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Have a mostly original '73 and was considering entering the car in NCRS flight judging. The car has not been restored and has just 33K miles. The car is very clean but nothing has been done to the chassis or under the hood. Would this be a waste of time or could I learn from the experience. Any thoughts.
Do it for the learning experience. You will learn a lot and you might find it something worth diving into. If I were you I would purchase the NCRS manuals before you go and have it judged. They aren't that expensive and you do not need to be a member. The books are a good source of information.
Do it for the learning experience. You will learn a lot and you might find it something worth diving into. If I were you I would purchase the NCRS manuals before you go and have it judged. They aren't that expensive and you do not need to be a member. The books are a good source of information.
-Mark.
having your car judged is an excellent learning experience to find out more about your car. You may find that is your car is all original and not restored that you even qualify for Bowtie judging.
Keep in mind that CONDITION is only part of the scoring process in almost all catagories so actually a car that is "correct" even though the condition may not be in show condition can score very highly.
The NCRS Technical Information Manual & Judging Guide for your year car will go over all aspects of your car and how it's judged so you will understand better.
Isnt NCRS for fully restored 100% correct trailer queens?
Wow, that's scary that people have such a distorted idea of what NCRS does.
The trailer queens are just a small piece of the pie. Equal or more attention and certainly more respect is paid to unrestored cars that can serve as learning examples of how the factory really put the cars together. NCRS calls this Bowtie judging and is my favourite part of the meets.
There's also sections for race vehicles, one-offs from the factory, road tours, 'driver' quality cars, etc etc.
Have a mostly original '73 and was considering entering the car in NCRS flight judging. The car has not been restored and has just 33K miles. The car is very clean but nothing has been done to the chassis or under the hood. Would this be a waste of time or could I learn from the experience. Any thoughts.
Join you local chapter and show the car as-is to them. As others have said, it may be a Bowtie candidate. You can go that route if you want, and/or continue on the Flight judging path. You can have a car Flight judged as many times as you like and I can guarantee that you will learn something new each time.
Have a mostly original '73 and was considering entering the car in NCRS flight judging. Would this be a waste of time or could I learn from the experience. Any thoughts.
Droptop.
You'll gain insights and appreciation for that which makes up a "matching numbers" Corvette. You'll learn about date codes, broadcast codes and factory finishes. You'll get insights into the history of your Corvette and the extent to its originality.
Top Flight is an assessment of both condition and originality of various assemblies for the interior, exterior, mechanical and chassis. Bowtie is an assessment of a Corvette's originality and looks for clues that go beyond Top Flight such as shims marks, labels, and other factory remnants of originality assembly.
Bottom line...you'll learn what you've got parking in the garage and the extent to which it warrants Bowtie campaign.
Many thanks to everyone for your input. I'll be at Corvette Expo October 17 & 18. If you attend and see a medium blue '73 convertible, stop and say hello.
2025 C8 Z06/7/E-Ray of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2021 C8 of the Year Finalist Unmodified
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C1 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2017 Corvette of the Year Finalist
2016 C2 of Year
2015 C3 of Year Finalist
Your car sounds like it may be of survivor quality where it's mainly original and unmolested. I would have it judged as is before you do anything to kind of get your bearings as to what needs to be done, if anything. You don't want to start "restoring" until you have more info on what direction, if any, you need to go with the car. Sounds nice. Good luck
Wow, that's scary that people have such a distorted idea of what NCRS does.
The trailer queens are just a small piece of the pie. Equal or more attention and certainly more respect is paid to unrestored cars that can serve as learning examples of how the factory really put the cars together. NCRS calls this Bowtie judging and is my favourite part of the meets.
There's also sections for race vehicles, one-offs from the factory, road tours, 'driver' quality cars, etc etc.
thats why im here. to ask stupid questions and get the correct answers now i know.
mike ward is right, NCRS is NOT just about trailer queens, some are, some aren't, there are people who drive their top flight cars, WE know what we know about our cars and can get parts to fix them and we should thank NCRS for their part in making this happen, without them parts probably wouldn't be available the way they are today. Before NCRS MANY< MANY parts were not available to people....I know because before NCRS I owned a 67 435, 70 454 and I had problems getting parts at times. Plus, the NCRS has bled over to help others organize similar organizations for camaros, firebirds, hemis, fords, etc. NCRS and by the way I don't do trailer queens myself but am a member of NCRS as well as this and other forums which help spread knowledge to all in the corvette hobby