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And the way the business works right now, you CANNOT rely on sponsorship to finish the car. I've worked for a few small magazines and have attended a ton of shows, talked to vendors/manufacturers/etc so I have a little insight. It sucks but you need to spend so much just to get a little from the companies. Although, there are the times you can give your car up for a while for product testing and such and reap nice benefits. That's getting very difficult with a 12 year old car design. As a ClubZ member I'm sure you've talked with the guys before about this...I dunno how much help they've been because they are track junkies more than show guys...and damn good ones! That being said, I must tell you that it's going to be hard working backwards with needing an engine/paint/etc and already having the system and such done. Usually the former help with the latter, but ask around...find some paint shops and show them what you've done! From there you can do rims (didn't see if you had anything) and then interior work since you'll need new leather and such. Next, custom stuff surely helps and you have some of it. The problem is that in the areas you have the most extreme stuff there is little continuity. Your stereo system has componenets from multiple manufacturers for one. I've got Alpine ready to give me a sponsorship once I fix my front end and start showing again (clipped a curb, scraped off a little paint). Also, too many distractions can make it a LOT harder to get sponsorhips from the bigger names so be careful. It looks like a lot of your stuff may be "hidable" so as not to stand out too much and not look clean. I think it's the diagrams that make things look even MORE cluttered so it may not be so bad. If they want to take pictures of their items and such, they don't want to have to dodge a gazillion other things. Just food for thought if/when adding more stuff. As for car shows, you should have no problem getting attention once the car is painted up. MOST important is to clean up that engine bay and dress it up. I was shocked at what a difference that made in the overall package. I started getting asked to be in magazines and have photo shoots instantly after I did that (and without trying to sound cocky, that really is without trying). It draws people to the car, then they look inside and see the rest. Have a nice engine bay and you don't need a HUGE wing or any nasty outside distractions and such...you still get the attention. Once you start getting known at shows, it also helps a lot when it comes to sponsorship of the smaller companies (hell, even the larger ones later on). You have to market yourself and make it clear that you're willing to try their product instead and spend the TIME showing it off and being dedicated. They'll want no part of you if you just go to a show every now and then (part of the reason I've held off so long...I have NO TIME). That's all I can think off of the top of my head :) Good luck and get the rest done.
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22:49:16 05/27/02
