Rookie judgin

[Ronald C.]

I have finally "finished" what has become a 19 year project of a 65 coupe. The frame and chasis were done in the early 90s but due to work (overseas) and the usual life challenges the car sat in a basement unitl 2005 when i returned. Since then the car has made about 10 moves but the interior, driveline, frame refresh etc have been completed. I am fortunate enough to live in the chicagoland aera and had a well know corvette facillity here look over the car and give me their opinions, which is to go ahead and have it judged even though there are areas that arent perfect, most noteably the paint. from being moved about 10 times there are some paint chips etc that have been touched up. The car is painted in laquer with original body work and looks great for a 20 year old piant.

i have the manuals and have tried to realistically/objectively acces the car, but what i dont want to do is waste the jude(s) tiem with a car that my not be ready. any thoughts?

[William C.]

Re: Rookie judgin

Take it to a chapter or regional event and have it judged. What you will learn may be very helpful in deciding what to do next on the car (they are never done) Remember the concept of $ per point and don't sweat the high cost low return issues.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Rookie judgin

In addition, there is someone I know not far from you who could touch up the body and probably make those chips disappear. No, I'm not affiliated with him but he does exceptional work. A car he did last year was so good that David Burroughs deemed it spot-on to original appearance and was very impressed.

No harm in having it judged and you'll probably benefit. The biggest misconception is that a car has to be "perfect" to be judged or to get a Top Flight. That is not the case at all.

Patrick

[Ara G.]

Re: Rookie judgin

Ron,
Congrats on "finishing" your long project. First off, ENJOY the car...Drive it...Use it....I also agree to get it judged at a chapter or regional level...You will learn more about your car than you know...The judges are there to give you great advice and it's a wonderful, albeit stressful, experience. Bill hit it on the head in his post when he said "they're never done"...Any Corvette that has been stored, protected, moved and safeguarded for that long deserves it's "day in the sun". Good luck, and if you have any questions, this is the single BEST forum and group of guys and gals to ask...Good luck. ARA

[Chuck M.]

Re: Rookie judgin

All of these guys have given great advice. Remember to have fun! This should be a learning experience so try not to get too stressed out. No matter where you have it judged try to enjoy it and listen to what the judges have to say as they are there to help. Most will spend time with you at the end and go over evrything they saw. These guys have more knowledge under their fingernail than most of us will ever have so try to enjoy learning about these cars.

Chuck

[Ronald C.]

Re: Rookie judgin

Thnaks to everyone, i have now completed teh judging sheets myself (for like teh 3rd) time and am working through the details to correct before Chestnut Mt in august. i will let you know how it turns out. FYI by my calculations the car is about 89%-92% i will try to step it up in the next few weeks based on my findings.... still wish the paint was better.

[Ronald C.]

Re: Rookie judgin

well i survived the weekend at Chestnut mountain. was hugely stressful, but only becaue i made it that way. the judges and folks at the event were great. the car did well and earned a top flight. more importantly made some new frineds and have some ideas on how to improove the car . cant say enough for the weekend. wish i had joind in on the road tour and or the dinner but over all great time.

Will wait for the judging sheets to begin any rework. car had only small deductions in all categories other than the paint. lost all originnality and condition points..... (-100) paint had too much shine. will have to research laquer paint some more to figure out how to fix, dont want to repaint teh whole car at a cost of another $20,000!!!!

but had a great time.