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Events News
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Events News
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Select an event below: Members Trip To The 2006 Le-Mans Classic Healey Drivers Club Trip To Germany Rally Report From The Trafalgar Way Run The Story Of The Prototype Healey BN3, as told by Malcolm Lorraine Stuart Turner at The Ponsmere Hotel, Perranporth A Grand Day Out At MPH Motor Panels
Following my recent trip abroad (to the Isle of Wight!), my next outing in the Midget was a weeklong visit to the West Country to see family. To ensure AKU wasn’t over stretched on this extended journey from Essex, dad had planned a halfway stop near Stonehenge on the outward journey with a two nights stop near Salisbury on the return. We left home in bright weather with the top down which seems compulsory in a Midge. Fortunately however, the windstop protected my furry ears from the cold wind. The journey was our usual ‘avoid motorways and main roads’ route to the west country that passes through Hertford and Hemel Hempstead. After a lunch stop near Tring, we followed the Chiltern Hills and passed through a string of villages which all seemed to feature speed humps (not good in a Midget). Once out of Buckinghamshire, the route over the chalk hills of the Berkshire Downs with their winding roads certainly made up for it. On arrival at our accommodation, the owners kindly offered the use of a barn to park the car overnight so the roof was left down ready for tomorrow. The forecast for day 2 was good although it was a little dull to start. After passing the magnificent Stonehenge, our route was along the A303 to Exeter where we stopped. After carrying out some family history research, we continued using the M5 and then A38. As we were ahead of schedule, we decided to go to Plymouth, our destination, via Dartmoor. From Bovey Tracey, we climbed to Houndtor and passed through Widecombe, Postbridge, Two Bridges to Princetown. By now the sky ahead was looking very heavy with rain in the distance but we managed to arrive at my aunt’s before the rain started. The 280 mile journey had been so tiring for me that I stayed at home on day 3 whilst dad and mum visited their new great niece. Day 4 was part of the reason for the timing of the visit as I went on the Exmoor Rut, a classic car run organised by the Healey Drivers Club, which dad had previously entered and thoroughly enjoyed. My uncle and aunt also took their Morris Minor. After an early breakfast, we headed for the start at the South Devon Railway station, Buckfastleigh. The ‘home team’ included 100’s, 3000’s, Sprites and Jensen whilst the ‘ away team’ included Austin, Jaguar, Morris, Triumph and of course lots of MG’s. A total of 80 cars with us being the furthest travelled. After collecting our instructions, we watched the splendid cars start to leave from 0930 but had decided to wait until towards the end of the field. As we drew up to the start line, the marshal raised the Union flag to send us on our way – I gave him a wave but I don’t think he noticed me sitting behind mum.
The opening section to Exeter included both stretches of the old A38 that had long since been bypassed as well as the modern A38. The sun was trying to burn through but there were misty patches at times. At Chudleigh, a burst water main necessitated a diversion. Soon, classic cars were seen going in all directions trying to find a way out of the new housing development but was only achieved by enlisting the help of residents. Then followed a steep climb through Haldon Forest before descending to enter Exeter and leave the mist behind us. After passing through the city, we followed the River Exe to Tiverton. On leaving the town, we were unable to find the North Devon Link referred to in the instructions and made our only error of the day. Due to traffic, we decided to turn left on the A361 when we should have crossed it as it was the North Devon Link!! A u turn soon got us back on route. The roads were smaller and the route even more interesting as we crossed into Somerset to finally enter the village of Dulverton. Here we passed a pony being lead through the village centre and I seemed to be attracting attention. I thought all classic cars had a teddy bear as a passenger! A long steep climb up onto Exmoor to Spire Cross followed and it was here we decided to stop for our picnic. Although a cool breeze was blowing, we sat in the lee of the cars watching the sheep, cattle and ponies grazing on the sun lit hills. After a short run to the pretty village of Winsford, where we walked and admired the thatched Royal Oak Inn and other buildings, we headed to Exford followed by yet another long, narrow and steep climb. At Hillhead, we decided to drive directly over the moor to avoid the infamous Porlock Hill as the Minor had a habit of jumping out of first gear and the long steep climb and windy road would have proved very challenging for uncle. The view along the coast beyond Porlock was superb as the adults sampled some of the West Country’s finest ice cream. A shortish climb led to the appropriately named County Gate where we passed back into Devon before the long and steep (up to 1 in 4) descent of Countisbury Hill to Lynton. Then followed a lovely windy section following the River Lyn through Myrtlebury Cleeve before heading over Brendon Common to Simonsbath. South Moulton with its Georgian architecture followed before the final 15 mile run to the finish at the Fox & Hounds Hotel, Eggesford. The 115 miles through beautiful scenery with roads just made for enjoying a MG had been long and hard but the cream tea made it all worth it (for the adults at least). Whilst returning to Plymouth (53 miles), the Midget spluttered to a halt having run out of petrol – on a half-full gauge. Luckily, dad had packed a can of petrol so we were soon on our way. After breakfast, the car was repacked but the hood was left up as it was raining. This time, I was seated behind the driver to free up a bit more space for some early Christmas presents. Our first stop was in the South Hams to