[Big Block Bill]

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I have been a Survivor Judge at Bloomington Gold almost since its inception. Their guidlines are that the majority (over 50%) of at least 3 of the 4 catagories (exterior, interior, chassis, engine compartment) must remain preserved intact, unrestored, and unaltered. And that the majority of the finishes and condition of at least 3 of those 4 sections be good enough to be used as a model for an authentic restoration. Yes, that means that a car with a replacement engine can still be a "Survivor". Wether you agree with these guidelines or not, they are the only ones that are recognised. Personally I'd like to see them tightened up a notch or 2.

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I think that is what Bloomington Gold did by starting the Benchmark award. My 1967 Lynndale Blue roadster went Survivor & Gold along with Tim Mckeon's 1968 blue roadster, and Herm Rosemann's 1967 Yellow 396 coupe in 1990.

When David Burroughs and his staff saw that a car could do both at the same time, they created that award for the sole purpose of honoring an un-restored car doing 95% or better in a restored class.

I remember after we were given the awards at the 1991 show, Bloomington Gold paid a team of professional photographers to take pictures of the cars. I think they took 125 pictures of my car, and gave me copies of every one. The purpose was to rewrite the rules on what was deemed as assembled by the factory. I remember they took 25 pictures of just the door jambs, weather striping and glue alone.

In 1993 they invited all of the Benchmark cars (14 I believe, 10 showed up) back to the show for a photo shoot to produce a Benchmark calender. I still have the framed photo they gave each owner. The calender was never printed.

Bill Pankiw