95 replies to this topic

[Patrick Fletcher]

In 1958 John Armanino raced a Healey- Chevrolet in Northern California.
On the other side of the world Arthur Kennard was building a Corvette powered Healey.
Were any other Austin Healeys raced in 8 cyl. configeration around this time ?

[David McKinney]

There were loads in the US - most of them a bit later, perhaps
Can't OTTOMH recall any Australian versions, though I'd be surprised if they didn't exist
Kennard's first raced in November 1957, IIRC

[Ray Bell]

The 100S Alan Jones (no, not that one... The Alan Jones) imported back in the seventies had been Chev powered for many years. It had an odd radiator surround, with a huge igloo entry-shaped opening over the missing grille.

I've never heard of any in Australia, David...

[Sharman]

Talking about Healeys. Derek Astle, the fastest man I EVER saw in a Big Healey. Killed at Oulton in private practice I think.

[bradbury west]

I recall him well, in his ex works 3000 re regd as DA 3 at Oulton, Harewood etc in the early/mid sixties. Was he killed? I seem to recall a Derek Astle in a Jaguar of some sort, 120??, a few years ago in some historic event or another. I will check with a man who knows Healey stuff.

RL

[Patrick Fletcher]

Originally posted by Ray Bell
The 100S Alan Jones (no, not that one... The Alan Jones) imported back in the seventies had been Chev powered for many years. It had an odd radiator surround, with a huge igloo entry-shaped opening over the missing grille.

This car # 3603 went back to USA in 2000 - now with its original 4 cyl. engine

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Patrick Fletcher
This car # 3603 went back to USA in 2000 - now with its original 4 cyl. engine

That could never have happened had Alan still been alive...

[Sharman]

I was wrong, he was killed on the Tulip in 1963, on the Trois Epis hillclimb. I've just emailed Don Barrow who used to navigate him for further info. I remember how fast he was because at that time I was involved with the Veedol Trophy (Marque Cars anybody have lap times listed?) and had he entered in 1962 he'd have cleaned up.

[Ray Bell]

Unlikely it was fitted with a Bowtie engine, however...

[Sharman]

Talking to two people at once on the same thread on different topics. Bowtie engine. what dat? Roger back to Derek Astle, I've just heard from Don who says that Derek was killed because he hated wearing seat belts. We're not talking full harness only lap strap & diagonal

[A E Anderson]

Originally posted by Sharman
Taking to two people at once on the same thread on different topics. Bowtie engine. what dat?

"Bowtie" engine: Chevrolet, so-called after the famed, and long-running Chevrolet "Bowtie" logo.

Art

[bradbury west]

Sharman,

Many apologies for the brain fade. It was Alan Ensoll of whom I was thinking. He was the man I first saw in a grey/fawn?? D type at my first event as a child when my father took me to a hillclimb at Castle Howard, 58/59. Halcyon days with the cars on the grass i front ofd the big house, and Lotus Elevens with those drop-down doors....

Back to Chev powered Healeys, I recently came across a photo of the late David Hepworth in a wide wheeled, flaired winged in a programme for Croft in Aug 65, with the car, surpisingly on a C reg, 1965, perhaps built from bits.

I also seem to recall him in a blue 3000 in the Yorkshire rally in 63, the car reputedly having a small block motor.

I have a photo I took of that, along with Bertorelli's Elan, in the Rally, and Jack Tordoff's SAAB, plus Don Grimshaw in SMO 745

I can scan them and send on if you wish. The one from the programme has notes and the name of the snapper, Mr Binns.

Rupert Jones maintained to me many moons ago that David Seigle Morris was the fastest man he ever saw in a 3000, having sat next to him on the maps, recceing I think.

Talking of the Veedol series, you obviously will recall David Eva in one of the ex Jacob's Twin Cam MGAs , 1 & 2 MTW. I think Bridger ran it the year before and it looked tired when I saw it at Oulton in 62 and 63.

D Eva always seemed just a bit quicker than the car, which gave Bob Burnard the advantage in the Ace.