collect some items left in a cottage during our visit last year. Then it was off to join the M5 near Exeter, via Totnes and Newton Abbot, for a short while before joining the A30 then A303. Soon a sign warned that the road was closed so we followed a diversion, which seemed to be heading for Taunton. After 3 miles, dad stopped to consult the map and decided to ‘do his own thing’ (you know what he is like!) and try and rejoin the A303. Yes, know-it-all was right this time. Soon we arrived at the Sparkford exit for our lunch stop with friends. Suitably refreshed (what about me?), we continued on the A303 for 30 miles before exiting for our B&B near Salisbury. Day 6 was mainly spent in Salisbury although I did get a short run through some nearby villages with their lovely thatched stone cottages. The forecast for the final day was dull and damp so it was more hood up driving. We drove along the Test valley, reputed to be the cleanest river in England, to head for Berkshire. After refilling at Tadley, (they now know to fill up on half full), we continued northwards towards Aldermaston. However, mum soon said a few signs pointed to villages on our left when, according to the map, they should have been on our right. Finally, the penny dropped when we passed a North Hampshire hospital – we had been driving southwards!! Oh for a sat nav or some sun. We retraced our steps to find the correct route towards Aldermaston. As we headed to Aylesbury, the heavens opened and the tiny wipers struggled to cope with the rain, but the A329 and A418 were thankfully speed humps free. Then followed the A41 to Hemel Hempstead to re join the outward route to finally arrive home at 1600 after a total of 850 miles. Phew tiring but fun. MG Ted
This years event on Sunday 22nd October enjoyed a record entry of 95 cars but reduced on the actual day due to illness and a rather dubious weather forecast for the day concerned for those that started from Buckfastleigh Station, home of the South Devon Railway.
The event was again well supported by owners of MG’s, Morgan’s,
Triumph’s, together with a Porsche, a Dino Ferrari and a clutch of Stags to
spice the line up, apart from those faithful few with A-H’s.
Suitably refreshed, the participants were flagged away by our stalwart,
Mike Beardsmore, with Martyn Norsworthy taking photographs at the startline
(those wanting photo’s please contact Martyn on 01548-853271). As much as
possible of the old A.38 route was used, passing thru’ Ashburton, our Natter
stop The Welcome Stranger at Bickington, to Chudleigh and using the old coaching
road to Exeter thru’ the Haldon Forest before diverting via Dunchideock and
Ide and crossing the river at Exe Bridges in Exeter.
The route then followed alongside the River Exe, crossing at Bickleigh
Bridge, thence to Tiverton and Bampton and Dulverton for a loo and coffee stop.
By this time the rain was increasing in severity as we climbed thru’ the
colourful woods, avoiding numerous pheasants intent on eating beech nuts – I
suppose its one way of obtaining lunch! We drove out onto Exmoor, by-passing the
oldest bridge in Britain, “Tarr Steps,” before dropping down to the village
of Winsford. By this time the stalwarts had to put up their hoods as the rain
was now coming down with serious intent, unlike those taking part on the Exmoor
Trial coming towards us in the opposite direction, but the competitors were all
suitably clothed in open trials cars, MG’s and Marlins cheerfully waving to us
in the dry as we sped onwards to Exford !
Exford afforded an early pub lunch for some before returning onto Exmoor
at Hillhead Cross and the back route onwards to Porlock via Cloutsham Farm and
the watersplash in East Water Valley, then passing Webbers Post and Horner
Water. It was prior to this point on our route reconnaissance only two weeks
before this event we had marvellous views across the Bristol Channel deep into
south Wales and we spotted a herd of Red Deer complete with attendant Stag ! The
rutting season was in full swing- no need for the BBC Autumn Nature Watch!
A very wet Porlock village and Weir greeted us for our lunch stop, even
the walkers were attempting to shelter as best as they could in the loos! A
stiff climb up the famous Porlock Hill presented
very few problems except, when halfway up the hill, we passed into thick
fog which continued all the way to Lynmouth, hiding those lakes of water right
across the road and causing those with doubtful electrics a host of problems,
even into the cars cockpits – a few had to return home prematurely!
Leaving Lynmouth we passed up thru’ the Lyn and Mytrleberry Cleaves,
and by now we had a red 3000
keeping us company, which made motoring very much more interesting, especially
with our newly modified brakes now needing adjustment. We sped over the moor to
Simonsbath, crossing a very swollen River Barle, to
Five Barrows Cross and South Molton. By this time we could see the
weather clearing and patches of something reminiscent of sunshine - all be it watery!
From South Molton we dropped down to Mole valley to Fortescue Cross and
then alongside River Taw to finish at Eggesford’s “Fox and Hounds” for an
excellent cream tea.
Looking on the positive side, there was almost a complete lack of visitor
traffic on the roads-so it was a case of swings and splashes! Several stated
that they were going to re-visit the route on a fine day, especially around
Exmoor! CL-J.
Tales from a
‘Healey Traveller’ to Le-Mans 2006 When
Cecil said”I have just the thing for you Allan, how would you like a ride to
Le-Mans in June?” little did I realise what an amazing experience was about to
unfold. Being
a driver of a reasonable car, (Audi TT Roadster), I think he wanted to show me
what travelling in a real British sports car was all about and along the way,
provide an experience I will certainly never forget. Wednesday
14th June 2006 We
were to meet at Exeter on the Wednesday evening and drive to Poole to catch the
overnight Ferry. Therefore, my wife Alison duly dropped me off with time to
spare at Cecil’s house and after he completed his last music lesson, we set
off at 5.15pm for Exeter. Wow!
