Concours Judging at SAAC-37

[computerworks]

Concours Judging at SAAC-37

The Concours at the SAAC National Convention is a major part of the event. Each year, a maximum of six cars in each class are entered for some pretty high-level scrutiny and judging.

The SAAC Concours Award is a valued achievment for any car.

This year, Jeff (1985 CCX) and I had the pleasure of judging three Cobras, one big-block and two small blocks.

The judging process requires the team to review all aspects of the car for authenticity, accuracy, appearance and fit/finish.
Each car takes several hours to judge and requires about a dozen pages of detailed scoring. The process starts with a perfect score and then deductions are made based on standards; items can contribute as little as a quarter of a point deduction, increasing with severity of the items judged.

This is not your typical car show. Concours, by this definition, benchmarks the car to be as close as possible to the way the car appeared on the showroom floor when new, or as delivered from the dealer to the first owner.
There are two Classes: Division I and Division II.
Division I requires complete originality and does not permit repro parts; Division II has the same standards, but does permit repro parts or modern equivalents.

Awards are given based on final score...from Bronze, Silver, Gold and, at the top, Premier.

Let's take a look at the three cars in the competition.

First, the 427... CSX3165

A beautiful example of early 427 street cars, this one had some "Comp" additions added to it over the years, which impacted it's scoring rather heavily. FIA wheels, roll bar and various comp mechanics detracted from originality, but nevertheless, the car made a nice appearance in Division II, achieving a Bronze Award.

[computerworks]

Next, we had two small block cars.

The first was an early car, CSX2060.
This car has had several lifestyle changes over the years, but has recently been returned to conventional street trim.
The engine had been changed to a (beautiful) 289 HiPo with Webers, which detracted from originality scoring, but looked great, as you can see.
CSX2060 carried all the true attributes of an early car... no side vents, worm and sector steering, flat steering wheel and teardrop-twist hood locks.

The car showed well and was very appealing. Although it did not qualify for an award, it made a fine appearance for its first outing in Concours

[computerworks]

Last, but certainly not least, we had CSX2367.
This beautiful Cobra was in the hands of its original owner until very recently. The new owner is equally passionate about the originality of the car.
It achieved a Premier Award in the past and served its mandatory retirement term from competition. Now, back in competition, it did not disappoint.

You will be hard pressed to find another car that is so close to the way it rolled off the showroom floor in 1964.
The amount of original documentation and history that accompanies this car is astounding.

It was a delight to judge and the car scored another Premier Award, with barely ten points off a perfect score of 900.

Enjoy.

[MGlad]

Hey Ron,
As you may have gathered, I am fairly new to the Cobra scene. I never really paid much attention to the Slabsides until Ross and Rick brought one to their Superformance display there. They have an appeal all their own... sorta like chocolate and vanilla ice cream. I like them both. Anyways, CSX2060 is very impressive. Black wouldn't be my first choice on a Cobra, but it does well on this one. The Webers, 289 hypo... wow, that is cool. What a great car. Thanks for posting this. BTW, your H... original 4-speed?

[REAL 1]

Beautiful Historic cars. We were fortunate to have their owners bring them out for us to enjoy. It was a treat to see them.

What was the story with the blue 427 with Sunburst wheels and the 427 street car under the tent across from the SAAC tent?

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by REAL 1

What was the story with the blue 427 with Sunburst wheels and the 427 street car under the tent across from the SAAC tent?

A group got together and set up that tent for a place to display their cars.

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by MGlad

BTW, your H... original 4-speed?

Yes, it is an orig 4-speed.

[mickmate]

Ron, Jeff, thanks to you and the rest of the crew for everything. You guys that were there have some idea of what it takes to put an event like this on. They get to look closely at and judge 3 cars and miss out on seeing other treasures. I burned you both a disc of the pics I took to hopefully help you keep doing what you do. Again thanks.

[regalka]

I have to concur with Nick. What an extraordinary event! And even the weather cooperated (mostly).

Thanks to all who helped to make my first SAAC event so memorable.

Ron

[PatBuckley]

Interesting - thanks CW.

A quick question - my opinion is that CSX 2367 is probably in much better condition now then when it was delivered to its original owner.

