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It occurs to me that changes in the old Corvette hobby are occurring, and not always for the better, originality wise.
I am seeing a number of previously NCRS Top Flighted / Bloomington Gold cars getting turned into resto-mods.
6-8 months ago I watch a very nice 340 hp 4 speed 63 coupe, red, black interior, ex-Top Flight car get disassembled.
The chassis was parted out, and a StreetShops chassis put under the car.
An LS motor, 6 speed trans, A/C, P/S, P/B was added.
The body was then stripped, all gaps reset to 3/16 inch, and then repainted base clear.
The car was beautiful when they started; it was even more beautiful when they finished.
Now, add to that the point that not a lot of old Corvettes, relatively speaking, are being restored to NCRS style factory original condition compared to just 5 years ago.
It also seems apparent that the number of cars submitted for judging to NCRS events continue to decline.
So, less cars being restored to original condition, less cars submitted for judging, and more previously judged cars being modified to better suit the owner's is all part of the picture.
I even read recently that someone was modifying their 1953 Corvette.
What does this mean for an organization like NCRS (and Bloomington).
The rare / elusive cars will continue to be hunted down and restored (L-88s, LS-6s, big tank cars, etc.) but people are even modifying original Fuel Injected cars (with add on aftermarket A/C, as an example).
I don't know how to encourage people to restore their cars to factory correct condition, particularly when the market is shifting so much in favor of resto-mods and / or add on creature comforts so people can enjoy driving their cars more.
I recently went searching for a nice driver quality mid-year. When I announced this intention, one of my good Corvette friends reminded me that mid-year cars don't drive like new cars. He even brought one of his mid year cars over for me to test drive just to remind me of that fact.
I knew what I was getting into, and I found a very nice driver quality 64 coupe with original 300 hp engine and 4 speed trans. It has add on power steering and power brakes.
I love driving this car, but I am constantly reminded that I actually have to DRIVE this car. It requires constant slight adjustments to the steering, etc. Just like I remember fro back in the day.
I love driving this car, but I would not want to drive it long distance. It really is work to drive these old cars.
The pendulum for auto restoration swings back and forth, and I sincerely hope that it swings back toward nicely restored original cars. But my fear is that these old Corvettes will go the way of the Ford Model T, and the 1955-1957 Tri-Five Chevy cars.
Original restorations are costly, and generally money losing propositions. Driver restorations and / or resto-mods make more sense economically speaking.
Hoping for the best....
I am seeing a number of previously NCRS Top Flighted / Bloomington Gold cars getting turned into resto-mods.
6-8 months ago I watch a very nice 340 hp 4 speed 63 coupe, red, black interior, ex-Top Flight car get disassembled.
The chassis was parted out, and a StreetShops chassis put under the car.
An LS motor, 6 speed trans, A/C, P/S, P/B was added.
The body was then stripped, all gaps reset to 3/16 inch, and then repainted base clear.
The car was beautiful when they started; it was even more beautiful when they finished.
Now, add to that the point that not a lot of old Corvettes, relatively speaking, are being restored to NCRS style factory original condition compared to just 5 years ago.
It also seems apparent that the number of cars submitted for judging to NCRS events continue to decline.
So, less cars being restored to original condition, less cars submitted for judging, and more previously judged cars being modified to better suit the owner's is all part of the picture.
I even read recently that someone was modifying their 1953 Corvette.
What does this mean for an organization like NCRS (and Bloomington).
The rare / elusive cars will continue to be hunted down and restored (L-88s, LS-6s, big tank cars, etc.) but people are even modifying original Fuel Injected cars (with add on aftermarket A/C, as an example).
I don't know how to encourage people to restore their cars to factory correct condition, particularly when the market is shifting so much in favor of resto-mods and / or add on creature comforts so people can enjoy driving their cars more.
I recently went searching for a nice driver quality mid-year. When I announced this intention, one of my good Corvette friends reminded me that mid-year cars don't drive like new cars. He even brought one of his mid year cars over for me to test drive just to remind me of that fact.
I knew what I was getting into, and I found a very nice driver quality 64 coupe with original 300 hp engine and 4 speed trans. It has add on power steering and power brakes.
I love driving this car, but I am constantly reminded that I actually have to DRIVE this car. It requires constant slight adjustments to the steering, etc. Just like I remember fro back in the day.
I love driving this car, but I would not want to drive it long distance. It really is work to drive these old cars.
The pendulum for auto restoration swings back and forth, and I sincerely hope that it swings back toward nicely restored original cars. But my fear is that these old Corvettes will go the way of the Ford Model T, and the 1955-1957 Tri-Five Chevy cars.
Original restorations are costly, and generally money losing propositions. Driver restorations and / or resto-mods make more sense economically speaking.
Hoping for the best....
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