Hello.... I own a 1987 coupe that I'm considering, getting Bloomington Gold cert, Survivor, and utlimately Benchmark, certified. Any thoughts out there, as to the investment in time and money, vs what the car is really worth, after completion of certification??? Thx and God Bless!!! 

I made some changes to your OP. I added the mileage stated in your user header. Here are "my thoughts":

You must have an exceptional 1987, or you wouldn't be considering Bloomington. The Gold certification isn't  difficult to achieve. The Judges can only spend like 12 minutes per area then have to move on, so can't be very thorough. "Survivor" certification requires a 50% "pass" in three of four areas to be deemed Survivor. So how "original" is a car that is perhaps only 37.5% original overall? "Survivor", IMO is not a very high bar to jump. Read on, as to how I feel this is pertinent.

In contrast, NCRS Flight Judging ( I know you didn't bring this up, but I am for comparison) is much more thorough. And the equivalent to Survivor (which is a trademarked term of Bloomington Gold) is Crossed Flags. Crossed Flags requires a McClellan Award car (97.0 or better at Regional and again at Nationals, and a Performance Verification) then a 90% Pass in all four areas to be deemed a Crossed Flags recipient. There are less than a dozen 84-89 Crossed Flags cars. People that know the differences between the two organization's requirements recognize that NCRS is a higher standard. Not all Bloomington Gold cars will Top Flight. But all NCRS Top Flight cars will Bloomington Gold, if that makes sense. In the context of adding value with a Blomington Award, you are contemplating attracting buyers of Corvettes that feel the Awards add value. These individuals will assess the value-added of each organization's awards differently. Once again, the Bloomington awards are not very difficult to achieve, and are valued accordingly.

As far as does the expenditure in time. effort, and money "pay off" in increasing the value of the car? No, not even close. Will it add a little panache or provenance at resale time? Perhaps, but IMO not much. 114,000 miles is a lot for a C4 in Bloomington or NCRS.  You may feel like a challenge, and take the project on just to say you did it. My hat's off to you, go for it.  But at resale time, prospective buyers are going to use the 114,000 miles as the basis for their value assessments. Having a recent award may help with initial perception that it is a nice car, or it wouldn't have achieved these awards. But bottom line is there are numerous C4's with a lot fewer miles on them, regardless of how "nice" a high-miler car really is.

Have fun with your car.








|UPDATED|8/4/2013 12:52:10 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

OK... Thx for the response. First of all, my C4 has only 11,400 miles on it. Second of all, the judges spend 36 mins per car, 5 of them, in Gold judging. Third of all, to date, there are only 266 Benchmarked, Bloomington Gold Corvettes, to date, and only 5 of them, are 1987. Yes, I have been told repeatedly, that Top Flight certs are the most difficult to come by, and this may be true, IDK. But Gold certification is not easy, as I've been there and walked away, with only a Silver Cert, before I knew how the game is played. You are correct in Survivor being fairly easy to acquire. But the Gold cert, is not just that easy. Thx for your thoughts and comments Sir!!! AMEN 

Ahhh. So there was a typo in your header. That was a huge deal. I predicated my entire response on thinking you had a car with 114K miles on it.

I've never judged at Bloomington, But I am a Level 300 Judge in NCRS. I have experience with what it takes to properly evaluate a C4 against a Standard for Originality and Condition.   I've heard people that have judged Bloomington say "they don't give much time to look at a car. It's a cattle-herd operation." I thought it was 12 minutes per car per Judge. Guess not. In NCRS the field is maximum of 8 cars, Judging begins at 0830, and "ends" when completed. If there's a Division with 8 "tough cars" the guys might be working till dinner time to get through them. Everyone else waits until they're finished. It takes what it takes.

