Central Oklahoma Classic Chevy Club

Convention feedback

Editor's note: This article was written by Randy Offutt for Cruise News.
Mel Harris received it by mail.

Cruise News, July 2003
CCI Convention Review
Let's get right to this issue's topic - Classic Chevy International! Most of our readers are Street Rodders (pre-'49 NSRA members) and less than ten percent of us may also own classic '55-'57 Chevys - which
usually end up in the Tri Year class at the shows we attend (if they even offer us a class). We've heard that if you want to show with the true blue Tri Chevy boys there's only that hardnosed Classic Chevy
International group rumored to have a terrible hardcore 1000 point system run by snobs and cliquish judges! So we've been more or less scared off from their events due to our fears of not meeting their
snobbish standards.

As usual, the only way to find out for sure about an organization is to attend an event for yourself - so we did. We chose the Classic Chevy International 2003 South Central Nationals, held in OKC, which was hosted by The Central Oklahoma Classic Chevy Club. This club consists of about fifty members of which about 75 percent are very active. This alone tells you this show was going to be something special (usually a club has 25 percent active members, at best). The club members were absolutely the greatest - continually asking if they could help you with something - anything to make your stay enjoyable! The co-chairs, Mel Harris and John Dragoo, seemed to have but one goal; to make sure
everyone had a Fun-Tasic time! So, as far as the rumored snobbish tri chevy groupies - they aren't in Oklahoma!

The actual CCI representatives who oversaw the convention (yes convention not show, I'll explain later) were Joe Whitaker, the vice presient of the International and Randy Irwin, international tech advisor. They are both from Florida, and both with 15 plus years serving with Classic Chevy International. So to say the least they were knowledgeable on just about everything to do with the Classic Chevys. I asked way too many questions of both these fine folks, hoping to bring out a bit of that snobbish cliquish attitude we've heard about for so many years - to no avail! Like everyone connected with this convention
they made a point to be friendly and helpful to all, despite the rainy weather, usual mishaps etc. So the bottom line is, the rumors about CCI attitudes were dead wrong - they are really fine folks!!

Another intresting item about the CCI organization is that they frown on competition between members - thus the convention, not competitive show format. The entries do not compete with each other, only the 1,000 point judging system. As to this hardcore 1,000 point system we've feared for so long - in my opinion it should be used everywhere. It is the fairest, most exacting judging sheet I've ever witnessed. They have points for everything from gas cap to glove box. In other words it's not harsh or hardcore - it's just detailed. Therefore, the more detail you put into your car, the better it rates. So those who spend the extra time, get the extra points. What more could any of us ask for fairness! Points are equal to the following ratings: 850-899=Bronze, 900-949=Silver, 950-969=Gold and finally 970-1000=Platinum.

Furthermore, CCI separates it's classes into Driven and Trailered, Junior for the new guys and Senior for the repeat convention winners, along with the normal original, modified and custom classes to name a
few. This means that as they judge, they're less critical of a driven car than those which may have been trailered. So if you drive a car they forgive a few scratches and blemishes, I witnessed first hand their
fairness and dedication to NOT being critical.

So in closing this topic of Classic Chevy International, the rumors of hard nosed cliquish people we feared were totally unfounded. The only problem we found with this organization, is they just don't offer enough conventions in the Mid-USA.