Bloomington Gold 2011: The Rest of the Story

[Camo]

From http://www.corvetteblogger.com

The highlight of the annual Bloomington Gold Corvette show each year is the judging activity. Participants from all over the country converge on the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL each June for the once-a-year opportunity to achieve Survivor, Gold, and/or Benchmark awards. At this event, cars don’t compete against one another. Rather they compete against a standard which is the condition in which the car was delivered from the factory. “No better, no worse, no different.”

This year marked a new weekend schedule which we told you about late last year. Thursday and Friday activities took place in windy, sometimes drizzly and damp weather. Weekend events were greeted by limitless sunshine, light winds, and temperatures in the mid to upper 70’s. The manicured grounds of the Pheasant Run Resort make a fabulous background for a Corvette show in pretty much any weather.

Entrants in the Bloomington Gold judging events are competing for awards in up to 3 categories. A team of 3-4 judges converge upon each car and evaluate it for 45-60 minutes or so. Some may take longer, some may take less time.

The 3 judging categories are:

• Survivor:
  This category is only for cars that are at least 20 years old and in original, unrestored condition. To earn Survivor status cars must pass a 20 mile road test, and remain at least 50% unrestored in 3 out of 4 categories: Exterior, Interior, Mechanical, and Chassis.
  
• Certification:
  This event is open to both restored and unrestored Corvettes. Cars can be awarded Gold, Silver, and Bronze Certification. A Gold certified Corvette is within 95% of its as-delivered condition. Silver and Bronze certified cars aren’t quite as close to their “born in” condition as a Gold Certified car.
  
• Benchmark:
  This is one of the most prestigious awards in the Corvette hobby. It salutes Corvettes that have achieved Survivor status in all 4 categories as well as Bloomington Gold status. Both awards must be achieved during the same show weekend. As a past recipient of this award, I can attest to how special (and hard to find) Benchmark Corvettes really are.

Now check out some pics of the 125 or so Corvettes on the golf course at Pheasant Run. Some of our favorites included a ’62 with the very rare big gas tank option, an awesome black L88, a 70 ZR-1, and pretty much every big block midyear there. Congratulations to all of this years winners!

Click thumbnails for larger images

[Camo]

From http://www.corvetteblogger.com

In addition to Certification, the Great Hall, and the Mecum Auction, Bloomington Gold offers several other activities during their annual June Corvette-palooza. Click past the jump below to see highlights from the GoldMine, GoldMarket, GoldTour, as well as other parts of this years show.



The GoldMine
If a potential bidding frenzy and buyer fees aren’t for you then you can check out numerous Corvettes for sale in the GoldMine. Dealers and private owners from all over bring Corvettes in hopes of sending them off to new homes. Likewise eager buyers can comb the front parking lot along Route 64 for their next dream machine or project. This years Goldmine seemed to have more “attainable” cars than in recent years as the market continues to adjust itself.

The GoldMarket
If you need a hard to find part or accessory, you can take a stroll through the GoldMarket. Although media like eBay and Craigslist have affected the size of the GoldMarket over the last several years, the swap meet and vendor areas are sure to still have something for everyone. For example, on Thursday and Friday this year sweat shirts and jackets were in especially high demand. People like Corvette Central (http://corvettecentral.com) and other well known Corvette parts houses are almost always present at Bloomington. As an added bonus, you could take your ride over to the installers ally and have your newly purchased exhaust system installed. That’s a pretty handy way to get your new parts home without hauling them inside your Corvette!

The GoldTour
And don’t forget about the hundreds of Corvettes zipping along the back roads of northern Illinois on the GoldTour. This event made its return after a 1 year hiatus. Although the weather was a little drizzly at times, tons of America’s sports car came out for the tour. We haven’t seen any official numbers yet, but we estimate somewhere around 750 -1,000 (maybe more) were present. It was nice to see a lot of early Corvettes out getting exercised even in the “iffy” weather.

The Golf Course
Lastly, what’s better than just wandering around and checking out thousands of Corvettes together in a spectacular setting? One of the best parts of Bloomington Gold is simply wandering through the parking lot. In this case the parking lot is a beautifully manicured, lush, green golf course. Countless Corvettes dot the fairways of Pheasant Run as their owners meander through the show. Here’s a free CorvetteBlogger tip: towards the end of the day head out back to one of the main exits with a chair. Park yourself in the shade and watch all the cars file out. Not only do you get the see all the cars, you get to listen to the cool exhausts as they rumble by. Oh, and there’s the occasional “spirited” exit along the service drive between the golf course and the neighboring airport.

If you missed this years Bloomington Gold show, be sure to check out the 2012 edition scheduled for June 21st–24th, 2012.