Nationals experience......

I was a vendor this year and had to stay in my spot for 2 days but I did have a very good experience. Sold almost ALL my stuff. Just brought back one box of parts, a set of headers and an exhaust system from a Hellcat along with a 2:62 rear end. Also heard the strip may go up for sale . May be BS but who knows.

Not near the attendance there was 15-20 years ago, especially on Saturday.

Still had a good time.

I didn't sell much and didn't buy much either, but had a transport to the Nats and one after that made up for it big time! Got home a couple hours ago and am worn out! Only walked the swap a couple of times and the car corral, didn't go look at any cars in the show field and didn't go to what heard was left of the Midway. I saw Jim at the Minnesota Mopar show and Carlisle, and he was his same old self.

I Kept watching for you Jim but never did see you.

I didn't go to Nationals, but did see and walked by Jim Bielinda, at a Mopar show in
western Michigan, a few weeks ago, he looked perfectly fine.

Maybe that was BS I heard.

We saw Jim in the registration tent this morning.
Looked fine to me...

Ok, sorry about the bad information.

We had a descent time this year.

On July 31st I sent an email to my friend Paul and told him that it was the last day to order a Charger/Challenger. He replied the next day with an order receipt for a new Scat pack wide body Challenger. The closest dealer to us that had an allocation for one was near Chicago. He wanted a 6-speed but the only available trans at that time was the auto. After a few days the dealer still hadn't heard back from Chrysler if they accepted the order. Fearing that the order would be canceled he started looking around the country for another option. He found a 6-speed wide body in Pennsylvania that was almost exactly what he had ordered. So...he bought it. We left on Wednesday instead of Thursday and drove to Pennsylvania. Thursday morning he finalized all the paperwork and we drove back to Ohio for the Nats.

We got to the Nats at 7:30 Friday morning to get a decent spot. People had already roped off spots and set up tents on Thursday so finding a good spot was still a challenge. When we left on Friday we left our tent up like everyone else. We got to the show Saturday morning at 8:00 and someone was in our spot. He was asked nicely to move since we had that spot the day before and the tent was still set up. He refused and said he wasn't moving. His friends next to him put the blame on us. They said it's first come first served and we shouldn't expect to have a spot if we "slept in until 10:00 in the morning". (it was 8:00) The funny thing is that those same people moved spots Friday morning because they had initially parked in a roped off area. What can you do? There is no reasoning with people like that. We found a different spot and the rest of the day went on without incident.

The dealership in Heath was a good time. Kind of reminded me a little bit of years past.

Great time. Super busy. Weather was great until the threat of bad weather on Sat. We decided to close up tent a couple hours early on Sat to avoid having to spend another night away from home if it did rain. Still spooked from the tornado/microburst from a few years back.

Overall great show! Not our best year but definately our 2nd best (last year was our best).

Budar. I was the one talking to you about your Black Challenger at the Heath dealership. You said you just bought it in PA---Nice car!!

I wish it were mine. You must have been talking to my friend Paul. It is nice.

I have been attending the Nats and judging for over 30 years. Yes every year. Sure things have changed because of a lot of factors. The past two years the Nats has been more fun than any of the long ago years. I love the fact that there are fewer people than 20 years ago. Makes it easier and more enjoyable to not have to deal with the nutjobs that no longer come. The track has improved greatly no more nasty port a pots. No more trash cans over flowing. Racing is bigger and better than ever. That alone makes The Nats better by far. Plenty of swap meet stuff just a lot fewer parts being brought because there are less and less original parts left. Vendors don't come like they used to because of expenses and internet sales. 20 years ago gas was under $2.00 a gallon. It was over $3.50 this year and Hotels used to be $65 and now, most are over $150.

Oh let's see. Carlise you gotta park in groups not with your friends. No Judging just friends picking friends cars. A trophy from Carlise is no big deal. The level of Judging at the Nats continues to be the best of all shows with MCACN a close second. I know I have judged at both events. Again I love the fact that there are less cars being judged because two thirds of those car from 20 years ago were just drivers. The level of quality of the cars we have now is far superior than years past. There were two Gold cars two years ago. There hasn't been a Gold level car in years. Showing at the the Nats has improved every year and this year was the smoothest ever. Having the judged car show field on the other side of the track has been great! No more 45 minute walks around the back of the track to see the show or carry parts.
You golf carts whiners should have been here this year. There were a fraction of carts there and not once did I experience or see any problems with carts. So stop all ready with the "Golf cart Nationals" crap.