That first blast up the dual carriageway slightly took my breath away until we
arrived at the relative calm of the Exeter services and met up with our fellow
Healey Drivers Club travellers. (Two Healey 3000’s, a Sprite and of course
Cecil’s 100-4 or was it 6?). The run down to Poole was sedatory with the odd
disappearance for toilet stop and refreshments at a local hostelry in the middle
of nowhere. This I think set the scene for the rest of the trip, a good hearty
meal, lots of chat and humour, Oh, and a drop of liquid to keep us going. After
a suitable rest, on we go and drive straight on to the ferry as if they were
expecting us, and “line up please gentlemen behind the Aston DB9 and mind the
Ferrari Dino on your left”. I have a vague recollection of sitting in the bar
for a while then attempting to sleep in a so-called recliner.
Thursday
15th June 2006 We
arrive safely, dock and are off the ship at 6am searching immediately for fuel
for Dave’s Sprite. This turned out to be a theme for each of our stages during
the weekend. (If we lost one of our convoy, it was usually the ‘toilet stop’
or ‘Dave needs fuel again’.) Quite strange really in that the older we all
get the more we need to let out, whereas the older the cars get the more they
need to top up! Sightseeing
en-route consisted of a flying visit to St Maire-Eglise for historic briefing of
American significance and a second town to search for the former German flagpole
in a wartime personal photo belonging to one of our group. We didn’t find the
pole but managed a suitable peti-dejeuner and were back on the road and straight
down to Le-Mans and Arnage to watch the ‘posers’, ‘boy racers’, and take
on some liquid refreshment. After
a suitable pause, it was our chief navigators task (Chris), to find the hotel on
the other side of the city. He managed to find us the most scenic route he
could, but I am sure I saw the sign for St Maire-Eglise again! We found it,
checked in and back to the track via taxi to sign in, get passes, join the rest
of the Healey group for food, a little liquid, and occasionally have a look at
some of the late evening/night time practice. By
this time, we had been up 18hrs with about 2hrs or less sleep on the ferry.
Somehow, we managed to find a taxi back to the hotel. I do not remember going to
sleep but I do remember getting up at dawn, (8.00am) the next day. Friday
16th June 2006 The drivers decide that the ‘Le-Mans virgins’ need to experience the thrill of the Mulsanne straight so off we go back to the Arnage corner to join the Le-Mans circuit. As we accelerate down the first straight we see the brake lights go on ahead as all cruisers slow down past the speed trap. There are so many cars on the circuit including Healeys, Astons, Ferraris, and Porches either driving or parked up it becomes impossible to drive fast. So we cruise down the Mulsanne straight and head back to the assembly point outside the city for the ‘Great British Welcome. This
is one of the serious bits of the trip. We sign in; get the car badges and line
up with other Healey Drivers Club members and a fantastic range of Classic and
Vintage cars from Britain, Italy and France. The whole village turns out for
what is best described as a village Fete with cars of all types on view, stalls,
food and drink. After two hours of rest and relaxation, (Cecil fell asleep),
suitably refreshed, the Gendarmes brief the drivers for the parade. The
Harley Davidson drivers are deputed by the Gendarmes to escort the parade into
Le-Mans and off we go at 4pm. It
is quite difficult to explain in words what the next 5hrs was like if you were
not there. The trip started with a gentle run through the village with the
schoolchildren waving Union Jacks and people lining the streets waving and
cheering as we pass by. The Harley boys and girls hold up the traffic as we make
our way into Le-Mans and I did not see anyone moaning. There were horns going,
waving from cars and a fantastic atmosphere as we approached the centre. We
were parked in car groups outside the cathedral by 5.30pm and I estimated there
were probably 250,000 people in and around the city centre. The
main parade started at 6pm with the racing teams in the back of vintage cars and
the various car groups forming line astern behind them interspersed with
marching bands. We eventually join the parade at about 8pm and by now there were
probably even more people in the centre. What an amazing final hour of the
parade. Driving through the streets, with thousands of people cheering, really
appreciating the Healeys, and particularly the frog on the windscreen of
Dave’s Sprite. (Not sure how many of the French fans saw the irony of this
one!) Cecil’s swig of a pint glass that he thought was beer and turned out to
be Jack Daniels. Lot’s of really happy people just mad about cars, the
festival and having fun. We
eventually get to the end of the parade, and while the main group go back to the
parking area and go on to relax over a meal in the city, Cecil and I drive back
to the track. Here we join the ‘drinking for Holland’ group, and he gets
straight up on to the scaffold to play keyboard with ‘The Flying Baguettes’.
