I got a question: Is it possible to earn a Top Fight if the car fails because of the engine stamp?


thanks

 

Allen, The Top Flight judging is a points type judging. There is no one item which would keep you from achieving Top Flight. The engine is a major item but if you had a replacement block with the correct casting dates you would only lose points for the stamp pad, not the entire engine. Get a judging guide and you will get a better idea how your car stacks up. John :seeya

 

Allen, a judged car does not "fail" because it has a NOM (non-original motor), and a car with an NOM can, in my opinion, still be a Top Flight car DEPENDING ON THE DEDUCTS. The rest of the car including the paint would probably have to receive nominal deducts. Without the judging sheets in front of me, I don't know off the top of my head what the total number of raw judging points are, but for 70-72 it seems like its 2080 if I remember correctly.

Cylinder cases are judged on originality at four levels. From the NCRS 70-72 judging manual these are the standard deductions on cylinder cases:

(QUOTE)
A. Correct, normally configured casting number and case configuration. If incorrect, deduct 350 points and do not judge or score casting date or stamp pad.

B. If "A" is judged to be correct, judge for correctly configured casting date within 6 months prior to car build date. If incorrect, deduct 175 points and do not judge or score stamp pad.

C. If "A" and "B" are judged to be correct, judge for appropriate, normally configured engine plant stamping and engine assembly date, alpha prefix, suffix and serial number which matches car as listed above. Deduct 25 points for each stamping group, but only if "D" is successfully judged.

D. Judge for absense of paint, rust, grease, dirt or other condition which obscures pad. Judge for presence of normal factory production machining marks. If either is judged negatively, deduct 38 points. (UNQUOTE)

I think Top Flight requires like 93 percent of the total raw points, including per cent allowances for driven distance, fire extinguisher, battery cut-off switch, and NCRS sticker. I don't what those per cent allowances are off-hand. From this, and the judging rules above, it is clear that you cannot have a 79 truck engine in your 70 and expect to Top Flight.

If, however, you have beat the bushes to find a same year Corvette engine with correct casting number, and casting date that precedes your cars build date by no more than six months, has an engine assembly date that precedes your car's build by no more than six months, and has the correct engine suffix for your car's configuration, it's possible that the NOM deduct could be as low as 25 points (incorrect VIN group) plus whatever deducts result from "D". In that case, you are defintely in Top Flight territory if the rest of the car is Top Flight quality.


[Modified by Chuck Sangerhausen, 2:31 PM 9/2/2001]

 

Guys,

Thanks very much for the compreshesive responses; I suspect I did not ask the question properly.

The car in question engine is original (casting numbers are correct), but the stamp pad where the engine's assembly date and VIN suffix are located seems restamped. I either read or heard somewhere that if this area is not correct the car automatically does not qualify for Top Flight. Perhaps I heard wrong?

 

You heard wrong. Restamps are judged accordingly to guidelines in my earlier post. Now, if the car is missing its VIN tag, or the VIN tag appears to be from another vehicle or altered, the car is NOT JUDGED...PERIOD .


[Modified by Chuck Sangerhausen, 8:48 AM 9/3/2001]