The Austin-Healey Concours Registry
The Austin-Healey Concours Registry
This page was last updated on $Date: 2004/12/06 11:12:18 $.
The Austin-Healey Concours Registry was created by the Austin-Healey clubs of North America to assist owners in restoring their cars to original standards and to encourage the restoration and maintenance of original cars.
The objectives of the Austin-Healey Concours Registry are to:
The Concours Registry is guided and administered by a Registry Committee composed of individuals desginated by the Austin-Healey clubs of North America and by the Committee itself. The activities of the Committee are directed by a steering group of active members which handles administration, registration, and maintenance of published standards.
Any formally incorporated Austin-Healey club with more than twenty-five dues paying members may designate one of its members to become a member of and serve as liason to the Registry Committee. The Committee may accept additional members because of their interest and ability to contribute, regardless of their club affiliation, by nomination of any current member and acceptance of the steering group.
The Registry is open to all Austin-Healeys, including 100s, 100-Sixes, 3000s, and Sprites. The Registry will recognize cars that have been restored or maintained at an acceptable level of originality in specification and condition by registering them in the Concours Registry and issuing a certificate of registration to the owner of the car.
Acceptance into the Registry is based on passing the inspection of a team of authorized judges, at an inspection sanctioned by the Registry Committee, using the Registry's set of authenticity standards, and point system, following the inspection guidelines established by the Concours Registry Committee.
Awards are based on the car's attainment of one of these levels, rather than on its merit relative to other cars. The awards consist of a certificate noting the year of the award and pertinent data on the car and (optional - owner purchased) a distinctive grille badge showing the Registry emblem and the gold, silver, or bronze level of the award.
Concours Registry inspections are conducted using published originality standards and inspection forms developed by the Registry's steering group. Copies of the policies, standards and inspection forms will be supplied to individual owners on request at a cost to be established each year by the Registry Committee. Funds from these fees cover reproduction costs and underwrite annual revisions. These standards and point systems are reviewed by the steering group and revised as appropriate in the fall of each year. After distribution to current members of the Registry Committee for comment, they are finalized and published, and made available to all enthusiasts.
Note that the standards do not cover all issues that may arise in restoration, particularly of unusual cars. Such issues might include, for instance, an owner's belief that their particular car came from the factory or dealer with a modification or deviation from published or widely accepted production standards. Owners who have purchased Standards may request addflional advice in instances such as these from the steering group responsible for maintenance of the standards. If the steering group reaches a consensus that the deviation from standards will be allowed on the basis of its likely originality, this decision will be communicated in writing to the owner and taken into account in future inspections of that particular car. Information regarding such accepted deviations also will be incorporated in future revisions of standards. Chief judges may also authorize deviations from published standards in the course of inspection if, in their opinion, there is reasonable doubt about the application of published standards to the particular car being inspected.
Registry inspections will normally take place at meets organized by regional or national club clubs, as sanctioned by the Registry Committee on the request of the meet organizers.
For the Order Form for the Big Healey or Sprite Originality Guidelines (specify which), contact:
The above article was taken from the Austin-Healey Concours Registry's "Organization, Policies and Inspection Guidelines", January 1997 revision. The contact information was updated 6 December 2004. Used with permission.
Please send comments, additions, and errors for the SOL Healey web pages to Bob Haskell.
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