This has been both fun and painful to watch. It always seems to get people upset and defensive. To answer the question, there is really no true, agreed upon standard of judging for the Sunbeam Alpine - at least here in America. When Ian and I began discussing the formation of this club we tried to tackle the idea of setting the standard, with a judge's manual and everything (using the AACA National Judging manual as a guideline) but in the end realized we just don't have enough people on board, with the same understanding of what would define "stock" and "factory". Plus, in the end, who really cares? I've been with the Bloomington Gold crowd and their pristine Corvettes - those guys are scared to death to actually start their cars and drive them, so where's the fun in that? They nit pick over whether the screw should have a phillips head or a slotted head. They agonize over how much overspray should be on certain chassis parts to get it "just right". Why? Weren't these vehicles meant to be driven and enjoyed?
Now before everyone starts pointing the purist finger back at me (I would deserve it since I've flown that flag for years), realize I don't enter my car into any real judged events because it too could be picked apart. It's a nicely done Series 3 (with original rubber mats!) but it also has a Weber for daily driving, a Pertronix ignition system, some reproduction parts, and Ed's patented voltage regulator under the dash. If I really wanted to make a 100 point Alpine I would have to spend A LOT more money and get so anal about it that I wouldn't be able to truly enjoy the car.
Let's pick on Bob Webb for a minute (mainly because it's fun, he's been active on this thread, and he's got a really nice car). Bob and I attended the British car show down in South Carolina, the one hosted by Eric Gibeaut and Todd Smith. While Bob was trailering his pristine Alpine (enclosed trailer), Ian and I jumped into my Alpine and drove the entire distance (I believe round trip was something like 1,200 miles). I would argue we had more fun - we got the full Alpine experience - we lived in the car for three days, listening to all the various bumps and squeeks, always wondering if something would break. In the end we both thought "this is what it's all about". Bob didn't get that experience. Once he arrived he pulled his car out of the trailer and then drove around the town. Where's the fun in that? Now, in Bob's defense, he and his wife spent a ton of money on the restoration of that car, and it shows, but I for one do not want to have to worry about any bugs hitting my chrome, or whether the mud got splashed up under the car during a drive. I guess it really comes down to your personal philosphy - he and I are enjoying our cars in different ways.
Back to concours judging for a minute. Unless we're all willing to accept some governing body's interpretation of what "stock" and "factory" are, there will always be heated arguments and debates. Part of the difficulty in establishing a baseline is there is very little of the factory records left, which means we have to rely upon actual survivors, press photos, and other documentation to determine what's right. The BMC guys for example have it made - all the factory records exist, so it's easy to determine what's correct and what's not. Then you get into the value of the car. Until the Alpine really starts to have some true collector value, work like constructing a judging manual just won't happen. With the Tiger's value climbing steadily over the yeasr, people realized they'd better start defining these things to uphold and justify the climbing values. (not to mention all the fakes popping up on the market).
I don't know, maybe I'm getting older, wiser, and I'm seeing this through a different lens. Twenty years ago I would have stepped over my dead grandmother's body for a car like John Boggis has - over for Ian's Harrington A. But these days I'm content with what I have, and will enjoy it as I see fit. You'll notice for the Invasion we have a very informal awards process - basically popular choice. That way everyone has a chance and we all have a good time.
Sorry for the rambling. In summary, I don't think the Alpine world has matured enough yet, and the values are not there yet, for us to consider writing the definitive concours judging manual. We're too disorganized and fractionalized at the moment.
