How I found and came to eventually talk to Chris Sherman from TiN Restorations epitomizes the spirit and love he has for our Corvette. Recently, I was in a pickle and needed publishable pictures of a beautiful Pennant Blue 1954 Corvette I saw on Facebook during this year’s Bloomington Gold event. After doing a search on the Corvette Forum, I found a post from Chris and reached out to him through a private message. He promptly replied with a simple message, “Give me a call,” and I did. It was that personal and helpful nature that has earned him an admirable reputation in our Corvette community.
Chris was eager to not only help me with the pictures but also offered up his precious time to chat with me personally. Located in Plano, Illinois, a quaint town just southwest of Chicago, Chris specializes in restoring 1953-1962 Corvettes to NCRS and Bloomington Gold standards. He was so excited to share the details of his creation, which had just earned its first prestigious award, the coveted Blooming Gold. He is genuinely old school, and the story of how he got sucked into the Corvette vortex was almost as interesting as his passion for transforming tired old Corvettes into cherished memories.
In part one, we’ll get into the head of somebody who is driven to restore these old classics and what lit the passion within Chris. As an NCRS judge, you’ll also get Chris’s first-hand perspective on the judging process.
Let’s meet Chris.
Some of Chris’s notable awards (as of May 2023):
Some introductory words from Chris:
“We were at Bloomington Gold this weekend. It was a hot one inside but nice and cool on the inside of the Redbird Arena at ISU (now called the CEFCU arena). Great day of judging on Thursday. Car did really really well !!! My customer is super thrilled to get his first Bloomington Gold. Lots of really really nice and rare Corvettes at the show…”
From Tired to Bloomington Gold: A sneak peek at the ’54’s transformation:
Born Into a Love Affair: Let’s get to know Chris better
CorvSport: “What lit the fire? How did you get into restoring old Corvettes?”
Chris’s Corvette journey began literally as a baby, and he fondly remembers his dad’s 1957 Corvette. The use of the word “journey” is not a metaphor, as Chris was still just days old when he took his first impressionable trip home from the hospital in his dad’s ’57. That moment left such a mark that Chris can still vividly recall when his grandmother “made dad sell the ’57“.
As often happens with us Corvette Junkies, Chris was sucked into the Corvette vortex by family, and that explains the passion Chris still nurtures decades later. This passion led Chris to right the wrong, and he set out to reverse the regrettable decision the family made to sell the ’57. He began a mission to find a first-generation Corvette that could inspire the same feelings his dad’s old ’57 did, and eventually landed on, ironically, a 1954 Corvette.
That surrogate Corvette was found in, of all places, a newspaper ad from his hometown. It was located on a military base in Sheridan, Illinois, and interestingly, Chris noted the ole girl still had the oil change stickers intact. Chris brought home that surrogate in 1970, and it has been in the family since then.
The passion that led Chris to find the replacement ‘Vette also led him to turn his love of Corvettes into a successful decades-long career of restoring these old beauties. If only all of us could be so lucky.
A Judge Being Judged: The Bloomington Gold Perspective From an NCRS Judge
“The owner and I stood back.”
I couldn’t imagine the restraint and calmness necessary as your baby, which you nurtured and restored for years, was now in the hands of another judge, two to be specific for this Blooming Gold judging process. But that was Chris’s sentiment as he and the Corvette’s owner, Bob S., waited for the day-long process to finish. Chris was part of the NCRS national team and actually helped create the judging manual for teams.
But at this point, it was all in the hands of the team of two, who would go over the Pennant Blue ’54 from head to tail: exterior, interior, chassis, and mechanical. For Chapters and Bloomington Gold, it was a one-day judging process, and for Regionals and Nationals, these teams spent two days dissecting and examining every crevice of the subject Corvette.
And standing back is what they did. The hard part was over. The grit, determination, and bloody knuckles that transformed this old classic Corvette into a coveted award winner were already in the bank. The six-figure investment, along with hundreds of hours, was behind them. The judging process was the “fun” part, made even more rewarding as Bob’s stunning Pennant Blue 1954 Corvette won its first Bloomington Gold Award.
CorvSport: “What was the biggest challenge with Bob’s Pennant Blue ’54?”
Chris: “The Pennant Blue color was 1 of 300, and the toughest part was getting the color correct. We had to make sure we didn’t over-restore the body and could have spent 200 more hours of blocking. We had to hold back and do as ‘crappy’ as they did in 1954… as close to factory.”
Here is one more teaser before we finish up with part two in October.
Thanks for joining CorvSport on the first installment of our new “Meet The Build And Builder” series. Get ready for part two because it will be a fun ride. We will introduce you to the Pennant Blue’s owner, Bob S. from Batavia, Illinois, and how he came to find this “survivor grade” Corvette. Then, we’ll detail the intensive years-long build, with 40+ pictures to entertain you! Until then, this is Douglas B. signing off. Click here if you would like to see more of my features.
