[Healeys] FW: Contradict myself? Never!

[Rich Chrysler]

Hello all,

I've been sitting here watching a lot of Concours email traffic over the
last number of days, sometimes having to hold back and bite my tongue a few
times about individuals different "take" on the whole subject.

First off, I know Barry Robinson personally, I consider him a good friend,
certainly a caring and informed craftsman and his efforts to build an
accurate Golden Beige BJ8 back in the late '80's was truly remarkable and
exemplary, especially given that era of restorations. His efforts and indeed
his car's judging took place prior to the founding of our National Concours
Registry. I was Chief Judge when it was scored at the Niagara falls Conclave
in 1989.There were no Guidelines, no set policies, no award levels and in
the mists of time and memory, his fantastic BJ8 did not in fact achieve a
"perfect" score. Nothing does, but it was a very high score, and deservedly
so. 

Moving on, the theme of the National Concours Registry is to gather and
maintain the knowledge, the details and the facts as best we can and record
this data into a volume of Guidelines so those who choose can read and
absorb this data, examine exemplary pictures and make an informed choice as
to how they want to build and detail their car. We always stress in the
Guidelines that they are not nearly enough to base your entire accurate
restoration upon, but they are a start. Beyond that, the restorer needs to
seek out a lot more specific detail knowledge in order to score a high Gold,
if that's their desire.

Further, our aim is to try our best to maintain a known and recognized group
of experienced judges who can hopefully examine and evaluate the cars we are
asked to judge. We have 1000 points to work with, which sounds like a lot,
but to cover every aspect of an entire car, we simply don't have the point
allotments to cover every aspect of every detail adequately. So we do our
best to balance the point system. This fact plus the fact that we have the
distinct disadvantage of the judges being human, will always cause minor
point fluctuations in one team vs. another team judging the same car.

That is the reason why we use point levels, and no judging official will
ever reveal actual points awarded with anybody but the owner. The level of
course can and will be revealed to all, and any set of judges will evaluate
a car to at least the same level.

I have presided over a couple of judgings where the points actually did
amount to 996.5 points. We quietly went back over the car feeling that
surely no car could achieve such a perfect score, but we simply could not
find any place we could justifiably change the score, so it remained.

As for driving and maintaining a car built and detailed as closely as is
possible to the original with today's availability of tires, paints,
upholstery, and maintaining original but completely rebuilt generators,
engines, gearboxes, starter motors, voltage regulators, new 48 spoke painted
wire wheels, original design exhaust systems, new but original spec wiring
harnesses, faithful reproductions of original chassis, of course compromise
sneaks in. Each is a choice, but a choice that is hopefully a learned and
informed choice. Given the knowledge, compromise can be kept to an almost
imperceptible minimum, and that to me is the kicker. Over restore? Improve?
Not to where it's obvious wherever possible. 

The look and feel of a 1954 motoring experience in such a car? 

Rich Chrysler
You bet!