible. The 220SE on the right was a recently completed restoration and was judged 2nd in the class. Its sign said it had previously been torched by an irate wife but not the wife of the current owner. Both these cars were superb. It was really hard to choose between them. Just beyond it is a glimpse of a '57 Porsche 356 Speedster that was judged either just above or just below the Alfa. There were 3 exceptional 356's to be judged. This one was chosen partly because of the unusual, but original, color. The other two were red. The only other photo I got of this Porsche was not useable.

The red car approaching on the sidewalk is a 1936 MG-J2. It is an older restoration but still shows pretty well. In the same frame is the Pierce Arrow again and just peeking out from behind it is the only photo I managed to get of the Jaguar XK180. This was taken before someone raised the bonnet and scratched the nose on the pavement. On the right is a '52 MG-TD that has been in the owner's family since 1954. Its original color was red but it now sports the official colors of the University of Oklahoma, crimson and cream. Just beyond is the '35 Mercedes that had by then moved in next to us.

There certainly were flashier and more flambouyant cars in this class but the restoration on this little MG was so well done that we awarded it Best in Class. For example, the award for Most Significant Sports Car went to the '55 silver Gullwing originally owned by Clark Gable and highlighted last year. After judging, it appears that I did not get back to this class to photograph the other cars.