NCRS - CHEVROLET BOWTIE Award®

This award was created by the National Corvette Restorers Society in 1992. The Bowtie award recognizes the unrestored Corvette and encourages the owner to retain and display the car in its present condition for the enjoyment and continuing educational benefit of our membership. The award is earned only at a National Convention by unrestored cars successfully judged and voted to be historically and educationally significant in four areas (Interior, Exterior, Mechanical and Chassis). This award is available to any model year currently judged by NCRS which was manufactured 20 or more years ago. Regardless of change in ownership or judging result the car may never be presented for judging again. The judged section requires an 80 to 85% pass with the following standard "Does the item, part, fabric, plating or coating appear to actually be that which was specifically installed or applied on this car at the time of manufacture". If this is successfully passed the vote with the following standard "Does the area judged display significant educational and historical value which should be preserved in its present condition" is taken. Passing both sections in all four areas earns the NCRS - Chevrolet Bowtie award. As of end of the 2001 season, only 135 Corvettes have received this award.

SURVIVOR®
As the name implies, Corvettes that have never been restored have ‘survived’ intentional or unintentional loss of original markings, paint or components. Corvettes remaining over 50% unrestored or unmodified may qualify for this award if they remain in a condition that would serve well as an historic guide for others who want to restore a Corvette of that vintage and type. This award is designed to recognize those Corvettes that are “Worn in, but not worn out.” A Survivor Corvette is significantly unrestored, unrepaired, or unmodified and useful as a historic reference. It is a Corvette who in the best interest of research should not be restored or improved. Again, as with Certification, the cars are judged against a factory standard and not against one another. The technical portion of the judging is eliminated and instead the Corvettes must complete a 40 mile road test under their own power in an established time frame. Survivors must pass at least 3 of the 4 categories of exterior, interior, engine/compartment and chassis.
Since the advent of this award, there is now a reason for further preservation of Corvettes whose histories and character may have otherwise been lost. Survivor judging also offers 5 specialty awards: highest mileage, lowest mileage, best documentation, best ‘War Story’ and best photo album /scrapbook of the car. Survivor judging is fun and the Survivor Corvettes become a member of an elite group of historically significant cars. Survivor Corvettes are the Corvettes judges and restorers seek out to study.