There are numerous errors in the 94-96 judging manual that have resulted in point deductions being taken in error.
I had gone over all the mistakes with Tom Barr the C4 team leader and he told me he was in the process of working on a new
judging manual that would correct the errors I outlined, but now that he has passed away I'm wondering if the corrections are still going to be made in the new book................
One of the biggest problems has been the deduction for not having the felt pad over the passenger side underhood lamp. The cars
never came that way from the factory. Some cars have shown up with the pad because it is the outlined fix in the 95-96 Corvette
factory service manual for cars where there was a complaint of a hood rattle caused by the fuel rail lines rattling against the hood.
These were installed by dealership service departments, not in the Bowling Green plant. I have received a deduction for that in the past. Another mistake is that the standard deduction for an aftermarket windshield is fifty per cent on originality in the 94-96 guide and in another
book published by NCRS the deduction is ninety per cent on originality. Which is correct? My car has received both fifty per cent
off and ninety per cent off for having a replacement windshield. I have also received different deductions for having a replacement Delco battery each time my car was judged. I also have been penalized for not having the elastic loop in the console for a lug socket.
This loop only was included on ZR1's and Grand Sports because those cars have an extension socket for the lug wrench so that it can
reach into the deep lug nut holes on the extra wide rear wheels on these cars. They were not delivered on regular Corvettes with
the narrower wheels. Although I haven't been able to prove it yet, it is my belief that the CFC's brochure regarding the use of R134A
freon starting with the 94 models was not included with the packet on 95 and 96 model cars. My 95 car didn't have that brochure when
I bought it but had all of the other ones listed in the manual. The 94-96 judging manual states that the rear window on the convertibles is plastic, but that is only true for a 94.........95 and 96 models have a glass rear window with a defroster grid. The current
94-96 book states that there is a black vinyl strip on the front edge of the convertible top hatch, but these came in other colors that
matched the interior color. T he current manual fails to point out that the 95 Indy Pace Car did not have the blacked out paint between the turn signals and side marker lamps and also fails to mention that the Pace Car has the same chrome Corvette emblems found on the 96 Grand Sport and 96 Collector Edition cars. The current 95-96 book states that there is carpet on the bottom of the door panels, which is not true on 94-96 Corvettes. There are other errors but the above are the big ones that are causing confusion.........whoever is in charge of finishing up the new 94-96 book needs to be sure to correct the above errors.
Lastly.........there has been confusion regarding the date code on my original Goodyear Eagle GSC tires My tires have a four
letter code surrounded by an oval with the numbers "0819" These numbers are on the inside of the tires in front of the DOT number,
I don;t know what those numbers mean but that is not the tire's date code.......the date code is always the final digits of the DOT
number sequence on all tires up to present day. The DOT number on my tires end in "95" on my 95 Corvette but I have had judges try to tell me that my tires have an August 2019 date code, which is impossible since Goodyear Eagle GSC tires were discontinued
around 2007.
I had gone over all the mistakes with Tom Barr the C4 team leader and he told me he was in the process of working on a new
judging manual that would correct the errors I outlined, but now that he has passed away I'm wondering if the corrections are still going to be made in the new book................
One of the biggest problems has been the deduction for not having the felt pad over the passenger side underhood lamp. The cars
never came that way from the factory. Some cars have shown up with the pad because it is the outlined fix in the 95-96 Corvette
factory service manual for cars where there was a complaint of a hood rattle caused by the fuel rail lines rattling against the hood.
These were installed by dealership service departments, not in the Bowling Green plant. I have received a deduction for that in the past. Another mistake is that the standard deduction for an aftermarket windshield is fifty per cent on originality in the 94-96 guide and in another
book published by NCRS the deduction is ninety per cent on originality. Which is correct? My car has received both fifty per cent
off and ninety per cent off for having a replacement windshield. I have also received different deductions for having a replacement Delco battery each time my car was judged. I also have been penalized for not having the elastic loop in the console for a lug socket.
This loop only was included on ZR1's and Grand Sports because those cars have an extension socket for the lug wrench so that it can
reach into the deep lug nut holes on the extra wide rear wheels on these cars. They were not delivered on regular Corvettes with
the narrower wheels. Although I haven't been able to prove it yet, it is my belief that the CFC's brochure regarding the use of R134A
freon starting with the 94 models was not included with the packet on 95 and 96 model cars. My 95 car didn't have that brochure when
I bought it but had all of the other ones listed in the manual. The 94-96 judging manual states that the rear window on the convertibles is plastic, but that is only true for a 94.........95 and 96 models have a glass rear window with a defroster grid. The current
94-96 book states that there is a black vinyl strip on the front edge of the convertible top hatch, but these came in other colors that
matched the interior color. T he current manual fails to point out that the 95 Indy Pace Car did not have the blacked out paint between the turn signals and side marker lamps and also fails to mention that the Pace Car has the same chrome Corvette emblems found on the 96 Grand Sport and 96 Collector Edition cars. The current 95-96 book states that there is carpet on the bottom of the door panels, which is not true on 94-96 Corvettes. There are other errors but the above are the big ones that are causing confusion.........whoever is in charge of finishing up the new 94-96 book needs to be sure to correct the above errors.
Lastly.........there has been confusion regarding the date code on my original Goodyear Eagle GSC tires My tires have a four
letter code surrounded by an oval with the numbers "0819" These numbers are on the inside of the tires in front of the DOT number,
I don;t know what those numbers mean but that is not the tire's date code.......the date code is always the final digits of the DOT
number sequence on all tires up to present day. The DOT number on my tires end in "95" on my 95 Corvette but I have had judges try to tell me that my tires have an August 2019 date code, which is impossible since Goodyear Eagle GSC tires were discontinued
around 2007.
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