Called the new New Castle battery co., no answer. Called Paragon, 6-8 weeks to get a lead acid battery from Antique battery. Called Restoration Battery, they can get a Maintenance Free battery to my door by next Friday. Now, how will these maintenance free batteries judge out? Can and will the judges screw open the caps and look for liquid inside the battery. One person told me yes, and another said they cannot. I think they will. Anyone have suggestions for a car to be judged in the near future. Thanks DG
-
-
Maintenance free; no cap unscrewing, but...
Dick,
I've been told by a team leader that the powers that be have decided that caps will not or should not be screwed open. But I've also been told by the same team leader that the batteries you're talking about have a mold line that can be seen on the outside of the battery case that the original tar tops did not have. Soooo, in addition to not having a real tar top, the maintenance-free based batteries have the mold line on which to base a deduct.
Gary -
Re: Maintenance free; no cap unscrewing, but...
Thanks Gary. A friend of mine had his C1 judged in Las Vegas and the judge removed the caps. I am not sure if this is the norm. DGComment
-
Re: Maintenance free; no cap unscrewing, but...
Maybe the new guidelines not to remove haven't percolated down from the top yet.
GaryComment
-
Re: Batteries again. Maintenance free???
Dick, We all have to face the facts that the repro batteries are a 7 or 8 point deduct and go on trying to make up the points elsewhere. My car has a real deal one but the cranking power is weak for sure. JohnComment
-
This comes up frequently...
so I'll post the answer on parts removal for judging again (probably the 4th time)...
From the NCRS Judging Reference Manual, Section 2, Rule 22, Removal Of Items For Judging:
"In order to facilitate, or make possible, the judging of various component parts, numbers and dates, the owner may be requested to loosen or remove certain items at the time of judging and if any tools are required, must be supplied or acquired by the owner. Items may include (but are not limited to), the air cleaner, road draft tube, automatic transmission linkage mounting bracket, radio ignition shielding and distributor cap. Only the owner or authorized representative may loosen or remove and replace these items. Should the owner not wish to remove the requested items, appropriate scoring deduction will be made for those components which the judges are unable to visually inspect."
Bottom line, unless the NTL in a given judging division specifically prohibits judges from requesting the removal of certain parts, it's the judgement call of the individual judges working the car(s)....Comment
-
Re: This comes up frequently...
Jack,
I think I understand the reason for each of the items listed, except the road draft tube and automatic linkage mounting bracket removal. Would you educate me on the reason for those? Is it to check part numbers, or some other reason?
And, thanks for your contributions to this board. I always find them helpful and objective.
Thanks,
DavidDave, 1969 427, 1957
Previous: 1968 427, 1973 454Comment
-
Re: This comes up frequently...
Road draft tube and AT kick-down linkage sit atop the block's rear apron and can obscure the judge's view of the block's casting date/cast number. Some judges can get a 'good enough' view with them in place or be 'clever' with a piece of paper + pencil lead to take a tracing, remove it and observe it through an inspector's mirror to read the emboss...
Once you spend some time on the judging field (doing Observer Judge duties is an EXCELLENT way to get familiar), you'll better understand the process. Examples of other parts that are often requested to be removed include the gas cap and radiator cap (ONLY on a stone cold engine).
Gas caps vary in mfgr applied marks (e.g. the block-S for late Stant vs. the SMC logo for early caps), what gasket is present (paper vs. rubber) and the condition of the back side. Factory original radiator caps typically use a pressure relief mechanism that simply hasn't been produced in umpteen years while even the best of today's reproduction radiator caps use current era pressure relief technology that's easy to distinguish visually.
The list can go on... But, the big picture is being able to tell if the part or component in question appears to be factory correct/original vs. a replacement look-alike that's different and to assess its true condition. But, there IS a limit to removal of items and things that are MAJOR in terms of R&R (please remove your cylinder heads...), destructive or dangerous/time consuming just aren't done.
Essentially, judging IS an 'appearance' game. We don't wheel out a gas chromatigraph and vaporize small samples of this/that to count parts per million of underlying chemical composition (is it 'real' factory oil/gas?)...Comment
-
Re: This comes up frequently...
Jack, we use a G.C. to test fuels at N.H.R.A. National events. DaleComment
-
Re: This comes up frequently...
Thanks Jack. I am glad I asked the question - a lot of good info. DavidDave, 1969 427, 1957
Previous: 1968 427, 1973 454Comment
Comment