Rarity at its finest: Bloomington Gold Corvette show returns this weekend (2024)

NORMAL— Another year means another Bloomington Gold Corvette show with thousands of Corvette, Camaro and all-around car enthusiasts driving into Bloomington-Normal this weekend.

"We're doing well this year, and in a lot of ways, we're ahead of schedule," said Guy Larson, president of Bloomington Gold Corvettes, ahead of the show. "We've got some of the icons of the industry coming this year that have not been here in recent years, so it will be cool to see everyone."

The 52nd Bloomington Gold Corvettes show is in town Friday and Saturday at Illinois State University with an array of Corvettes on display, including the show's special Gold Collection showcasing rare fuel injected Corvettes and, reportedly, the first ever manufactured Corvette.

The show first began in 1973 as a gathering of Corvette owners at the McLean County Fairgrounds and was first known as the Bloomington Corvette Corral.

Over the years, the event has been held in various locations including Springfield, St. Charles, Champaign and Indianapolis.

Judging on preservations and restorations

At ISU's CEFCU Arena, Corvette and Camaro owners will have their cars judged by gold certified experts and compete in several categories for their efforts to preserve and restore their cars.

Bloomington Gold is one of only two entities that judge and certify Corvettes in the United States; the other is the National Corvette Restorers Society.

The categories for judging range from Survivor Certification, for unrestored Corvettes that are "worn in but not worn out" in the exterior, interior, chassis and engine, to Gold Certification for Corvettes that are preserved or restored within 95% of the original production of the vehicle.

Other certifications include a Gold Certification for Camaros and the Benchmark, which is awarded to Corvettes that attain Gold Certification and excel in all four categories of Survivor Certification during the same weekend.

Resto Mod certification is offered to Corvettes that are restored and modified more than 50% from the factory condition in the exterior, interior, chassis and engine.

In addition to this weekend's show in Bloomington-Normal, Bloomington Gold will also be held in Dallas in September and Kissimmee, Florida, in January 2025 for judging only.

"The reason we're going to those locations is because it's hard for people from all ends of this country to bring their cars to Bloomington for judging," Larson said. "We're going into a couple corners and getting cars that may not always come this far from where they are."

Rarity on display

Vendors will be available throughout the event in the swap lot and patio outside as well as ISU's Horton Field House, which will have two 1967 L88 Corvettes, equipped with 427 cubic-inch big-block V8s, on special display.

One of the 1967 L88 Corvettes is referred to as "The Ultimate L88," with deep blue paint across the sides, stark white paint running from the hood to the back, a red accent strip through the middle and the number "9" accented over the body panels. This model has the serial number 21550 and is known for being the best-documented example of a 1967 L88 Corvette.

The other 1967 L88 Corvette is a Le Mans Racer with its original race white livery and number "89" accented around the body. It raced in the 1967 Le Mans qualifications, delivering a record-setting performance and hitting 171.5 mph.

Both of these L88 Corvettes are valued upwards of $10 million each and are of 17 remaining 1967 L88 Corvettes that were manufactured by General Motors and engineered by Zora Arkus-Duntov, a Belgian-born American engineer whose work on the vehicle model netted him the title “Father of the Corvette."

David Burroughs, one of the founders of Bloomington Gold, and Corvette expert Justin Shaffer will be giving a seminar on the L88 as part of Gold School, which are featured seminars led by some of the most iconic Corvette experts from throughout the country.

Other seminars include "Early Days of Corvette Gatherings" with Burroughs and Mike Jaeger, founder of Mid America Motorworks in Effingham who hosts Corvette Funfest in September, as well as "Meet the #001 Corvette" with historian Corey Peterson.

The reportedly first ever manufactured Corvette from 1953 with a serial number of "001" will be under a tent on a patio between the Horton Field House and CEFCU Arena for attendees to check out and learn more about the verification process of how it was deemed the very first Corvette.

Organizers said this year the Gold Collection is a salute to the fuel injected Corvettes, which offered increased power and acceleration, faster cold starts and better overall fuel economy. Their Ramjet fuel injection systems were offered from 1957 until 1965 and were built into only 11,400 Corvettes.

About 30 of these rare fuel injected Corvettes will be on display in the Bone Student Center and will be the first time that all four Gulf Oil Corvette Racers will be featured in one showcase. These race cars were sponsored by the Gulf Oil Corporation and include Corvettes like the 1961 #11 Racer, 1962 #2 Racer, 1963 #38 Z06 and 1963 #1 Z06 named "Gulf One."

There will also be three pre-production, fuel injected 1963 Corvettes on display.

"I tell a lot of my friends that if you bought a ticket and all you got to do is go (see) that Gold Collection, it would be worth the admission costs," Larsen said. "You could study these cars and their early production and see the differences."

The impact and tour up Route 66

More than 10,000 people are projected to attend the event with 3,000-4,000 Corvettes cruising their way around Bloomington-Normal.

Crystal Howard, president and CEO of the Bloomington-Normal Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the direct economic impact of Bloomington Gold is estimated over $900,000, based on projected attendees and sales from hotels, food, gas and shopping.

Howard said there is a lot of collaboration that needs to take place in order for an event like this to happen, and the organizers, ISU and both the town and city are prepared to host visitors from all over the country.

Other events will be pulling attention in Bloomington-Normal on Saturday as well, including the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market, the Saturdays on the Square concert downtown featuring Santeria: A Tribute to Sublime, and the WWE's Supershow Summer Tour at Grossinger Motors Arena, Howard said.

"It does take a collaboration between all these entities to be able to host these events," Howard said. "The economic impact, but also our quality of life is great because there are so many things to choose from. We have something for everyone."

This year's Bloomington Gold Tour parade will see thousands of Corvettes driving up Route 66 to Lexington on Saturday for the first time in over 20 years, with help from the McLean County Highway Department.

Lexington Mayor Spencer Johansen said he can remember directing traffic during the tour when he was chief of police, but this year, as mayor, he will get the opportunity to sit back and enjoy.

Johansen said resident Chuck Wright Sr. and former Mayor Frank Feigl played a huge part in bringing the tour to the city's Main Street back then, and he cannot help but think of those two as they gear up for the return of the Corvettes.

"We've been working hard to build up our Main Street and our business, and events like this always help," Johansen said. "We'll have people bring their lawn chairs up on the sidewalk and cheer them on as they go by."

The parade route will start at ISU, just north of 709 N. Main Street in Normal, take Old Route 66 north towards Lexington before wrapping around to Lake Bloomington and ending later in uptown Normal for the after party.

The event is free and open to the public. It will feature food, drinks and live music by The Black Diamond Experience: Neil Diamond Tribute.

For more information about the show, its schedule and tickets, visit bloomingtongold.com.