NCRS Newbie

[bowtiguy]

well, after getting the car back to its former glory mechanically/cosmetically....I've made the decision to submit my 91' (#1631) for NCRS flight judging. I purchased the judging manual and have been through it a couple of times along with read all the threads in "NCRS for ZR-1's" section. I plan to do a full electronics function test as soon as my Bose system returns from servicing.

Work completed so far...

-fuel system has been upgraded to withstand ethanol ( injectors/pumps/filter)
-all fluids have been replaced
-all gaskets,o-rings from the long block on up have been replaced.
-top end has been refinished ( original bolts retained)
-paint correction completed
-has original wheels ( valve stems, sensor, sensor stickers)
-Tires are date coded early 2000's and have plenty of tread @ 9,600 miles
-interior is liek factory new with top hold down strap.
-Bose Gold system is getting a complete rebuild as I write this.
-A/C to be recharged soon. still holds vac.
-ALL electronics work ( except the bose system for now)
-sport seats are 100% functional
-FX3 suspension 100% functional
-Jack, storage bag, spare have never been used.
-Build sheet/window stickers ordered form NCM. Under dash build sheet was shredded. Tank sticker still there.
-headlight motor gears have been replaced/upgraded.


My flight judging is set for August and I have a few questions for the veterans in the group.

1) how large of a fire extinguisher should be used and where can it be stored/mounted?

2) I'm a little fuzzy as to the center console content requirements. The only item included with the car was the top removal tool but I've been in touch with a fellow member that has some parts available.

3) How are driving points tabulated and do they effect the score significantly? I'll be towing the car enclosed from Denver.

I'm open to any other suggestions, pointers or comments. I feel the car is deserving of the judging process. I just want to make sure I present it as well as I can.

Thanks!

-=MIke

[TucsonZR1]

Mike, do not mount the fire extinguisher just have it with you. Driving points and non original tires are explained in the Judging Reference Manual. It’s available through the NCRS store. The tires are a standard deduction which means whether you have a 1953 or a 1993 the deduction is the same. Have a battery cutoff and a NCRS sticker these with the fire extinguisher are a free bonus 10 points. Have a Delco battery and Delco oil filter. I am the National Team Leader , if you need anything else email me or call. I’m in the Restorer.

Tom

[DRM500RUBYZR-1]

The most important things...………..


1- Learn so much more about your car, as the judges will almost always share things with you that you likely never would have known.


2- RELAX, points are just points. Don't fret over 1-2 point deductions.


3- ENJOY IT! You will likely remember it for years to come, so make it many good memories, and make some new friends!


Best of Luck!
Marty

[bowtiguy]

Mike, do not mount the fire extinguisher just have it with you. Driving points and non original tires are explained in the Judging Reference Manual. It’s available through the NCRS store. The tires are a standard deduction which means whether you have a 1953 or a 1993 the deduction is the same. Have a battery cutoff and a NCRS sticker these with the fire extinguisher are a free bonus 10 points. Have a Delco battery and Delco oil filter. I am the National Team Leader , if you need anything else email me or call. I’m in the Restorer.

Tom

Thanks for the clarification on fire extinguisher etc...I plan to go over the judging manual page by page with the car in front of me over the 4th of july weekend to try an identify any areas that need help and make a list of any ?'s I may have.

[Mystic ZR-1]

The most important things...………..


1- Learn so much more about your car, as the judges will almost always share things with you that you likely never would have known.


2- RELAX, points are just points. Don't fret over 1-2 point deductions.


3- ENJOY IT! You will likely remember it for years to come, so make it many good memories, and make some new friends!


Best of Luck!
Marty


and....
Don‘t forget to ask how many ZR-1s have obtained
Top Flight awards 😋

NO! I won‘t shut up about that...

[bowtiguy]

The most important things...………..


1- Learn so much more about your car, as the judges will almost always share things with you that you likely never would have known.

2- RELAX, points are just points. Don't fret over 1-2 point deductions.

3- ENJOY IT! You will likely remember it for years to come, so make it many good memories, and make some new friends!

Best of Luck!
Marty

Thanks Marty,

My plan is to prepare it the best I can and enjoy the experience. Doing the cosmetic top end refresh while I was upgrading the fuel system has taught me a lot about the car already.

Forget undervalued, I think these cars are just under appreciated! everyone thats ridden in the car is amazed....and it s stock......for now.