Roger Lund

[Sharman]

Roger

It was Deva I was involved with, the car was 1 MTW which Mike Waterhouse end over ended at Knickerbrook thereafter rebuilding it in steel not aluminium before selling it on. David was actually faster in that car than anybody else ever had been but I do agree that he was speed happy at times. He lost very rarely to Bob Burnard, one which counted was in the final at Goodwood TT day 62 or 3. The Lotus whatever-it-was offered as a prize together with a years expenses was a dog. Bob sank without trace.

I was actually wondering about lap times because I'm invited to an 85th birthday party in June and the celebrator was something of a whiz in marque cars during the mid/late 50's and he drove a Twin Cam (works light weight) at the Ring 1000, we had a little discussion about the cars in March when I last saw him. Consequently I've been looking for comparisons.

Don Grimshaw SMO745, wasn't that sold to Derek and renumbered DA3, I know that Don & Derek had a Healey in common and I suspect that that was the car. XSP engine et al.

David Seigle-Morris, Peter Riley, The Rev happy happy days


John

[bradbury west]

John

DA 3 was the same car. I have spent half the afternoon looking for a photo of the car at Oulton going down into Cascades in a marque race, SP250, Aston DB2/4 etc. No luck yet.

I seem to recall him on the Yorkshire rally in it, or another with the same no. The Grimshaw SMO photo was from 62.

David Eva was v quick, but a little ragged, if I remember from the race reports I have for the Veedol. He seems to have been in fact the class of the larger engined class in terms of speed. I believe he was a solicitor?

Have I asked you before if you knew/remember Albert Leonard, based in Whaley Bridge?

RL

[RAP]

Consequently I've been looking for comparisons

Don't know if this helps -
Crystal Palace August 57
Marque Race B fastest laps

J M Richmond MGA 1'26.4
G Horne MGA 1'20.4
T Burgess MGA 1'20.0
C P Tooley MGA 1'18.2
D Dixon MGA 1'20.2
G Ralphs TR2 1'20.2
R Allatt TR3 1'17.4
J Ewer TR2 1'18.2
J Wood TR2 1'16.6
I McCulloch TR2 1'16.0
P Hubner Morgan 1'16.6
M Bowling AH 100M 1'20.4

I have also sent you a PM
Richard

[Sharman]

Thank you Richard I have PM'd you on that
Roger,
David was a solicitor, now sadly deceased, he had a heart/lung problem and died before a donor could be found. He was exceedingly quick in a 7 after the MG but comprehensively rolled a DB3S at Silverstone in 68/69 and was seriously injured. Never raced again
You have asked about Albert Leonard but I don't know of him.
Another very quick 7 driver was John Cardwell of course went on to Goodwin Racing, and thence to Ron Harris. He stopped racing I understand because Jimmy Clark bettered his lap times in the same F2 car by a considerable margin. That may be an apochryphal story which I must ask him about when I next see him
John

[WDH74]

A chap named Norm Cowdry ran a Healey 100/4 stuffed with a blown smallblock Chevy in AA/Modified Sports in the early sixties. Of course, this was only a quarter mile at a time, but it is a Healey with a Bowtie! In any event, this rather fearsome looking machine was easily a match for all the big iron in the Gas class at the time-low 9s all day long, and could smoke the tires at any speed.

I can barely comprehend the idea of road racing a Healey with a big V-8!

-William

[tam999]

Dan Parkinson drove the fastest Healey-Chevy I ever saw; he raced it in Southern California in 1962. I looked for finishing results for Parkinson in Bob Norton's "MotoRacing" scans for 1962 but couldn't find any. I guess the car never finished a race!

But it was fast. Those with sharp eyes can actually see it in this little movie on my website. The film begins with the start of the main event at Santa Barbara on May 27, 1962. The red Parkinson Healey-Chevy (with headrest) is in third place. That's the only time it appears in the film.

http://www.tamsoldra...am_redo_102.mov

Tam McPartland

[Frank S]

San Diego Region, SCCA's "Turk" Williams raced a
Healey 100-Daimler in the 60s and possibly into the 70s.
Not the fastest of all combinations, but a consistent finisher.

