<VV> CONCOURS PHILOSOPHY 101

[airvair]

All,

Apparently many of the replies seem to have been confused over the term
"Street Stock" class, and spoke up without full knowledge or
understanding of the issue. In the strictest of senses, every car that
has had even one fastener changed is "modified" from factory stock. In
CORSA rules, however, the class once removed from "Pure Factory Stock"
class is called the "Street Stock" class. It is a "modified" class in
the strict sense of the word, but is called that because the cars are so
close to stock as to be indistinguishable to those who don't know
Corvairs. At least that's the principle. See the concours rules
accessable on this page: http://www.corvair.org/csadocs.html under CORSA
Event Rules. My car is, in the strictest sense, modified, though it is
done with stock parts, which are allowed under the "update-backdate"
rule. It looks like a "stock" Corsa to those who don't know Corvairs.
However, I am NOT attempting to pass it off as a "Pure Factory Stock"
car, but rather simply pointing out that under WRITTEN CORSA rules the
car has met all the definitions of a "Street Stock" class car. If it
were put in a "Modified" class, I'd have to compete against cars with
such things as custom wheels and custom interiors, while my car has all
stock parts. That would violate the very principle of the separation of
classes. And it is this VERBAL, and as Bob admits, ARBITRARY ruling that
I'm protesting. Since Bob and I have butted heads over this for years,
the only reason I bring it up at this time is to "head off at the pass"
any anticipated attempt to get such a ruling into the written rules.
Hence the board posts as well as VV.

Further,I am NOT asking for any "new" class to be created. The class
that it SHOULD be in already exists. And I would be perfectly happy if
only the chairman would follow the written rules, instead of making my
car a "special exception."

Also, one guy mentioned the following paragraph: 

I see it is in the CORSA definition of "Modifications", from the March
1997 rules,  being "...any changes made to a regular production vehicle
that alter it from the way it *could* have left the factory" (emphasis
added).

That paragraph ONLY applies to STOCK class cars, and was meant ONLY to
allow someone to, say, add a correct factory issue AM/FM in place of the
original AM-only radio. If you know the Corvette club and how anal they
are about such things, you'd know why we have that in the rules. I ought
to know what it means, as I wrote it back in '74!

-Mark