Hotels are much easier to get. Getting in the gates doesn't take an hour anymore. And as far as Friday and Saturday night cruises. Brice road sucks now and sucked then compared to what we have now. Heath has so much to offer and if you want the experience of pandemonium crowds and burnouts Buckeye Lake rocked!!!! Cops let it all happen.
The weather was fantastic. Not hot and sweltering like Carlise. No body falling out or in need of misting tents. No rain except a few sprinkles Friday. Saturday nothing but beautiful weather.
To even say the show cannot be saved and it is going under is ludicrous. It doesn't need to be saved. It is alive and well and more fun than ever.

This is just as I see it also. I quit judging 15 years ago because of working with Mr. Norms Garage and then Mr. Norm. The parts sales are down, but this was my swan song on vending, no more after this one. I am going to take the time I spent on parts selling and actually put together one or several of my cars and take them to Carlisle and The Nats. You will always see me at both shows, if you do not please send the wife condolences...

I've been. To most ..but not all ( cross country move has its disadvantages fornthis


But much prefer the Nats over Carlisle.


But I do want to congratulate my younger brother.


It's a nice car...not perfect by any means.

2nd two years in a row .
But he kept making improvements in the off season
Got 1st in class last year A body stock. Class of 2022
And 1st place this year senior class of 2023

as moparmike stated, things have changed. like everything else, what we remember as kids growing up to adulthood, everything changes!!! be happy that there is still shows. which ever one you perfer thats great,good and not so good for alll of them. glad mopar shows are spread out and more people can enjoy.like everything,
keep attending these shows or they WILL be gone

Just a beautiful Duster! Can you give us more info on your brothers car? Tell him I said, congrats on his class win, that is excellent!

Just curious, what kind of car count do they get these days? Haven't been in over 10 years. And would like to go back next year

Definitely looking forward to seeing your Mopar collection on display at a future event.

My uncle went to sell parts. He sold the drivetrain related parts he took, but no sheet metal. He had some nice fenders and doors for 68-70 B bodies and didn't even have anyone look at them surprisingly. From what he could tell, he said it didn't seem like body parts were selling very well?

He sold a B body Dana 60 and a '70 E body pistol grip for me...sold them pretty quick.

I didn't sell any sheet metal either, and a pair of AMD quarters for a 67 Dart are still in the package. I was $100 cheaper than anyone else there on them too...

Had a great time. Brought a shopping list and was partially successful.
Definitely scored a few deals/couple things been shopping for over a year, glad I held out as the discounts were deep and the need wasn't super immediate.

My buddy who drove this year actually was shopping for 69 B body sheetmetal, the problem was nobody had the pieces he wanted
on hand.

Didn't get to buy my DMT parts there like I wanted as Jim was packed up, about to leave and helping another vendor take inventory just as I approached
his tent, so I ended up buying some of it from that vendor instead. Seemed like nobody else had cat whiskers so I had to interrupt the inventory count to buy them
which was awkward, but the other vendor was about to pack up and leave due to weather concerns as well.

The weather turned out beautiful Saturday and was pretty comfortable with a good breeze (but no freaky destructive gusts).

Got late in the afternoon and I ended up making a bunch of parts orders on my phone for whatever I couldn't find.

NSS makes me want to get my car done and get it back out, even more than previously...which I needed.
A little inspiration is always welcome.

Buckeye lake was insanity for sure.

Out sick today and watching Jack's Place on YouTube from this past weekends Nats show saw a few cool cars I havnt seen before one was a rough 69 White Charger drag car that was found in a garage in Phila PA I t
was wearing mags ,ran had the rear window taped in,still a cool car!Also a nice white 70 Charger RT with blue interior.Also 70 superbird yellow, needing some work,no headlight buckets had little lights where headlights would be.Think I remember it from years ago.Never saw it on the road.

A couple videos of Kayse (the wife) doing a burnout at the dealership cruise.

Thanks to the buddies that took the videos!