At about 1.00am we head back to the Hotel and all I can say is “What a Day”. Saturday/Sunday
17th/18th June 2006 Race days! We all returned to the track by car or taxi and spent the early part of Saturday browsing the village, checking out the best vantage points and getting in position later on for the start. Both days were very hot, so plenty of liquid refreshment was required along with the hats, suntan cream, and occasional sojourn in a shady bar area. With
the excitement of the start over and the race settling down, Audi’s were out
in front, Pescarlos chasing and the Astons and Corvettes already starting to vie
for leadership of their class, it was back to the City for some food in the old
part of the town. A fantastic meal, a wander round the narrow streets, an
examination and discussion working out the wall frescos on the Astronomers House
and back to the track for the nighttime racing. A fantastic evening rounded off
with the cars hammering round the track brakes glowing, fireworks going off
everywhere and a final blast driving back to the hotel through the centre of a
quiet city centre in the early hours. The
final day at Le-Mans began with an early breakfast and back to the track to
check the progress of various teams. A leisurely lunch outside the ACO
hospitality area and back in position opposite the pit straight to witness the
closing stages. A great finishing spectacle with the racing teams forming up for
a final parade lap with all cars receiving warm applause, cheers, klaxons as
they eventually peel off into the compound. The
final ceremony with teams receiving awards high over the start/finish line is
amazing with thousands of spectators spilling out on to the track, the pit lane
and just about anywhere to support there teams. We were then able to stroll down
the pit lane and view some of the unsuccessful cars being towed back to garages
in various degrees of ‘roadworthiness’ before a last visit to the village to
snap up a few bargains. A
final meal in the centre of Le-mans with one or two…… cognacs! And off to
the hotel tired but relaxed at the end of an amazing few days. The final drive back to the ferry port comprised a quick blast across Normandy and Brittany to Roscoff via a food stop, rain, and an interesting diversion and discussion with the local Gendarmes. (We really were not driving that fast, I think they just wanted a good look at the cars. As
somebody once said, “the journey in life is far more important than the
destination”, and this trip for me provided one incredible journey with a
great bunch of Healey enthusiasts, and an experience I will remember for a long
time. Thanks
Cecil(ia)!!!!!!
Allan Brooks – June
2006
Healey Drivers Club Germany TripI’ll
start with an apology. I have no
skill in writing travelogues or accurate accounts of times and places, so if I
get names wrong the reader can put it down to senility or the fact that I mostly
see things on an emotional level - which sometimes is a curse but mostly a
blessing!!! So - here
goes!!! Austin
Healey Drivers Club trip to Germany - 2005.
There - that’s the official bit out of the way!!! How can the
feeling be described after crossing the channel very fast from a windblown, grey
Dover afternoon, and emerging quite suddenly to a balmy blue sky in Boulougne?
The warmth of the French sunshine, lifts the spirits - fleeces get thrown
off, something weird happens with men’s trousers - they suddenly unzip
something (steady on girls) and the trousers become shorts - so that the
huddled, cold middle-aged people, are now looking bronzed and a bit cosmopolitan
carrying an air of readiness for the holiday ahead.
There’s excitement in the air, another adventure is beginning, and the
sun is shining.
Who says that
it is only boys who enjoy driving very fast around racetracks?
There is a lady (and she knows who she is) who is also a speed freak!
The Nurburgring was enjoyable for all of us - not just the fun and
exhilaration of driving the racecourse, but the surrounding countryside was
great for early morning walks. Nurburg
itself boasts a beautiful castle set up in the hillside, providing a backdrop
for the constant buzz of motorbikes and classic racing cars, which invade this
quiet German village all year round.
Before we leave
Nurburg, it’s worth mentioning (for those with a gastronomic So, pleasantly
plump, we reluctantly leave this area behind, and stay just outside Heidelberg.
We took a tram into the city centre and after walking around this very
pretty town, celebrated Chris and Di’s wedding anniversary in style. Next day,
to Lonsee. Lonsee is rural
Germany at its best - pretty houses with wooden shutters and beautiful summer
flowers spilling out from every window box.
The countryside is flat and gentle, tidy farmyards merge with the village
houses and it was here at Lonsee that we were met with warm, generous German
hospitality. Anna and Jergen,
Helmet and Valtroude, Rudy and Barbara, our hosts for three days, gave us all
comfortable beds and wonderful food, whilst still finding time to take us out
and about to see the sights. Ulm is
a chocolate box picture of a town, boasting the highest church spire in Germany,
and also some of the oldest town houses, which come straight from a fairytale,
with beams and crooked walls leaning towards the river that meanders through the
town. I now pass the
pen or mouse, to Cecil to describe our visit to the Mercedes factory, which
requires a more technical approach. How technical can one be who was wearing
Helmut’s Lederhosen and dancing a Bavarian cha cha during the
Emerging from
the train station in Munich up into the city is another shock to the senses.
The buildings, majestic, ornate, and by their height alone, slightly
intimidating, pushed up to a clear blue summer sky.
We sat for an hour drinking coffee and watching the bustle of the city.
We were here to take another journey - this time a personal one for
Cecil, as we were visiting the house where he had been born, and lived for the
first two years of his life. What a
wonderful city - great for shopping and sightseeing - the Germans have a taste
for comfort - so every few yards in Munich there is a cooling fountain, or
pleasant seating area. How
thoughtful for the weary traveller!! We
all spent another day there - some spent more time than others in the
Hofbrauhaus - there are worse places to while away an hour or two!!!!
