What are the AHCR Guidelines:

For more than three decades, a group of dedicated Austin-Healey experts has quietly and meticulously researched, studied and documented our Austin-Healey automobiles.  Their goal was to clearly identify the specific characteristics that make each car “authentic”.  Collectively known as the Austin-Healey Concours Registry (AHCR) Board, the group has produced and updated a body of work that provides an essential reference manual that belongs in the library of every Austin-Healey owner, club, restorer, buyer and enthusiast.

The AHCR Board continues to protect the Austin-Healey Marque.  There can be no question that this process of preserving Historical Accuracy of our cars, brings important information, provides options for an individual owner to pick and choose corrections and restorations to meet his/her desires and with this maintains value for our Austin-Healey.

Owners gain insight into factory changes, production variations, authentic finishes, trim details and component correctness, which will provide options if you desire to change aspects of our car.  It also provides Buyers with the opportunity to ready their car for sale or just maintain a “rider”.

Buyers can use the Guidelines to evaluate a car before purchase and avoid costly mistakes.

Restorers rely on the Guidelines to make informed, historically accurate decisions and provide owners with option during restoration.

Clubs can use the Guidelines for the basis of learning and teaching tools for their members.

The purpose of Concours, as opposed to Popularity judging, is to preserve cars as closely as possible historical accuracy.  While owners may have “upgraded” their vehicles for racing or driving comfort, such changes, except for those which use period or contemporary parts available when the car was new, detract from preserving the pure heritage of these cars.

Objectives of the Concours Registry

The objectives of the Austin-Healey Concours Registry are to provide information, assistance, and encouragement to those who wish to restore and maintain their cars to historical accuracy and quality or to simply pick-and-choose the many options they desire.

In seeking awards, the ACHR also:

• Certifies and maintains a registry of those cars that have been restored to notable levels of historical accuracy.
• Encourage the continuing improvement of cars through a published and supported system of inspection, recognition, and awards.
• Establish consistent and widely accepted standards of condition and originality to assist in restoring cars and determining the quality of restorations.

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 historical accuracy 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 Board, using the Registry’s set of authenticity standards (Score Sheets), and point system, following the inspection guidelines established by the Concours Registry Board. BJ 7 and 8 Cars that have less than 151 points accumulated and all other models that achieve a score of 85 percent of available points by Registry Inspection will be listed with the Registry.  (The Score Sheets are in the process of being revised to a more owner friendly and understandable format.  The BJ7 & BJ8 Score Sheet models have been completed.  All further model score sheets will be completed in 2026-7).

• Cars scored between 85 and 89.9 (and BJ 7 & 8’s with scores between 101 and 150) earn a Bronze Registry Award for the year of inspection.
• Cars scored between 90 and 94.9 (and BJ 7 & 8’s with scores between 51 and 100) earn a Silver Registry Award for the year of inspection.
• Cars scored at least 95 (and BJ 7 & 8’s with scores between 0 and 50) will earn a Gold Registry Award for the year of inspection.

These scores are based on score sheet standard of 1000 points divided by 10 (and for BJ7 & 8’s from 0 to 150). Awards are based on the car’s attainment of one of these levels, rather than on its merit relative to other cars (“popularity” format). The number of each of these awards to be given for any class or model of cars in any given inspection period is not limited. 
The award consists of a certificate noting the year of award and pertinent data on the car. There is no charge for certificates. The owner may purchase a distinctive grille badge indicating the level (gold, silver, or bronze) achieved at additional cost.

Submitting your car for a Concours judging is not the only or last option a car owner has.  Once judged and even achieving an award, still provides options for the owner to submit their vehicle in a “popularity” judging or just maintain a lovely “rider”.

Publication of Policies and Standards

Concours Registry inspections are conducted using published Guidelines (current for the year of judging) and inspection forms developed by the Concours Board. These standards and scoring point systems are reviewed by the Concours Board and revised as appropriate in the fall of each year. After distribution to current members of the Registry Board for comment, they are finalized and published and made available to all enthusiasts. 
When the Guidelines were first developed around 1989, there was very little detailed information available in any of the published literature on Austin-Healeys.

To fill this void, and for a period of over three decades, a group of dedicated Austin-Healey experts quietly and meticulously researched, studied, inspected and documented untouched survivors of our cars.  Their goal was to clearly identify the specific characteristics that make each car “authentic”.  Collectively known as the Austin-Healey Concours Registry (AHCR) Board, the group has produced a body of work that provides an essential reference manual that belongs in the library of every Austin-Healey owner, Club, buyer, restorer and enthusiast.  The Guidelines comprise over 560 pages of detail, including 16 Supplements and well over 1,500 photographs, illustrations and charts documenting the historical accuracy of all Austin-Healey models and years produced.  The Guidelines have also been formatted in searchable form and is a continued living document.  
While the Guidelines are unique in the level of information they provide, they are not 100 percent comprehensive. Thus, they should be used as but one of a number of resources, including other published books, parts and shop manuals, original sales literature, and networking among other owners who have very original cars or who have developed an interest in originality.

As noted, the Guidelines do not cover all questions that may arise in restoration, particularly regarding 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 Guidelines may request additional advice in instances such as these from the Technical Guideline Committee responsible for maintaining that Guideline. If the Committee reaches a consensus that the deviation from standards will be allowed on the basis of its likely originality, this decision will be communicated to the owner and taken into account in future inspections of that particular car. Information regarding such accepted deviations also would be incorporated in future revisions of Guidelines.