[Mystic ZR-1]

Let us know what they thought
of the top end refinish.
That‘s the only thing I can‘t undo to get
back to where my car was when I went thru
the process.
In spite of my concerns with NCRS‘s (arrogant, Head Judging Chairman)
information policies, the Top Flight experience was a positive
one. The judges (especially Tom Barr) were fair and knowledgeable!!!

[bowtiguy]

Let us know what they thought
of the top end refinish.
That‘s the only thing I can‘t undo to get
back to where my car was when I went thru
the process.
In spite of my concerns with NCRS‘s (arrogant, Head Judging Chairman)
information policies, the Top Flight experience was a positive
one. The judges (especially Tom Barr) were fair and knowledgeable!!!

Will do, I really wanted to go with a powder coated - brighter finish w/ SS fasteners (ala Marc H.) but I figured Jerrys paint was a good compromise. If it wasnt for the bad oil cooler line crimp, the O.E. finish would have never seen the cleaner that discolored my factory finish. Id say my current finish is nicer than most O.E. finish's but not overly restored. Maybe "slightly" over restored.

I was able to remove all the factory torx fasteners w/o a problem. Cleaning, running through a die, coating with a rust prevention coating and loctite ( where applicable) took some time. But what part of this project didnt.

still looking for a factory replacement lower air dam ( spoiler) assembly. mine IS original but a little rough around the edges.

[Joelbbvette]

I would suggest to start at a chapter meet if possible. Some chapters have better ZR-1 folks than others. Try to get at least the AC Delco replacement parts - Black Oil Filter, Air Filter and battery. You will still take a hit but it will be less. As for tires make certain they are the same size, I would recommend Goodyears F1s if at all possible. I will have a set of Goodyear Gatorbacks available after Nationals but they are mounted on 90 rims at present. Make certain all options work, seat bladders, cassette, CD, etc. as operations are the easy points to get. The Performance Verification is another thing entirely but one step at a time.

You do NOT need a Pizza box for judging and only one top gets judged. Original parts with a little wear and tear do better than perfect new parts that are not correct (you mentioned SS fasteners). I can make some other recommendations if you are interested, let me know. BTW, I am going after my Dave McClellan Award at Nationals in two weeks. I have a Dave Hill Award for my 94 Copper Convertible so this is the second car to attempt it.

[jrd1990zr1]

NCRS used to have the judging sheets on their website. If they are still there donload a set and use them as you go through the manual. The biggest point hits are in Operations. As Joel mentioned above make sure everything works as described in the NCRS manual.

Your best bet is to go to a Chapter level or Regional meet. The level of expertise at a Chapter level is highly variable. Regional would offer a higher level of competence. As Mystic mentioned above there are very competent judges and there are also some arrogant know-it-alls. Take your car to the meet, get your judging sheets back and decide which items, if any, are worth fixing for your next attempt.

Lastly, after your car is judged, make sure it gets into the NCRS database.
It is the meet judgiing chairman's responsibility to get the information to the National organization. Some times this does not happen and the National Organization will not acknowledge your flight award. This happened to me in 2010 and after a lot of finger pointing as to who was to blame (no one would accept responsibility), I had to start all over again.

Good luck and as Marty said, enjoy.

John

[bowtiguy]

Thank you for all the pointers Gentleman!

-I've downloaded the judging sheets to accompany my manual.
-I've also managed to acquire all the missing glove compartment items
-I purchased a factory NOS set of front spoilers ( my center one was in BAD shape).
-Bose system has been completely gone through and is 100% functional as is everything else on the car.

I'm signed up for the August 17th judging event in Oklahoma. They are judging a 96 the same same day along with two other C2's I believe.

Things I have to do prior to leaving..

-reinstall the bose system.
-Put the glass top on ( its the nicer of the two).
-Pull my Factory A-molds / michelin tires off and put my factory wheels with correct size gator backs back on the car.
-put the factory air cleaner back in
-put Jerrys oil filter label in place.
-place my NCRS decal (on the passenger side of rear glass) drivers side has the 24hr record decal.
-get fire extinguisher inplace

-Finally, go over the complete manual w/ judging sheets to dot all the I's and cross all the T's.


Things I'm considering doing...

-Rebuilding the headlight motors ( just in case)
-Replacing all the interior/exterior bulbs ( just in case)
-Replacing the hatch glass gas struts
-Replacing the antennae plastic strip.

I know cleanliness only counts for so much but I took everything apart in the interior and engine bay over the winter months....and its spotless. I cant wait to drive it again but I dont want to clean it again either.