It’s strange how a taste or the memory of a taste will come back to
you, weeks after coming home, and for me the combination of the cool, clear beer
and a crisp golden pretzel, will be the taste of Germany. And I thought the Americans invented pretzels! Bavaria in
Austin Healeys - warm sunshine, beautiful I think for
most of us the Black Forest area was the most memorable and beautiful -
something about saving the best for last, and this was true of both of our last
stops in terms of hotels. Our
hotel in the Black Forest was perched on the side of a mountain, and for miles
we saw pine forests shrouded in mists. The
food was home-cooked and for me, the best we had eaten in Germany, our hosts
very charming, and the wine plentiful.
Sometimes we all have a special moment on a trip when the thought comes
“I don’t want to leave this place” and for me it was sitting very alone
and very quiet on the side of the mountain, listening to the sounds of the
night, owls, cow-bells, crickets and occasionally a raucous laugh from the bar! The emotional
journeys, and the sense of retracing the steps of our loved-ones continued in
France, where we travelled through the Verdonne area and onto Arras.
It was here at Arras that we saw for ourselves what the term Garden of
Remembrance really means, for the white crosses, set in miles of green lawn,
with flashes of pink and red flowers, looks for all the world like an ethereal
garden. A special time for all of us, sad and yet maybe a chance to
finally let go. Sandra was
able to find a record of a close relative and it was good to be with friends in
this beautiful and yet terrible place. Our last hotel
in France, close to Boulougne was delightful - set in a small French village.
We ate like Kings and Queens yet again, listened to some good piano
playing, managed a quick walk in the morning, before the reluctant drive to the
ferry, which carried us much too quickly across the channel.
The Healeys seemed to fly back past Stone Henge and across Salisbury
plains - maybe they needed a rest - it was an all action holiday for us old -
timers, but again, what a trip, new friends, new attitudes, and apparently in
2007, Cecil and I are planning the route for the South of France - either we
will spend a lot of time driving around in circles, or we will find a pleasant
hostelry, somewhere by the sea that serves good food and cheap wine and just
stay put for a fortnight.
Felicity
& Cecil Du Valle
The Trafalgar Way Run
Sunday 30th October saw “The Trafalgar Way Run” for Classic Cars take place, starting from the Gyllyngvase Car Park, Falmouth flagged away by The Mayor of Falmouth (Councillor Roger Bonney) and Mrs. Wendy Greet (5th Great-niece of Lt. John Richards Lapenotiere) in brilliant summer-like weather. Prior to the departure a collection was made on behalf of the “Poppy Day” appeal (total collected amounted to £85.25p) in line with Admiral Nelson’s wishes that, on humanitarian grounds after the battle, all effort was to be made to rescue and save crews, friend or foe, prior to HM Schooner Pickle being despatched to England.
Devon and Cornwall Centre of the MG Car Club organised the event, commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Lt.Lapenotiere’s landing at Fish Strand Quay, Falmouth from the Pickle on Monday 4th November 1805, where a post chaise was hired to take despatches of the victory at Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Lord Nelson to the Admiralty in London. This event was supported by St. Austell Brewery, who kindly permitted the organising club the use of the motif from their prize winning beer “Admirals Ale” to adorn the Rally Plaque.
Some 90 classic cars followed in spirit, as near as humanly possible, most of the original route passing through Truro, Fraddon (Blue Anchor Inn), Bodmin, Launceston, Okehampton, Crockernwell and Exeter (all horse/post chaise changeover points). It is believed to be the first such event to use part of “The Trafalgar Way” in the form of a Tour for Classic Cars, and it finished at the Lord Haldon Hotel at Dunchideock, near Exeter for a Cream Tea.
The Healey BN3 Prototype Story - NWD
977
As I remember, it began for me the day in 1959 that a
friend of mine and I walked into Jock Lloyd’s salvage yard in Ashford in
Middlesex just really more or less to see if there was anything interesting
there and found for sale a burnt out Austin Healey which looked basically a
cockpit burn out. The lower half of the car was still visibly Colorado Red. The
tyres etc were still good and I said, “Yes, I’m going to re-build it.”
He replied “I hope it keeps fine for you! It’s not an easy task.” Anyway, that night I got the car into the garage and
worked until the early hours of the morning cleaning out all the burned material
from the cockpit side of it and removing any bits of melted metal and wires etc.
and in the morning when I had finished, the car look reasonably presentable
except it had no inside, just the seat frames. Under the seats was the remains
of the red trim and carpet. No dashboard, the instruments were melted, the
steering wheel was melted, the front shroud was melted through, but the grill
was still there shining and the bumpers were still there shining. The old car
looked as though it was going to start life again. After quite a lot more nights
and weekends working on this car, I realised that it was not exactly the same as
the other Healeys I had seen at the time. Definitely not the same as an ordinary
Healey 100. It had four seats, two occasional seats in the back. It also had
easy clean wheels. Most of the cars I had seen up until then had wire wheels. It
also had a six-cylinder engine but not knowing a great deal about Healeys at the
time I realised that there were probably ones different than the ones I had
seen.
After a while I realised that most of the parts from
a Healey 100 would fit. I found the remains of a Healey 100 in a scrap yard with
very little left on it except the dashboard with most instruments minus the speedo and rev counter. It also had the steering wheel and some other bits that
I needed. I then got in contact with a firm, which made wiring looms, and they
also said that they had never heard of a BN3, so I described it to them and they
said, “No it’s a BN1. We will make you up a loom for a BN1.” That is what
they did and in finding some more bits and pieces; I found a rev counter. I
couldn’t get a speedometer. I managed to find a firm to make me a speedometer
and they told me how to roll the car along the floor and mark the floor and make
turns of the wheel to one of the cables and they calibrated the speedo for me
and made up a clock out of some other speedo belonging to another car but it
matched perfectly with the rev counter. Then everything worked fine. I put the
car on the road but the rev counter would never work so I telephoned Healeys and
spoke to Geoff Price who was the works manager at the time who was very helpful.
When I described the car to him he was a little non-committal but suggested that
I bought the car up and they would sort it out. So I took the car to
Warwickshire and he took one look at the rev counter drive and said that the
reason it didn’t work was that I had 100S rev counter drive and it turns the
other way. The cog is on the other side. “No problem, we can change that
over.” He went into the stores and picked up another rev counter drive, undid
a couple of nuts, put it on, connected it up and it worked a treat. He charged
whatever the price was at the time and I was absolutely delighted. I then said to him – “What is this car?”
“Well,” he said, “It’s -
It’s – How did you get hold of it?” So I told him and he replied,
“Really, we didn’t even know that it had been sold. It is one of our test
cars. It’s a prototype. I told him that I was having difficulty obtaining a
logbook for it and he said. “Well, as far as we are concerned, it doesn’t
really exist.” He left it like that. The end of the story. He didn’t seem to
want to talk about it much more. Eventually I applied for a logbook and the licensing
authority said that the registration number of the vehicle meant that it was a
vehicle built in 1953. My vehicle, as far as I was aware was built in 1956 and I
gathered from that that they had used the chassis from one of the test cars and
the registration to build this car. The licensing authority were not keen to
give me a log book and they said that I would need to put on the chassis number
BN1 number whatever it was and then they would issue me with a log book. I made
up a plate but I didn’t get around to putting it on and they eventually sent
me a logbook. It was very enjoyable to drive and then out of the
blue I received a letter from a finance company saying that there £670 owing on
the car and that they wanted the car back. So I panicked and frantically put the
car under lock and key. I went back to Jock Lloyd from where I bought the car
and said, “What’s happened Jock?” Being a very respectable dealer he said
that he couldn’t understand it. He had bought the car from a highly
respectable coachbuilder company in Ashford. He arranged for me to go and see
them, which I did. They said that they had been instructed to sell the vehicle
to cover the towing and storage by their solicitor in London who we shall call
Mr. K. They arranged a meeting for me to go up and see Mr. K at his Southwark
offices in London but I had to telephone him first and he asked me if I had any
bill for work that I had done on the car. I agreed that I had and he asked me
how much the total was. I said that it was roughly £1000. He asked me to bring
the bills with me and made an appointment for me to visit him. I duly went up on
the train to see Mr. K and gave him all the information and he sat there and
looked through the paperwork and then picked up the telephone and rang the
finance company that had sent the letter to me and asked them if they remembered
the car and they said they did. He then asked them if they knew what a repairers leon was. They agreed they did. He
then told them that Mr. Lorraine had one to the tune of £1000.00 and if they
liked to settle the bill then they could have the car back. They then replied
that they had no further interest in the car and that they would send a letter
to say they were quite satisfied I now had legal ownership of the vehicle. As I went further into the history of the car over
several months following the problem with the finance, I found out that
apparently what had happened was that the person who had owned the car had got
into some sort of fight and stabbed somebody and a friend of the person whom he
had stabbed came round to get revenge by setting fire to the car. It appears
that as it had been wilfully damaged, the insurance company would not pay out.
Therefore this was the reason nobody wanted the car as it was in a burnt out
state and no one would pay the bill to the coachbuilders who had recovered the
vehicle. Consequently it was sold to recover the losses on the towing and
storage. I quickly found out that the car was a bit of a
handful to drive as I had dry weather racing tyres on it and when it rained, it
was quite a problem. Invariably if
you were going too fast and you got into a slide, you would end up spinning. The
answer to the problem was to let go of the steering wheel and pray because you
could not do anything else, it would not have it. It happened to me once at a
fearful rate of knots through Chobham. Fortunately, I spun about eight times
without touching anything. It definitely was a car that you needed to drive with
a great deal of respect. When I was up at Warwick getting the rev counter
fixed I recall Geoff Price looked at the engine and said to me, “Why don’t
you get rid of that big gasworks off the top?” I said, “What do you mean?”
