NCRS general judging question

[Robert N]

My car is a NOM 1970 LT-1. The car was repainted and I have redone the entire brake system including master cylinder (have the original), and gone with radial tires. The exhasut was replaced. The interior is missing a few minor items and has some wear, though in great overall shape. The chassis and suspension are untouched including the shocks. Returning the body, chassis and interior to Top Flight status should be relatively easy.

The decision to return the engine to Top Flight or as close as possibel would only be made if the rest of the car already was and financially worthwhile as properly rebuilding the engine will be expensive. Not looking for investment value, but rather 'how much do I really want to spend'.

Given this, can I have my car judged for one area only? I would love to redo the interior, chassis, body, etc, get it judged, use the judging to determine the next step if any.

I do not want to waste any judge's time to judge a car that is maybe 60-70% correct.

 

[Eric]

You won't be able to have your car "officially" judged on only certain areas, it's pretty much all or nothing. You may be able to find some local chapter members that can go over it with you though. I would, however, strongly recommend you get the car flight judged at a chapter meet if you have any goal of ever restoring the car. This will give you an incredibly valuable insight into what does and doesn't need to be done. You may have things that are in fact correct that you don't realize and would otherwise replace.

Having your car judged now gives you a benchmark to work from so you can easily track your progress.

 

[Robert N]

I would love to have the car judged overall as mof of it is probably correct. With a 71 block, no TI system, wrong carb, no shileding, wrong RH exhaust manifold, etc, I know it won't reach thrid flight. Do I still take the judge's time for a car that cannot possible 'flight'? I would love to if this is generally acceptable, I would have a 'checklist' of items to replace or fix/

 

[jonstr]

Hi Robert,
I agree with Eric - having your car judged at a chapter meet would be a great way to get a 'baseline' on your car and will give you a good idea of what needs to be done to make it a 'top flight' car - or whatever your goal is. What you decide to do with that info is up to you. Of course there is no obligation or expectation that you would do any of the changes after the meet, so you can select only those things you want to change, if anything.

I see you are in Az, which would make the Southwest chapter your 'local' chapter. As a member of the Southwest chapter, I can tell you that you won't find anyone who feels like you wasted their time - and we're always looking for new cars to judge. We have had this discussion several times with other members who were facing the same question as you. From the judges perspective, it's great practice - regardless of the condition of the car.

The only "catch" is that you need to be a chapter member to have your car judged at a chapter meet (I believe this is a requirement for all chapters, but I'm not positive). If you're not already a chapter member, feel free to send me an email (jonstr@earthlink.net) and I'll get you the info you need. Membership is inexpensive, and beyond the judging, you will meet some really great people with a wealth of knowledge. You can also take a look at some of our local chapter activities and newsletters at www.ncrs.org/southwest.

Jon

 

[Robert N]

Jon. thanks. Joining is not a problem. I am getting a better handle on the issue of 'judging'. If I am not wasting anyone's time, it will be judged. I might learn a thing or 2. As mentioned, the judging results woulr determine how to proceed.

Robert

 

[Eric]

Good point Jon! One way to look at it is this, if all the NCRS judged was perfect cars, no one would know what the wrong stuff looks like.

- Eric

 

[jonstr]

One thing I forgot to mention that you may also want to consider. Just as valuable as having your car judged may be learning how to judge yourself. I never really wanted to judge until I had my own car judged. I felt like I wanted to know more about what the judges were looking for, how they were rating the items, etc. I've only done it a couple of times so far, but I have learned a bunch.

When you start off, you are paired with an experienced judge so that you are not under pressure at all. You walk through the area you and your mentor are assigned (chassis, mechanical, exterior, or interior), and work together on rating the various items.

Once you have done this a few times, I think you have a better handle on what you may want to do to your own car. Another option you have if you are unsure about having your own car judged is to try judging yourself a few times first. That will give you a better idea what to expect if you decide to have your car judged.

Either way (having your car judged or trying out judging yourself), or maybe even none of the above - you are still welcome to come to one of our meetings and/or events and check things out. You can find an event calendar on our website that I left in my prior post. There is contact info there for the evetns, or feel free to contact me. I do the website and newsletter, so I have most of the event info.

Jon