2nd Place Restoration Winner
Prestigious NCSS Bear Woods, Idaho Concours

Melvin Snerd works hard to complete restoration before judges reach his car.	William Snyde had a First Place sewn up until someone backed into him in the concourse show. Snyde came in a distant eighth. Tough break.

Here's a first, gang. All those other car magazines and websites always show you cars that win first place for this or that restoration or concours. How about the cars that don't win first place? What about the cars that come in second or even third? After all, there are a whole bunch more losers out there than winners, and it's time to give some of them the break they well deserve.

Which brings us to the cars you see pictured here. Owned and operated by Melvin Snerd, this nice '79 Corvette came in second place in the recent Bear Woods, ID show sponsored by the NCSS (National Corvette Strippers Society). Now, we know that some of you readers still want to see a car that won a first in something, so hold onto your loincloths, because Melvin and his Corvette also won a first in a brand new NCSS category--the first person ever to complete a restoration while judging was still in progress.

Hard to believe, but our exclusive in-focus photo shows Melvin working feverishly to finish the car as the clock starts running out. Snerd actually had to reach out from underneath the car, where he was working on reinstalling the transmission that had fallen out on his face, to accept the second place restoration award from his father, Martin Snerd. The $25 cash prize that went with the honor we're sure will go a long way in paying for some new dental work.

So good luck, Mel, and don't bite into any hard apples for a while (yuk, yuk).