Hey Gents.
I met up with a few forum members at the Survivor Car show series in Chicago burbs today
www.survivorcollectorcar.com. I had the pleasure of finally meeting our friends John & Mark in an environment that we all seemed to take quite well to. In short we meet up at a showcar event that focuses on originality of any particular automobile (import or domestic). The series directors bring in "specialist" to try & document exterior, interior, engine bay & undercarriage as original per factory spec. The key is not to remove the originality by restoring a car, but to keep the car as close to original as possible by lovingly maintaining it throughout its lifespan. According to the event staff all of the 75 cars entered (and there was a additional 75 car waiting list) had at least one staff member or two that was familiar with each breed - and of course all were experts in paint, interior, materials used - etc., to document its provenance.
The field of entrants was impressive. From Elva, to Pierce Arrow, 113 SL, Plymouth Superbird, Shelby Mustang, Packard, Corvette, Porsche, Alfa, the list is long & distinguished. Everyone was chasing after the coveted
Zzenith award (proven to be over 90% originality) but there were also awards for less as well (to as little as 50% originality). I of course was looking for the top award with my 1966 230.
After a big rain storm in the morning the judging started. It was tedious but gave me lots of time to talk with my new friends. Then the first judge team (team of 3 judges) got to my car. They were complementary and told me that I had qualified for the Zzenith but had one last hurdle to jump - later. A few hours past then the full consortium (25 judges?) came over to judge (again) the 16 cars (out of the 75 total) that had qualified for the Zzenith. They looked at each car for twenty or more minutes and then the team went on to the next one. It was enough to put you on the edge of your seat. Watching them judge your own car was nerve-racking - but somehow (with my Son & pals) I got through it.
In the end several deserving entrants got the top Zzenith certification - Including my 113 and John's Porsche pals '64 356 coupe. I was not sure how educated the judges were going to be on the 230SL but it seems as if they knew more than I had hoped they did.
Good event, and good people. Here are some quick photos: