BEST CAR-SHOW HORROR STORY
From Car And Driver January 2009
From Larry and Linda Adams

Several years ago, we were accepted for entry in the Pebble Beach Concours. I parked our 1947 Lincoln Continental coupe in our class, with an 810 Cord, a Brewster Opera Car, and some other really exquisite cars. It was going to be a tough class. After wiping down the car for 10th time, I decided to take a break and sat in the front seat with a cup of coffee and the Sunday paper.

Halfway through the sports section, I lowered the paper and saw a man at the front of the car with both hands on the hood ornament ! My first thought was to start the car and run over him. Sanity prevailed, and I hit the horn ring instead. The car had extremely loud horns. As the hood-ornament fondler fell over backward, the white cane on his arm came into view.
Three hours later, the judges arrived. Two of the three judges were Strother MacMinn and Phill Hill. Phil had entered his 1931 4.5 Blower Bentley in the concourse.

While checking the operation of lights, turn signals, etc., the unknown third judge asked me to operate the power windows. On this Lincoln they were operated by an electric pump with a brake-fluid reservoir mounted on the fire wall. I opened the driver's-side door and lowered the window. As I pushed the button to raise the window, the hydraulic cylinder in the door sprang a leak. The judges shoe was directly in the stream of brake fluid leaking from the drain hole in the bottom of the door. I saw it, he didn't.

I spoke to Phil Hill after the event. He told me that virtually the only difference between our first-place car and the second-place car was that we had authentic cloth-covered wiring under the dash whereas the other car had plastic-covered wiring!
No mention of the shoe.

Final score:
One blind guy knocked down. One judge's shoe ruined.