When Steve decided to enter the show he enlisted the support of several of his friends to prepare the GS. It had been his only car since he got it in October of '65 so it was not in showroom condition. The show participants were able to bring their cars into work bays at GMI and clean and prepare them for the show.
Steve's buddies, Dick Lowthian, Howard Durling and several others started the cleaning process the night before the show. They took off each of the wheels and washed them inside and out. While the wheels were off, each of the wheel wells including every nook and cranny around them were scrubbed clean. The engine was pressure washed and everything was done to bring it back to showroom condition.
Steve was a GDI (g-- damned independent) and going up against a number of cars owned by frat-rats. The show was a judged show and a popularity contest. The cars were judged by GMI staff members and students would vote for the best car. Steve doesn't remember how each counted but both were considered for winning.
A fraternity guy from Maine, whose dad was a Pontiac dealer, had a '64 GTO that he had repainted a pearlized pink just for the show. He was the odds-on favorite to win overall because it was rumored that the fraternity boys were going to stuff the ballot box for the GTO.
When the judges came through they went over each of the cars (there were about 20 entered) thoroughly. One of the checks included the overall show preparation for each car by reaching in behind the tires to check how clean the inside of the wheels were. Steve had no idea they would do this, but his GS was clean as a whistle.
The GS got the most judged points as well as the most popular votes and won as Best of Show. The frat boys protested about the way the cars were judged and how the votes were counted but the final results stood and Steve took home the trophy.