Concours D'Lemons 2009

Shed of the Week doesn't do shows, but if it did they'd look like this

Here at PH we're unabashed devotees of that motoring phenomenon, the Shed. A fondness for the unloved, the once great and the now blessedly cheap is something that unites us as petrol heads, and gives us a reason not to do any work on a Friday afternoon.

So it was with a sense of international kinship that we reported on the inception of The Concours D'Lemons just a couple of weeks ago. This antidote to the overly shiny, hopelessly expensive and thoroughly unattainable excesses of the Pebble Beach Concours weekend promised a great deal, but we honestly weren't sure if it was just a giant hoax.

Well, PH found itself on the Monterey Peninsula last weekend in the midst of all the madness; not only was the Concours D'Lemons not a joke, it was also a huge success and the highlight of our weekend.

We loved the sense of humour behind classes such as "Rueful Britannia, pre '66," "Unmitigated Gaul" and "Needlessly Complex Italian" and the promise of such hitherto unseen additions to the global circuit of Concours D'Elegances such as "Shag/Stalker Van Class" and "Swedish Meatballs, pre-1974." We're pleased to report that the event delivered in every respect in the metal (or, more accurately, in the Bondo), with a couple of hundred owners turning out in their respective old sheds to the delight of a crowd of, well, a few dozen at least.

PH loved the effort that had gone into the entries; LA resident Kevin Williams had bought his 1978 Ford E150 Custom Van on eBay after a bit of a heavy night, and turned his shag palace out replete with rolled $100 dollar bills, lines of chopped white powder (sugar, of course), utterly authentic clothing of the era and a girlfriend who thought it might be a good idea to strip down to a glitterball bikini to wash the truck just as the judges arrived to consider the class. PH heartily approved of this extra level of effort in particular.

Our favourite entrant, and an old van.

We present for your delectation a selection of images from the event, and quote the judges citatation for Worst of Show winner, Washington-based Mike Harrell and his 1980 KV Mini 1:

"The KV is a horrible little car powered by a 125cc one cylinder 2 stroke motor that drives the rear wheels through a constantly variable ration belt drive system and friction rollers on the rear tires, ensuring that little of the meagre power available actually results in forward motion. The features dont stop there; to put the car in reverse, one must shut off the engine and restart it so that it runs backwards. Combine this with the tin bumpers, solid steering shaft aimed at the drivers chest, the lack of a roof and any other safety features and it was a shoe-

Towed 1000 miles by MGB. We're not sure why either.

in for the Worst of Show title. As if to convince the judges that he truly does have a screw loose, Mike towed the little French death trap behind his MGB the 1000 miles from Washington to Monterey. Well done."

Our sort of man. Well done Mike, and well done to the organisers and entrants of the Concours D'Lemons. We have a feeling that this one is going to grow and grow.

Great bumper sticker	Mmm, woody.
We know what you're thinking; the green clashes with the red.

Factory fitted options; hammer, mattress, tape
This was rear ended by an SUV.	$3000. Original paint, original shag pile carpet. We want it.