He said, “ Get rid of the old cooking cylinder head, it’s terrible. You’ll
never get any power with that.” He said that they had now got the new 3000
engine for the 3000 mark 1 with the 6 port cylinder head. I said, “Well,
what’s a 6 port cylinder head. He said that it’s got 6 inlet ports and 6
exhaust ports, two for each side, and I thought that was great but didn’t
reckon that I could really afford anything like that so he said that he had got
a second hand one which I could have cheap and that he also had new pistons and
fully floating Gudgeon pin con-rods but that I would have to bore it out to 3
litre, get rid of the old clamp bolt con-rods, fit new pistons and the fully
floating pin con-rods and bring it up to the 3000 standard and put the head on
and that I would have an interesting car that would go really well. So we made a
deal for all these bits and pieces and I carried them back in the boot of the
car and sometime later I stripped it down to have it bored out. Taking the
engine out was an absolute work of art. The only way to do it was to take the
front shroud off and stand the engine on 1 end upright to remove it. The problem
was that the engine was as far back as they could get it, hard up against the
bulkhead and the front of the engine was really hanging the wrong side of the
front suspension making it rather difficult to handle. It was therefore
difficult to control it and you had to give it respect. I took the car down to my old friend, George Hyland
who did re-boring and asked him if he could re-bore this Healey 100/6 engine up
to 3 litre and he replied, “Yes boy, we can bore anything out. The only thing
is, if we go through the cylinder wall, you’ll end up having to sleeve it.
I’ve bored Vauxhall 12’s out to 14, in fact all sorts. There is never any
problem; there are usually loads and loads of meat on the cylinder walls on
these casts. We’ll give it a go.” So, he gave it a go and it all worked fine
and I re-built the engine using all the new bits and I seem to recall that I put
a sports cam in it as well and the only thing that I forgot to modify at the
time was the bob weights in the distributor. That caused it to be slightly
retarded and I got the car going and tried it out but it didn’t seem to pull
like it should do, there was something not quite right so I decided to take on a
bit of a run and an old friend of mine and I went off to West Drayton to look
round car spares and to see if there was anything in the scrap yard of any
interest and at this particular time I hadn’t got round to putting any carpets
in the car. It was in the days before you could buy the asbestos heat shield kit
that went on the floor and being that the ignition timing was not quite right as
the distributor had not been modified, the engine started getting very, very hot
and dear old Harry had a pair of crepe-soled shoes on at the time and together
with no floor carpets, his shoes started to melt and stick to the floor. It got
so bad that when we arrived at West Drayton on getting out of the car he had to
put his feet in a puddle to cool his shoes down. That was just another one of
the hilarious happenings during the car’s life. Of course then there was the jinx on the car. I
always said that the car had a jinx because it was one of those cars that
didn’t like anybody else near it that shouldn’t be near it. The problem
started when I moved to Cornwall and my brother-in-law together with a friend
from the garage offered to drive the van of furnishings down to Cornwall and I
would follow them in the Healey. On the way down, the lad who was driving the
van stopped and said he couldn’t drive any further as the van had no heater
and he was absolutely frozen. The van was an old Morris 10 post office van
bought from the brother of one of the notorious train robbers who was in the
motor trade in Surrey. He asked if he could drive the Healey, and I agreed
provided he stayed behind me and didn’t go mad. I pulled away in the van and
looked in the mirror and saw him pull away. I went round the corner –
but….he didn’t not come. So I waited for a while but he still didn’t come
so I went back and I couldn’t believe my eyes – the Healey was virtually up
a tree. He had only travelled 15 or 20 feet, I said to him “What the hell
happened”? He didn’t know, he went to accelerate away and it just flew, he
said that he couldn’t control it and it drove straight into the tree. The
wheels were sticking out at a funny angle, it was impossible to drive it and the
front shroud was creased and the headlight was knocked out. I was really upset
about this. We then got a recovery vehicle out to tow us in to a rather nice
friendly little garage at Sticklepath near Exeter and the guy said, “How are
you going to get it home?” and I said, “Well, could I borrow your welding
equipment, if I pay you?” He agreed as long as I knew what I was doing, and I
told him that I was a panel beater and sprayer. I looked at the car and realised
that all the steering arms were bent. So I borrowed his welding kit, warmed
everything up and just pulled it straight and fortunately the radiator was OK.