[bradbury west]

John

Re D Eva. Many thanks for the information. I have a note here from a 63 programme that he was entered in a Lotus 7 by R T Owen. Any details of Owen at all ?

RL

[Sharman]

Bob Owen, who found motor racing rather later in life than the rest of us. Director of a firm of Steel Stockhloders, his was the DB3S that David rolled (I got the wreck back from Silverstone). He was also involved with whatsisname Yeates in a garage dealing in/with Astons. Also owned and raced (very slowly) 450S Maser. PM to you.
John

[Ray Bell]

I wonder if Twinny would mind separating the wheat from the chaff here?

We've got a thread about Healeys with Chev engines, and there's a totally divorced thread about other sports car racing in England that's interrupting all train of thought...

[ray b]

a buddy built a healey-chevy back in the 60's
it was a real low dollar kid project
he found the healey in a junkyard without the motor
and scrounged chevy 283 v8 to drop in it
he was very suprised when cutting the rear wheel wells
to fit bigger tyres the metal cut like butter
he had found a rare alloy body car!!!
he resently said if he only knew the future value of that car
he would never have cut it
but back then it was just a better racer to hotrod
car was mostly a street racer for cash
in the drive-in based local scene
but beat a number of big block cars, vetts and hemi's too
and he won far more cash then the project cost him
but he was a very quick shifter and good driver in street races
who was sought out by others to drive their cars

btw the 283 was lighter then the 6 the later 3000's used
also had better weight distrobution
so it helped rather then hurt the cars handeling
the car did 12 sec 1/4 mile times

[Patrick Fletcher]

Of the 50 Austin Healey 100S built - seven appear to have had a V8 fitted at some time.
Guess the value today of a car with the 4cyl would be way higher ?

[Twin Window]

Posted on behalf of Roger Lund;

"The rally shot is mine from the 1963 Yorkshire Rally, with Bertorelli's Elan to the fore and Jack Tordoff's SAAB. The Healey was fitted, so we were told, with a small block Chev, and very wide wheels. My buddy was a v keen rallyist then and was told by Hepworth that the motor was lots lighter than the BMC lump so made sense."




A shot from a copy from a 1965 Croft race programme...

[Sharman]

The next question has to be are there any Healeys still fitted with a Chevrolet unit in the UK, USA or in Australia?. If so how do they stackup against a 289 Cobra. I realise that a Cobra will have had the benefit of a long development programme but the basic intention was there.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by ray b
.....he was very suprised when cutting the rear wheel wells
to fit bigger tyres the metal cut like butter
he had found a rare alloy body car!!!

Don't all of them have alloy panels there? A Healey expert will soon tell you, but there is a lot of alloy in a standard Healey body.

.....btw the 283 was lighter then the 6 the later 3000's used
also had better weight distrobution
so it helped rather then hurt the cars handeling
the car did 12 sec 1/4 mile times

I can't speak for the weight of the 283, but I have weighed the 3000 engine. Water pump to clutch was around 550lbs, from memory (a long time ago...), and at the time others said that the Chev engine was about 530. Not much different, but it's so much shorter, of course.

[Sharman]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ray Bell


Don't all of them have alloy panels there? A Healey expert will soon tell you, but there is a lot of alloy in a standard Healey body.



[QUOTE]I can't speak for the weight of the 283, but I have weighed the 3000 engine. Water pump to clutch was around 550lbs, from memory (a long time ago...), and at the time others said that the Chev engine was about 530. Not much different, but it's so much shorter, of course. [/[/QUOTE] QUOTE]
Hepworths car as shown was a 100/4 of course, I never took a 3000 engine out with a block and tackle (with a broken ratchet) but I have a 100/4. My fingers were getting very close to the block as the engine was being lowered, I was coming off the ground and getting close to panic and all the owner (of car and pulley) could say was "mind my bloody paint" :

[Ray Bell]

My understanding is that there's not much weight difference between the 100/4 engine and the six... except that the radiator's further back, of course, to give some small aid to the distribution...

