When you say, “car show judge”, you picture grey-haired old men with at least three pens in their shirt pocket and armed with clipboards. They shuffle up to your pride and joy and begin to examine the car as if it’s a crime scene. If they could find a use for outline tape, they’d unroll it and mask off the area. Wait, they already have. We’ve seen the judging areas at car shows “roped off” to non-owners and non-essential personnel. All that’s missing are the lab technicians and forensic specialists. This is some serious stuff, we’re talking the same judging intensity as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. But in this case, the breeds being trotted out are not some pure-bred hunting dogs whose linage can be traced back to the French Aristocracy of the 17th century. What these folks are crawling all over are 20th century Detroit sheet metal when their factories pumped out muscle machines at an alarming rate to satisfy the masses of young car buyers. The car’s pedigree being judged is not in its bloodline, but rather in the big V8 engine sporting multiple carburetors resting under the scooped hoods, embedded in crazy exterior colors that could make you blind. Add the unique options that make these machines “one of very few”, and you’re looking at a seven-figure car that retailed for working man’s wage when it was new. They might be rare as hen’s teeth, but they pop out of the woodwork as we’ve seen at Barrett-Jackson and Mecum collector car auctions. There are many factors driving the final hammer price, but a good judging score from a major car show will push the numbers even higher. At the recent Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) show, we saw many rare examples of the Motor City’s finest muscle cars being judged by an army of red-shirted individuals examining every inch of these cars. But instead of judges who are heading into their twilight years, we got to meet two young women whose passion and knowledge for vintage Mopar® vehicles runs deep.
For 25-year-old Alex Stark and 20-year-old Kristyn Bushong, they’re not merely spectators forced to accompany their parents or significant other to a car show. These young ladies are second- and even third-generation Mopar gearheads that have been brought up in this hobby for most of their lives.
“I have spent all of my years on this earth surrounded by muscle cars thanks to early influence from my parents, grandparents and uncles,” notes Alex. “But it really was my parents that had the biggest influence on me growing up since we spent more time in the garage than the house. I spent my time as a kid playing with matchbox cars rather than Barbies. At a local cruise night when I was about six years old, I found my holy grail of 1:64th scale cars: a B-5 blue Plymouth Duster with a white vinyl top, white stripe and white interior. That was my absolute favorite car, and I was sure that I made my dad aware of it. In fact, I was so persistent that he jokingly said to get on eBay and find the real one. So, I did.” The Motor City resident is also working on her apprenticeship program to be a certified State of Michigan Union Elevator Mechanic.
As Alex reflects back, her journey into the classic Mopar muscle car hobby has been very exciting. “A few years ago, we were invited to the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals by a couple of friends, and we were instantly hooked. The caliber of cars and people were unmatched. Last year was my father’s unveiling of a concourse-quality 1970 Plymouth GTX and the experience was one of my favorites. We restored the car from the ground up and used our combined knowledge and skills to make it what it is today. We both possess a background of fabrication and paint and a crazy eye for detail. With all of our family’s hard work, we scored a 995/1000 which we are incredibly proud of since it was essentially a ‘garage’ restoration.
“We made so many new friends from that car including one of the judges, Dave Wise. He asked if we would be interested in assisting with judging. With how busy we were that weekend, judging was out of the question for the 2021 year. But my dad and I agreed and looked forward to judging MCACN 2022. I agreed to the task because I wanted to share my knowledge with the other judges and the owners. And to have the privilege of getting up close and personal with some of the rarest muscle cars in the world is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I also learned a couple new tips and tricks from my fellow judges.”
For Kristyn, it was the same, as her dad and grandfather were massively into the Mopar hobby and encouraged her along the way. “I got started with Mopars at a very early age. From the time I was only a few months old, my dad would take me on rides, car shows and many cruise nights in his 1970 AAR ‘Cuda. My father, D.J. Bushong, tracked down the exact same car that his father once had when he was little and now it has been something our family has taken care of,” noted Kristyn. “Something that my dad always likes to remind me is that I said the word ‘Cuda’ before ‘mom’. My Dad would let me come help in the garage as he would work on projects before he started his own business restoring old Mopars for a living. He would let me sort nuts, bolts, screws, etc., by the full coffee cans. I would lay on the creeper and sort them out on the floor while dad was working. It was something I always looked forward to. My love for Mopars was definitely something that was running in my blood from a very young age.” They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and for Kristyn, this it very true.
