[USAFR]

You didn't come across as an ass or anything, in fact I would have been harsh on the van. That thing must have driven like a little school bus.
Given that the truck was a classic and the total look, not bad to finish just one point behind. As far as the birds and flowers in the paint job, not my taste but went with her personality. Thought it was kind of cool that she was driving a 56 Chevy truck, I have a 59 Chevy Apache so I like the look. I also thought that having the suede was a good touch and loved the bed of the truck, that's how I want to redo mine. Paint was actually nice if it was all silver, mine is root beer brown, plan on a cream interior with brown piping.
Did love the way your car looked but hard to sway die hard classic car people. Given that they still were impressed, so you did good and you can show that to all your friends. Not many of us get the chance to get our 15 minutes of fame.