[TucsonZR1]

You can have your original rear window struts rebuilt by LST in Saskatoon Canada. You are starting at the Chapter level which is great, you will then be ready for a Regional.

Tom

[bowtiguy]

You can have your original rear window struts rebuilt by LST in Saskatoon Canada. You are starting at the Chapter level which is great, you will then be ready for a Regional.

Tom

Thanks for the tip Tom, I’ll give them a ring. Timeline might be too tight at this point but it’s worth a try. I’ll ask about the hood prop too. They’ve all lost a little gas.

[bowtiguy]

Down to the last week of prep. Going through every step of the operations section, I came up with a couple failures...

1) No reverse lights......solution, ordered a new reverse light switch for the ZF trans

2) No/sporadic interior chime....solution, got a tested take out coming from Mirrock.

3) 3rd brake light not functioning.....solution, track down the connections. looks like multiple bulbs. I doubt they ALL went at the same time.

4) No A/C. Did a vac test last fall and identified leaking schrader valves. Replaced them but system must be leaking from somewhere else so I'll save my R12 until I can find/fix AFTER the event.

Other than that, EVERYTHING ELSE is 100% functional. If anyone has tips, tricks, suggestions on any of the above items, feel free to "chime" in...

[DRM500RUBYZR-1]

Third Brake Light:
You would be surprised how often it IS just the bulbs.
More than half that we do are simply bulbs.
Easier to check them first, but owners rarely notice them out unless someone mentions it to them.
Marty

[bowtiguy]

Third Brake Light:
You would be surprised how often it IS just the bulbs.
More than half that we do are simply bulbs.
Easier to check them first, but owners rarely notice them out unless someone mentions it to them.
Marty

Thanks Marty, I'll check them out. I'm also going to check out the Brake switch. I know I had issues with the rear brake lights after my R&R of the cam covers ( dropping the steering column etc..) and had to re position the switch. Another thread made mentioned that there are two, so I'll look at that tonight....then move onto the bulbs.

On a side note, I'm amazed how dim most of the bulbs appear on the car. Not sure if thats due to the fact that I'm used to modern LED's ... or if the car could benefit from swapping out all the bulbs. Battery is in good condition and charged.

[bowtiguy]

CHMSL lights are functioning again. plugged the socket into the wrong port under the dash. Bulbs are good!

[Jetjock]

I have a 93 Ruby ZR-1. Overall, it’s in good shape but I have some issues with some mechanical things like a hose put back incorrectly on the engine, hi beam that’s stuck in low beam, bladder doesn’t work on one of the seats, that sort of thing.

I do have the original wheels and tires. Because of that, do they require you to drive it around the first time?

I have other questions.

Roy

[TucsonZR1]

Roy , you do not have to move your car for Flight Judging. When you do the Performance Verification with the Team Leader on your way to a McCelland Award it must go 10 miles for a test drive, then that’s it.

Tom

[bowtiguy]

well, Its been a week since I've been back and thought I'd post an update.

First off, the Oklahoma chapter was a joy to be around. IT WAS HOT! luckily, one of the chapter members opened his air conditioned shop up to us for the day. Everyone was very complimentary of the car and thorough in the judging process AND most drove their vettes that day!

Being so close to Stillwater, they all had stories of mercury marine plant tours back in the day.

I learned several things about the car like the grease pencil #56 underneath the airbox was more than likely the sequence number the day of production.

The 63' fuelie being judged was just jaw dropping. I've never wanted a 63' so badly.

Also, I did not find the judging process nerve racking at all! I know "your results may very" from one event to another and I do have a couple of small items I need to attend to but I managed a 99.5% to earn a top flight award AND got the longest distance traveled award.


Thank you to all the members who chimed in with their knowledge and guidance! For me, The Top Flight award justifies all the work and elbow grease I put into the car over the winter. The combo of the leaky oil cooler line prior to it sitting for almost 11 years...I had my work cut out for me. Now, I just have to decide what to do with the car next....

[Mystic ZR-1]

Congrats on your Top Flight!
What to do next?
DRIVE IT !!!

[bowtiguy]

Congrats on your Top Flight!
What to do next?
DRIVE IT !!!

everything works, I might as well!!! :dancing

[Joelbbvette]

Well if everything works, now is the time to go for the dreaded PV. Hardest award to get in NCRS if you ask me. After that the Dave Hill Mark of Excellence is a piece of cake. Good luck if you go that route and they are very passable, I'm 2 and 0 for C4 PVs.

Joel