“My dad is the reason I am as involved as I am. We would get to go on road trips to go look or pick up possible restorations. As he was looking over the car, I would ask questions and as my curiosity grew, he was always willing to teach me more and more. I am still learning to this day. The ‘Cuda just became a member of the family and as the business expanded, I learned to appreciate and respect the car as well as the time well spent with it,” commented Kristyn, whose personal toy is a 1974 Dodge Dart that will be infused with hopped-up small block very shortly.
So how did these two young female Mopar enthusiasts get sucked into the world of judging rare cars whose owner put their blood and sweat into the restorations? We can thank Dave Wise, a longtime show judge and part-time specialist working for Barrett-Jackson himself. It was Dave who had the foresight to get young people into the hobby so it can thrive for another generation of passionate gearheads. He felt it was time to bring new blood into the judging aspect of Mopar shows and the recent Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals was the perfect event to put his thesis to the test. “Both Alex and Kristyn made an impression on me with their attention to detail and people skills. I met both ladies while I was inspecting their fathers’ various Mopar projects. This was especially evident when I looked at Alex’s father’s 1970 Plymouth GTX during its restoration process. The same was true with Kristyn when I was checking out her dad’s 1970 Plymouth AAR ‘Cuda. Both women have a good eye and a willingness to learn,” noted Dave.
So, what do our young female car show judges look for when a fully restored vintage muscle car needs to be look at? “When I’m judging at a show, I look first at overall quality. Fit and finish is a huge one, and it isn’t an easy feat. Then I move on to numbers and date codes, making sure everything matches the time frame it was made in, and it checks out. Finishes on latches, springs and other various bolt-on pieces are hard to match what rolled off the line and that’s where I also find some mistakes. It’s possible, just difficult. The internet is a wonderful tool to compare pictures and stories to be able to restore pieces to their former glory. I also love that MCACN attracts so many unrestored survivor cars. It’s been nice to show owners real-life side-by-side comparisons of their car vs. the original. Pictures can do so much when you are restoring, but sometimes it helps to be able to see the real thing with your own eyes,” commented Alex. But sometimes, there’s a disagreement among the judges and the car owners on what’s correct and what’s not. Since these cars were mass-produced at various plants, there can be some inconsistencies. But for Alex and Kristyn, they exercise their people skills and call-in reinforcements if needed. Kristyn is also on the lookout if things look right when she’s judging a car at a show.
As Kristyn informed us, there are many items she’s checking on her sheet. “Some of the things we look for is numbers-matching motor, transmission, door VIN decal, does the car match the options from the fender tag, the condition of the car including interior, exterior and drivetrain. One of the most common mistakes is within the windows and interior. They mistake condition with originality. Even though something may be original, we still have to deduct points for condition, so everything is straight across the board with every car we judge.”
When asked how these two 20-something lady gearheads see the future of the classic car hobby, they were both very upbeat and optimistic. “Being a younger person in the vintage car hobby, I am less afraid of the future now than I was 10 years ago. When I was younger, it was rare to see anyone my age showing interest. As much as I dislike the internet for certain reasons, it does have the power to influence young hobbyists more than word of mouth ever did. These kids can watch videos and learn about these cars in depth from some of the top muscle car enthusiasts in the world, all from the comfort of their own garage,” commented Alex.
Kristyn echoed the same views. “I think as long as people around my age can understand the importance of these cars and the uniqueness of all of these cars, it will remain a hobby. It just takes time and energy, as well as hearing the stories that come with the cars. I don’t see it being as popular as it is now just because we are a different generation unfortunately. I have always said I feel like I grew up in the wrong generation because I don’t understand how someone could look at a vintage car and not get excited to see it up close or get to know more about it!”
So, sleep well tonight, you baby boomers. The cool muscle cars you grew up will be appreciated and taken care of for another 50 years!
We are truly honored to have these two incredibly knowledgable young ladies as key members of our Judging team. I can assure you, they both live and breathe this stuff as much as I do. Thank You Alex and Kristyn; you ARE the future of our great hobby.