Bloomington Gold Great Hall 2014: The Restored One

Champaign IL, June 27 2014 - For the 5th and final year the Great Hall at Bloomington Gold recognized 10 people and 10 Corvettes that had a large impact on the Corvette phenomenon.

1967 Corvette Certification Prototype: Changed judging direction

The Restored One -This is the restored gleaming silver Corvette that “won 1st” at Bloomington in 1977.

Although ecstatic about “winning 1st”, the owner felt something was out of whack. The 2nd place black corvette was a breathtaking unrestored original. And it had over 90,000 fewer miles than this trophy winner. He thought that judges and owners had their priorities backwards. Why reward people to “customize” original Corvettes with over-restored cosmetics? And why punish owners of unrestored originals?

He thought that if enough owners felt this way, he may invent an entirely new judging system. Why not create a new system that places more importance on factory authenticity than cosmetics and germ-free cleanliness? It would mean building any army of competent judges and a judging process that weighted authenticity over cosmetics. And as long as things were changing, why not shift from “winners and losers” to certifying all vehicles meeting high standards of authenticity.

A new event was launched in 1978 called Bloomington Gold Certification. Corvette judging changed overnight and so did appreciation for authenticity. It has also influenced other judging organizations outside Corvette—thanks to the black ’66 and silver ’67.

Source: Bloomington Gold
Photos: Randy Berg