2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

[Mark E.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Rich,

What a great idea for a thread! I don't have a C6 but already learned. For example, I discovered fiberglass scratch brushes.

When did Corvette stop using a side post battery? I think they were around at least through C4. I prefer them and surprised GM reverted back to posts.

[Richard M.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Rich,

What a great idea for a thread! I don't have a C6 but already learned. For example, I discovered fiberglass scratch brushes.

When did Corvette stop using a side post battery? I think they were around at least through C4. I prefer them and surprised GM reverted back to posts.

Mark, FYI here is the eraser info. Be warned though, they're not inexpensive.

https://www.eraser.com/products/fiberglass-brushes-erasers/

I use both course and fine refills in the blue holders. I also have the red sticks. I often put them in a drill for small circular areas to clean.

Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Update.... It's official. I got the car there to Melbourne yesterday. OPs today and Flight judging tomorrow. Wish me luck!

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So here are a few notes for those preparing their C6's. These cars are very busy with complexities and details. I found things on this car I never knew it had. And I've owned it for over 15 years. I got very intimate with its details and learned a lot about its design.

One thing I had to do last week to avoid some major Exterior deducts, was to remove some decals on the car. I had added 2 silver hood stripes back in '08. They were old and checked from the sun and didn't look very nice anyways. So it was good reason to remove them for the Regional.

I had to use my heat gun. They would not peel off in lengths. It was about 1/4" at a time. My fingers were very sore. I used a small 1x1 inch piece of rubber as a peeling tool. I'd heat up a few inches, then peel. What a pain, and and mess.
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Here's the Driver side done. I used a polishing compound on it to clean off any residue. Thankfully it left no traces of the decal.
You can see the silver stripe on the Passenger side still there.
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All done
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When I went to put all of the engine covers back on, I noticed that some of those little foam pad buttons on the covers were either missing or ready to fall off. I made my own from some foam cutout pieces from C2 tail light seals I had lying around. The pads are 3/4" diameter. I had a conduit coupler of the same length and made a punch from it using my grinder.

I then glued them on using black weatherstrip cement.
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Old on the right.
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Here they are. There are three more underneath. They're supposed to prevent the full width plastic air filter cover from rubbing on the 2 filter covers and the hood ledge.
Need new photos. Silly me had it mounted backwards.

Here are a few shots of the finished engine bay, without the head covers. I just put them on before I left with the car yesterday. BTW we had so much rain here lately so I had to be careful moving the car out back. It was a mudfield. I ended up loading it on my trailer to get it out of harms way.

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The finished front end.
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I'll take some photos of the car today in position in Melbourne. If you're around there today stop by so we can chat.

Rich

[Dave S.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Rich,
Looks fantastic. Good luck in Melbourne. Ready for its new home up North.

[Leif A.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Rich,
Splendid job, as always. You won't need any luck...you're thoroughly prepared. Keep us posted.

[Richard M.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Thanks guys. Just got home from the Reception gathering at the Hilton. Fun catching up with everyone.

So far so good. Passed OPs 100%, plus the 10 extra points for the NCRS Sticker, Fire Extinguisher & the Battery Disconnect.

Tomorrow we do the rest of the fun.

I had a great time during OPs with the crew. They did a great job. A special thanks to all involved. I'm so glad I decided to do this event.

My body is sore, but my brain feels great!

More to come.

Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Update: TOP FLIGHT

What a great day yesterday was. After many years worth of assisting my friends and others to achieve TF Status on their own cars, I've finally written a chapter in my 35+ year NCRS Membership, and have now attained something I never thought would happen, my own Top Flight.

What a great feeling. It's a bit strange though, it hasn't hit me yet. When I acquired my '07 on my birthday 15 1/2 years ago, never did I think it would come to this. I mean really, who then would think a new Corvette would eventually gain rights to be in the TF crowd later? Not me. Way back right here on the TDB I posted about my new car and a few things about future judging, kiddingly I might add. Time flies doesn't it. Years have now passed, and here we are. For any of you with '05, '06, '07's, I highly recommend you consider the same.

In 2008 I got a Winter Regional 3rd Flight in my "Nice" Driver 1959 Corvette. It won car shows a few times, cruise nights, etc. It was never a good TF Candidate as it had a '61 powerplant and I didn't want to fully restore it for TF and then "not" drive it. As mentioned before, I was hoping for a 2nd Flight, but OPs fails hit me pretty hard. I was doing it for a '62 restoration project prep experience, and glad I did. I learned valuable lessons then.

In November I thought about entering my '07, then signed up. I was then committed. I had to give up C1/C2 body off restorations a few years ago. You know, your body talks to you, you're not a kid anymore, and maybe like me you get a bit feeling like a "cinder"..... burned out, and you give up your passion. Well I think my '07 rekindled that passion. My brain told my body that it'll be okay, just take your time and make it happen. It wasn't a "body-off" per se, but it was much fun getting back to details and learning about the car. I ended up doing a "body-on" restoration of a 80,000 mile driver C6 Corvette and I learned much, with a very gratifying result.