[HangtownHealey]

Dan Parkinson's V8 Healey was a 100S which later made its way to Colorado still with the V8. It was earlier owned by Gordon Glyer.
Stan Peterson raced a V8 Healey on the West coast with flames painted on it in the 50's. I think it also showed up in the movie State Fair but with teeth painted on.
Another very nice looking V8 Healey was raced on the West coast by a Mr. Patrick. It seemed to have crashed at the first race meeting and looked to be written off after that. Not sure if it is the same Pat Patrick that is a Indy car owner.
Richard Mathews raced a V8 Healey on the east cost in the late 50's. There was a nice article on its construction in Hot Rod Magazine. It had a Maserati style nose.

[Frank S]

Picture of the Patrick 'Healey on the Baker Racing Pix site [Sports Cars}. Maybe the Bakers know something?

--
Frank S

[ray b]

Originally posted by Patrick Fletcher
Of the 50 Austin Healey 100S built - seven appear to have had a V8 fitted at some time.
Guess the value today of a car with the 4cyl would be way higher ?

I would guess a race history v8 swap car
[with log books ect] and winning record
would be worth more then a unraced 100s stock
but value is far more based on condision
and whims of a given bidder

btw is the Sebring, a glass body healey 3000 copy with chevy v8 "stock" still in production?

[ray b]

Originally posted by Ray Bell
My understanding is that there's not much weight difference between the 100/4 engine and the six... except that the radiator's further back, of course, to give some small aid to the distribution...

I had heard that both the 4 and 6 started life as truck/lorry motors
and thats why they were so heavy built?

[Ray Bell]

Not the six, but the four, certainly...

The history of the Healey 4-cyl engine is this: In the depths of the war, the Home Office was bringing Ford and Willys Jeeps into England and wanted to avoid having to use valuable transAtlantic shipping space bringing in spare engines. They went to the ADO and asked if they could have a solution.

So the pre-war OHV 6-cyl truck engine (about 3.5 litres) was used as the basis and the 2.2-litre engine was put into production. After the war it was used to power the Austin 12 (I think it was...) and then the A70, with an enlarged version going into the A90 (the 3-headlight model, you might remember). Simultaneously they were used in taxis and a diesel version was built for the cabbies too, while the civilian version of the Austin Champ 4WD got the 2.6 version of the engine while Austin also presented the public with the rubber sprung Austin Gipsy 4WD with the 2.2. Of course, the military Champ had a 4-cyl Rolls Royce all alloy F-head of 3-litres or thereabouts.

Trucks also got the shortened engine, completing the circle.

Donald Healey designed the ground-breaking 100 to use the 2.6 engine and the rest of the mechanical package from the A90, and Austin grabbed it. But within a fairly short time they phased out the A90 and so the parts supplies dried up.

The A90 was replaced in the model line-up by the A90 six (2639cc) which had Wolseley (6/90), Morris (Isis... check a recent thread for pics from Twinny) and Riley (Two Point Six) brethren.

This six had no commonality with anything in commercial vehicles at all. It was purely a sedan and sports car engine. No vans, no taxis, nothing. It grew to 2912cc about 1959, by which time the Morris Marshal in Australia had been created to replace the Isis, this being an A95, in turn a growth from the A90 six with a bit more rear bodywork. The 2.9 engine went on powering the Austin A99, Wolseley 6/99, Van Den Plas Princess 3-litre and subsequent models called the Austin A110 and Wolesley 6/110. No more Rileys, no more Morrises, and even the Princess discarded the heavyweight in favour of the 6-cyl version of that R-R four that had powered the Champ... and so was born the Van Den Plas Princess 4-litre R-R. Another circle completed.

