Finding a New Road, Part 4: Betting on Benchmark

And we’re back! Buckle up for Episode 4 of Finding a New Road. When we left off last week, I had just put a shiny Bloomington Gold certificate in my back pocket after my car’s first time out in almost 2 decades. Now it’s time for a different type of judging – Survivor and Benchmark.

Catch up on our previous episodes here:

Part 1: Here We Go Again
Part 2: Ready for the Road?
Part 3: Showtime at Bloomington Gold
Part 4: Betting on Benchmark
Part 5: The Michigan NCRS Chapter Meet
Part 6: In Search of Diamonds and Gold at MCACN

Day 2 at Bloomington Gold is all about originality. A Corvette can be restored 1,000 times and achieve Gold at Bloomington. Now, can you achieve Gold with an unrestored, almost 50-year-old Corvette? On Saturdays at Bloomington Gold Corvettes are judged based factory originality as opposed to solely correctness and condition on Friday. In this case the judges want to see the parts that were actually installed on the line in Flint, St. Louis, or Bowling Green. From there they want to see how well they’ve been preserved over the years. Has the part been repainted or replated? Based on how much factory originality remains, your car is eligible for Survivor Gold, Silver, or Bronze certification. Those cars earning Silver or Gold Survivor status and a Gold certificate in the same weekend receive the prestigious Benchmark award. That award documents that not only is your car greater that 95% correct as it left the factory, but it also indicates that it’s been preserved for the hobby to use a guide for learning and restorations. In general, less than 20 cars per year earn the coveted Benchmark award.

Heading into Saturday’s judging I felt reasonably confident. My home judging had suggested that I’d land on the Bronze / Silver border. I know most wear items and a few other miscellaneous things had been replaced over the years. On the flip side, I also knew much of the car remained in factory original condition. Then there’s that chassis with the repaint remnants. Had I preserved enough originality to earn a Survivor Silver or Gold? I’d soon find out.

Survivor judging can go quickly. Since the judges already checked for correctness yesterday, they’re verifying whether the given or area part is original to the car or not. There’s no partial credit here. It’s either original or it’s not. It takes 66% or more in 4 categories to score Silver and 80% or more to earn Gold Survivor status.

Now in red shirts, the judges made my car their 2nd or 3rd stop of the day. As before, all of the judges arrive at once and work at the same time. Things went quickly and that’s not a bad thing. Again, they loved the car. The only item that spawned any significant debate was the paint. After a short discussion they agreed it was indeed original and scored it accordingly. Let’s be honest here. If you had paid a shop paint your car and it looked like the paint on my car, you’d be pretty upset. You can see mottling, runs, and pooling all over the place. All very typical of late 70’s Corvettes.

I’d love to add more detail here, but really, I didn’t receive a lot of feedback because they loved it so much. One by one they reviewed their scores with me. The final tallies showed 95% for exterior, 100% for interior, 85% for chassis, and 100% for the engine compartment. That all adds up a Survivor Gold award. After coming up just short of Survivor Gold with my old blue car, this was a redemption of sorts for me.

Bundle that Survivor Gold with the Gold Certificate from the prior day and I had just scored another Bloomington Benchmark award! I must admit that’s a great feeling after going into this whole thing with limited experience and uncertain expectations. After enjoying a cold adult beverage, I spent the remainder of the day with my squad wandering the final hours of the show.

Later in the afternoon, the awards ceremony began. I was always a big fan of the drive through-style awards at Bloomington when the show was outdoors. Since the judging is indoors now, the awards come to you. Going car-to-car, Bloomington Gold owner Guy Larsen and Mecum Auctions’ John Kramman handed out awards to each of the owners. That’s when I received my award kit with the Survivor Gold, Gold Certification, and Benchmark awards and other assorted goodies inside. A very cool ending to a great weekend.

So where does this road head to next? Peeking at the calendar, the Michigan NCRS’ annual Chapter Meet was just 2 weeks away. Let’s see if I can carry all this momentum back to the Motor City.

Thanks for reading. See you next week.

Finding a New Road
Part 1: Here We Go Again
Part 2: Ready for the Road?
Part 3: Showtime at Bloomington Gold
Part 4: Betting on Benchmark
Part 5: The Michigan NCRS Chapter Meet
Part 6: In Search of Diamonds and Gold at MCACN

Source:
Photos by Steve Burns

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