Assuming this to be true, do points get deducted for that?

I remember staring at a new 427 on the dealer (Milwaukee) showroom floor back in the day - it was brand new and had been sitting for a while. Compared to other cars on the floor it was not in great shape.

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by PatBuckley

A quick question - my opinion is that CSX 2367 is probably in much better condition now then when it was delivered to its original owner.

Assuming this to be true, do points get deducted for that?

Yes, there is a case for "over-restoring."
For example, if a tube or fitting was originally bare, scratchy dull metal...and it was now chromed or highly polished, that would be a deduction.

[Nedsel]

What was the story with the blue 427 with Sunburst wheels and the 427 street car under the tent across from the SAAC tent?[/quote]

No stories. The blue car is CSX 3354 and is basically stock apart from the later Jaguar blue paint. The silver car in the tent is CSX 3173 and was recently repainted back to its original silver after several years in red. Its owner has replaced the incorrect parts on the car with as many original pieces as he can find, but left the patina. They are both nice examples.

[MGlad]

Originally Posted by computerworks

Yes, it is an orig 4-speed.

Impressive, my info is not too many had the 4-speed, only the first few. It's funny how people were laughing when they were being sold by Hertz. Who wanted to buy a car that had to have been abused! I heard for something like $1200?

[Buzz]

Amazing stuff! Thanks for sharing, Ron.

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by MGlad

Impressive, my info is not too many had the 4-speed, only the first few. It's funny how people were laughing when they were being sold by Hertz. Who wanted to buy a car that had to have been abused! I heard for something like $1200?

A while back, SAAC had an article with an interview with the guy who was responsible for selling off the Hertz rental fleet of GT-350s in the Northeast. His stories were amazing.

[dwathencars]

Over restored cars. CSX2367

As the current owner, and "refresher" of the 2001/2002 restoration of CSX2367, I can confirm that by current standards, it was over restored back then. And some points were deducted in the 2003 Premier judging sheets for over polishing. My own opinion and experience is that over restoration was more expected 10 years ago in all types and makes of concours. Also since then, there is more emphasis on correct hardware and finishes, and at least in Cobras, more info is available on authenticity.

CSX certainly has bodywork, paint, aluminum panels, etc that are better than factory. At least the repaint when new by the factory to metallic green is well documented. I also think that all current concours venues expect very very nice paint finishes.

I've had a year and a half to freshen/ correct CSX2367. And much help from people on the forums. Some of this has been items like bead blasting over polished water pipes, replating brackets, painting the jack handle black instead of grey - basically correcting finishes. I've also removed everything in the engine compartment except the cast iron parts, and reassembled with nos parts where needed. EELCO fuel fitting, correct date code water pump and fuel pump, NOS stator in the alternator because it had glyptol coating, date stamps where appropriate, labels on the wiring harness, red otter switch vs black, round head gold seal hose clamps, etc etc. Also swapping Phillips and slotted head screws throughout the car as appropriate. There are a few items yet on my to do list, and I learned of a few more from the judges and other Cobra owners.

Lori and I were flattered by the positive comments and judging results. We drive our collector cars and enjoy proving that is possible with show level cars.

CSX2367 will be in Monterey, including Carmel by the Sea, and The Quail. And of course at the track, although not on the track since it doesn't have a roll bar.

Dave

[computerworks]

Hi Dave... it was a delight to review your car.

At SAAC-37, it certainly exceeded its showing in Nashville a while back. Ya done good.

We drive our collector cars and enjoy proving that is possible with show level cars.

...and that's a powerful statement for a Div I Premiere winner.

See you and Lori again soon.

[1985 CCX]

All the cars present were top notch and very special. I want to thank Dave and Lori, Dave and James for entering their fantastic cars in concours this year.

These are all very special cars and the fact that folks like you have and care for them means my son, Max, may one day have a shot at owning a piece of automotive history.



I am only sorry I missed 2498, wanted to see it and Karl....

Thank you

[mickmate]

Footbox tags, early had no snake and were metal stamped, later were with snake and number was hand etched. I believe that is correct and wondered if we knew when the changes occurred and if they happened together?