Judging the Survivor

By Mike Thies

Sooner or later every judge faces this class. A freshly restored car with flawless paint sits next to an original car with faded lacquer, a worn driver's seat, and sixty years of honest use on it. Both owners did right by their cars. The job is to score them so neither one is punished for the choice its owner made.

Both deserve respect. A great restoration takes skill, money, and years of work. A true survivor can never be made again once it is gone.

This article covers how the major programs handle survivors, how to tell honest age from neglect, and how to score a mixed class fairly.

Why This Matters Now

Preservation has moved from the side lawn to center stage. At the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Fritz Burkard's Bugatti Type 59 became the first preservation car ever to win Best of Show. Octane magazine reported that the result split opinion. One restorer called it unfair to the people who spent time and money restoring cars for the event. Longtime Pebble judge Paul Sable supported the decision.

The market has noticed, too. In the same Octane magazine piece, Simon Kidston said collectors coming from art, furniture, and watches tend to value preserved objects over restored ones. I see the same thing in my appraisal work. A documented, unrestored car in good order, with the right provenance, can sometimes bring more than a restored example of the same model.

Kidston also made a point we should not forget. Most cars have already been restored, so preservation is no longer an option for them. That is exactly why the survivors that remain deserve a fair look on the field.

How the Major Programs Handle It

Most programs solve the problem the same basic way. They take survivors out of head-to-head point judging against restored cars and give them their own standard.

• FIVA. The Federation Internationale des Vehicules Anciens published the Charter of Turin in 2012. It treats preservation, conservation, and restoration as separate processes. It also says changes made to a car during its normal working life are part of its history and should be kept. FIVA criteria have been used for preservation awards at Pebble Beach. According to Hagerty, those judges check the exterior, interior, and mechanical systems for original materials and finishes. They prefer a repaired seat or door panel over a replaced one, and they penalize excessive polishing and disassembly. The car is also started and checked for noise, leaks, and smoke.
• AACA. The Antique Automobile Club of America runs a separate class for original cars, now called AACA Original (formerly HPOF, Historic Preservation of Original Features). These cars are not point judged against restorations. Instead, they are evaluated to confirm significant original features. AACA also treats this as its own judging specialty. The class has its own national chairman, who sends a list of approved AACA Original judges to each National meet, and the Original team is set ahead of time instead of being drawn from the regular class judges.
• Bloomington Gold. David Burroughs created the Survivor certification for unrestored Corvettes because he was troubled by originality being lost in the chase for trophies. Under the standards adopted in 2014, a Survivor Gold car must be at least 80 percent unrestored in all four areas: interior, exterior, engine, and chassis.
• VCCA. The Vintage Chevrolet Club of America's HPOCF program certifies cars that are at least 75 percent original in two or more of four areas. The club notes that these cars give restorers a reference for how the factory really did things.
• CCCA. The Classic Car Club of America takes a different approach. It does not have a separate certification for original cars. Instead, survivors can be shown in the Touring Division, which the club describes as being for older restorations, original cars, and Classics that are driven on tours. A car that scores over 93 points in Touring is considered overqualified and is moved out of the division. An excellent original car can also compete in the Primary Division alongside fully restored cars. CCCA's judging guidelines also say these cars were built to be used, and that normal use should not count against the owner as long as it does not hurt the car's condition or appearance.

The common thread is that originality is measured by how much of the factory car remains, not by how new it looks.

Originality Versus Authenitc

Judges and appraisers often hear, “My car is all original,” when the vehicle has clearly been restored. The distinction is between originality and authenticity. Originality refers to the actual materials, finishes and components retained from the car’s manufacture, while authenticity describes how faithfully the car represents its factory configuration.

A restoration can be beautifully executed and authentic in every visible detail, yet replacement upholstery, fresh paint and reproduction parts do not become original simply because they match what the factory used. Even period-correct equipment may not be correct for that particular car. Both preserved originals and authentic restorations deserve recognition, but describing them accurately matters to judging, historical documentation and valuation.

Patina Versus Neglect

This is where most judging mistakes happen. Patina is the honest wear that comes from a car being used and cared for. Neglect is damage that comes from a car being ignored. They can look alike from ten feet away, but they are not the same thing, and they should not be scored the same way.

Thoughts on how to separate them:

• Patina is even, gradual wear that makes sense for the car's age and use. Think of a softened leather seat bolster, light fading on the hood and top surfaces, a polished-through spot on a steering wheel, or original plating that has dulled but is still intact.
• Neglect is active deterioration. Think of rust coming through the paint, torn or rotted upholstery, cracked rubber that has failed, fluid leaks, and mouse damage. A car in this condition is not being preserved. It is being lost.
• Period repairs are part of the story. The Charter of Turin says changes made during a car's normal working life are evidence of its history. A careful old repair should not be treated like a modern shortcut.

Two warnings are worth passing along. In the Octane piece, Andy Heywood warned that rewarding preservation could lead to "constructed patina," meaning wear that has been faked to look old. Simon Kidston cautioned against relying on a paint meter, since many cars were painted by hand and paint depth was never consistent to begin with. Judges have to look at the whole car and its history, not one reading.

Scoring a Mixed Class Fairly

The best answer is a separate preservation class. Many local shows and smaller concours do not have enough survivors to fill one, so the cars end up together. When that happens, here are things to consider.

For chief judges and organizers:

1. Ask at registration. Have each entrant mark the car as restored, partly restored, or original, and list what has been redone. It tells the judges what they are looking at before they start.
2. Brief the team. At the judges' meeting, agree on how wear will be scored before the first car is judged, not after a disagreement on the field.
3. Use a different standard for each car. Judge the restored car against how it left the factory. Judge the survivor against how a well-kept car of that age should look.
4. Add a preservation award. Even one ribbon tells survivor owners their cars are welcome and encourages them to keep the car original.

For judges on the field:

1. Do not deduct for honest age. Faded original paint is not a flaw on a survivor. Rust coming through it is.
2. Deduct for neglect and incorrect parts. A survivor still loses points for damage, leaks, missing parts, and modern replacements.
3. Watch for over-restoration. A restored car finished better than the factory ever did it should lose points, the same as at Pebble Beach.
4. Give credit for documentation. Original window stickers, service records, and ownership history support a survivor's claim. FIVA judging at Pebble Beach has used documented history to break ties.
5. Write down the reason for every deduction. It keeps the scoring honest and gives the owner something useful to take home.

Closing Thoughts

A restored car shows what a car was. A survivor shows what it has been through. Both belong on the field, and both teach us something.

Our job as judges is to reward the owner who did the work right, whether that meant a frame-off restoration or simply keeping the car dry, driven, and original for sixty years. If we score every car as if it should look new, we will keep losing survivors to restorations they never needed. That is a loss the hobby cannot get back.

Mike Thies is a concours judge and certified vehicle appraiser in the Atlanta area. He has collected and restored classic cars for most of his life.