A friend of mine is trying to talk me into doing Bloomington Gold with him this year. Has anyone done this before? How does the judging compare to NCRS?

I have what I would classify as a survivor 69. The car has had one lacquer repaint (1986) and the carpets and seat covers were replaced. Beyond that it is pretty original and untouched. My friend wants me to enter the car as a Survivor. Is this still possible with repaint and new seat covers/carpeting?

I also have 245 radial redlines and a new delco battery and I have no intention of spending the money for a restoration battery or bias ply tires that ride like crap. Are these also a big deduction for bloomington judges? Whacar t else are the judges looking for? I did pretty well with NCRS flight judging. 93.7 raw score. I had lots of small deductions for the condition of my original components. Driving points put me over for the top flight. Everything on the car works fine, so I am not concerned with the driving test.

I wish it was closer, I would drive the car. I dont really want to put 3000 miles on the car for a show, so I would likely have the car shipped.

Also, is anyone familiar with the show schedule? A good friend is getting married the Sunday of the show weekend, so it would only work if I could leave on Saturday. Is this like an NCRS event where I would be stuck until the judging was totally finished? I would obviously drop the car off with a shipper before leaving town.

Thanks in advance for any insights.
Gary

 

Read all about it. http://www.bloomingtongold.com/

 

Maybe not. Might be close. Look hard at the specs:

"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 20-mile road test under their own power. However, due to road construction in 2012 ONLY, this test requirement is waived.

Survivors must pass at least 3 of the 4 categories of exterior,
interior, engine/compartment and chassis"

(From the Survivor guidelines)

 

Gary-

You have to compare apples with apples. Your car was recently entered in NCRS Flight judging, not Bowtie. Sounds like you're talking about doing Bloomington Survivor which is vaguely similar to Bowtie.

 

I am really not all that familiar with the different judging awards. I read up on them a bit this morning.

One of the judges at Kissimmee was telling me to bring the car the the national convention and register it as a bowtie candidate. I really dont know if I would do well because of the paint. I should have asked some more questions but the next judging team was ready to start.

Gary

 

Hi Gary,
My suggestion is for you to contact Chuck Burge the 68-69 Team Leader. He'll be able to answer your questions abut your car's BowTie potential.
He'll also be able to explain the procedure for having a car become a BowTie candidate. It's a bit different than entering a car for Fight Judging.
Certainly worth checking out!
Regards,
Alan

 

Each judging program uses different standards and criteria...tho similar. NCRS judging teams are made up of two judges per section with those sections being interior, exterior, chassis & Mechanical (and operations) as you experienced. They move doggedly through the checklist and will spend the time that it takes to compare judging elements to car components for each assessment. You'll recall all this through your Orlando experience.

In contrast, Bloomington Gold has a single team of four judges who work through four similarly described sections and operations and a goal is set to complete each vehicle judging in 37 minutes.

With each you get an award, assuming the vehicle meets the various judging criteria. My view is that the information you get from an NCRS event is more thorough and detailed due to primarily to the time element. Also, BG does not have a judges development program which means it depends on other organizations to train and develop judges.

Yes and I believe this year the awards program is 4:30 Saturday...but as suggested read their guidance.

 

I believe that Bowtie requires a sign-off, in other words a 'pre-approval', at a Regional meet prior to attending a National. Also, the four sections of the car are evaluated independently as to whether the car deserves a 'star' in that category. Only if all four stars are awarded does it then become a Bowtie award. Having said that, there's nothing wrong with earning even one star on a car, not an easy thing to accomplish.

 

That is correct; Bowtie does require a 'sign off' from a regional. And if the car is repainted it could not qualify for Bowtie as it could not pass in all four areas.

Regarding Bloomington Gold judging:
There is Certification judging and Survivor judging. As you describe your corvette, it could qualify as a Survivor. The car needs to be more than 50% unrestored in 3 of the 4 areas reviewed; Mechanical, Chassis, Interior , Exterior.
Your Exterior would not pass this test due to the repaint. But if you can pass the three other remaining areas, you could succeed.
Your having changed the battery and tires would not in themselves be significant. Survivor judging does not evaluate component by component , as is done in Certification and Flight judging. However, your changes to the interior could be significant. IF those changes combined with other changes you have made over time should exceed 50%, then you would not pass on the Interior section. That would be the section I would spend time evaluating to see if you are over / under 50%.
If you need further help on this, feel free to contact me via private email.
Guy Larsen
Judging Chair Bloomington Gold

 

Time to update that signature,No?