MPC 8th annual model contest certificate - what year?

[ChrisBcritter]

While getting ready for the big move back to SoCal, I found this in my old papers:

The contest was held here in Chicago at the annual Speed and Custom Car Show - but I don't remember when this was. Anyone know what year was the eighth annual contest?

[Snake45]

I'd bet cash money that Tim Boyd will know. Heck, he was probably there! 

[TooOld]

I just happened to have this issue of Car Model on my desk looking at the model contest in Detroit in 1970 . You can barely make out the sign saying 2nd Annual .

Edited June 30, 2021 by TooOld

[ChrisBcritter]

Thanks! I guess that makes it 1976. Not sure which model I brought, but it was probably this one: AMT '57 Chevy on an MPC Super Stocker chassis.

 

[tim boyd]

20 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

While getting ready for the big move back to SoCal, I found this in my old papers:

The contest was held here in Chicago at the annual Speed and Custom Car Show - but I don't remember when this was. Anyone know what year was the eighth annual contest?

The MPC contest series ran for 11 years....1969 through 1979 car show seasons.  The actual contest series season mirrored the ISCA / ICAS 1/1 scale showcar season and ran from Octoberish of the prior year through April of the current year.  

So the eighth annual series would have been 1976....however back then, the Chicago show IIRC correctly would have been in the November prior to the calendar year...so it would have been November of 1975 even though it was officially the 1976 show car season.  Does that sound right?

Congrats Chris on your win.  Guys, the Chicago show was typically among the biggest and most competitive shows of the year for the MPC series, and several times was covered in detail by Hank Borger in his "Scrap Box" column in Car Model magazine. 

I was lucky and very fortunate to win Best of Show at the Chicago shown during the 1978 contest season (again, held in November, 1977), which entered me in the 10th annual MPC National Finals in Omaha in April, 1978, where the same car (with some minor and allowable upgrades) won 2nd Nationwide.    TIM  

 

[ChrisBcritter]

Thanks Tim! Yes, a bit of newspaper digging revealed the show was held Thanksgiving weekend of 1975.

I don't think this was exactly a "win" - probably more of a "participation award" . But nice to get a little recognition.

[vamach1]

I was at the DC Armory show  and MPC contest in 1976.  Sorry I only have these two pictures from slides but somewhere I have more pictures of the show cars.

[Bainford]

They sure packed them tight together.

Did you get Bunny Burkett's autograph?

[vamach1]

38 minutes ago, Bainford said:

They sure packed them tight together.

Did you get Bunny Burkett's autograph?

I was seventeen and probably too shy.  I did meet Jungle Pam about 20 years ago but don’t remember getting hers either.

I do remember if you brought a model for the MPC contest you would get in free so that was probably my primary motivation.