Started the car up and drove it up and down the road. It was as if the wheels
were like threepenny bits and the steering was much the same but I thought that
if I took it easy, I could get it home very carefully so I pressed on and they
followed me with the van and we eventually arrived at Bugle near St. Austell and
parked the car up ready to rebuild it yet again. I managed to obtain a new front
shroud and I repaired the steering and obtained parts for that. Got the vehicle
back on the road. I then got a job at a garage in Bodmin and I had to
have a day off to go to Truro for an X-ray. I took the Healey, and while I was
in the hospital, I happened to look out of the window and saw a lorry back into
the boot lid. I couldn’t believe it…….. I assumed that the driver would
leave a note or something. I frantically dressed and went down to the car –
there was nothing ….just a great crease up the boot lid. Yet another repair I
had to do……. …………….repaired the car once again!! I think
my boss at the time must have got a bit sick of seeing the car in his paint
shop. A day or two afterwards, I went down to the fish and chip shop in Bodmin
at lunchtime and parked the car outside. All of a sudden there was a lot of
shouting outside and when I went out to see what was wrong I found that a
brewery lorry had come up the road and for some unknown reason he had mounted
the pavement, realised he couldn’t get through and the driver’s mate decided
to get into my Healey and move it down the road. So he took the brake off and
promptly rolled it into the back of a foodstore van, smashing all the front
in…..I couldn’t believe it. They really didn’t want to know about it. I
rang their firm who told me that the driver’s mate was nothing to do with them
and therefore they did not accept responsibility for it. I then engaged a
solicitor who had the same reply. I then spoke to my boss who contacted the
brewery and mysteriously had got results. The following week I received a cheque
for the full amount of the repair. So once again, we repaired the Healey and were back
on the road again. There were other amazing situations that happened to
the car such as a child throwing a stone at a mound of earth, the stone
rebounded and hit the side of the car. Ho hum…….. People accidentally
catching the side of the wing when they parked!! I often felt that after seeing the American film
about “Christine”, I think that the BN3 was a bit like Christine – you had
to love the car, if you didn’t, LOOK OUT! I owned the car for thirteen years. Because the lane leading to my property at that time
had got into such a bad state of repair that I either took the sump off or the
exhaust every time I went out, I reluctantly put it under wraps. I kept it
garaged for sometime when I was approached by a friend of mine, a Cornishman
named Nick Dower, who was affectionately known as Nick the Greek, (his mother
being Greek) and asked if I was willing to sell the car. At that time I had two
young children and I thought that perhaps I could do something more useful with
the money. I therefore reluctantly agreed to sell him the car and build a
swimming pool with the proceeds. Which I may add was probably the worst day’s
work I ever did. He owned the car for quite a few years. Many years after I had sold the car, I met Geoff
Price again after Donald Healey’s funeral at the house and I asked him if he
remembered NWD 977 and he said he did and remembered me visiting Warwick to see
him, and I asked what all the cloak and dagger stuff was about the car and why
didn’t anybody want to know. He said that back at that time they could have
been in trouble but nowadays it is history and part of British Motor Heritage
and that he could now tell me the story. He then told me that they had used the number plates
and chassis of one of the test cars and they had built this car, and of course
nowadays it was recognised as being a prototype and was even listed in a book by
Geoff Healey called “Healey Prototypes and Specials and there it was – NWD
977 BN3/1. Apparently, the first few Healey 100’s off the
production line were painted metalic blue, which proved to be not a popular
colour and was soon changed to a more popular line. This car was one of the
first and according to Geoff Price was used as an experimental car for engine
testing with alloy heads and twin choke solex carbs and other engines and modifications. It stood in a corner of the work shop and odd parts
were used off it for other jobs. When the company was approached to make a car
with a six cylinder engine, four seats and easy clean wheels, this old test car
was used. As Geoff Price said, they had to beat the old 100 bulkhead back and
shoe-horn the six cylinder engine in, cutting the body work about and fitting
child seats in where the batteries had been. The battery now was a big 12 volt
fitted in the boot as opposed to the two six volts behind the drivers seats. When I obtained the car it was red with the remains
of red trim. So this was the way I re-built it. My own opinion is that when the
old test car was built into the BN3 prototype of the first 106, it was red. After talking to many Healey people about this car
over the years, I discovered that there is another one, not exactly of this
construction. There is another car called a BN3 which apparently, as I
understand from others was a Healey 100 that was sawn off from the bulkhead,
taking off the chassis and the engine suspension and I believe although I am not
100% sure that they welded an A90 Westminster chassis and suspension on it and
then put the Healey body back on but I understand that it was not successful.
There again they did not know that it had ever been sold. They thought that it
had been scrapped. I know very little about this car but talking to Bic Healey
recently, he mentioned the name of a chap who owns it now. There was talk of it
being restored, something else that really I need to delve into a little more
deeply. The car that I owned now is in Australia. In 1974
Nick Dower sold it to an agent who was looking for a car for a customer, a
gentleman called Pat Quinn. He came over from Australia and saw me a few years
after buying it and I gave him some original odds and bits and pieces that I
still had. So that he actually has got all the paperwork and everything that
belonged to the car from day 1 and I understand now that he has totally restored
the car and it is now for sale for a great deal of money – somewhere in the
region of 90k sterling That really is the end of the story, as I know it. I guess on looking back at the life of the car, I
must have saved part of British motor heritage without realising it and saved
something which is unique in the world of motoring and also unique to the Healey
Motor Company. I am delighted to think that the vehicle is still going. Malcolm Lorraine
Are You Sitting Comfortably, Then Stuart Will Begin....
Over 50 guests enjoyed the evening with invitations taken up by the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, the Jaguar Drivers Club and the St. Piran Car Club. Stuart is seen here in full flow reminiscing on his days as competition manager for both BMC and Ford. As always this was a wonderfully entertaining and informative evening in Perranporth and the Healey Drivers Club is grateful to Stuart for his time and enthusiasm.
A
Great Day out at M.P.H. Panels
This
event was well supported by club members from Devon and Cornwall. We also had a
member travel all the way from Sussex.
My
thanks to all the boys for their support, and a great big thank you to Geoff
Moss for making it all possible who not only is a marvellous craftsman but also
a superb teacher. He is quite happy to take people on a longer tuition if
required. Thank you, your support made it all worth while.
Malcolm
Lorraine
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photo by Colin Lennox - Jones
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Stuart
Turner led the Cornish club night at the Ponsmere hotel on Tuesday 6th
September. Stuart was the competitions manager for BMC when the Healey reigned supreme in
the world of rallying and gave a talk on his long and varied experiences. 
