84-86 NCRS Flight Eligible

[Eric]

In case you haven't heard, effective now 84-86 Vettes are now eligible for judging at the NCRS. I know a lot of folks have mint condition early C4s that are driving around in Top Flight condition.

Myself and several other CACers will be at the National Convention in Hershey PA next July and I think it would be awesome if the entire C4 class were filled to the gills. If anyone is interested in doing this, all you have to do is join NCRS and have your car judged at either a Chapter or Regional meet and achieve at least Third Flight. Now your ready to take on National!

You can pre-register for the National Convention without having already been judged - you just name the places where you intend to have your car judged and you can register as a provisional entry. Visit the 2003 NCRS Convention Website for all of the details.

If anyone out there is within reasonable driving distance from me and is interested in doing this please contact me directly and I'll do all I can to help you out in the process.

 

[CorvetteArchives]

Great But how Accurate??

Thats a great announcement, but I have some serious doubts about the ability of NCRS to properly judge the cars in the first place. I had previously never doubted the integrity of the organisation until I had the negative experience of viewing the Survey posted on this forum. There were MANY inaccuracies involoving the RPO info that could easily be obtained by simply viewing a series of owners build sheets!! Nor was there a clear attempt to resolve certain questions involving the changes of specific parts from model year to model year. Without this detailed info, how can one expect to be able to "certify" a car as being properly restored??
I am a museum professional and one of the first rules in gathering data is to first make an accurate survey form!!! It is best not to ask for data upfront but ask for a REVIEW of the data requested on any form, otherwise you miss key info and have skewed results. Shortly after the inaccurate form was posted on this forum I emailed detailed info and an offer of assistance to the guy in charge of the the survey and received not even a reply.....and the inaccurate survey remained unchanged.

To me this throws a shadow on the entire process the NCRS uses and will forever make me doubt any award an NCRS car may have.

 

[Eric]

I can't address any of the inaccuracies you mention but I can say that I believe wholeheartedly that this is a step in the right direction for the NCRS. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither were the judging manuals for 53-82 Corvettes but they are recognized the world over as the authority for correct Corvette data. I have all confidence that the same will become of the C4 manuals in time.

I personally will be volunteering as an observer judge for the Hershey Convention just so I can get in on the ground floor of this endeavor. Doubt the awards if you will but I know that when my 71 becomes Top Flight 15-20 years form now I will know I have achieved something. And when the time comes that I have a C4 judged, I feel certain that the same will be the case.

 

[90 Corvette ZR-1]

I too will be an OJ in Hershey. I can speak from personal experience on the 84-86 judging books having been the first one to actually use them for a judging school. There is work that needs done, and we found places where the books did not match up to the car. These places were noted and brought to the attention of the head judge on site and the revisions have been made.

 

[Eric]

Way to go Kevin! Won't be too many more years before that ZR-1 of yours is eligible. - Eric

 

[leericardo]

84-86 NCRS judging

Hi all...interesting stuff about the C4 judging. I agree with Rob about Rome and appreciate the "watchdog" criticism given by C&S.,,,knowledgeable Corvette owners. The important thing is to try to be part of the solution rather than the problem. I have a pretty nice 86 Convertible, so this appeals to me. How do I join the NCRS so I can get more info? Thanks guys keep up the good work. From Rick, Lincoln, NE

 

[JohnZ]

Rick, you can join on-line at www.ncrs.org, and once you get your NCRS membership number, you can join your local chapter and start to reap the real benefits - that's where the people, cars, activities, knowledge, and project help is. At the NCRS site, click on "Contacts" to find info for your local chapter.

 

[leericardo]

NCRS membership

Thanks John, appreciate the info...I'll do it, sounds like fun even though my '86 will be the "newest of the old"...at least I know its completely stock except for tires, shocks, battery and starter. The blue 67 sounds nice, I almost bought one when I graduated from college in 66, but wife wouldn't ok a 2-seater then. I run my convertible all summer and the '92 coupe on longer road trips. The cooling system on the LT1 is much better than the L98, but they are both strong engines and give good fuel economy too.
Again, thank you for your response to my question.

 

[Paul Borowski]

We're going to have to give it a chance and some time here guys. I've been judging mainly '73-'82's since '98 and the manuals for THOSE years are still be added to and corrected, especially when these "Bowtie" cars come out of the woodwork!!! Many times, just when you think you have all the info on say smog pumps, along comes a '75 with 872 "original" miles to be judged, with a smog pump part # that's not listed in the manuals. Kinda hard to not "add" this new # to the list of smog pump numbers??? The same thing is going to happen with C4 judging-it is going to be a constant changing and learning guide. Just the way info is STILL being added to the '73-'77 Judging guides along with the '78-'82 Judging guides, so shall it be with the C4 Judging guides. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is probably '63-'67 info and '68-'72 info that comes to light every time one of THESE lowmile models get judged for Bowtie, Benchmark,etc. These guides are an everchanging learning tool-one reason why we should "Never say never!!!"

 

[Eric]

...Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is probably '63-'67 info and '68-'72 info that comes to light every time one of THESE lowmile models get judged for Bowtie, Benchmark,etc. These guides are an everchanging learning tool-one reason why we should "Never say never!!!"

Paul,
You couldn't be more correct! Just take a peak at the article JohnZ penned on page 22 of the most recent issue of the Corvette Restorer (BTW, nice job John) regarding 1967 intakes.

Oh yeah, welcome to the CAC!

- Eric

 

[ChuckG]

We'll be judging th 84-86's at our Chapter meet in March in Glen Burnie, MD. I believe we're the first Chapter to do so. I believe the first time these C4's were judged was at the Florida Regional in January. ALL of the NCRS Judging Manuals are continuous works in progress, as others have stated. The C4 "team" has done an outstanding job starting from "scratch" on these manuals, and I know for a fact that there will be continuous updates.

I've been involved in the most recent revisions of the 53-5, 63-4, and 68-9 manuals, and those have been around for 20-25 years. I think it's a little premature to "knock" the new Judging Manuals. Chuck

 

[Paul Borowski]

I too will be an OJ in Hershey. I can speak from personal experience on the 84-86 judging books having been the first one to actually use them for a judging school. There is work that needs done, and we found places where the books did not match up to the car. These places were noted and brought to the attention of the head judge on site and the revisions have been made.

Kevin, yes I was there too. Was a good experience though. I drove my Silver '75 L-82 Coupe over there that morning.