UNRESTORED vs THOROUGHBRED
Explained

Periodically, I have been asked to explain the difference between the Unrestored and Thoroughbred judging classes as defined by the Mustang Club of America.  These classes are new to us, since our judged shows have not offered anything comparable to them in past years.  Here is the explanation of these two classes as defined by the MCA rulebook.

Division II – Unrestored 1964-2000
(Mustang must be at least ten model years old)
 
 - As was delivered to the original owner - nothing rebuilt
 - No reproduction or updated FoMoCo or Motorcraft parts accepted
 - Imperfection to paint and undercarriage, surface rust, etc. should be considered normal
 - Major dents, body rust, torn upholstery is not considered normal wear
 - Convertibles (Open), coupes and fastbacks (Closed) are in the same class

The Unrestored class is judged using Concours judging sheets, with the addition of an Unrestored sheet.  The Unrestored sheet lists large point deductions for the percentage of the car that has been repainted, convertible to replaced, or engine repainted.  There are also large point deductions for the replacement of carpet, seat covers and door panels, trunk mat, jack assembly, and undercarriage (other than shock absorbers and exhaust systems).  However, a Mustang entered in the Unrestored class can receive mandatory additions (points added back, up to a maximum of 10) for having original window sticker, original invoice, original bill of sale, dealer key chain, drive off tag, visor starting instructions, original owner’s manual, warranty card and factory sales brochure.

Division III – Thoroughbred 1964-1990
(Mustang must be at least twenty model years old)
 
 - Restored or original with correct era parts
 - Date code on parts used must be on or before the manufacture date of the car
 - Absolutely no reproduction parts allowed
 - Convertibles (Open), coupes and fastbacks (Closed) are in the same class

The Thoroughbred judging class also uses Concours judging sheets, along with an additional Thoroughbred sheet.  The Thoroughbred judging sheet lists only the mandatory additions, same as the Unrestored sheet, but does not list any of the major deduction items from the Unrestored sheet.

Hopefully, this will clear up some of the confusion between these two judging classes.  The judges must be mindful of the class that is being judged at the time, since different judging criteria apply.  In either case, cars in these classes are rare.

MNW Judging Committee 

2009 Spring-Into-Summer Show in Review

Judging Explained

Approximately 40 cars showed up for the 2009 Spring-Into-Summer judged Mustang show at Remlinger Farms in Carnation.  The weather was perfect and we had a great variety of Mustangs.  To help our club prepare for the up-coming 2010 MCA Grand National Mustang show, we utilized full MCA judging rules, classes and sheets for this show.  We will continue to follow the guidelines and processes established by MCA for all our judged shows during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.  Those who were at this show may recall that there were a lot of First Place awards handed out.  The following is an explanation of how the scoring works using MCA judged show rules.

Greensheet – The Greensheet is a classification sheet, used to determine the official class in which the Mustang will be entered.  The only possible point deduction is for lack of fire extinguisher, so always remember to bring one.  It is not necessary to mount it in the car, it merely needs to be there.

MCA Class Breakdowns – MCA has many more classes in which to enter cars than our typical Mustangs Northwest show from years past.  With 40 cars entered in the 2009 show, most of the MCA-defined classes had only one or two cars.  Under our old MNW judging classes, we combined many of these into fewer and larger categories.