And learn I did. Things I didn't know about it during the prep, and I learned even more Thursday and Friday from the Judges. They were all great. All of them were professional, courteous and VERY knowledgeable. Our C6 Team Leader, Pete Bergmann, along with his entire staff did a excellent job on the Judging Guide. This extensively written guide was a valuable tool to help me attain success. Special thanks to all involved.

Heading back there this morning for the day. Oh, and by the way, Cathie and I attended the Museum viewing last night. All I can say is Wow!. What a venue. Richard Small and his crew are to be commended for their efforts in our new location. Did I say Wow?

Wow!

Here are a few candid shots from yesterday, starting with a copy of Vinnie's as I didn't get one from up front. Thanks Vinnie.

Rich

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[Dave S.]

[Jack M.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

I echo Dave's comments and sentiments... very much deserved, for the FANTASTIC person that Rich is!!!

[Leif A.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Rich,
What Jack and Dave said...your award is both well deserved and hard earned. You're such an esteemed member of the NCRS, always willing to help wherever you can. Your "How to" articles could and should be made into a book. You and Dave Zuberer, over the years, have combined to put together some fantastically valuable PDFs.
Again, huge congratulations!!

[Richard M.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Thank You Gentlemen. I'm honored. I am very glad I went and had a great time.

I had a good rest last night after loading up and getting back home. We got in around 7PM. Exhausted, but very happy with the entire event.

Now for the Judging experience. This will be long so you may want to print it out for bathroom reading later, or if you're bored watching football.

Preface

The car spoke for itself in Judging. For those considering their C6 entry, I'll now follow up with some details of the scoring, of which I knew there would be certain things on a car never considered for judging, now so many years after acquisition. Some of this may be a bit argumentative, but I want to bring some things out that need to be considered in our judging process. Some of this I feel is warranted and I feel we need to make some changes. I've been witness to many cars judging results in my involvement and there have been both good and not so good occurrences of results.

In my case, I knew there were going to be certain killers. You know, things like non original Battery, non OEM Tires, installed Accessories, etc. A few Caveats to follow.

Chapter 1

My Deducts

1 - Tires. The biggest hit was tires. When I bought the car it had non-Run Flat tires, fairly new. I ran those and later I got new tires, proper size, but not EMT(Extended Mobility Tires), not Z rated(150 MPH). I will not run EMT tires. I have a tire repair kit, a 12v jack, 2 cans of Flat-Fix, a 12V air compressor, and AAA as a last resort.

Since my tires were not OEM type and rating, the deducts were plentiful. Originally the hit it was full deduct, 32 Originality +32 Condition =64 total points. After requesting a review, considering that if I Sawzall'd the rubber off the wheels in the trailer parking lot, and drove the car into the judging field on aluminum wheel lips instead of rubber, thus being the same deduct, it was relaxed to a 75% deduct. Condition took a hit because of tread wear. Very understandable. If I consider further judging, I may look at acquiring a set of unsafe, crackly old, junky OEM Goodyear ZR tires just to get my points back. Of course I wouldn't be able to get any "driven" points, would I. Our organization promotes the idea of driving our cars to Judged Events. Or are we promoting unsafe driving? Controversial? Yes. Let's think about this.

2 - Battery. Mine was a new Delco Group 90 Service Replacement. It took the standard deduction. I forget the points. I should have saved the original battery in 2008 when it died and was non-recoverable after leaving the car home for a month long trip. C6 batteries will die if left too long uncharged or disconnected. Allegedly, it may have something to do with the Onstar Module drain.

Also, keep in mind, if you've pulled the Onstar fuse to reduce battery drain, don't forget to reinstall it for judging. A few cars there failed the Onstart OPs test. I never pulled my fuse so and it connected to Onstar as required in OPs testing.

3 - Paint. This is a tricky one. For Coupes, be aware that if your removable top was replaced under the GM Warranty/Recall/Extended Coverage Process, you will get a deduct. I got a 17 Point deduct because it "appeared" that my roof paint did not match the adjacent Halo shade. I must admit I was quite shocked of that.

Now this is where it gets interesting. Not ALL Coupes had their roof replaced. If your roof was replaced, expect the hit. But if you get a piece of GM evidence called.... GM VIS(GM Visibility Report), it may save you some points. Yesterday I acquired mine from my local dealer in Melbourne. My GM VIS covers from 12/31/2006 when it was first delivered, to now.

Here are a few sections I pasted together from the 4 page report on my car. Note there is NO record of the roof ever being replaced under the GM Warranty on my Coupe. Further history to present, neither. They only replaced the Left front latch when the first owner had it, then both when I owned it in 2009.
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If I had the document with me, I would expect that it would be considered evidence that the car had its original roof, and that it was simply the sun angle or the shading affecting the opined paint differences. I saw no difference myself. It's even possible that the factory painted ALL roofs in a different area with with a potential for different shading, much like what was done on the C1 & C2 tops that John Hinckley taught us years ago. For the record, I am not expecting the 17 points to be withdrawn, as it's not a killer, but I'm disappointed that I didn't have the GM VIS with me Friday.

