MCMLXI

Is it possible to Top Flight a car using some reproduction parts from Paragon, Corvette Central, Ecklers,... etc

For example - I have reproduction valve covers, ignition sheilding, rocker panels, hood springs, alum radiator overflow tank, carpeting, shock absorbers, body emblems, plus the car is painted with base coat/cc paint .... but most everthing else is orginal to the car, correctly date coded, etc

Should I attempt to have my car flight judged with these parts in place, or should I begin to swap them out for original GM parts ? ---- or ---- should I completely toss the idea of ncrs flight judging out the window?

gbvette62

Few, if any cars ever Top Flight without some repro parts. A friend of mine received a Duntov Award for his 67, and there were repro parts on it.

It's going to depend on the quality of the parts. Repro parts that appear identical to original, get full credit. Ones that have minor differences, or can be determined to be repro, may get a partial deduct.

Nothing in the NCRS judging guidelines, prohibits owners from using repro parts. In fact, if repro parts weren't acceptable, there would be very few Flight Awards given out.

Easy Mike

I agree with gb. The quality of the reproduction parts and your installation are the keys. Both should be as they appeared from the factory.

Good luck.

MCMLXI

Thanks for the replies ! - I appreciate the advise

pmihaltian

Your C3 was originally painted with lacquer. You will lose most, if not all, of your paint points for your base-coat/clear-coat paint job. This usually amounts to around an 80 point deduction. However, a friend of mine has a midyear Vette with base-coat/clear-coat paint & while he has lost ALL of his paint points each time the car is judged, he has still Top Flighted at both the regional and national level.

Your after market parts, if of a very high quality, should, for the most part, be reasonably okay. You may lose 1/2 of the originality points for what is called service replacement parts. However, you can usually Top Flight if most of you car is original. It IS very important that you have the original engine, transmission, interior color & fabric and original color paint. Without original engine & tranny, you will lose 350 points and be an instant dead soldier.

Take you Vette to a local Chapter meet and have it judged. This will only cost you something in the $30 - $40 range and you will meet some really knowledgeable folks and get a really good list of what needs to be corrected. GO FOR IT.