And just for good measure, the Austin Healey, which had paralleled the sedans in using the 2639cc and 2912cc engines, but with extra carburetion etc, was slated to get the 4-litre Rolls engine. In fact, the Healey 4000, which also featured an extra 6" of body width and different running gear, was to have a unique pushrod OHV head all of its own. Three prototypes were completed, more were finished by individuals later on. I don't know if anyone ever got around to fitting a Champ engine to a 100/4, but it would have made a nice car.

[Patrick Fletcher]

I am trying so hard to get a side on photo of the Kennard car which was black with the centre bit in a deep teal - it was so cool!
The rumble of the Healey - Corvette in 1957/8 was new to the antipodies - has someone a photo please ?

[Sharman]

Apropos of absolutely-bloody-nothing-at-all you could get a 4 out to well over 2800cc, if my memory serves me 2866

[Ray Bell]

Yes, you could... I think they started at 2660, but I recall seeing 29?? in a race programme somewhere.

Whatever that did for the eyeballs at revs...

[Sharman]

Chevrolet pistons (and rods?) but for the life of me I can't remember the details. This goes back to marque racing in the UK. What goes around comes around
JSF

[bradbury west]

Originally posted by Ray Bell
Not the six, but the four, certainly...

. Simultaneously they were used in taxis and a diesel version was built for the cabbies too, I don't know if anyone ever got around to fitting a Champ engine to a 100/4, but it would have made a nice car.

OYY 210;
I have now found the article in the files. A digression rather than Healey Chev.

I recalled some years ago that the Healey specialist, doughty Bristolian John Chatham, developed a 2.5l 4 pot BMC diesel engine used in FX4 taxis for use in a special 100/4 with good results, and C&SC reported on it in an article March 1992.

Starting with a bombproof block and crank, the diesel ran at 22:1 compression, the short stroke was kept, but the block overbored and linered down to give 2615cc, cf 2660 originally, with Sierra Cosworth pistons..... on special rods. Massive reworking of a new alloy 100/4 head ensured that the stud holes either matched or were taken out. A Golf distributor was fitted and a cam profile matching that of the last works 3000s used. It gave about 170bhp on 2 SUs but at 7,800rpm.

Southampton University's Noise and Vibration unit tested the crank etc based on existing work on the 6 cyl engine, and noted that there could be a serious vibration problem at 14,000prm............

Apparently Geoffrey Healey had considered something similar with this engine many years previously.

Roger Lund.

[Ray Bell]

All of which pales alongside the head they built for the 100S record car...

It had a pair of SU carbies hanging out each side.

[xkssFrankOpalka]

A friend of mine in Chicago put a Chev engine in his 100S, dont know where the car is now.

[David Birchall]

Frank, any idea what year that would have been?
So far as I recall the car that Alan Jones had came from the West Coast and was originally Canadian.
David B

[jackal]

Hello

I found this old thread and need to ask if anyone can help me. It's a bit of an obscure question.

Does anyone out there recall being involved with an american Healey 100, running a V8 of some sort, that had a modified transmission tunnel. The tunnel was remade doing away with the standard curved cover that was part of the rear section of the floor. The edges of the tunnel front front to back are folded over for a removeable top cover.

Allowing access to the prop for quick changes?

Another identifying feature of this body is the front valance is cut up and away towards the indicators and lots of holes are drilled into the valance under the grill aperature.

Just wondering if anyone has had anything to do with a healey that was like this in period. It may just be a car that has been street modded at some point but it would be nice to know if it was an old SCCA racer or something like that.

Sadly I have no numbers but I have not seen any healeys with the transmission tunnel modded in this way so am hoping this may stir the grey matter somewhere.

Thank you

Carl

Edited by jackal, 10 October 2010 - 19:28.

[oldtransamdriver]

In the early sixties I acquired an ex drag racer Corvette-Healey100 that had been converted back to street use. I was told it had a bored and stroked 265 Corvette engine taken out to 301 ci. It had a 3 2barrel carb set-up (aftermarket piece?) and burbled along on the middle 2 barrel until you stomped the throttle pedal It had a BW 4 speed and a cut-down Chev rear axle from a passenger car with 3:36 gears. It had Chev steel wheels on the rear and the fenders were slightly enlarged.

