Concourse judged car imponderable question

[ford38v8]

That's an excellent question. I can only speak for myself, but will be glad to offer my experience on the subject. Being a judge myself with more than a few meets under my belt, I've seen the pitted manifolds as you describe, but have been reluctant to dock points for any but for two cars in my experience. Those two were so bad, they really stuck out, just begging for deductions.

Manifolds came from the factory unpainted, quickly developing surface rust. For the most part, only cars prepped for the showroom floor were sprayed at the dealerships to hide that surface rust, which burned off soon after it sold. With that information well known among judges, I doubt that many scrutinize manifolds for excessive pitting. In my opinion, a manifold looks more natural when mildly rusted than when painted, so for that reason, I prefer leniency rather than to push for painted.

If NOS or mildly rusted manifolds are indeed plentiful as you say, that's great news for those restorers in need, but then also, cast iron with surface rust does appear pitted to the untrained eye, so maybe that's the more valid answer than my long winded reply!