If you have a C6, get your GM VIS report and analyze it to be prepared. One other note, the Dealer Visibility system has subsections for each line item per visit. You may need to request additional lines of data per line of service. Also note that the VIS Report is broken down into those services under Warranty, and those not under Warranty(paid for).

Chapter 2

Battery Disconnect

All other C6's there lost extra bonus points on the field because they didn't have a battery disconnect. I got the full 10 Extra Bonus points, as I had one as seen in my previous post.

We need to petition a change to this for any C6, particularly the C6 Z06, as there is no room for one. I've suggested that a simple 10MM socket rotational tool be considered as a disconnect device, laid next to the rear battery cover in the trunk/hatch area, or on a non-Z06 within handy reach to display during judging. If the event is outdoors, you will never need to use it. I left my battery connected for the entire 4 days, just like the other C6's. It's just that mine was seen by eye. A 10MM socket is just as visible.

If the meet is indoors, simply loosen the 10MM nut on the Negative terminal clamp and pull the terminal away from the battery post. Now you will be following Fire Marshal requirements at indoor events. Don't worry, all you'll need to do when you leave is reconnect the terminal using your "disconnect" tool, re-index the side windows(UP then DOWN held for a few seconds on the PW switches), and a few start and run cycles, and your car will be just like when it left the factory when they first powered it up.

Edit: Link to my knife style disconnect, the Wirthco Battery Doctor brand.

https://www.wirthco.com/battery-doctor/battery-disconnect-switches/knife-blade-switches

Mine is part# 20148

Chapter 3

Chassis

I had minimal hits in Chassis. I must admit, I spent many hours with the car on the lift, cleaning, detailing, and some touch up of the 4 corners of the front/rear suspension and driveline areas. All the time I was working on it I kept saying... "Rich, You're crazy spending so much time on stuff they can't see!" Evidently it paid off. The judges used flashlights and mirrors and scrutinized a lot. This group spent a long time on it.

Interior

Mine was ok but has some scratches here and there and for some reason the judges said ther was more wear on the Driver side seat than the passenger side.

Summary

Although a tad disappointed about my Roof and Tire deductions, I'm happily convinced that my Judging adventure was a good adventure and I am considering continuing further. I may even consider the Nationals this summer if time allows. I'd rather drive there on new tires to get extra points, but they won't be run-flats! lol !

Oh, I forgot, I got a total of 103 points deducted in all categories, minus my 10 bonus, reduced it to 93 total points deducted = 97.9%.(97.933 rounded down. I thought we got rounded up):-( Not really bad for a 80,000 mile driver. I'm good with this.

Rich
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[Mark E.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Congratulations Rich! And thank you for the write up.

How many of the 103 points were condition, and what were the deductions for? I'm curious because of the mileage.

[Patrick H.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Interesting comment on the roof.

Note that the C6 parts (and even through today’s C8) are painted “in position” on a fixture as they would be on a car, but they get mixed and matched when they get sent to installation. In other words, if 10 silver car body panel sets were painted in a batch, you could theoretically get parts from any of those 10 sets. While the factory is very good at color consistency a bit of variation would not be unexpected.

I would hope that the Exterior judges know this.

[Richard M.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

Congratulations Rich! And thank you for the write up.

How many of the 103 points were condition, and what were the deductions for? I'm curious because of the mileage.

Mark, I did not photograph the sheets as I didn't want to delay them. I just added up deducts and made a note.

When I get my copies I will update here. (EDIT: See Post#51)

Interesting comment on the roof.

Note that the C6 parts (and even through today’s C8) are painted “in position” on a fixture as they would be on a car, but they get mixed and matched when they get sent to installation. In other words, if 10 silver car body panel sets were painted in a batch, you could theoretically get parts from any of those 10 sets. While the factory is very good at color consistency a bit of variation would not be unexpected.

I would hope that the Exterior judges know this.

Patrick, Thanks!

This is important information for future judges. This confirms my thoughts about them being painted off line.

.....
Rich

[Terry M.]

Re: 2007 Coupe Judging Preparation for the Florida Regional

While the C8 parts as you note like the C6 parts are painted "in position" the C8 parts for a given car are ALL from the same group of parts. Paint colors are no longer batched. This is not important for current judging, but down the road a long way ....

Patrick -- Remember the three 2008 Jetstream Blue cars at your Regional with three different shades of paint? There is more variation in some of those colors than we would like to admit to. Even yours and mine -- that are a month apart in production -- had slightly different shades. Maybe you and I can park next to each other now that more time and miles have passed to see if the difference still holds up.