Should I have my driver judged?

[Gordon W.]

Hello, new member here and proud new owner of a yet to be delivered 61.

I am interested in having my new car judged just for my own education and for knowing what I'd need to do in the future if I were to want to take it to the next level.

I'm new to the world of NCRS so please forgive my ignorance. If I were to have the car judged and it scores poorly, are there NCRS records kept that could hurt the resale of the car?

Since the underside of the car shows that it is driven, would I be irking a judge by asking it to be scored knowing full well that it's not top flight material?

[Gary H.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Order the NCRS judging manual for your 61. Go over it and see how original your car actually is. Score it yourself or with a friend using the online judging sheets. After going through the judging process with my 69 427 convertible, I will say that it is pretty tough for an unrestored driver quality car to score high in NCRS judging. A brand new aftermarket replacement part with the correct part number scores better in most cases than an original part with 40-50 years of patina that is impossible to find.

I "top flighted" my driver at the 2012 Kissimmee Regional. I even won a ribbon for the longest distance driven. It was a blast driving the car to be judged. It was about a 500 mile roundtrip. I still drive my car as often as possible.

Gary

[Keith B.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

clean the car the best you can. replace the cheap easy incorrect things with correct parts. and spend a morning learning about your car from great helpful people. you have nothing to loose but your time and entry fee

[Gordon W.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Thanks, I've ordered the judging guide from the online store and am waiting for it.

[Russ S.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Hello, new member here and proud new owner of a yet to be delivered 61.

I am interested in having my new car judged just for my own education and for knowing what I'd need to do in the future if I were to want to take it to the next level.

I'm new to the world of NCRS so please forgive my ignorance. If I were to have the car judged and it scores poorly, are there NCRS records kept that could hurt the resale of the car?

Since the underside of the car shows that it is driven, would I be irking a judge by asking it to be scored knowing full well that it's not top flight material?

No you wouldn't be irking a judge by having it judged even if it isn't a top flight car. Not all cars are top flight that is why we have 2nd and 3rd flight awards.
Are there records kept that could hurt the resale? I'm not sure what is kept but a car is what it is. The level of award achieved isn't going to devalue the car but it will let you know just what you have.

[Terry M.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Welcome Gordon,

It would have been wise to have also ordered the Judging Reference Manual from the NCRS office. It will tell you some of the ground rules for judging and for bringing your car to be judged.

All that NCRS keeps from the judging is the Summary Sheet that records your score in each of the areas judged = Operations, Mechanical, Chassis, Interior, & Exterior. Any driving points you get and the total score are also kept. That is it.

You get back the completed judging score sheets that will have the judge's comments on them. Those are what you want because that will give you a list that you can work on as and if you chose.

Some tips. Be sure everything works. Operation points are huge and just plain dumb to lose. Make sure your air filter and battery are AC Delco, even if the modern version from your FLAPS (Friendly Local Auto Parts Store). If any part is not made by the original manufacturer you will lose ALL the originality points which also means you lose all the condition points. If made by the original manufacturer most judges will give you 10% originality points which is the minimum needed to get condition points.

Drive to the meet at least 100 miles. You get 1% added to your final score for each 100 miles you drive to the meet -- up to 10% of your final score. You do have to score 75% to get the driving points though. Max total points are 4500, so don't sweat 1 or 2 points, but the operations are 20 or 25 points per line item and those add up fast.

[Gordon W.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Great information, I did order that guide as well.

I am so excited about this car I can hardly wait. I turned 40 last year and never thought I'd be fortunate enough to own a car like this.

When I go through the material I will follow up here with my estimated self scoring result.

I want to score it as I receive the car from the previous owner as a baseline before I touch anything.

[Gerard F.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Gordan,

Have your Chapter guys take a look at it first, before you start restoring things. If it is not highly restored, or just has replacement parts for driving, maybe you could go for a Bowtie before you go for Flight.

I have a 67 (since 68) and made the mistake of restoring and adding things to my car before NCRS. I should have had it looked at for a Bowtie on the first try. But I eventually went from 2nd Flight to 2 Top Flights. Those driving points are just great.

Next week, I'll be driving it to the San Diego Convention. My 67 is a great cruiser, 327/300/3.08 rear end. I do 65mph at around 2500 rpm. Can beat (almost) anything on the road, if we start at 60 mph.

Good luck with your car, and have fun with it.

[Terry M.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Great information, I did order that guide as well.

I am so excited about this car I can hardly wait. I turned 40 last year and never thought I'd be fortunate enough to own a car like this.

When I go through the material I will follow up here with my estimated self scoring result.

I want to score it as I receive the car from the previous owner as a baseline before I touch anything.

Absolutely an outstanding idea Gordon. You will fit in well here. As you study what you get from Cincinnati post your questions here. You can give Patrick Hulst a run for the youth contingent.

[Reba W.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Welcome to the NCRS, Gordon. Should you decide not to go the Flight route with the car, there are the Sportsman and the Founders Awards. To earn the latter, the car has to be judged and score at least third flight, then driven to a regional and on the road tour to the national. I have done that twice with my driver. A Sportsman entry requires only that you register and display the car during the meet.

Complete requirements for both these awarda are spelled out in The Judging Reference Manual that Terry has suggested. Even though the Flight awards get the most attention, NCRS has something for everyone.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Absolutely an outstanding idea Gordon. You will fit in well here. As you study what you get from Cincinnati post your questions here. You can give Patrick Hulst a run for the youth contingent.

Ha!

But I started in the NCRS 22 years ago.

[Christopher R.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Judging is 10 very knowledgable guys crawling all over your car for the better part of the day pointing out to you what is right and what is wrong. For free. Can't get a better deal than that. Then they'll mail you their judging sheets that you can use as you see fit. Don't expect an award. But do expect to learn a great deal about your car. Wash the car before, and go over the Judging Guide. Replace the cheap and obvious wrong parts. Do not spend a lot of money at this stage. Wait until after judging.

[Gary H.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

I'm 31. I bought my 63 at 26. I cant tell you how many times I have heard the line "your father has a beautiful car." Gary

[Greg C.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Hey
Its great to see some other young(er) guys here! (No offense to the seasoned veterans).

I hope to join the ranks... one day. I have been Vette-less for far too long and have decided to make it a reality before my 45th Bday...

That gives me 4 more months!

[Michael J.]

Re: Should I have my driver judged?

Hello, new member here and proud new owner of a yet to be delivered 61.

I am interested in having my new car judged just for my own education and for knowing what I'd need to do in the future if I were to want to take it to the next level.

I'm new to the world of NCRS so please forgive my ignorance. If I were to have the car judged and it scores poorly, are there NCRS records kept that could hurt the resale of the car?

Since the underside of the car shows that it is driven, would I be irking a judge by asking it to be scored knowing full well that it's not top flight material?

Welcome to NCRS judging. This reminds me of the thread I just started about NCRS judging being the best of the many car venues I have tried over the years. It details my recent experience with Shelby America Auto Club. There, one of the judges told me not to even bother bringing my Driven Concours Gold Award winner from the National Mustang Club of America judging to their National if it were missing a smog system. I was told it would be a waste of their time since I wouldn't win their top award. Count yourself lucky you are in NCRS.