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I was just wondering while reading so many of these corvettes for sale on the internet.Many having documentation, tank sticker, window sticker, pro-tecto plate and warranty book etc. I have also noticed some after market outfits and private businesses selling warranty books (used & new) and can even provide a proto-plate with correct tape especially if you know the original owners name and address.Would this stuff fly with an NCRS judge,or just be good for resale reasons? Any input on the above would be appreciated,is it worth getting these after market documents or not. Might help out some who don't know what I'm talking about and you may address. After all we need to educate each other.grr#33570
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Re: Pro-tecto plate and warranty book values.
Most judges look at the warranty book and the plate. These are judged with the glove compartment items. An original warrenty book is original, and judged as it is. The repro-plate is looked at for the vin # etc. The special tape is also looked at. If the guy that sells them has the original plate stamper ,it would be impossible to tell if the plate is the original one or not. There are codes for equipment stamped onto the plate that most judges know about ,but, don't really check. The books with the plate attached are pretty expensive ($250 or so based on their condition). It's up to you if you feel the need for extra points. I would make sure the plate has all the correct equipment stamped that is on your car.
Texas Chapter NCRS -
Re: Pro-tecto plate and warranty book values.
Bob is right on with his comments about the warranty book and Protect o plate. My feeling is that a Protect o plate is a margimal piece of documentation by itself for the reason mentioned, i.e. it is easily reproduced. The Protect o plate is a nice piece of documentation if it is accompianed by the real paperwork i.e. build sheet, shipper copy, original title or registration showing the original owners name and address, original sales invoice, original window sticker, etc. The reproduced Protect o plates are virtually indetectable as the are put together with original NOS warranty books, plates and logo tape. If you have the original owners name and address, selling dealer as well as the build sheet info. you can virtually "remake" a perfectly correct Protect o plate. On the other hand it is nice to have a Protect o plate to complete the glovebox package. The real problem comes when a seller calls the Protect o plate "real" documentation and over charges for a car that is not real. This is especially bad when the car is a rarer model with a significant price premium i.e. L-88, LS-6, L-89, L-71, LS-5 etc. That is why additional documentation is a must, to insure the seller,(especially if it is a dealer who acts as a third party), does not misrepresent the originality of the car.Comment
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Re: Pro-tecto plate and warranty book values.
What year did Protecto-plates come out. Were they available for 1965 corvette 396???
TIA Keep up the wave
Jack .. NCRS #33117Comment
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Yes
Protecto plate was initiated in '65 and, as L78 was a regular production option for Corvette in that year, GM did NOT discriminate and shipped them with/without Corvettes of all backgrounds. YES, '65 L-78 cars came from the factory with warranty booklets and protecto plates (got mine)....Comment
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Re: Pro-tecto plate and warranty book values.
As Bob and others have explained, reproduction warranty books as well as protecto plates ARE available. Prices quoted are in line with current market. Repro warranty books have intentional mistakes in them (printing) making them detectable vs. original pieces which is what boosts the price(s) of original warranty/owner book literature.
Nobody in his right mind would accept a warranty book as "proof" of a given Corvette's lineage as protecto plate only documented 'pieces' of the car's configuration (carb source, engine config, Etc.). There are essentially three reasons why people advertize warranty book/protecto plate:
(1) Even reproduction issues with all their 'faults' are expensive items to
come by. (2) NOS versions (can be NOS and not necessarily the factory original items
for that particular car), are even pricier. (3) There are different Corvette factory concours circuits and the 'competition'
to NCRS (NCCB, National Corvette Certification Board -- Bloomington) does
a higher level of due diligence in inspecting and scoring this item than
is currently done by our organization.
So, issue is manifold. Where do you want to go with your factory concours restoration? How serious are you in your undertaking? How 'authentic' do you want your Corvette restoration to be?
Forget about what judge(s) do what, what rule books say what. In the end, the toughest judge of all is YOU! Plus, you will know what is correct, what is original, what is reproduction, what is the real McCoy factory orignal do dah on your car.... Hence, you'll see folks advertizing certain aspects of their cars with pride, while others simply generate hype to kite a price....Comment
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Re: Pro-tecto plate and warranty book values.
All after market Protect o plates (metal plate) are reproduced but are virtually always attached to original GM warranty books. I have not seen reproduced warranty books. Many original warranty books survived from left over dealership inventory and can be custom designed to have the correct information i.e. selling dealer, original owner and address(on the logo tape),date of delivery etc. This information can be correctly determined from other paperwork(window sticker,titles,registrations,original invoice etc.) or it can be made up by the current owner. These are nice items to have as long as they are not the sole source of determining the cars history. Dealers are typically silient on their knowledge of these items so they can be used to mislead a perspective buyer, and crooked sellers can mislead uneducated buyers that a Protect o plate is the only required documentation to verify a cars historyComment
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Re: Pro-tecto plate and warranty book values.
Where I've gotten the few NOS warranty books I've obtained through the years has been from scrap yard cars. Why, how?
Well, Chrysler pioneered the 5 year/50K mile warranty and for some period of time the 'competition' responded by allowing original owner to purchase a warranty extention to increase factory warranty. Then, when car changed hands, the broker/dealer (or subsequent owner) could petition the manufacturer to re-issue a warranty booklet and transfer the unexpired balance of extended warranty to the new owner. In some cases, there were checks/exclusions that required dealership inspection of the vehicle and GM actually had a request form to process. Same situation existed for non-extended warranty cars where the original booklet was lost/missing, Etc.
From time to time, you'll stumble across a clean old junker with the re-issued warranty book sitting in the glove box where the rear page was NOT filled out, embossed/stamped. These are known as 'escapes' and once protecto plate came along in '65 where plate was installed in warranty booklet by final assy folks, they are reasonably rare happenstances.....Comment
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