How to treat a potential Bowtie car

[Michael J.]

I have located and inspected (with some help from my friends) a 1981 Corvette that appears to have good potential to be a Bowtie award car. I have purchased the car, and am looking for some expert advice about what to do, and probably more importantly, not do, when it arrives. It appears to have had only the battery replaced, has original tires/wheels that have never been off, very low mileage, has been stored most all its' life, but exercised regularly for the last ten years. It has the usual surface rust on undercarriage parts, like strut rods, coil springs, etc. from condensation in a humid environment, and some grease from the grease fittings and some minor power steering leakage on some items, none of which has been touched. I have read the 8th Edition of the Corvette Judging Guide about not doing much cleanup, but an wondering about possible oil coating of the surface rusted areas with something like Boeshield or the like. Any advice and insights are very welcome, thanks.

[David H.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

Mike,
I would do NOTHING to the car until you can get it Flight judged and see how big a hit you take on originality. A conversation with Brian Pearce (1973-82 Team Leader) would help.

[Michael J.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

Thanks David, I have been in touch with the judges on the process.

[Mike E.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

Michael,
Love to see some pictures when you have time. I consider 1981 a pretty interesting year because of course they were assembled in St. Louis and Bowling Green. I would imagine the differences between the two plants could be considerable besides the paint.

I've always wondered why GM made the decision to tool up Bowling Green for the last two model years of C3 production? It seems like the manufacturing processes between the C3 and C4 were so different the investment in Bowling Green for the C3 must have been considerable for such a short run.


Mike

[Duke W.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

Other than a good detailing of the exterior and interior, I recommend doing nothing until you have it Flight judged as previously recommended.

Duke

[Michael J.]

[Harmon C.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

I like to see the undercarriage cleaned with simple green and water before judging because the judges can do a better job of telling if they think it's a Bowtie candidate. Most likely you will be told to do the clean up before nationals anyway.

[Michael J.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

Thanks Lyle, I have just received the TIM&JG for the '81s, I will spend much time reading it and looking for things I need to make sure I don't mess up while doing some gentle cleaning.

[Patrick H.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

I've used some gun oil on a few parts, not used anything as "thick" as Boeshield.
I believe that Kevin has used some type of oil based preservative on his 72 LT-1 AC car with good results.

[Michael J.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

You're probably right, Boeshield is too much, it might also get sticky. Light gun oil is a good idea, Hoppe's Elite Gun Oil is a great lubricant and preservative.

[Patrick H.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

I use Clenzoil because it's what I have.
I would see if you can check with Kevin Goodman to see what he used. His chassis looks good in his photos.

[Kevin G.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

I use Clenzoil because it's what I have.
I would see if you can check with Kevin Goodman to see what he used. His chassis looks good in his photos.

Patrick, Thanks for the compliment!

Michael,

The product Patrick is referring to is CRC SP350. I purchased a case of 12 oz. spray cans and used only a few on the chassis. Sold the remaining to fellow NCRS members. It was a little difficult to find but Grainer was the supplier at the time.

As mentioned by Lyle, a really good Simple green cleaning was done prior to the coating. Too many hours spent on my back cleaning and more cleaning! .

There is mention that the NCRS is not a cleaning contest, however when I presented my car for the first time at the Florida Regional for Bowtie sign off, I was met with trouble, (Paul Oslansky), . No, really, the judges had a very difficult time determining the original finishes and some part numbers, simply because they were covered by grease and grime. It was said at the time my turnaround with that chassis was something not seen before...like night and day. It was a lot of hard work and I was extremely careful not to remove chalk marks, stencils, etc.

Now, for another side rarely heard.....IMO, Bowtie Judging can be looked at as Judging suicide, for lack of a better term. So, be prepared to have a spot picked out where the car will sit (and sit), in it's future. Surely, it can be used as display at a National or Regional but rarely do these Bowtie Awarded cars come out again. Most cases they are put up, and very rarely driven, too afraid to cause damage ruining it's originality... I am guilty just the same. Oddly, on occasion when I have driven the car to NCRS events, I get the "are you crazy driving that car here?" question. This is not to say ALL owners treat them like this but I'd wager that most Bowtie cars never leave their tombs.

The process and meeting the people is really where the fun is! Perhaps you'll consider an attempt at Duntov as well?

Best of luck Michael!

[Patrick H.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

Now, for another side rarely heard.....IMO, Bowtie Judging can be looked at as Judging suicide, for lack of a better term. So, be prepared to have a spot picked out where the car will sit (and sit), in it's future. Surely, it can be used as display at a National or Regional but rarely do these Bowtie Awarded cars come out again. Most cases they are put up, and very rarely driven, too afraid to cause damage ruining it's originality... I am guilty just the same. Oddly, on occasion when I have driven the car to NCRS events, I get the "are you crazy driving that car here?" question. This is not to say ALL owners treat them like this but I'd wager that most Bowtie cars never leave their tombs.

Is that why mine sits in its Car Jacket all of the time?
What's interesting is that I drove it to its Regional Meet and its Bowtie judging National meet, but don't really drive it much since then. I keep looking at a picture of it at my desk at work and thinking I need to drive it this year...

[Michael J.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

Thanks Kevin for the good insights, and yes Paul can be real trouble! I have done much thinking about the dead end aspects of the Bowtie quest (then again the Duntov seems similar, my '64 won Duntov in 1993 and sat in a hermitically sealed container until I resurrected it for another run 20 years later), but I really enjoy going to the meets and would not mind dragging it around in the trailer for a while, but eventually I will drive it when it retires. After the first flight judging, if it really is a Bowtie candidate, I will make a decision about going that route and/or a McLellan. The undercarriage is not too bad, here are some pictures taken at the inspection, I plan to get a better look when I get it home on my lift.

[Patrick H.]

Re: How to treat a potential Bowtie car

Very nice car!

If the rest of it looks that good, I'd consider the dual Bowtie/Duntov route.

I have an 80 near me that I've considered buying and doing the same, but we will see what happens.