I took it to a few drag races and it would run 13:7 @ 108 mph (in 3rd gear). I had Firestone street tires and with proper gearing and better tires it would have been a 12 second machine I think. I remember dusting the first 409 Chev that arrived in London Ontario at the St. Thomas Dragway. The owner was not happy.

I raced it in one novice race at the old Green Acres airport track in Goderich Ontario and the 1963 Rockwood Hillclimb. It was a formidable street machine, did not overheat, and was fun to drive. It was sold to a friend and I lost track of it many years ago. It was the era of converting Brit cars to V8 power.

At the VARA vintage weekend (Auto Club Speedway CA) last March there was a display of Austin Healeys and I remember that 4 of the 8 cars had been converted to V 8 power of some sort.

Robert Barg

Edited by oldtransamdriver, 11 October 2010 - 03:59.

[ronmac]

In 1958 John Armanino raced a Healey- Chevrolet in Northern California.
On the other side of the world Arthur Kennard was building a Corvette powered Healey.
Were any other Austin Healeys raced in 8 cyl. configeration around this time ?

[ronmac]

hi..only recently joined the autosport bulletin..and slowly checking out some of the subjects....threads...i see back in 2006 patrick fletcher was enquiring about healey corvettes....I have some movies on dvd and video of arthur kennard racing his healey at mairehau christchurch new zealand..and also southbridge..there is a good shot lined up in the pits with pit crew and some name contacts.. also checking out ronnie moore s father..les moore s damaged alpha romeo.. after he had colided with a v8 special on the mairehau front straight..all facinating stuff..the southbridge race track was half sealed and half shingle...??? if you would like to talk to me about them try an email if you wish..ronmac..

[David McKinney]

From memory Arthur Kennard didn't race the Healey with Corvette power at Mairehau - it was still in four-cylinder configuration then - but did at Southbridge. The car was later a Waimate regular in the hands of Ed or Sid Candy (or both), and was still performing strongly in Graham Smtih's hands in the mid '60s
Wonder if it's still around

[ronmac]

hi..i think that was graham smith..ex canterbury car club came to australia..years ago..maybe sydney..wonder if he brought it with him... anyway i can ask adrienne kennard...she ll probably know...ronmac..

[jackal]

Hi all

I have now seen a few pics of 100's used in drag racing that use a 5 stud rear end. Was this also a mod for street racers and circuit cars?

Also....I know very very little about the era of V8ing british metal in America. What was the most common engine and what cars were they taken from?

Any photos really appreciated of the cars in their heyday.

Thank you

Carl

Edited by jackal, 11 October 2010 - 19:30.

[jackal]

In the early sixties I acquired an ex drag racer Corvette-Healey100 that had been converted back to street use. I was told it had a bored and stroked 265 Corvette engine taken out to 301 ci. It had a 3 2barrel carb set-up (aftermarket piece?) and burbled along on the middle 2 barrel until you stomped the throttle pedal It had a BW 4 speed and a cut-down Chev rear axle from a passenger car with 3:36 gears. It had Chev steel wheels on the rear and the fenders were slightly enlarged.

I took it to a few drag races and it would run 13:7 @ 108 mph (in 3rd gear). I had Firestone street tires and with proper gearing and better tires it would have been a 12 second machine I think. I remember dusting the first 409 Chev that arrived in London Ontario at the St. Thomas Dragway. The owner was not happy.

I raced it in one novice race at the old Green Acres airport track in Goderich Ontario and the 1963 Rockwood Hillclimb. It was a formidable street machine, did not overheat, and was fun to drive. It was sold to a friend and I lost track of it many years ago. It was the era of converting Brit cars to V8 power.

At the VARA vintage weekend (Auto Club Speedway CA) last March there was a display of Austin Healeys and I remember that 4 of the 8 cars had been converted to V 8 power of some sort.

Robert Barg

Hello

Do you by chance have any pics of this car?

Best Regards

Carl

Edited by jackal, 11 October 2010 - 20:56.