Will do, Thanks

His OE style battery took a dump about a week before the show. he was not happy


I was looking for either NOS or a very nice redone grill and head light bezels for my car. I found ONE restored grille. But at $3600 . I passed.
I found NO used ones or head light bezels

Bought a Nats T shirt, 2 hubcaps and a radiator hose.

Was shopping around for lunch. But Im not paying $8 for a corn dog.

We ate on the way back home instead.

After readin about the Nationals and Carile for the last 30 years, I think I'm going to attend one of te shows next year. Hopefully I can get hotel and flight info early so I will know and plan my vacation properly.

If you are thinking that you want to go to either show next year you need to start looking for a motel now if you want to stay at a place as close as possible to the event.
Most motels are booked a year in advance, make a reservation which can always be canceled if you can't make the trip.

Some of you speak of judging like its such a big deal. Well maybe for a handful of people it is, but for the vast majority its just a place to take your Mopar with like-minded folks - most of whom don't have the money nor the time to devote to a trophy-contending trailer queen - and prefer to actually drive their cars! You can hype up the judging all you want, do your chest pounding, etc., but the reality is, most attendees don't care.

Absolutely.

I've judge for over 30 years, some people don't care, some do. I judged the Mopar Nats for over 10 years and had one guy that brought his 68 Barracuda every year to make sure he got it right, and it was in the modified category. He just wanted to learn and know that he was doing things the correct way and he was a joy to be around! He drove his car everywhere, not all show cars are trailer queens. He probably liked seeing your cars too, the vast majority do too. It takes everyone to turn this big old world, just remember opinions vary...

Having a judged Chrysler car is a BIG DEAL. It would be an even bigger (loss)deal considering all the judged brands, that there weren't any judged Chrysler Corp vehicles at all to represent us. I've never had anything near that good and if I did it would be driven because that's what they were meant for.
It's just a guess but I think 25-30 or so years back, most of us did care.

Seems to me that is an odd sentiment. Has anyone done a survey of attendees as to what events/activities were the reason they attended?

I have great respect for anyone in the Mopar community who excels at what they do even if not a lot of others appreciate it. It certainly takes at least as much time, money, effort, dedication, and knowledge to build a competitive show car as it does to build a competitive race car. Doesn't it? And at some level both become trailer queens. Since the vast majority of our cars are just 'driver examples', those guys that seek to elevate their cars above that and want to compete to see how good a job they have done, is praise worthy. And that applies to both racers and restos.

Personally, I am far more great grateful to those guys that keep super nice original examples of our cars 'as they were' than I am to guys who are still cutting them up and modifying them to go faster with non Mopar parts. There is certainly a place for that and I enjoy it, too. But there are far fewer nice original examples of our cars left than there are heavily modified ones. And IMHO those efforts are worth supporting.

Gotta remember this is coming from Mr Sunshine Stanton.

Exactly!!!!!

Ive been going to the Nats Since the 1st Chrysler Car Club Convention in MI , then St Louis , etc etc etc
Ive been to MOST but not all of them.
Even spent some time as a judge in the past.

IMO the best days of any of these shows is behind us. Look around next time you're at one of them. A vast majority of the crowd are grey hairs ( myself included )

Most of the high end cars have attained a value its not worth the risk to drive them like we did 25 -30 years ago. Thus why a large and growing portion of the cars have shifted to modern Chargers, Challengers , SRTs , PT cruisers , Ram trucks etc etc etc

Carlisle keeps saying they break a record every year with car count. BUT,,,, How many of them are newer models compared to the vintage stuff. Myself dont go to shows to see a zerox copy of Dodge dealership lots.
After a 6 or 7 year hiatus from the Nats I went this year. Sure its down, and I saw a lot of the same newer stuff as any other show.( all brand shows included )
But for me its to see and hang with friends Ive met along the way. Maybe pick up a few misc parts. Seeing some cool old iron is a huge bonus. Even if it's not the same number of or quality of cars as years past. Its till the Nats and I. And IMO the best of them all. Is it perfect? ,,,,oh hell no. None of them are.
When doing an event of this magnitude. there is simply no way on gods green earth you will please everyone there . Thats simply not possible. So you do the best you can with what you're given and move forward.

