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Letter to the Editor
This article originally appeared in the August 2000 Issue of INSIGHT
Neighbor Scores at the Top in Ford Restoration Competition
by Sara Gedeon
Bill Marks, owner of Chesterland Autobody, in Chesterland, Ohio, opened up shop twenty-seven years ago driving a Ford 1951 half-ton pickup truck. Bill bought the same 1951 truck model twelve years ago with 34,000 miles, almost no rust, and completely original parts with the hopes of restoring it to its original condition. He immediately took the truck apart but left it until it became his choice of vehicle to enter into the Ford Concourse Judging competition for the year 2000. His hopes were rewarded this past June with an impressive score of 997 out of a possible 1000 points in the Ford Concourse Judging competition held in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 997 points gave Bill the Dearborn Award, the highest possible award.
Concourse Judging is held three times a year in three different parts of the country. The competition consists of 1932 through 1953 restored Fords. Participants do not compete directly against one another, but against an extremely demanding and detailed score sheet. Obviously those with the highest scores leave the competition the happiest, but no trophies or other awards are presented.
This year, approximately 350 people entered restored Ford cars while only a dozen people entered Ford trucks into the competition. Bill lost three points because the valves on his restored Ford 1951 half-ton pick up truck were capped with modern plastic instead of metal. This was not an oversight on Bill’s part during the restoration, however. He had with him the correct valve caps; only he forgot to put them on before the competition.
To date, Bill has entered six different vehicles into this Concourse Judging competition since he became a member of The Ford U.S. Club of America. All six vehicles have received the Dearborn Award which Bill proudly displays in his office at Chesterland Autobody. Amazingly, the lowest score Bill ever received on a restored vehicle was 985 points out of a possible 1000.
Bill Marks had a special member on his team while restoring the 1951 Ford truck. Bill’s grandson, Billy, who (if he behaves himself and listens to his grandfather and his father, Bill Jr., who is also a part of the organization) will one day run Chesterland Autobody, worked along side his grandfather to help with the restoration of the vehicle. A body repair technician, Billy learned plenty about the mechanical side of vehicle repair, as a part of this project the engine transmission and all running gear were torn down and restored. This new knowledge will definitely come in handy when Billy is running the shop because Chesterland Autobody does both collision and mechanical repair.
According to Bill Marks, when he opened up the shop 27 years ago, he had to take any business that came his way. If a customer needed mechanical work, Bill knew he had to be able to provide it. Perhaps it is this attitude that has kept Bill Marks in business for 27 years. With three generations currently working in the shop, Chesterland Autobody not only has a long history. It has a strong future as well.
Chesterland Autobody and Repair currently employs a total of twelve technicians in both the body and mechanical sides. The operating staff totals eighteen, including three estimators, a mechanical shop manager, and an office staff of three.
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