Before my 85 was old enough to be accepted in NCRS Judging, I attended a school in 1999 to learn more about what was involved in entering a car in Bloomington Gold. When the guy said "take a piece of paper and write 'window sticker' on it. You will get 50% credit for that" in response to my question as to how to handle I had no window sticker for my car, I decided Bloomington Gold was more about collecting entry fees, than recognizing achievement in preservation of Corvettes. too many "games" allowed and encouraged. I decided to wait for my car to be included in NCRS.

If you're interested in these kinds of stats, there are only two NCRS Crossed Flags 1985 Corvettes. One of them is the one I purchased new, and is in my garage. I bring this up as exhibit that I'm familiar with this type of judging, and what caliber of car receives these awards.

Anyway, have fun with your car. I didn't start out to do a Bloomington vs NCRS. You asked about "value added by a Bloomington Cert". My opinion is still the same. "Not much" to someone that is knowledgeable about the various organizations that give awards to Corvettes for achievement in Restoration or Preservation. An individual that is familiar with Bloomington, is going to be familiar with NCRS. The process is different, and individuals assessing value know this. That's why I brought it up. It answers your question.

















|UPDATED|8/5/2013 7:28:52 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

It does help, most definitely Sir!!!! Thx much for taking the time to share this!!! There is so much info out there (but few, if any stats to support it), and is difficult to decide, what are the best options, for an individual!!! OK... Next question.... Where would I look, to see how many 1987 C4's have gotten the Top Flight cert, or Cross Flags, if that is what the NCRS calls it?? Thanks again, and I will have fun with my Corvette, eventually!!!! AMEN!!!

Begin here:  https://www.ncrs.org/awards.html  This page explains the various Awards offered by NCRS.  Read carefully, as some Awards are specific to certain year ranges.

• Flight Judging is the 'basic' Judging to The Standard of 'Does it appear to be original?' Similar to Gold Certification.
• The McClellan Award is the top Concourse Award.  Bloomington doesn't really have an equivalent to McClellan.
• Crossed Flags (for C4 only) is Judging to The Standard of 'is the part, fabric, or finish THE actual original part, fabric, or finish?'  Similar to Benchmark (but doesn't occur at the same event for C4) because Crossed Flags requires a McClellan prerequisite. There is no equivalent to Survivor in NCRS for C4, because the bar is soooo much higher for originality judging. Only 97.0 and above cars are accepted.
  

That link cites the number of awards of a certain type that have been awarded. Notice that McClellan Awards are given to 1975 through 1992. The year models that Dave McClellan was Chief Engineer for Corvette. So the 113 McClellan cars include 75-82 C3's. (There are a bunch of McClellan 78 pace cars and 25th's).

As far as determining how many Awards have been awarded for a certain year, that is not publicly available. The guy most likely to know would be Allen Tremain, the 84-89 National Team Leader. Most NCRS guys don't "dick measure". Our awards are recognized as a formidable "achievement". Guys that have done it, know what it takes, and are respectful of anyone else that has done it too. The numbers just don't matter. Whether 2 or 50, because The Standards are the same for every judging, the "achievement" is identical. And we acknowledge this.

Now that I've got my NCRS Ambassador hat on, I encourage you to join NCRS, receive the publications, and learn more about the organization. Perhaps attend a Chapter Judging meet local to you either as just an observer, or even enter your car.  The membership is $35 a year, and a Chapter Judging entry is about $45. A lot cheaper than Bloomington, and I guarantee you will learn a lot about your car, and the atmosphere will be much more congenial.  Warning: You may get hooked. :grin: Give it a shot.

|UPDATED|8/6/2013 8:56:48 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

WOWZER!!! Thats a lot of info!!! Thx much Sir, for all your responses!!! Understood.... I'm a numbers guy, and thats how I evaluate most things. Anyway, the NCRS cert does sound like a higher, and somewhat less expensive, goal to acquire, than Bloom Gold. I have a pretty unique car, and is almost all origional. Otherwise, I wouldn't even consider any of this. I will check out the NCRS web site and eval. Will post my decision here. Again, thx so much for all the good info!!! God Bless and stay tuned!!! AMEN!!!