The biggest difference between Carlisle and the Nats. Is self-owned property versus a leased facility for the weekend. Far more to deal with and have to please one versus the other. As attendees we look at them as a weekend getaway. For the organizers its a yearlong job, 2nd job to most.

So, enjoy them both or the one YOU prefer. Because odds are ,,,maybe ,,,,someday,,,,There just might be a day when we cant.

i stayed home and used the money to rebuild the front end on my cuda and for new tires

I won the burn out contest on Saturday it was a blast !!!

I always have a good time, meet up with friends, fellow Maggie enthusiasts. I didn't step foot in the swap this year, which was a first,, but I've been so blessed to have acquired all the goodies I need. But always looking ( y'all know how it is... )

I do wish they'd organize cars by class ( body ) though. I'll keep going.

Let me address the latter comment first. You are absolutely right, enjoy what we have before it's gone. All of this complaining about The Nats gets old. I started going in the late '80s. Yes, the show has changed but so has the entire hobby. For ME, The Nats was all about the drag racing and the Pro Street cars back then. I haven't watched one car go down the track in the last 10-15 years. But that's just me. I will say that I've been starting to look at drag cars and "hot rods" a lot more lately so maybe I'm starting to move to another stage of the "Mopar Cycle." The bottom line is, there are tons of cars, parts and people. It's all Mopar. So what's not to like about The Nats??

As far as how many cars are newer at Carlisle, boy am I glad you asked!!! I did an analysis on this back in 2016 (I believe) and I was quite surprised back then as I found many of the individual A,B & E-Body classes had hit an all-time high for turnout. I honestly hadn't had time to do another analysis since then but due to a lot of comments on Facebook and now this thread, I decided to take the time yesterday to run some numbers. Due to my reports, I was only able to go back to 2006, but that's almost 20 years. Here are the results:

- All of the late model Chargers, Challengers, 300s and Magnums only increased by 12 cars since last year. We went from 809 to 821.
- Out of the 3156 registered show vehicles this year, only 821 of them were modern muscle.
- Pre-1981 cars increased by 34 from 2022 to 2023.
- We had the most pre-1981 cars we've had from 2006-2023 (remember, I don't have comparable data prior to 2006 at this time, but I don't think it will be any higher than 2006 numbers).
- A, B & C-Bodies ALL increased from 2022 to 2023. E-Bodies dropped by ONE car.
- A, B & C-Body cars were all the highest ever from 2006-2023 (again, I don't currently have comparable data prior to 2006 at this time).

I was able to pull the TOTAL car count back to 2001 and the show grew every year with 1646 cars in 2001 and 2165 cars in 2006. Since the then new LC/LX cars had just come out, I think it's safe to say that the Chargers and Challengers were NOT contributing to the show back then so the classics had to be where the growth was coming from. In fact, here are the total numbers for LC/LX cars for 2004-2006:
-2004: 0
-2005: 49
-2006: 26 (I have no idea why they dropped by almost half that year)

The bottom line is, all of the growth and record numbers we are having are not just from the newer cars!! The older car classes are growing, too, except for E-Bodies. E-Bodies have dropped off slightly (we had 27 fewer E-Bodies this year than we had in 2006 and as noted above, they dropped by ONE car from 2022 to 2023). I personally think this is GREAT news for the hobby. Yes, we are seeing growth from the Modern Muscle Mopars, but we are seeing MORE growth from the A, B & C-Body Mopars.

I can't wait to use this DATA on Facebook the next time someone says that our record number of 3156 at Carlisle is all new Chargers and Challengers!!

Ed B

Thanks Ed,

Appreciate the feedback.

Good news either way

In regard to the Carlisle data...Are we going to discuss how they encourage people all weekend to register any Mopar so they can "break a record" every year? How many of the registrants actually have a car on the show field, and how many are padded numbers from people registering to boost the car count? I'm sure the people registering their daily drivers, as so encouraged, aren't registering the '91 Acclaim they drove to the show.

I get it, you can't count every single car on the grounds, but at the same time, you can't give factual show field data either based on what people registered.

I know the only show where people park the Caravans next to Hemi Daytona Chargers is at that disorganized mess known as the Mopar Nationals.